Succubus World - Start with Incubus System

The phone in Erik’s hand buzzed briefly, then quickly went quiet. He stood by the window at the end of the hospital corridor, one hand in his trouser pocket, the other holding the phone to his ear. Through the wide pane of glass, the morning sunlight spilled across the small garden nestled between the buildings.

A few Healers in white uniforms were pushing medicine carts along the stone path, and further off, patients sat chatting in the shade of the trees. The scene was so peaceful it hardly matched the contents of the call.

"Carmilla and Runi have been brought to the hospital." Meira’s voice came through, lower than usual. "Both suffered backlash from having their Contracts forcibly severed. Carmilla sustained additional injuries beforehand, but she’s past the critical stage now."

Erik frowned slightly. "They were thrown out?"

"Mm." Meira paused a beat, then recounted what she had just confirmed. Naron had broken the Contract with Carmilla, seized every asset registered under the family name, and then had his people throw her out of the estate. Runi had stepped in to protect Carmilla, so Nathan terminated his Contract with her right there on the spot.

Erik listened to the end, his expression barely changing. He had met Naron and Nathan and understood exactly what kind of people that father and son were. Given their temperaments, this outcome wasn’t surprising in the slightest.

"I understand."

He was about to hang up. Carmilla had lost her home, her company, and suffered severe backlash on top of it, which sounded pitiable enough, but Erik wasn’t in the habit of taking a woman in simply because he’d seen her struggling. Meira had a hospital, money, and manpower; if she wanted to help Carmilla, she was perfectly capable of arranging it.

But Meira seemed to read his thoughts.

"Erik, wait a moment. There’s something I want to ask of you."

"Hm?"

"Save Carmilla."

Erik paused slightly. "You already saved her."

"I’m talking about something else." Meira’s voice turned serious. She was standing outside the intensive care room, watching Carmilla through the glass as she lay in bed, her arm and shoulder wrapped in bandages. In the neighboring bed was Runi, her face still pale from the backlash. "Do you know what Carmilla used to be called?"

"No."

"The Succubus War Goddess."

Erik’s footsteps came to a halt.

Meira continued slowly: "Her aptitude was once rated at Epic tier. In her prime, Carmilla was one of the most exceptional Succubi of her generation. She took part in a great many campaigns to expand the safe zones, and once held a defensive line entirely on her own until reinforcements arrived."

Erik didn’t speak. In his impression, Carmilla was a mature businesswoman, composed and drained from nearly twenty-five years of burning through her own cultivation to suppress her hunger. He knew she had once been strong, but he hadn’t known that the woman who kept bowing her head to apologize for Nathan had once stood on a battlefield.

"I know this isn’t directly your concern." Meira exhaled softly. "But the safe zones shrink every year, and Succubi capable of turning a battlefield are growing scarcer all the time. I don’t want to watch someone who could have reached the summit get discarded over two idiotic men."

Erik looked down at the garden below, tapping a finger lightly against the window frame. He thought of what the Primordial Succubus had told him, thought of the regions beyond being steadily devoured by monsters, and thought of a world where most of the responsibility was dumped onto the shoulders of Succubi.

’A combat asset with Epic aptitude... really shouldn’t go to waste.’

He had no intention of making Carmilla his woman simply because she was strong. He certainly didn’t need her to sign a Contract or swear loyalty on the spot. But if someone who had once fought for this world was going to be treated like garbage, the least he could do was give her a chance to stand up again.

"All right." Erik spoke. "Treat them both first. Whatever comes after, I’ll discuss with Carmilla myself."

The other end of the line went quiet for a few seconds. When Meira spoke again, her voice carried the faintest hint of a smile. "I knew you’d agree."

"Don’t act like you understand me so well."

"I will, in time."

Erik stared at the phone for two seconds, then hung up outright. He shoved it into his pocket, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Elowen’s mother was getting more and more comfortable saying strange things.

Felyn’s room was on the top floor, quite a distance from the special treatment ward. The moment Erik pushed the door open, he caught the faint scent of flowers mixed with the clean medicinal smell characteristic of hospitals. Sunlight filtered through the thin curtains, stretching a long band of brightness across the floor.

