So... fragile. I can see his blood coursing through his carotids, his soft, trusty breathing, his chest moving up and down; I can even feel his heart pumping. His sleep is soft, he feels so soft... like a cat... a big, wild, and lethal cat. "Kukukukuh... my cat..." I whisper to him, caressing his face and tracing his stubble.
Seven days, Aria has told me. I told him I would stay with him. I am the only thing he tolerates, and he wouldn't let me go either. Those groans when I tried to move were clear enough. My legs—I can barely feel them. But... I wouldn't have it any other way. My precious monster.
The door of the Vault opens again. Aria is back.
"How is he doing? Do you think we could move him to a bed already?" she asks, worried about him. I like that. She knows we have to protect him; she owes him this and more because, if not for him, she would now be a shell—another puppet of the Elder.
I try to move once again. His hand tightens on the fabric of my gown, and he releases a threatening groan that gives us both goosebumps.
"There's your response," I joke. She sighs.
"I brought you food and water," she announces.
"Thank you," I reply.
"What do you think he is?" she adds. "He said he isn't a demon, and he defeated a god."
"A lesser one; there is a big difference," I correct her. She ignores that detail. I don't mind it because she continues with her adoration.
"Without him, the world would have fallen under that song's influence..." she says. "Wake up, Vance... we need your grace..."
"He isn't a god," I correct her again.
"Who says that? He never said that." Aria sounds insistent. I don't oppose her.
"He will wake up, stronger than ever," I let out, more for myself.
"Yes!" she agrees. "I must go back to the office—a lot of decrees to sign and things to do, people to relocate, life to be brought back to a ghost city."
"He will be pleased when he sees your hard work," I add. She smiles.
"Take good care of him," she replies, and I can sense the spark of a threat in her tone. Amusing.
I see her walking toward the door. I made her forget a lot of things, horrible things like that song. To think about it gives me a slight headache; it is a very dangerous song for mortals and, to be honest, I don't know yet why I can withstand it. You did it, didn't you? You protected what's yours... You're so... perfect.
"Stop! Who are you?!" Aria bellows, making me look at her. "Ahhh!"
Her body falls, pushed against the floor by an invisible force.
"So, here is where you were hiding." A voice, familiar and disgusting, lets out next to me.
"Baltazzar." I turn to face him.
He is big, powerful; his horns curl on the sides of his head, and his eyes burn with the fire of hell.
"Lilith... my delicious doll. No more cat and mouse game," he states. For a moment, his eyes dart to Vance.
"Oh yeah?" I reply, dragging his attention completely to me. I can't let him hurt Vance; I have to do my best to keep him safe. I'll have to... give him my body. It's the only way.
"I've waited enough," he adds. The last time I saw him, he almost raped me if not for the young fool I was using. He came into the room with a sword and shield and defied Baltazzar. While he was being dismembered, I was able to escape.
Vance will understand this.
I feel my stomach turn and twist. The idea of giving my perfect body to this lesser animal is... No. I won't. Vance would hate it. I can't do it.
His clawed hand reaches out for my wrist and pulls me up. I react. I scratch him.
"Ah! Hahaha! That's how I like it! This will make the conquest more absolute!" he bellows and tears my gown apart. For the first time in my life, I feel exposed and fragile because I don't want any of this to happen.
It doesn't happen.
When the impact occurs, the shockwave is such that I can feel it. Vance. He's awakened.
Baltazzar's body hits a column and falls sprawled onto the floor, more surprised than hurt. Not even he saw it coming; the truth is that Vance just appeared between us, and Baltazzar was already flying against the column.
"Rawwwrrrrrgghhhhhhh!" Vance roars while his left arm keeps me behind him, protective. I feel something warm in my core. Why am I shedding tears? I can't contain them, and I don't know why.
"Rawwwwwwwwwwrrrgh!"
