I am Succubus!
Chapter 262

Layla and I flew from city to city, scavenging konbinis, grocery stores, and confectionaries. We ended up as far north to a small city in Kato. Shayle and Hana stayed behind with Beatrice. It was a job for the two of us alone, due our greater succubus status. Lesser succubi wouldn't be able to detect us, meaning we were free to search however we wished while invisible.

This was the ninth convenience whose merchandise had been looted. Apparently, Saeko and Hatsumi's war extended beyond Tsukiji. From what little Beatrice had told us, battles unfolded regularly. As a result, innocent people were often used as drain fodder and entire cities were under the effects of charm.

My timeline could have ended up like this. Thank goodness my sister was just a little more understanding.

"Hey, Saeko?" Layla spoke up as we scoured the aisles.

"What's up?" I peeked over the shelves to find Layla looking back.

"Why exactly did Beatrice send us to search for spicy food? Is this a trick?" she asked.

"Nope." I shook my head. "I knew right away when she mentioned 'spicy'. It's probably for Mio when she comes back to consciousness."

A sweet thought, all things considered.

The problem was, most of the stores had been broken into and their stuff stolen. We were hard pressed to find even spoiled food. So far, all we had to show for were a couple of sodas and gum. At least what Beatrice wanted us to do didn't involve any fighting. If we weren't careful though…

Movement outside drew mine and Layla's attention outside the convenience store. A small group of succubi cruised past, and by chance, decided to take a rest. Two sat on the roof of a broken down car. Another three landed on the asphalt.

"I hear Beatrice came out of hiding. Word is she's skulking around in Tsukiji," a succubus said.

"Wanna hunt her down? Queen Hatsumi would reward us real nicely if we captured her," the other suggested.

"Pft. Take down Beatrice? No way. We don't got the firepower for that." A third one shot them down real quick. "Queen Hatsumi likely already knows Beatrice is there. If she hasn't sent word to pursue her, then it's not our problem."

Having rested enough, they took off flying. Layla and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Doesn't seem like Hatsumi's concerned about Beatrice going around. Good for us. That means Shayle and Hana won't get into trouble." I poked my head out, and they were long gone.

"Saeko, Saeko! I found some spicy stuff in the back!" Layla beckoned to me from behind the counter.

I followed Layla into the backroom, where employees normally took their break. It was connected to a storage area that hadn't been looted. Judging by how much stuff there was, people didn't think to check back here. Layla showed me one of the big cardboard boxes she opened, which was stuffed from top to bottom with chips. Spicy ones being among them.

Score. All we needed to do was get back to Beatrice. I instructed Layla to pick up another box. There was a good chance wherever Beatrice and the others were hiding likely needed more food.

We were about to leave until the store bell chimed. The two of us froze and stood still. They weren't succubi. We would have sensed their auras otherwise. When Layla turned to me for what to do, I shook my head and motioned to stay put.

"Didn't we check this place last week?"

"Yeah, but we had to leave when a group of succubi came looking. I just want to be thorough and check the back."

I recognized those voices. Sure enough, Hitomi and Rika entered. They skulked into the room, and their eyes lit up seeing the stores of food. However, Hitomi stuck a hand out to stop Rika.

"What's wrong?" Rika asked.

"Those boxes have been opened, and there's food inside. No way would someone leave all this food here. Unless it's a trap," Hitomi said, eyes scanning the room carefully.

Damn the student council president for being so keen and observant. Those skills of hers certainly didn't wane one bit after high school. If we just stayed still and quiet, they might grab these things and leave. On the other hand, if they think it was a trap and leave, they might go hungry.

Sighing, I revealed myself.

"Saeko!" Hitomi and Rika gasped.

"Y-Yeah, I was actually grabbing food for myself." I rubbed the back of my head out of embarrassment.

Hitomi stormed forward and slapped me hard across the face. It came so suddenly, I wasn't sure what to think. Rika had both hands to her mouth in shock, so this definitely wasn't expected.

It even made Layla come out of her invisibility. For a brief moment, it looked like she wanted to come to my rescue, but a fiery glare from Hitomi shut down that effort.

"You went into hiding while the entire country went to shit. The first time we've seen you in months, and you're in this convenience store… picking up chips? What's wrong with you?" Hitomi asked.

"I-I'm… sorry?" I uttered the only thing on my mind, because I couldn't think of anything else.

"Sorry isn't going to make things normal again. You could have stopped Hatsumi. Instead, you chickened out. I thought you were better than that. Shit. I can't even stand to look at you. Come on, Rika. Let them have this. We'll find food elsewhere." She grabbed Rika's hand and pulled her out of the room.

I only came to my senses when Layla rested a hand on my shoulder.

"It's obvious you want to go after them. Far be it from me to tell my queen succubus what to do, but maybe you should. They need to hear it as much as you do," Layla insisted.

