Succubi Chapter 117. Don't Go to the Dark Side…
Kyra looked at the enemy team again. "They are still staring at us."
"Of course they are," I muttered. "We look like a failed boyband."
"Worse," Felix said. "We're the beta release of a failed boyband."
The enemy team? Yeah. Still terrifying. Still standing there like four midlife-crisis fantasy bosses.
Meanwhile, we stood there in matching masks like rejected NPCs from a cheap mobile game, all trying not to look like we were about to die.
Then the referee's voice boomed across the arena.
"This match will be one-on-one duels," the voice echoed from the floating platform above, thick with magical distortion. "Each combatant will face a randomly selected opponent. Fate will decide your trial."
The air pulsed, and a large spinning crystal formed in the center of the battlefield. It spun fast, glowing with arcane light, and then…
- Chunk chunk chunk!
It started to slow. The names flickered across the runes one by one.
Kyra's name flashed. Then her opponent: the Spirit Channeler.
Her reaction? A soft shrug and an eyebrow raise. "Not bad," she said. "Daddy's got taste."
Adrian made a choking noise.
Then came Felix.
His name landed under the banshee.
His face under the mask? Immediate panic. I could feel it.
Next was Adrian. Boom. Hexblade. That guy looked like a morally ambiguous knight with a tragic past and a sword named "Gravewhisper."
And me?
Yeah.
Necromancer.
Big.
Bearded.
Barbell-munching Necromancer.
"Oh you gotta be kidding me," I whispered.
"RIP, my dude," Adrian muttered.
"Who did you piss off in your last life?" Felix asked.
Kyra just said, "F."
The referee continued like he hadn't just assigned four teenagers to go get punched by fantasy gym dads.
"You will each be assigned a protection rune. Four in total. Small, portable, and volatile. Each rune will appear now."
With a flash of golden-blue light, four glowing baseball-sized crystals appeared mid-air. They floated down slowly, each wrapped in a golden strap, like someone thought mana grenades needed to be fashion accessories.
"These runes are your life anchors," the referee announced. "Strap them anywhere you like. On your body. On your gear. Doesn't matter. But once they're destroyed, you lose the duel. Protect them. Or perish."
Adrian tilted his head. "Strap? Like on our body?"
"So this is a real battle," Kyra said.
"Real battle," I muttered, catching the rune that floated down toward me, "without the death. I hope."
Kyra strapped hers first.
Right in the center of her chest.
No hesitation.
I blinked. "Wait. Are you— did you just strap that to your—"
Her hand patted her chest, adjusting it right between the breasts. "What? It's stable. Also, if that guy's a real gentleman, he won't aim here."
Felix nearly dropped his rune. "Seriously?!"
Kyra shrugged. "If he tries to touch me, I'll scream and sue him for sexual harassment. Take half his inheritance."
"I don't think that's how duels work," I muttered.
"Let me dream," she said.
Then Felix…
He took one look at his rune, then stared at the banshee.
Then without saying a word, he attached the rune to the front of his pants.
Right above his… D.
"No," I said. "Please. No. Don't do it, Felix. You're better than this. Don't go to the dark side… Don't follow Callahan's path."
"Hey," Felix said. "She's hot."
"Felix."
"This is strategy," he insisted, adjusting it like he was proud of it. "If she has any shred of morality, she'll hesitate. Then I win. If she doesn't hesitate, I still win."
"She's going to blow your—"
"No," Felix interrupted, holding up a finger. "She'll have to grab or graze. There's no other path."
I sighed so hard I think my spine slouched.
Kyra smirked. "I like the confidence. Zero shame."
"It's called commitment," Felix said.
My headache got worse.
Then I turned to Adrian.
And yeah. He was dead silent. Just staring at the Hexblade.
"…Adrian?" I asked.
No response.
He held the rune in both hands like it was a fragile egg, muttering under his breath.
And then he did it.
He strapped the rune…
To the side of his neck.
Like a choker.
Off-center.
With a silver rune strap looping across his jawline. Like a chocker… Or a collar…
"…Why?" I asked flatly.
He blinked. "Psychological warfare."
"That's not psychological warfare. That's accessorizing with mental illness."
"No no, listen," Adrian said, adjusting it like he was a diva at a magazine shoot. "If I put it here and he tries to grab it, I can say he's got a knack for that kind of stuff. You know… naughty games. BDSM."
I stared at him. "You think that guy cares about kink etiquette?"
He nodded, dead serious. "He looks like a hero type of guy. Strong morality. Loyal friendship. He'll hesitate. Or blush. Either way, advantage: me."
I looked down at my rune.
Still floating in my palm.
Still giving me a migraine.
Everyone else had gone full goblin mode with their placement. Me? I needed something rational.
I sighed. "I hate you all."
Kyra smiled. "Love you too, team leader."
"I'm not the team leader," I snapped.
"You have the most trauma," Adrian said. "That makes you the leader."
"Okay," Felix nodded. "But seriously though. Where are you putting yours?"
I looked across the field.
The necromancer was cracking his neck now.
His biceps had biceps. I could see his veins glowing through his spell tattoos.
He looked like a medieval bodybuilder that specialized in necro-chokeslams.
"Somewhere visible," I muttered, turning the rune in my hand. "Obvious enough to tempt him."
Then I strapped it just below my collarbone, right side, not too central, not too hidden. Just enough to catch attention, just enough to make him think I was careless.
A lure.
A fake weak spot.
"If he goes for it," I said, adjusting the strap tight, "he'll overcommit."
Kyra tilted her head. "Baiting him?"
"Of course," I said. "Let him chase the win. I'll take the kill."
Felix nodded. "Okay, that's strategic."
The arena pulsed again. The referee's voice echoed once more.
"Combatants, return to your launch points. Prepare for initiation."
The crowd screamed. The floor lit up. The sigils beneath our boots pulsed with mana like we were standing on a heartbeat.
We were still standing close. Together. Our mismatched squad of students, idiots, and socially dangerous weirdos.
And yeah.
We were completely, undeniably, hilariously screwed.
But somehow?
It felt kind of right.
Callahan reappeared above the arena on his floating perch. He held his wand in one hand like a trophy and looked down at us like a proud father watching his kids perform in a cursed talent show.
I looked over at the necromancer again.
He was smiling now.
Not friendly.
Just… ready.
My blood ran cold.
Then I looked at my friends again.
Adrian adjusting his choker slash collar rune.
Felix adjusting his groin‑rune.
Kyra stretching like she was about to seduce and sue someone.
And me?
Yeah.
I just smiled behind my mask.
Because for better or worse… this was our fight.
And win or lose, the Rogue Mask Quartet was going down in flames.
But we were gonna look stupid as hell while doing it.
And honestly?
That was the most us thing ever.
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