"What... Ugh!" Baltazzar stumbles while trying to stand up. There is more damage than I thought. "What kind of toy you've f—ugh!"
He's clearly hurt. Of course he is! Vance defeated a god. A demon like this should be no match!
"Rawwrgh!" Vance growls again. His pose is exposed, low, and animalistic, and his nails have become claws. Why is he doing that?
"Vance?" I let out. At the same time, Baltazzar stands up.
"Urgh!" The Count tries to adopt a defensive stance, but Vance is on top of him. I see a collision, another impact. Vance lands heavily on the floor, rolls, and turns like a feral animal. An instant later, an arm—Baltazzar's—lands next to him, spurting blood out.
"Arrgh! Beast!" The demon summons his magic, but Vance is just too fast. He jumps from column to column, breaking the barriers Baltazzar is using to protect himself. Each strike looks stronger, and then the barriers just shatter like glass. The other arm lands on the floor. Vance capitalizes on him, not wasting an instant. I see how he's buried both claws in Baltazzar's chest, deep and bloody, and lifts him in the air while tearing his chest apart, disjointing ribs from sternum.
"Ahhh! Argghhhhhhhhhhh!" Baltazzar screams, but he can do little. He tries to kick, but it's already over. Vance holds him with one hand and with the other reaches and grasps his heart. Baltazzar is dead, and Vance is bathing in his blood, drinking it with hunger.
"Vance?" I call him again when he starts to bite and chew. "Vance! What are you doing?"
He releases noises—just noises—and keeps eating it raw. It is fascinating. This being... is this Vance?
While I'm stunned by what I'm seeing, the blood and the remains of Baltazzar start to glow, more and more, until they melt and become liquid gold. The gold flows to Vance, to his mouth, and he swallows and swallows until no traces of the demon are left. The claws fade back into nails, his posture becomes straight, and the violence I felt around him disappears. He looks at his own hands as if he didn't recognize them.
"Vance?" I call him. He turns and sees me. I release a sigh of deep relief. I've never felt more relieved. He is back!
"Lilith..." He speaks my name, and I'm the happiest woman alive.
Then, the darkness swallows him. A sphere of nothingness occupies his place.
"Vance! No!" I scream. My magic flares. I don't care if I'm weak; I'm going to help him. I step forward, willing to take him out of that thing.
But I don't have to. The sphere cracks. More and more. Light—purple, dangerous—comes out of it. I step back; it is too dangerous. But it pulls me closer. I can't escape. The darkness fades, and light takes over, blinding and absolute.
I blink, losing myself in the light.
A soft breeze wakes me up. I am somewhere else, in a forest full of life, birds, and rodents. The sun and the moon are both in the sky at the same time on opposite sides, but I've never seen anything like this. "Where am I?"
Then I see it. Golden, like that liquid Vance ate, tall and vast columns loom over me as if threatening to crush me. I can't see the rooftop. I am in front of a shrine unlike any I've ever seen.
"Lilith..." The wind whispers my name. I look up the stairs at the entrance of the shrine. There he is.
"Vance..." I run toward him. He looks different; there's an aura about him that makes him look vast and far, unreachable and wonderful. But I don't care if I burn getting too close to his fire; I don't care about anything anymore. I just know that I have to be with him. He is the male I chose. He is the male I want. He is mine. Alone.
"Lilith..." He calls my name again and receives me with open arms. It hurts. Not his gentle yet firm grip, no, but this warmth in my core that is making me cry. It hurts. "It's okay... Everything is alright."
"I was scared..." I admit to him, and I bury my face in his chest. "Just let me stay here forever..." I mumble. I don't know what I'm saying; I'm just saying it.
"Alright..." He consoles me. I hug him tight with all that I can.
"How could a succubus be like this?" he mutters.
"Mean..." I reply. "I'm not just a succubus... I'm yours... alone."
He chuckles and then kisses me. It hurts, and it makes me want to explode, but I don't want it any other way