I hadn't even realized I crushed the bag of chips in my hand. Pieces of it fell from the bag to the floor. That was one bag Mio wasn't going to get her hands on. I picked up the box and ran outside with it. Hitomi and Rika had only gotten as far as the entrance, so I intercepted them.

"Wait! At least take this with you. It's full of food. There's a lot of succubi out there. The longer you're out, the more you risk getting found. Please, take it." I offered it to them.

While Hitomi didn't move, Rika did. She stepped forward and picked it up.

"Thanks, Saeko." Rika smiled.

"This doesn't make anything right. I hope you know that." Hitomi folded her arms.

"I know. Listen, Saeko— I will make things right. You don't have to forgive me until then. Just hang in there, okay?" I implored them.

Hitomi heaved a sigh. She unburdened the box of food from Rika to carry it herself.

"You better," Hitomi said before walking off.

"See you later, Saeko!" Rika waved and chased after her.

Whew. That was a load off my back, even though I wasn't the one who failed them.

Although… I did say something outrageous. That might not even be a promise this Saeko was supposed to keep. However, once again, Gerdell wasn't intervening. I must not have altered the timeline in any significant way yet.

I returned to the convenience store in time to find Layla emerging from the storage room. She teetered side to side with three boxes stacked on top of each other, obscuring her from seeing ahead of herself.

"Ah!" Layla panicked as the topmost box slipped.

Fortunately, I was quick enough to catch it.

"Oh! Did you say what you needed to?" Layla asked.

"Yeah, thanks for that. I didn't peg you as a nosey succubus. Here I thought your head was just full of abuse and sex," I teased.

"Hehe. I can be helpful sometimes! You're my queen, and you treated me so much better than Beatrice ever had. Though, sometimes I wish you would… p-p-punish me with your own hands more often," she said, panting heavily like a dog in heat.

"Okay, you horny animal… let's go back to the others. Shayle and Hana probably have their hands full trying to keep Beatrice entertained."

We hurried back to Fukuo Shrine in the forests of Tsukiji. But neither of us could believe our eyes to see that it had been leveled to the ground, like someone bulldozed the entire place. I sat the box down and flew around several times in search of my friends. The other two were nowhere to be found. Same for Beatrice.

Layla helped me sift through the debris, but they weren't buried under rubble either. We were at a loss.

"Y-You don't think Beatrice betrayed us, do you?" Layla stammered.

"I hope not… huh?" My eyes caught sight of a penis on the ground.

Not a real one. Fist-sized stones were arranged to look like a dick and a pair of balls. A rock at the very tip sat on what appeared to be a note. A bunch of tinier stones weighed down a few other ripped pieces of papers, too. It had Hana's handwriting. They were each numbered, so I picked up the first one. Layla landed beside me and peered over my shoulder

Saeko, if you're reading this… WE GOT CREAMED!Just kidding! :p We're good!

We groaned at the note. If Hana was standing right here, I would have punched her…

"What does the next one say?" Layla asked.

I grabbed #2.

A bunch of succubi loyal to Hatsumi showed up, so we had to skedaddle! Queen B lured them away since I couldn't hide my aura. Said she was gonna lose them in the forest, then go invisible and meet back up in the city.

That one was surprisingly normal for Hana. It seemed like they managed to escape though. Good.

Layla picked up the third for me.

Destination: Yo mom's house! xd

"Hana!" I snatched the note and tore it up.

Luckily for us, the fourth note was written in a different handwriting. It must have been Shayle's. I recognized the address. Yumi's penthouse.

We wasted no time flying there. Avoiding succubi patrols was easy as a greater succubus. The problem was all the normal human people milling about. Likely survivors or refugees. Mine and Layla's very presence turned them on, simply by existing. They popped boners as we flew over them.

Once we arrived at the penthouse, the place wasn't what I had expected at all. The apartment complex was mostly destroyed. The entire right side of the building collapsed. I'd been to Yumi's place enough times to know it was fine, considering her room was on the left.

The two of us descended to the penthouse floor. There wasn't even a door. It was missing. Inside, Shayle and Hana were with Beatrice on the couch.

"Yo, yo, yo! You got my message!" Hana grinned.

"I wish I didn't…" I groaned.

"Felt your approach from a mile away. You sure took your sweet ass time looking for what I asked for," Beatrice taunted.

Layla and I plopped down three boxes in total. Beatrice jumped off the couch and strolled over. She snatched up a bag of chips. It had a graphic of a chicken silhouette, whose body was full of chili peppers. My mouth watered just looking at it.

Beatrice opened a bag of spicy chips and tossed one into her mouth. She took one bite, then spat everything out before falling into a coughing fit. I handed her a bottle of water, and she chugged it all down.

