Kurose Akira narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sharp as an eagle's as he scanned the surroundings with heightened alertness. He had clearly sensed the presence of another monster just moments ago—yet in the blink of an eye, that presence had vanished without a trace.
"Mr. Akira, is something wrong?" Ivsha asked with concern.
Akira shook his head lightly. "It's nothing. Probably just my imagination."
He turned around and noticed that Loserine, too, showed no reaction. After a brief moment of thought, he concluded that perhaps he really had been overthinking it.
His gaze returned to the succubus's corpse.
She was unquestionably dead.
Loserine had already raised a torch, preparing to burn the body to ashes.
Leaving a demon's corpse behind was never a good idea—if a necromancer got their hands on it, it would become an enormous headache.
"Wait."
As he spoke, Akira drew a sharp dagger from his side. He firmly grasped the succubus's distinctive heart-shaped tail, then brought the blade down in a clean, decisive motion, slicing it off.
This wasn't for collection or as some grotesque keepsake.
It was a message—for Idis.
A warning that her kin were actively hunting her, driven by vengeance. And just this small piece of tail should be more than enough for Idis to identify who had come for her.
"Is every succubus's heart-shaped tail unique…?"
Akira murmured to himself as he examined the severed tail carefully. Its shape and patterns were intricate and complex, like a snowflake—entirely different from Ivsha's. It seemed no two succubi shared the same tail.
As his thoughts settled, Loserine finished incinerating the succubus's body, reducing it completely to ash.
She then used magic to notify the nearby law-enforcement knights, reporting everything that had happened here.
"We should go."
Once everything was dealt with, Akira activated the teleportation circle. In a flash of light, their figures vanished from the scene.
"Phew~ good thing my apostle can block detection. Otherwise, I would've been discovered!"
From the shadows, the dark-purple bat fluttered out, staring at Sana's still-burning remains and cursing bitterly.
"That idiot Sana—killed by humans of all things! Completely unreliable! Luckily, she wasn't the only one who escaped the Abyss. This time, we absolutely must—"
"Oh? Must what, exactly?"
Before the bat could finish, a dazzling crimson figure stepped lightly atop drifting rose petals, appearing behind it like a specter.
"Eek—! Idis!"
The moment the bat laid eyes on her, sheer terror overtook it. It flapped its wings frantically, trying to flee this deadly place.
But Idis merely curled her finger ever so slightly.
A strand of crimson magic sprang to life, instantly forming a shackle that bound the bat tightly in midair.
"Ah! It's over—this is really over!"
The purple bat struggled in despair, but it was utterly futile.
Idis walked up to it with unhurried steps, her voice calm to the point of indifference.
"So it was Mary. I do remember your apostle, at least."
"Damn you, Idis! Even if you catch my apostle, it won't matter! Our kin have already escaped the Abyss with Lord Lankai's help! Our revenge against you has only just begun!"
Mary screamed hysterically.
"Oh? Is that so?"Idis smiled softly.
"But it seems my purge back then wasn't thorough enough."
In the next instant, an eerie red light flashed through her eyes.
Suddenly—
The purple bat froze in midair, as if time itself had been halted.
"W-what did you do to me?! Why can't I move?! How can you affect me, all the way from the Abyss?!"
Mary's voice trembled with terror and disbelief.
She couldn't comprehend it—how Idis possessed the power to threaten someone so far away, even across planes.
"Twenty years ago, I could already face the entire succubus race alone,"Idis said lightly, as though stating an obvious fact."Do you really think my strength would stagnate after twenty years?"
"No… impossible! That's impossible! Y-you—you—!"
Mary's voice collapsed into panic and despair. She knew—there was no way she could stand against power like this.
And then, a horrifying realization struck her.
To cast magic across thousands of kilometers—no, across planes—
That was the realm of a Demon King.
But—
The succubus race hadn't produced a Demon King–level existence for over a thousand years.
Yet Idis…
Mary's heart sank into absolute despair. She realized she might never escape from the palm of Idis's hand.
"I was wrong! I was truly wrong!"
Mary began to tremble violently.
"Lady Idis! Please forgive my ignorance and offense! I should never have opposed you! I beg you—please, for the sake of the hundreds of unawakened young succubi still in the Abyss, spare my life! I'm the only adult succubus left there! Even though I'm not fully awakened either—if I die, those young ones won't survive!"
She pleaded desperately.
