Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!

{Raven}

Raven lunged toward Melisa.

In the process, she forcibly pushed aside all the memories that threatened to surface.

The early morning chats, the giggles Raven would often hold back, the late nights spent staring up at the ceiling as they chatted until one, usually Melisa, would tap out.

They had no place here, not anymore. They were just distractions, weaknesses Melisa could exploit.

It was Melisa or her. The organization didn't accept failure. And, Raven wasn't about to throw her own life away.

Raven's focus narrowed to a single point, a deadly precision honed by years of training. Her target was clear:

Melisa's purple throat, vulnerable and exposed.

One quick strike and it would all be over.

But Melisa was not the helpless victim Raven had anticipated.

Even as Raven closed in, the nim girl's hands were moving, tracing a spellsign in the air with lightning speed.

An incantation fell from her lips.

"Ventus, morros, caram!"

[Huh?]

A gust of wind surged forth, slamming into Raven with the force of a battering ram.

"AH!"

She stumbled back. Her feet were lifted off the ground for a couple of seconds. Her balance was momentarily broken.

Soon, she got her balance back and slid to a stop, glaring at the disgusting nim.

[She cast that so fast,] Raven thought. [I can't underestimate her.]

"Raven, what are you doing?" Melisa cried out. "Why are you attacking me!?"

But Raven had no answer for her. She didn't need to hear why.

There was only the mission. That was all that mattered.

She lunged again. This time, she tried to circle, to attack from Melisa's flank.

But once more, Melisa was ready.

"Radix, ligare, vinculum!"

Raven went to dodge to the side, anticipating another straight-on attack.

Instead, the ground beneath Raven's feet erupted, thick vines bursting forth and coiling around her legs like serpents.

Raven growled. She would not be denied, not by some plants.

Her blade flashed in the moonlight as she hacked at the vines, severing them as quickly as she could.

As soon as she had them removed, Raven raised her arms as if to block a punch.

She'd been in a lot of fights. She knew that she'd given Melisa too much time to strike.

Nothing happened.

Raven looked ahead. Melisa was just standing there. Clearly, she was ready to cast more spells, but she wasn't going on the offensive.

[She's not attacking me.]

It didn't matter. Free once more, she charged forward again.

This time, she reached Melisa, her hand outstretched, ready to end this once and for all.

But Melisa moved away.

Her body, like water almost, twisted away from Raven's grasp, her own hand coming up to shove at Raven's chest with surprising strength.

Raven actually felt the wind get knocked out of her lungs, if only for a couple of seconds.

[I... I assumed if I got past her magic, I'd win automatically.] Raven scolded herself. [But, Melisa has improved physically. I can't make that assumption again.]

Still, some frustration bubbled.

"Stop fighting," Raven snarled, her voice cold and commanding. "Just give up. You can't win."

"Just tell me! Why are you doing this, Raven?" Melisa asked again, tears in the corners of her eyes. "We're friends. Why are you trying to hurt me?"

[If she keeps yelling like that, she'll wake every single student up. But, running away isn't an option,] Raven narrowed her eyes. [She needs to die before I even consider that.]

Raven launched herself at Melisa once more, her attacks coming faster and harder than before. She would break through the nim girl's defenses, shatter her will to fight.

She had to.

---

{Melisa}

Melisa's body moved on pure instinct, her years of study taking over.

Spells flew from her lips, her hands weaving signs in the air as if of their own accord. She didn't have time to think, so her limbs and lips moved on their own.

Raven was a blur, her attacks coming from every angle.

Melisa only just barely managed to keep her away. She conjured walls of flame, blasts of icy wind, anything to slow Raven's advance.

And yet, despite her best efforts, Raven was gaining ground. She was too fast, too skilled.

It was a tiny misstep, a momentary lapse in concentration that happened as Melisa wondered what to do.

But it was enough. Raven's knife sliced through the air, grazing Melisa's cheek. Melisa only just barely managed to push Raven away with another wind spell before Raven could turn that scratch into something more.

It hurt, but the sting of the cut was nothing compared to the icy realization that flooded through Melisa's veins.

[She's... she's seriously trying to kill me.]

The thought was like a bucket of cold water, shocking Melisa out of her reactive state.

She couldn't just defend, couldn't just hope to outlast Raven's assault. She needed a plan, a way to end this before it was too late.

But what could she do? How could she possibly hope to overpower this girl?

