Is It Strange For A Succubus To Be Wearing Clothes?

Chapter 50

—–CROW—– 

Succubus Queen Sitra.

Korean name: Lee Mi-yeon.

Not quite the ruler of the [Beetle Nest], but the owner of the Karklashton Auction House, a major power in the underworld.

The auction house dealt in all sorts of contraband: smuggled goods, illegal weapons, cursed artifacts, even otherworldly creatures and slaves.  This gave Sitra wealth that dwarfed even major corporations, and her status as Succubus Queen granted her an extensive network of connections.

Her influence extended beyond politicians and business tycoons, reaching into the entertainment industry, holding sway over idols, actors, and celebrities.  Even within Hunter circles, Sitra was recognized as the head of the Succubus faction, a figure to be reckoned with.

She was the queen of the underworld, a formidable power broker in the shadows of the Korean government and Hunter society.

And today, Sitra had acquired some intriguing information.

“So, you’re saying Lee Jae-hee is the… Succubus Empress?”

—That’s right.  Even as a senior member of the opposition party, it was a real pain to track her down.  The National Intelligence Service kept her hidden so tight.  But!  I pulled some strings for you, Mi-yeon.  This information is classified, you understand?

“Ahahaha. Thank you, Assemblyman.  I won’t forget this favor.”

—Of course, of course.  You’re not just a pretty face, Mi-yeon.  I helped you out because I appreciate your kind heart and your concern for me.

Sitra felt no gratitude whatsoever towards the Assemblyman, but she recognized the value of the information he provided.

—By the way, some psychometrist or mental synchronizer or whatever read this record and said it shouldn’t be shown to Awakened below C-rank… I don’t really understand what that means.

“Is that so?  Did they say anything else?”

—They said the synchronizer who recorded it was so immersed in the subject that it felt like being forced into a first-person novel. I read it myself, but I didn’t feel anything strange.  The subject’s just a flower, so I don’t see how anyone could…

*‘It’s probably a mental synchronization that only affects Awakened with mana.’*

A mental synchronizer and a psychometrist…  This record likely contained some form of mental or memetic contamination, forcibly aligning the reader’s mind with the subject’s.

The record itself wasn’t contaminated.

*‘It probably means that Lee Jae-hee’s mind and memories are incomprehensible to ordinary people.’*

Fortunately, Mi-yeon was the Succubus Queen.  It had been over a decade since her Hunter rank was assessed, but even as a rookie, she was considered a high-ranking Awakened.  By now, she had far surpassed S-rank.  A simple synchronized record wouldn’t affect her.

—I live for your compliments, Mi-yeon~  So, how about we meet up?  I’ve reserved a nice spot at Seokchon Lake…

“Ah, unfortunately, I have a full schedule for the next two weeks after reviewing this information.  I’ll contact you when I’m free.”

—Oh?  Ah, okay…

Sitra hung up, ignoring the Assemblyman’s disappointed tone.

*‘He didn’t just want to meet up, he wanted to get in my pants.’*  Under normal circumstances, she might have indulged him for the sake of maintaining connections, but she had no expectation that a foolish politician who leaked classified information from the NIS would live much longer.

“The next hearing is in about a month, right?”

By then, the Assemblyman would likely disappear without a trace.

“Sever all ties with Assemblyman Kim Seok-hyun.  He won’t be around by the next hearing.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Without hesitation, Sitra blocked the Assemblyman’s number and ordered all connections to him severed.  The man in the black suit driving the car nodded silently.

“Now then… let’s synchronize.”

It looked like a small flower, but it was a memory cell, a living, pulsating brain cell.  Creating this single cell likely required the sacrifice of numerous psychics.  More precisely, it was created by extracting brain cells from mental synchronizers, psychometrists, and other psychic Awakened, allowing for vivid access to memories of specific events and locations.

“Pull over somewhere discreet. Check the surroundings.  And call me if anything happens.”