Idis's eyes flickered with amusement.
"Oh? So you're saying that only a group of unawakened young succubi remain in the Abyss now?"
"Y-yes… When the clan heard they could leave the Abyss, they fled without hesitation, eager to hunt you down for revenge. I was left behind because I was weak… to guard the homeland…"
Mary confessed everything without holding anything back.
Idis fell silent for a moment, deep in thought—clearly forming a new plan.
"I'll spare you for now," she said calmly."You are to remain in the Abyss and take proper care of those young succubi. They still have their uses to me."
"Yes… Lady Idis," Mary replied respectfully.
As the words fell, Idis released the magical restraints on Mary's apostle.
"Run!"
Mary beat her wings frantically and fled the area at once.
Once Mary was gone, a mysterious light shimmered in Idis's eyes. Crimson magic slowly seeped out from her body.
"Let me see~" she murmured softly."My foolish kin who escaped the Abyss~"
A cold killing intent flashed across her face.
"Where exactly are you hiding…?"
Meanwhile, Akira had successfully returned to the guild.
The moment he stepped inside, the first thing he did was submit the completed mission.
[Special Quest: From the Abyss! (Completed)][You have obtained one free trait refresh.][Congratulations on completing the special quest!][You have obtained an Adventurer Recruitment Scroll (Blue).][Your Player Evaluation has been upgraded to D-rank!][You have obtained an Adventurer Recruitment Scroll (Green).][Congratulations on advancing to D-rank Player Evaluation! You have gained one Player Trait!][All Attributes +50!]
"All attributes… plus fifty?!"
As shock washed over him, Akira felt his power surge violently through his body.
It was the kind of strength that made him feel like he could punch a cow to death in a single blow.
With a thought, he immediately opened his status panel to inspect the changes.
[Su Xuan]Rank: D EvaluationRace: HumanStrength: 120Agility: 120Magic: 140Constitution: 120Growth: UnknownSkills: (Expand)Traits:[Dragon Knight][Sunny and Cheerful][Mother-in-Law Slayer][Succubus Constitution]
[Please choose one of the following traits:][Hoodlum][Barber][Super Fan]
"?"
Akira frowned deeply as he examined the trait options.
He couldn't refresh again—he had to choose one from these three.
"Super Fan…"
He murmured the words quietly.
After careful consideration, Akira ultimately chose [Super Fan]. He was counting on the word super to deliver some kind of unexpected surprise.
[Your choice is—Super Fan!][Super Fan: Obtain a growable exclusive weapon. The more guild members you have, the higher the weapon's tier!]
"Oh~?"
Akira raised an eyebrow, pleasantly surprised.
He hadn't expected the trait he picked to be so… normal.
Alright then.
Let's take a look at my exclusive weapon.
With a thought, the weapon materialized in his hand.
But the moment it appeared, Akira's brows knitted tightly together, confusion washing over him.
[Thunderfire Staff (Unknown)]A unique blunt weapon capable of releasing both flame and lightning.As an exclusive weapon, it can only be used by you (Su Xuan).Current bonus effect: Thunderfire damage +100% (Members: 5)
"…Huh?"
Akira stared at the Thunderfire Staff in his hand, momentarily stunned.
His exclusive weapon was… certainly unique.
About one meter in length, the staff was engraved with intricate, beautiful patterns. It felt smooth and comfortable to grip—nothing strange about it at all. A perfectly legitimate weapon.
Beyond that, he could clearly feel the lightning and fire power contained within it—potent and dangerous.
"Not bad at all~"
Akira nodded in satisfaction, then shifted his gaze to the blue and green recruitment scrolls resting on the guild counter.
This—this was the real highlight of his promotion to D-rank.
The moment he picked up the green recruitment scroll, a prompt appeared before his eyes.
[Would you like to consume one recruitment scroll to grant two Authorities to the [Saintess] trait, and additionally add one personality?][Note: When the number of personalities exceeds two, Saintess recruitment will consume no recruitment scrolls!]
Recruitment without consuming a scroll?
"Yes."
Without hesitation, Akira added a second personality to the [Saintess] trait.
[Recruitment Scroll (Green) -1][Please choose two of the following six Authorities:]Stingy · Short-Tempered · Cold · Reclusive · Lustful · Shameless
"…How am I supposed to choose?"
Akira fell into deep thought as he stared at the list.
Why were all six authorities negative emotional traits?