"Eugh. I'll never understand why Mio enjoys these things." Beatrice gagged.

"Enough, Beatrice. Saeko and Layla fulfilled their end of the bargain. It's your turn to fulfill yours," Shayle said.

"Shayle's right. Are you going to answer our questions, or did you just want to play fetch with me?" I asked.

The former succubus queen handed me the open bag and threw herself onto the couch. She beckoned for us to sit down, too.

"Very well. What do you want to know?" Beatrice asked, crossing one leg over the other.

"I want to know if something off has ever occurred to you, about Saeko, Mio, Hatsumi… anything that we share between our worlds," I said.

"Not very specific, are we? There are many things that come off as odd to me. Such as, why the fuck Mio is in love with Saeko. Why the sword picked Saeko, and then subsequently Hatsumi. Or that the foolish Beatrice from where you came from so willingly gave her life," she answered.

My eyes twitched with anger. Without realizing it, I was on my feet and looming over Beatrice. Mio's older sister, amused by my show of fury, flashed a smile.

"Don't you dare talk about my Beatrice like that. She was a good person. She changed for the better. If there was another way to keep her alive, I would've taken it. That Beatrice ended up being a sister Mio cried for. Can you say the same about yourself?" I asked.

"Wow. Heh. How passionate! It's too bad… she's dead. Kahaha!" Beatrice cackled so loudly my ears started to ring.

Shayle, Hana, and Layla swapped worried glances between me and Beatrice. For once, I let my anger get the better of me. I slammed into Beatrice and send us both flying through the window. The two of us exchanged blow after blow, me in anger and her in sadistic pleasure.

A blast of magic from Beatrice's hand separated us. Magical burns bit into my chest, and it was smoking a little. She charged up the black, marble-like balls and fired them at me. One screeched past my head, exploding with devastating force behind me.

I closed the distance before Beatrice sent the next, grabbed her hand, and forced it into the sky. Another explosion rocked the city, this one shattering whatever few windows were left on already destroyed skyscrapers.

"It's Beatrice and Saeko!"

"They're fighting?"

"Get them anyway!"

Our fighting drew the attention of succubi in the city. They flew with magic prepared in one hand and weapons in the other.

Beatrice whirled around and snarled, "Sit the fuck down! I'll get to you once I'm done with Saeko!"

"Any closer, and I'm charming all of you to the bottom of the ocean!" I shouted, not in any mood to fool around.

They grinded to a halt. Our auras were like needles on a cactus. Their demeanors were riddled with fear.

"As… As you wish…" One of them backed down, and the rest followed suit in cowering away from our fight.

I torpedoed myself at Beatrice until the others grabbed me from behind. They put all their strength into it, and even then, the three of them struggled. Shayle put me in a headlock, Hana pulled on my tail, and Layla tugged on my right arm.

Across from us, Beatrice erupted into knee-slapping laughter. She had no care in the world, completely different from the one I knew. Why did I think there was any overlap to begin with? This Beatrice never went through losing her life or the chance to ever see Mio again. She never experienced all my emotions and thoughts when we shared a single body.

"Look at you. You're older than the Saeko I know, yet still so weak. I had to teach you how to fly, to properly cast magic, and to even conceal your aura. Without me, you would have been nothing but a tiny buzzing gnat. You still are!" Beatrice taunted.

"It's not worth it, Saeko! We'll find and fix the temporal anomaly on our own. We never needed Beatrice's help to begin with!" Shayle exclaimed in a desperate attempt to get through to me.

Something pricked the back of my brain. It felt like a tickle. The others experienced the same sensation as we traded looks between each other. Instincts told us it was Gerdell. At a time like this? Space distorted briefly. I blinked incredulously, wondering if my eyes were seeing things.

Saeko, Shayle, Hana, Layla, it's about to get very hairy. I'm pulling you four out now!

Gerdell!

"No, wait. I can still fix it. Trust me!" I muttered.

I don't think you understand…

We did a split second later. Even Beatrice spun around. Two greater succubi auras approached us from the city, one of which was much stronger than the other. I knew who it was. Everyone did. I couldn't mistake her aura for anyone else.

Selene. But the crimson succubus wasn't the one that petrified me. Hatsumi joined her, dressed in a wispy black robe that suited a queen. She was without a crown. Instead, she wielded an all too familiar weapon with a dark purple sheen to it. The Blade of the First Temptress.

Every lesser succubus bowed low. However, nothing and no one registered to Hatsumi. Her gaze was focused solely on me. Love, longing, obsession… all these toxic and affectionate emotions conveyed through her eyes alone. I felt it all. 

"Saeko." Hatsumi smiled. "I've missed you so much."

Some art commission from https://x.com/Sambalteracy

Maybe you might recognize this scene (although adapted a little differently) from VERY early on in the series?