Tenebrous Wolf
Chapter 71: Mythic Arts Of A Succubus

Chapter 71: Mythic Arts Of A Succubus

The next day, Briar woke up feeling sore from head to toe. Her body ached with the unmistakable exhaustion of someone who had fought relentlessly through the night.

...Well, that was precisely what had happened.

Lying outside the small cave-like shelter, the demoness rested on her back, gazing up at the dull gray sky above with vacant, dull eyes. Her once-intact clothing was now nothing more than tattered remnants. Only her thigh-high black stockings and knee-high brown boots with crisscross laces remained intact. Aside from those, she was practically naked.

What could have put her in such a miserable state? Her memory was foggy at first until turned her head.

Beside her, a massive humanoid silhouette lay collapsed on the ground, motionless. Even at a glance, its appearance was unsettling. Towering at least eight feet tall, its very muscular frame was covered in a thick black coat, with a prominent mane of wild hair surrounding its neck and head. Its face resembled that of a monstrous bird, with a large, curved beak pointing downward and a pair of crimson eyes gleaming from its skull.

Certainly, it was a strange and terrifying creature. Even more horrifying was the fact that, despite spending the entire night draining its life energy, the abominations still wasn’t dead.

...At least, not yet.

’What kind of stupid monster is this? It just came and attacked me out of nowhere. Ugh... I don’t want to think about it.’

More specifically, she didn’t want to recall about the events of last night. The method she used to defeat the abomination was rather questionable.

Gathering every remaining ounce of strength within her battered body, she pushed herself up from the ground, her limbs trembling and unsteady. Swaying slightly, she forced herself to remain upright, taking a few moments to regain her balance. Then, gritting her teeth, she stepped forward slowly, until she reached the fallen abomination.

Without delay, she lifted her hand, biting down on her thumb until a small cut opened. A single drop of pinkish blood welled up before she let it fall into the creature’s open beak.

A few seconds later, the creature twitched and convulsed violently as if it was having a seizure. This was due to the effects of her succubus blood forcefully invading and rewiring its mind. But the process would vary depending on the strength of the target in question.

’I wonder how Klaus’s condition is right now.’

Thinking so, Briar ignored the still-trembling humanoid creature and entered the small cave-like structure. She approached the unconscious Klaus and peeled away the top of his ruined bodysuit.

Scanning his body, her eyes widened when she saw that all the blackened bruises and injuries from his battle with the Awakened Tyrant had already healed.

She rubbed her eyes to make sure it wasn’t an illusion. Naturally, those gruesome injuries did not reappear.

It was strange. Briar had been transferring the life essence she absorbed from the Sunless Void into his body to prevent him from dying, but that shouldn’t have been enough for him to recover this quickly.

Was this the effect of an ability she wasn’t aware of? More importantly, something about his recovery seemed oddly familiar. Or was it just her imagination?

’...Isn’t this the regeneration of demons? No, that can’t be right. It’s probably a unique effect of his Mysticism Ability. Thinking about it, I know nothing about his abilities. Tch. This jerk...’

Just like that, her resentment toward Klaus randomly increased. She wouldn’t have worried so much if she’d known he could recover on his own. Well, at the very least, now she knew his life wasn’t in immediate danger anymore.

Briar sighed.

Inadvertently, the demoness noticed something odd about Klaus’s body. His lean, muscular frame had... diminished. More than that, his skin had paled considerably, giving him the appearance of someone sickly and frail.

She hadn’t realized it at first due to the bodysuit, but now that his chest was exposed, the full extent of his condition became clear.

’What’s going on? Why did he suddenly turn like this?’

Then,

’Ah, perhaps this is the side effect of his ability.’

Reaching that conclusion, the succubus let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t unusual for abilities to have drawbacks — defects, really. In his case, his recovery ability seemed to consume his body’s energy reserves. Simply put, the unknown ability must have burned through calories within his body at an accelerated rate to fuel rapid regeneration.

She recalled reading about something similar on her Mini Pad’s online browser. Of course, she didn’t use the device just to watch funny videos online.

Once again, the demoness released another sigh. This time, it sounded more tired. She really missed her Mini pad and conformable bed.

Just before Briar could start reminiscing about the wonders and miracles of Humanity, she suddenly heard a ’ding’ accompanied by a message from Chao within.

[You have successfully tamed the Awakened Ghoul – Blackmane Stalker.]

’It’s about time. Wait... It’s an Awakened Hollow!’

Briar’s eyes widened.

Come to think of it, the message from the chaos runes wasn’t all that strange. Shadow Creatures weren’t omnipotent or all-powerful. Most Hollows could endure prolonged fights, especially Shrouded Hollows. But it was a different story for Awakened Hollows, Corrupted Hollows, and Calamities.

It was no wonder it had taken her the entire night to drain the creature of its precious energy.

Shaking away that thought, the demoness glanced at the sleeping Klaus and made a decision.

She needed to find food. And looking at his condition, it seemed she needed to find lots of it too.

However, there was one problem. Where exactly was she supposed to find food in an empty Shadow Realm? Naturally, she had to hunt monsters.

It would be nearly impossible to watch over Klaus while doing so. Besides, even if she managed to take down a few Hollows on her own, there was no way she could carry them all the way back, given her lack of physical strength.