As if in answer to her desperate thoughts, Raven suddenly changed tactics.

Her blade stilled, held low and ready. But her other hand was moving, tracing a pattern in the air that Melisa had never seen before.

Melisa's eyes widened as realization dawned.

She knew some of those signs. Parts of them. She had studied them over the course of this first term.

Life magic.

But, given that Raven was probably casting aggressively, Melisa thought...

[Don't tell me...]

"Lum, varc, escut!"

She conjured a barrier out of instinct.

Blood poured out from Raven's palm, a mist that would have swept away Melisa's view of her vicinity, but the barrier actually kept the illusion away.

Seeing that confirmed it.

That was Blood magic.

And, Raven was a Shadow Mage.

Fear coursed through Melisa's body, cold and paralyzing.

She'd seen them. Back at the village, how Javir had fought a few of them off.

And now, one of them was standing before her. A girl Melisa mistakenly thought was a friend.

"Now, you understand?" Raven asked. "I will kill you. It's my duty."

Melisa did understand. She understood what was happening all too well.

But, it didn't change much. No, it only gave Melisa a firm bit of direction.

[I have to stop her. I must.]

---

{Raven}

Raven gritted her teeth, frustration boiling in her veins.

Melisa was proving to be a far more formidable opponent than she had anticipated.

Every spell Raven cast, every attempt to close the distance and end this fight, was met with a counter.

Barriers sprang up, shimmering walls of force that deflected Raven's attacks. Melisa dashed and dodged, her movements strangely quick for someone who'd only just started training in that realm. And when Melisa tried to strike back, her own spells were strong and well-aimed.

It wasn't that Raven feared for her life.

No, she knew that Melisa, for all her unexpected skill, was not strong enough to truly destroy her.

But the nim girl was like a cockroach, scurrying just out of reach, refusing to be squashed.

And the longer this fight went on, the greater the risk of discovery.

If they were found, if Raven was forced to flee before completing her mission... the consequences were too terrible to contemplate.

[I have to end this. Now.]

With a snarl of rage, Raven doubled her efforts.

She poured every ounce of her training, every shred of her dark power into her attacks. Blood magic mixed with shadow, a deadly cocktail of forbidden arts.

But Melisa was ready. Even as Raven's spells screamed towards her, the nim girl was moving. Her hands wove a complex pattern, her lips forming words of power.

And then, to Raven's shock, Melisa attacked.

"Illumi, nerca, var fal!"

A sphere of blue flames, so bright it seared Raven's eyes, burst from Melisa's outstretched hand. It moved with incredible speed, crossing the distance between them in the blink of an eye. Find exclusive content at My Virtual Library Empire

Raven tried to dodge, tried to throw up a shield. But she was a fraction of a second too slow. The sphere crashed into her abdomen, and the world exploded into agony.

"AAAAGH!"

A scream erupted from her throat. Electricity followed the burning sensation, making her twitch.

It was pain beyond anything Raven had ever experienced. It felt as though her very flesh was being seared from her bones, as though her insides were being boiled.

But even through the haze of pain, even as her body screamed for mercy, Raven's training held firm.

She pushed through the agony, forced herself to keep moving, to keep fighting.

She staggered forward, her blade still clutched in her hand. She had to reach Melisa, had to end this before it was too late.

"Stay back, Raven!" Melisa yelled out. "I-I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to!"

Raven laughed, the sound harsh and bitter.

Stay back? Give up? It was not an option.

Not for her.

Not ever.

She gathered herself, preparing for one final, desperate charge. She would reach Melisa, even if it killed her. She would complete her mission, and fulfill her duty.

But before she could move, before she could take a single step, a new voice cut through the night.

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

Both girls froze, their heads snapping towards the sound.

And there, standing at the edge of the courtyard, hands tucked casually into her pockets, was Professor Miria.

Raven's heart sank, a cold dread settling in her gut.

"... Master," she muttered.

---

{Melisa}

Melisa's mind reeled as she heard Raven utter that word.

[Oh... shit.]

As the woman walked towards them, her steps calm and measured, Melisa felt a chill run down her spine.

The older lady's presence filled the courtyard, a palpable aura of power and authority.

Miria's gaze swept over the scene, taking in the scorch marks on the ground, the blood spatters from Raven's magic.

But when she spoke, it was as if Melisa wasn't even there.