“Yes, Sitra-nim.”

Sitra placed the flower in the center of her forehead.

With a soft *thud*, her brain cells connected with the flower.

Brain cells connected, minds intertwined.

I become you.

You become me.

Who am I?

Where am I?

Ah, yes.

Connecting.

Remembering.

I am…

The Succubus Empress.

I am Lee Jae-hee.

★

★

★

The Succubus Empress returned to Earth on December 18, 2028.

Coincidentally, this was before the first Rift.

The first Rift occurred in early March 2030, so Jae-hee’s return predated it.

In short, in 2028, there were no dungeons, no Gates, no floods, no waves, no monsters, no Awakened.

Mana hadn’t awakened yet, and the world remained untouched by the coming changes. It was an era of ignorance.

Then, a massive Rift suddenly opened in the heart of Seoul.

During the festive year-end season, as people enjoyed their peaceful daily lives, a giant dimensional tear appeared in Jongno, Seoul.  Chaos ensued.

It drew the attention of reporters, media, and citizens, but the government and military quickly imposed a media blackout and cordoned off the area.

Soldiers, government officials, and researchers in white hazmat suits moved in and out of the restricted zone.

Citizens complained about the traffic congestion and inconvenience caused by the lockdown.

The media, initially intrigued by the giant Rift, eventually lost interest as the government downplayed and suppressed information about the incident.

The news simply repeated, “Citizens, Seoul is safe! Please rest assured and carry on with your daily lives!”

Conspiracy theories arose, suggesting the ruling party and the government were manipulating the situation to avoid losing votes in the upcoming election, but that wasn’t important now.

Amidst all this, Succubus Empress Lee Jae-hee returned to Earth.

Her body reeked of blood.

The backlash from her return had stripped her of her powers and her immense life force.

“Ah…”

Sitra felt the exhaustion, the complete loss of life force, the hellish hunger and weakness.

The hunger Jae-hee felt… wasn’t of this world.

What had happened to drain her of so much life force?

How could the first Returnee be in such a pitiful state?

Yet, even in this state, she was beautiful.

Her frail collapse, the government soldiers aiming their guns at her… even that was beautiful.

Under normal circumstances, the Empress could have lived for centuries without consuming any life force, but the aftereffects of her return had left her drained, collapsing unconscious in the middle of Seoul.

For a Succubus, hunger was far more than just an empty stomach; it was a visceral need that threatened her very existence.  The massive loss of life force during her return was enough to render the Succubus Empress unconscious.

Of course, the humans of Earth knew nothing of this.

Sitra’s synchronized mind began to fray.

*Who am I?*

*I am Lee Jae-hee.*

*The Succubus Empress.*

*A beautiful being.*

*A beautiful being.*

*I… I…*

*‘Ugh, snap out of it.’*

Sitra regained control, and a new scene unfolded before her.

The government had quarantined the Succubus Empress, confining her to a dark, windowless laboratory.  She was kept unconscious with heavy sedatives and anesthetics.

They studied her, calling the energy and life force emanating from her body “new energy.”  The government, eager for any opportunity to boost its approval rating, saw her as a research subject.

They were also interested in the dimensional Rift she emerged from, but a living being, even a Succubus Empress, was a much easier research subject than an unknown, otherworldly phenomenon.

And so, the Succubus Empress…

Lee Jae-hee was confined and experimented on for over a year.

Even in her unconscious state, Jae-hee was aware of this, but she remained indifferent.

*‘Indifferent?’*  If it were Sitra, she would have cursed the entire country, the entire government, and unleashed a massacre.

Countless memories, not her own, yet feeling like her own, flashed through her mind.  Blood being drawn, fingers severed one by one, limbs torn off, her body mutilated to test her regenerative abilities…

*How dare they do this to such a beautiful being…?*

Horrific images flashed before her, yet Jae-hee’s anger remained surprisingly subdued.  She felt frustration and annoyance, but not the raging fury Sitra would have felt.