Felyn was sitting up in bed. Her golden hair had been washed clean and fell softly down her back; the bandages around her eyes had been changed as well, far whiter and cleaner than the old strip of cloth she’d worn in the Forsaken Forest. Hearing the door, her pointed ears twitched slightly, then turned immediately toward Erik.

"Erik?"

"It’s me."

A smile appeared on Felyn’s face almost instantly. She reached out to the side as if intending to climb out of bed herself, but Erik quickly stepped over, steadied her shoulder, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"The doctors said you need to rest."

"I’ve been lying here a very long time."

"It hasn’t even been a day."

Felyn tilted her head, her lips curving ever so slightly. "For someone who lay in a forest for fifty years, a day is very long too."

Erik paused, then laughed. "You’re learning how to talk back."

"I’m only stating the truth."

The tension that had been on her face since she heard the door had completely dissolved. Felyn’s hand searched across the blanket for a few seconds, and only once it found the back of Erik’s hand did she settle it there contentedly.

"Have you been here long?"

"Just arrived. Elowen is getting examined after awakening a new talent, so I came up to see you first."

"A new talent?" Felyn sounded a little surprised, but she didn’t press right away. She simply stroked the back of his hand lightly. "Then tell me about it later."

"All right." Erik looked down at her carefully bandaged legs beneath the blanket. "And you? How are you feeling today?"

"Very good."

He didn’t believe her. Erik lifted the blanket slightly, checked the ankle that was still swollen, then looked up at her. "Does it hurt?"

"Only a little."

"How much is a little?"

Felyn thought about it with complete seriousness, then answered quietly: "Less than when you washed my feet beside the stream."

Erik looked at her for a few seconds. "So it still hurts."

Felyn immediately went silent. She was discovering that this man was getting harder and harder to fool.

Erik pulled the blanket back down, his voice softening. "Just endure it a while longer. Meira says most of your injuries can be treated. Your eyes and the curse need a more thorough examination, but at the very least your legs will recover."

Felyn was quiet for a moment, then nodded softly. "I believe you."

Three simple words, yet Erik could hear the reliance in her voice. He didn’t answer right away, only reaching out to gently stroke her soft golden hair. Felyn immediately went still, and the tension in her shoulders slowly eased beneath his palm.

A while later, Erik remembered the food container he’d brought. He pulled it from his spatial bracelet, and the moment he opened the lid, the aroma of grilled meat and vegetables spread through the room.

"What’s that?" Felyn tilted her head.

"Breakfast."

"The hospital already gave me porridge."

"Nutritional porridge doesn’t count."

"Porridge is still breakfast."

Erik speared a small piece with a fork and held it in front of her lips. "Open."

Felyn blinked beneath the white bandages. "I can feed myself."

"I know."

"Then why..."

"Open."

In the end, she could only obediently part her lips. Erik slipped the piece in and watched her chew slowly. A few seconds later, Felyn’s pointed ears perked up.

"It’s good."

"Of course. I made it myself."

The smile on her lips grew more pronounced. Erik fed her another bite, and this time Felyn didn’t refuse. She knew she could hold a spoon herself, and she knew Erik didn’t need to look after her to this degree, but the feeling of having someone sit patiently at her bedside, ask whether she was in pain, and prepare food with his own hands made it impossible for her to push him away.

In fifty years, no one had ever treated her like this.

Felyn lowered her head and let Erik feed her one more bite. Her cheeks slowly reddened, but the corners of her lips still curved up despite her efforts.

Just then, the sound of electric cart wheels rolling across the stone floor came from the corridor outside, accompanied by a man’s drawn-out voice full of distaste.

"This place reeks of medicine. It’s revolting."

Erik’s hand stopped. He turned toward the door still standing slightly ajar, and Felyn gripped the edge of the blanket.

An electric cart slowly appeared out in the corridor.

The man seated on it saw Erik holding a fork, then looked at Felyn in the hospital bed. His eyebrows immediately drew together, as though he’d just witnessed something utterly unacceptable.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

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