I could feel the succubus' energy swirling around Evelina, radiating from her in waves that made the air around us feel heavy, almost electric.
Her breaths were slightly ragged, and the faintest flush had crept across her cheeks, betraying just how much power she was drawing in at once.
"Careful…" I murmured, my hands still steadying her.
My words sounded pathetic even to me, but the sight of her like this, vulnerable and yet utterly commanding, kept me rooted in place.
Evelina's eyes flicked up to meet mine, half-lidded and dangerous. "Relax,"
She said softly, but there was an edge to her voice that made my heart stutter.
"I'm in control. You're just here to make it easier."
I swallowed, my pulse hammering. Being this close to her, feeling her warmth and the succubus's essence flowing into her, was almost unbearable.
I wanted to lean closer, to… do something, but every instinct told me to wait, to follow her lead.
I shouldn't be affected by a succubus' energy; I was quite literally filled with chaos energy, making me nearly immune.
But I guess sheer attraction can immediately penetrate those defenses.
"You always look so eager,"
She said, tilting her head, a sly smirk tugging at her lips.
The energy was visibly affecting her, her body heat rising further as she continued to absorb the power that was laid out in the contract.
"It's quite cute actually..."
She muttered without thinking.
I was quite literally fighting every my mind to not do anything.
To purely focus on the divine magic to stabilize her.
'Cute...? She just called me cute...'
I didn't know how I looked, but if I were to guess.
I probably looked like a tomato with hearts on my eyes.
And in a world like this... I wasn't kidding about hearts forming in my eyes.
In fact, I even think it was possible.
And... it was.
"Are those... hearts?"
Evelina chuckled, looking at the profaned eye.
'W-What...? The thing resonated with my emotions!?'
I blinked, utterly frozen.
Desire, awe, a desperate urge to be closer, every chaotic thought made visible, and Evelina saw it.
Her chuckle was low, teasing, and it made my chest tighten.
"You're not supposed to let something like that show, you know,"
She murmured, voice a mixture of amusement and… something warmer, more intimate, influenced by the energy.
"I… I can't help it," I admitted, voice weaker than intended.
"You—" I swallowed hard, my pulse racing. "You're… you're too much."
Her lips quirked up in that cold, mischievous smile I was hopelessly drawn to. Slowly, deliberately, she shifted closer, until her shoulder brushed mine.
The succubus's energy swirled around her like a second skin, making every breath I took feel thick with warmth and tension.
It was no use; my chaos energy was quite literally doing nothing.
If I weren't consciously stopping myself, I would immediately be charmed.
But... is that really such a bad thing...?
No.
I still needed to stay sane.
"Hmm," she purred, eyes glinting with that sharp, dangerous light. "Do you always get like this when I'm near?"
I couldn't answer. Not with words. My hands were still supporting her, but the energy radiating from her, the succubus, her own raw magical aura, the proximity, it was unrelenting.
Every rational thought I had was drowning in a tide of sensation.
She leaned slightly, letting her head tilt in a way that made her hair brush my arm.
The faintest trace of a smile touched her lips, softening her usual sharpness, and it made something inside me combust.
"You're not just… strong," she whispered, almost against my ear. "You're… attentive, careful, deliberate."
My throat went dry.
W-What...?
Does she mean it?
Oh god, I hope she does.
Don't let it just be the succubus's energy talking!
***
After what seemed like an eternity, she had finally finished absorbing the succubus' energy within herself.
And with that, she stood up, brushing off dust from her clothing.
The previous heat from her body now starting to dissipate as she had managed to control it completely.
"Are you okay?"
She looked downward.
And well... I wasn't really conscious.
I was on the floor, as if I were dead, the surge of emotions too much for me to bear.
Evelina sighed, looking at the clock in her room.
It was almost time for the next subject, and yet I was quite literally out cold.
But she couldn't just leave me like that; she wasn't that cruel, especially to one who just gave her a massive boost of power.
"Guess I'll skip classes for now."
She crossed her arms.
"What am I going to do with you... Cael Arden..."
She touched the fabric choker on her neck, feeling a faint trace of the succubus residing within it.
"Although... I was a bit much."
Evelina chuckled, remembering her teasing and flirty nature while under the energy's influence.
"Never knew I could be that scary."
She grinned, just like a villainess should after discovering a way to make her strongest servant pass out without even using magic.