Fortunately, the solution to that problem had appeared right on her doorstep, both literally and metaphorically.

Stepping outside, she was immediately met with the sight of the tamed humanoid creature — the Blackmane Stalker — standing still. Its crimson, predatory gaze had been replaced by a soft pink hue. Without a doubt, it had been tamed by her demon blood.

Seeing such a satisfying sight, a wide smile crept onto Briar’s lips. Why wouldn’t she smile?

After all, an Awakened Hollow had willingly presented itself before her. And as a good succubus, she was going to work it to the bone!

"Alright, you useless honk. For your first mission, you’re going to hunt some Shadow Creatures and bring them back here. Do you hear me? Now go and be on your way. Also, don’t get yourself killed. Understood?"

Hearing the command, the Stalker nodded before obediently moving to the edges of the structure, then proceeded to climb down.

She wondered if sending it alone was a good idea. There was no need to worry about range. Once a target had swallowed her demon blood and have their minds overwritten by her corrosion, they remained under her control permanently until death. Actually, what concerned her more was the possibility of the creature getting taken out by another monstrosity. And if that happened, she would be down an Awakened Ghoul.

Even so, protecting Klaus and overseeing his recovery took priority for now. In the end, the demoness remained on the structure with Klaus and waited for her servant’s return.

Half an hour later, the Stalker returned, climbing back up while carrying a huge carcass about two and a half metres on its back.

Briar narrowed her eyes as she took in the sight of the slain Hollow.

The crab-like creature’s chitinous exoskeleton had been cracked open in several places, revealing dark, oozing flesh beneath. One of its massive pincers was missing, while the other hung limp, nearly severed from the main body. Judging from the deep claw marks and crushed limbs, it was clear that the Blackmane Stalker had torn the creature apart with brute strength alone.

Well, this wasn’t too impressive. The slain Hollow was a common Shrouded Fiend — Chitinous Scavenger.

The demoness approached the carcass, pressing her foot against its shell before glancing at the Stalker.

"Did you eat any part of it?"

The creature tilted its head slightly, then shook it in response.

"Good," Briar muttered, relieved.

She didn’t want to take any risks with contaminated meat. Though Hollows were already tainted entities, some were more dangerous to consume than others. If this one had been Corrupted or a Calamity, its essence could have been lethal to anything lower in rank.

But she didn’t have the luxury to be picky. Klaus needed food, and so did she.

With a sigh, she placed a hand on the Scavenger’s carcass and began the process of draining its remaining life essence. A faint pink mist seeped from its wounds, swirling around her fingertips before being absorbed into her body. As the energy entered her system, a familiar warmth spread through her limbs, alleviating some of her exhaustion.

’Still not enough... but it’ll do for now.’

Once she was finished, she stepped back and dusted off her hands.

"Alright. Time to butcher this thing."

The Blackmane Stalker stood motionless, awaiting further instructions.

Briar sighed.

"You. Help me cut this up."

The creature immediately moved forward and stretched its long, clawed fingers. With surprising precision, it began tearing through the thick carapace, peeling away the hardened shell piece by piece. Briar took out a small dagger she had pulled from Klaus’s backpack earlier and began slicing through the softer flesh underneath, separating the usable meat from the inedible parts.

The process was tedious, but soon, they had enough.

Briar wiped the sweat from her brow and then, her stomach growled in protest.

"Alright, that should be enough for now." She shot a glance at the Stalker. "Go gather some dry wood or anything that can burn. I’m not eating this raw."

The creature obediently turned and leapt down once more, vanishing into the world below.

Briar exhaled and turned her gaze toward the cave-like shelter. Klaus was still unconscious, his breathing steady but faint. His condition hadn’t worsened, but it hadn’t improved either.

She clicked her tongue.

"Guess I’ll have to feed you too, huh?"

It wasn’t out of kindness. It was a necessity. If he died, she’d be stranded in this damn place alone, and that was a situation she wasn’t willing to deal with.

... At least, that was what she kept telling herself over and over.

Sighing, Briar sat down and waited for the Stalker’s return. This time, it returned much quicker than before.

The Blackmane Stalker returned, carrying a bundle of dry, brittle wood in its long, clawed arms. Briar’s eyes flicked over the pile, assessing the quality. It wasn’t much, but it would do.

She took a deep breath and exhaled, rubbing her aching temples.

"Alright, let’s get started."

With that, she arranged the wood into a makeshift fire pit just outside the shelter, placing a few smaller twigs at the base. Then, with a snap of her fingers, a tiny flicker of pinkish flame materialized at her fingertips. It wasn’t much, just a basic fire-starting demonic arts she’d picked up over the years.

The dry wood caught almost immediately, crackling softly as the flames spread. Satisfied, Briar sat back, rolling her sore shoulders, then glanced at the Blackmane Stalker.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get cooking."

The Stalker hesitated for a moment, as if confused by the command. Then, without a word, it crouched down and began skewering chunks of the carved Scavenger meat onto sharpened sticks, holding them over the fire.

Briar narrowed her eyes.

’Huh. Guess it’s smart enough to understand that much.’

The sight amused her. This was an Awakened Ghoul, one of the more dangerous kinds of Hollows, and here it was, obediently roasting meat like some overgrown camp servant.

Only a member of the demon race could make such an absurd scene possible.