She simply waited, believing that eventually, her life force would return, allowing her to move and awaken.

The researchers’ constant draining of her life force to fuel their experiments was irritating, but her regeneration was accelerating.  One day, she would awaken.

They fed her the extracted life force and essence of healthy humans, like feed for an animal, to sustain her for their research.  Even that, she accepted.

Objectively, it was inhumane, monstrous experimentation, but to her, it was nothing new.  She had lived too long, experienced too much, to be bothered by a few holes in her body.

Unable to move, lacking the energy to do anything, she waited patiently, like a creature in hibernation.

Then, in 2030, the first Great Rift occurred.

The sky tore open, the sea churned, the earth quaked.

Giant monsters emerged from the fractured world, crushing, destroying, and trampling modern civilization.  Swarms of insects devoured people.

Chaos reigned.  Innocent and not-so-innocent people died.

And in the surge and ebb of that life force, Lee Jae-hee awakened.

—*I thought it would take at least another ten years.*

Nothing could stop her now.

There was resistance, of course.  Orders to contain the valuable test subject, to sedate her, to call in the military and execute her.

But none of it mattered.

The Succubus Empress, fueled by the immense surge of life force, by the tragedy of the monsters rampaging outside and the deaths of countless innocents, simply walked out of the laboratory, still clad in her white lab coat.

The reinforced doors couldn’t hold her.  The soldiers’ bullets couldn’t pierce her.

*Consider yourselves lucky.  If I were at full strength, the mere sight of me would have you on your knees, begging to sell your souls.*

The soldiers’ guns and batons were meaningless against her.  The Empress wouldn’t be harmed or hindered by mere human strength.

*Stay back.  Even in this weakened state, touching me directly would be… unpleasant.*

Her voice, a soft whisper, a haunting melody, made the soldiers instinctively recoil.  Was it their own will, or were they already charmed?

Leaving the terrified, awestruck soldiers and researchers behind, she headed towards the source of the immense life force: the monsters.

*How delicious.*

*How sweet.*

*My first meal in so long.*

*I still consider myself human, so eating people is… distasteful.  But you… I can feast on you without reservation.*

And then…

…

…

Images flashed through her mind.

Monsters screaming.

People screaming.

Screams.

Beautiful.

Beautiful screams.

Images.

Countless images flashed by, too horrific and too beautiful for Sitra to comprehend.

How long did it last?

The monsters that trampled people and crushed buildings like toys crumbled into dust.  The kilometer-long behemoth collapsed, a withered husk of bone and sinew.

Standing atop its head, wings spread wide, was the Empress, her face vibrant and alive.

And so, the Succubus Empress Lee Jae-hee’s new life on Earth…

…began, a little later than planned.

Her existence became a blend of hero and urban legend, of demon and monster.  The government recognized her as a walking embodiment of their failures, a symbol of the new era – hero, monster, demon, weakness, all rolled into one.

They tried to erase her, to silence her.

By any means necessary.

And in return…

“Fuha…!”

“Are you alright?”

Sitra opened her eyes, back in the car.  Her bodyguard and driver looked at her with concern, a syringe filled with Awakened-grade tranquilizer in his hand.  While it wouldn’t knock out an Awakened, it served as a potent sedative in emergencies.

“…I’m fine. Put the syringe away.”

“But…”

“I said I’m fine.”

Sitra pulled the flower from her forehead. The wound healed instantly, thanks to her potent life force.

“…Haaa… I just witnessed something incredible.”

“Ma’am?”

“Never mind. Drive.”

“…Yes, ma’am.”

Sitra leaned her head against the window, replaying the lingering memories.

*‘So, the reason the previous corrupt government suddenly disappeared was because of this woman, Lee Jae-hee…’*

Yes, there was no way they could force their ugliness upon such a beautiful being and escape the consequences…

*‘She’s far more powerful than I imagined.’*

—–CROW—– 

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