Some retaliation.

It was way too obvious that things were going smoothly.

3 days without encountering monsters? No further pursuit after all the ruckus in the city? No, just leaving us alone after we made a fool of them didn't make any sense. Of course, they would pursue us! It was naive to think that outside Rottheim was safe.

If we could survive here and normal adventurers could... This place might not have been the most dangerous. We lived the furthest away from the frontier!

In this one situation everything became clear.

Any danger, every danger... Vivi was blocking all of it.

"You at least got some of my race right. But I'm only a quarter of a succubus." Rumie said.

"You're filthy. Trying to use magic to seduce me." I locked the sickeningly sweet aroma of her spell away. The last way I would ever go would be to fall to her seduction.

"I mean, whatever gets me an advantage right?" She chuckled.

"Even if it means throwing a young girl into a pit of hungry wolves."

"Even if it means that, yes."

"You really are a monster."

"Oh, how much I hate your self-righteousness. It's a shame, if it wasn't for your personality, I would have kept you as my first man. With looks like those people might confuse you for an incubus."

Self-righteousness? What sort of bullshit is that. I just stopped something that was clearly screwed. It wasn't my opinion. Assaulting a helpless girl was objectively messed up. Becoming the man of someone who would think that something like that under any circumstance is alright-

"I would rather die." I got back up on my feet.

"That's the plan."

An emerald aura started surrounding her. I shouldn't wait for her attack.

"Hardening." I immediately hardened my hands again and with my newly improved agility dashed right at her. "Stop enchanting m-"

"Down." Inches away from her, all of a sudden my body fell and got stuck to the ground. It wasn't like there was a force doing that from the outside, but my body failed to comply. I was completely down stopped in my tracks. No way to get up. "You knew that I was a succubus but you still didn't know what I could do with my abilities? I can't tell if you're dumb or new to this."

I didn't know what a succubus' abilities were.

[ Affected by Skill (Mind Control - S) ]

"Damn it."

"Don't take it personally. I'm just here on a job and you happened to be getting in my way." She sighed.

DAMN IT ALL! I WAS SO CLOSE!

Right before the attack, I hardened my arm's exoskeleton to form a point. Without interference that arm would have slit her neck now. Even my trajectory was perfect.

Yet what failed me was a lack of experience.

Shit. Shit. SHIT!

[ Using (Regeneration - D) to Regenerate Mental Prowess. ]

The familiar voice rang in my head. My body got somewhat lighter. I checked by slightly moving my hand. It was tough but it worked. I could move ever so slightly.

[ Skill (Regeneration - D) exhausted. Please consume more blood. ]

The skill stopped and my body was left in an almost immovable state. How was I supposed to do anything in this state? My body felt like it was weighed down by a boulder.

No.

'That's just an excuse.' I told myself.

It was difficult. But this amount of freedom was enough for my counterattack. I just had to lift the mental boulder on top of me.

Hiding my intentions while working excruciatingly hard, I shoved my body up. Before she could react, I dug a punch right into the succubus' stomach just when I surmised that her body wasn't ready for it.

.

.

.

She didn't budge.

Her core was soft but she took no damage whatsoever.

"Wow. I didn't think that you would be able to break out of even this one. Colour me impressed!" She grabbed me by my chin and with her closed eyes and wide smile faced me. "But that little stunt of your's somehow hurt my feelings. It's only fair that I return what you did to me."

I got pulled up by my hair and punched right in my gut.

"!!"

There was a hole passing through me and a hand filling it. I got impaled.

[ Skill (Regeneration - D) exhausted. Please consume more blood. ]

I COULDN'T REGENERATE EITHER! This was very quickly drawing to an end.

'This bitch.'

I spat out the blood in my mouth right onto her face.

"EWWW! That's disgusting." She pulled her hand out and I fell back. Swallowed by excruciating pain and a broken spine. I couldn't stand up. Do I just eat her flesh? That would solve the issue of my regeneration and give me her powers... Right?

But could I bring myself to eat 3 quarters of a human? No, there was no guarantee that my teeth would pass through either. I needed another strategy.

"VIVI! GET BACK - MMPH!" I shouted but the succubus covered my mouth.

"Stop it! If she gets back I can't get the girl." Rumie complained. Well, her being unable to get the girl was the plan. "Add to that, the fact that I have you to deal with as well. You're making this really hard for me. D'ya know the first death I offered you wasn't bad? You would have dreamed about what you wanted most before going to eternal slumber."

I grabbed her face and tried to push it away but it seemed frozen in place.

"Such a brute." She casually slapped my hand away and then threw me back on the ground. "Oh well, you'll die even if I leave you alone. Let's just head on over to the girl."

A shot of fire cut the sky and the flames started circling around like a tornado- "I can't even pick some flowers in peace now."

Between the hole in my stomach and the burning flames, it felt like I was getting cooked alive.

"And you're not touching the girl." As the flames settled down a large red figure appeared.

"God damn it, flower boy. Look what you did. Wasted so much of my time." Rumie took a defensive pose for the first time.

Again, wasting her time was the plan. There was no way I would just roll over and die without doing anything. And there was no way Vivi wouldn't hear me shouting her name with her godly senses.

"Oh, god. What's wrong with your body?!" Vivi noticed me lying on the ground.

"Well whatever, I have a month to deal with you as per contract so let's just leave today as it is." Rumie's aura disappeared. "I'll see you soon." Instantly, her existence faded away like she wasn't even there.

What was going on?!

My senses only vaguely sensed her.

[ Affected by Skill (Mind Control - S) ]

DId she just create a fake reality?! What the-

"I'll chase after her!" Vivi got on her toes and got ready to take off. But I grabbed her foot. If she left to get Rumie at this very moment, I would undoubtedly die.

"No. Leaving to catch her right now won't do any good. Just get me some animal or monster from nearby."

"Why? I can still catch he-"

"Just do it!"