"Raven," she said, her voice cold and disapproving. "I must say, I'm disappointed in you. I had suspected that your attachment to this girl would compromise your ability to serve the Shadow Mages. It seems I was right."

Melisa's eyes widened, her heart pounding in her chest. Raven, too, seemed shocked by this revelation.

"W-What? Master, I..." Raven began, but Miria cut her off with a sharp gesture.

"You were right," Miria said, staring her down. "About the timing of the assassination being strange, I mean. This was a test, Raven. One that you have failed miserably, I might add."

Miria began to pace, her hands clasped behind her back.

"The original plan was simple. Eliminate the nim girl quickly and quietly. But I saw an opportunity. A chance to test your loyalty, your commitment to our cause."

She turned, fixing Raven with a piercing stare.

"I delayed the order, allowed you time to get close to her. I wanted to see if you would let your emotions cloud your judgment. And now, I have my answer."

Raven seemed stunned.

She opened her mouth to speak, to demand answers probably, but before she could utter a word, Miria moved.

It was so fast, so sudden, that Melisa barely had time to register what was happening.

One moment, Miria was standing still. The next, her hands were weaving a complex pattern in the air, her lips forming words of power.

Melisa saw the spellsign and recognized the telltale signs of elemental magic.

She tried to counter, to throw up a shield, but she was too slow. Her mind moved faster than her hands and lips, this time.

A wave of air slammed into her, lifting her off her feet and sending her flying. She heard Raven cry out as she, too, was caught in the blast.

They both hit the ground hard, slammed into it like they'd been dropped from above, the impact driving the air from Melisa's lungs.

She gasped, struggling to breathe through the pain.

Raven, somehow, was on her feet first. She staggered towards Miria, her hands outstretched in supplication.

"Master, please," she begged, her voice raw with desperation. "Give me another chance. I can do this, I can prove myself to you!"

But Miria's face was indifferent.

"Oh no. Second chances aren't affordable to our people, Raven. Not in this struggle. The moment you start feeling anything for these vermin, you've already been too compromised. You have shown yourself to be weak, unworthy of the power we wield. And weakness cannot be tolerated."

Melisa's heart clenched at the utter despair in Raven's eyes.

Despite everything, despite the fact that this girl had just tried to kill her, she couldn't bear to see it.

Gritting her teeth, Melisa forced herself to her feet. She stepped forward, placing herself between Raven and Miria.

"Stop," she said, her voice shaking but determined. She poured what little Essence she had left into her hands. "I won't let you hurt her!"

Miria's eyebrows shot up, a look of incredulous amusement on her face.

"Are you really stupid enough to try and help the woman who just tried to kill you? Ah, well, Fine. I guess I may as well deal with you first."

Melisa swallowed hard, her fists clenching at her sides.

[I may not be able to match Miria in power,] she thought, her mind racing. [But maybe I can create an opening, give Raven a-and maybe even myself a chance to escape...]

The odds were low, of course. She knew that.

But, just as she was about to make her move, to launch a desperate attack, a new voice rang out across the courtyard.

"Miria!"

Melisa's head snapped around, her eyes widening in shock.

There, striding towards them with a look of heartbreak and determination on her face, was Javir.

"Ah... Shit," Miria hissed. Javir looked just as dejected, walking forward. "How?" Miria asked, plainly and simply.

Javir took a moment.

There was so much hurt in her eyes, and yet her voice held firm.

"I saw Raven coming out of your office the other day," Javir said. Melisa could tell, after years of living with her, that Javir was barely holding it together. "Something about it didn't feel right. So I've been keeping an eye on her, trying to figure out what was going on."

She came to a stop a few feet away, her gaze locked on Miria.

"And now I know."

Miria nodded.

"So, you do."

For a moment, they just stood there.

Melisa could feel it. Years, many years, packed within the look they gave each other.

Miria shook her head.

"But I'm afraid your discovery comes too late. This matter will be resolved, one way or another."

Javir shook her head, her hand drifting to the hilt of her sword.

"I can't let you do that, Miria. Stand down, now, and we can end this peacefully."

For a long, tense moment, the two women stared each other down, the air crackling with tension.

And then, with a laugh that sent shivers down Melisa's spine, Miria spoke.

"Peacefully? Oh, Javir. You should know better than that. I will do what I have to."

Javir swallowed, pulling her blade out.

"As will I."