Blade Over Magic

Bound

Xander still had a few questions even as he considered what to do with the Succubus in front of him.

"You said this was your first mission? But how exactly were you able to infiltrate this place?" This was another thing that bothered him. The only things he’d seen capable of evading the perception of Archmage Irene were other Archmage level interventions. Be it Finn’s runes or Mia’s influence.

So the fact that a supposed ’rookie’ Succubus was able to get in was definitely a bit concerning?

Hearing this, Mira scoffed and puffed out her bountiful chest with some pride.

"I may be a rookie, but I’m not your average Succubus. I have abilities most people wouldn’t even be able to grasp fully." She said proudly, and Xander just gave her a flat stare.

Seeing his unimpressed stare, Mira clicked her tongue and looked away.

"Tch fine." She huffed. "Succubi and Incubi have magic and abilities is numerous domains related to manipulation or the mind. Among them, the main ones are charm, dreams, and illusions. I am pretty good at the first and third, but my ability in relation to dreams are—as my superiors put it—unprecedented at my current level." She smirked. "It’s how I was able to enter your soul space. Dreams reflect one’s subconscious, and the subconscious is the lower most layer connected to the soul." She dropped her hands from her knees and placed them on the grass behind her, using it to keep her balance as she leaned back.

"I simply used the dreams of one of the invitees to hide inside their soul, among the folds of their memories and desires. Archmages may be powerful, but said power causes them to leave behind blindspots. After all, even if someone intruded, it wouldn’t be a problem since the moment they make a mistake and reveal themselves, they can just get smited. So the initial entry scans, while more advanced than most detection magic, is still only superficial. Superficial enough for me to slip through undetected. It’s why I was given this mission in the first place." Mira explained casually, and Xander rubbed his chin.

’That’s... actually pretty insidious.’ He thought as two things entered his mind.

First was the implications of such an ability. There truly were a vast array of abilities out there as of the many things one thought to look out for when looking for an intruder, how likely was it that they would think to look into one’s dreams to peer into their soul? Xander imagined that were it not for his Garden of Myriad Paths, he might have been unable to resist Mira’s influence. Granted, the grave of swords—the Garden’s natal form—had always been present, so resisting might have been possible.

As for the second thing...

’Princess Felicia said that my presence in Tatonia acts like an existential razor in the tapestry of fate, and anyone who comes into contact with me has their fate altered or broken. This Mira... is she one such person? Did Samuel anticipate that she would meet me, and her fate would change from what it was originally? Is that why he told me not to choose violence?’ He wondered.

On the surface, keeping Mira alive already served a few purposes. The first being information. Xander had no clue that ’Demon’ was simply an umbrella term, neither did he know that within hell were several factions, some of which were actually at odds with each other.

If he could somehow tie Mira down, she could act as an informant. Not just on her faction, but also other people within the Royal Palace who were actively beefing with him and his group. And he didn’t know the full extent of her abilities either. So from that alone, she was already pretty useful.

But...

’If it was just that, I don’t think Samuel would have personally emphasized letting her live. Perhaps... he believes that if I can help sever her fate like the others, and like the others, make her develop in a completely different direction than her fate originally intended, maybe she could be a useful asset in what was to come.’ He mused.

In that moment, unlike when he was with his friends, his thoughts towards Mira were purely logistical. Because even though he’d confirmed she had never killed anyone, and at the moment, both of them weren’t fighting, the fact was that she was still a demon. And even if she hadn’t killed anyone, who knew if the information she’d gotten back to her superiors would put anyone in Solvaren in jeopardy? After all, they were demons. Even if her faction wasn’t like the one that caused the Landor incident, they most definitely did not have Tatonia’s best interests in mind.

There’s also the fact that she tried to make him her thrall. Who knows what would have happened if she succeeded? Would his mind have been wiped away and his body would just be a controlled husk? Or would he have his mind intact, but locked behind her influence?

Sometimes, death wasn’t the worst fate one could endure.

So Xander wasn’t warm to her as things stood.

Still...

’Dreams huh... Maybe.’ As he mused, Mira seemed to gather up her courage and finally spoke.

"Uh, I don’t mind like... working for you, if that’s something that will keep me alive." She pressed her fingers together, looking sheepish. "I’m pretty sure those old things guessed I wouldn’t be able to deal with you. Chances are that they sent me here to probe you. If I succeeded in my task, good. If I failed, then their risk assessment of you would have been adjusted. In short, I’m just a pawn to them. So if you want my services... I won’t resist." Xander raised a brow at this. She was quite sharp, that’s for sure.

"... And how sure are you that I wouldn’t treat you the same way? Or even worse? As things stand, I don’t entirely care if you die. I could just tell you to do something that will for sure get you killed. That doesn’t sound much better than what you were already doing." Mira pursed her lips, then she folded her arms under her chest, making it look more pronounced.

"First of all, I don’t care how composed you are. I’m a Suc-cu-bus. Even if you’re gay, I still appeal to some part of your brain somewhere. Secondly, you will find out that I’m way more important and useful than you think. So if you get rid of me, you’ll end up regretting it in the long run. Third, the fact you didn’t kill me means that you at least have something you want to do with me. So at the very least, you don’t want me dead just yet." She gave a smile that would have made weaker men rabid, and Xander narrowed his eyes.

At the end of the day, there was some truth in her words.

If his guess was correct, and the reason Samuel nudged him to keep her alive was so he could make her develop in a way that made her far more useful during the upcoming storm, then killing her would truly be a waste if that was correct.

He thought about how his friends had developed and how they had become powerhouses in their own right. If he could somehow get Mira to become even more adept in her usage in something as esoteric as dreams, their options would expand significantly.

In short, Xander wouldn’t kill her. Not unless she gave him a reason to. That said...

He still needed an assurance.

’For all I know, as soon as we leave this place, she’s gonna hop into someone’s dreams and vanish. Though I doubt Mia or Keir would let that happen. So...’ He looked at her.

"Stand up." He commanded, and Mira blinked before slowly standing up with a wary look in her eyes.

"What are you—" Xander moved before she could react.

A sword was taken from one of its flowers, and faster than she could register, Xander had plunged it deep into her stomach.

Her eyes went wide as she gasped, her body tensing as she subconsciously prepared for the pain, inwardly cursing Xander.

But then... the pain never came.

She looked down, and she saw that where Xander had ’stabbed’ her, there was no wound. Rather, just above her belly button, something resembling a sword gash could be seen, but it was faint and could easily be mistaken for a birth mark.

"If you attempt to betray or harm me in any way, whether directly or indirectly, that sword will sever your soul before you can even attempt the action." He explained cooly.

He’d thought about how he could actually bind down Mira. He’d first considered entering a contract with her. After all, demons were all about contracts regardless of subspecies, but he thought of another application of the Swords of Myriad Paths.

By taking one of his swords and entrenching it within this soul of hers, he used the Myriad Paths to tie it to said soul. And just like how when he killed the ants, he extending his targets to its very existence, here, he ensured that the sword was aimed directly at the most vulnerable part of her soul.

So the moment she attempted to do anything unfavorable against them, it would destroy her soul.

Mira gulped.

"Y-You could have just entered a contract with me, you know?" She muttered, but Xander just ignored her.

Instead, he stopped his act of severing Mira’s connection with her body, allowing her to leave.

"Return to your body. I’ll relay your existence to my teammates." He said.

Then he woke up.

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