Elizabeth felt the excitement growing inside of her. The thought of being able to actually learn magic was something that a mythology nut like herself could only dream about. She could see a bit of excitement on Sarana's face as well, but most likely because this meant she could have alone time with her. “How does it work exactly...? What would I be summoning?”
She giggled quietly at Elizabeth's eagerness to learn. “It will take time to learn, especially since you are not used to feeling magic in your body at all. But the easiest and most helpful technique for you right now, would be summoning a weapon.”
Elizabeth nodded carefully, giving Sarana her full attention much like she would give Professor Addison in class. “What would I be working on? Like a basic sword?”
The succubus shook her head and held one of her arms out. “Summoning needs you to have some image or idea of a specific weapon that you have knowledge of. I-I actually use one myself to compensate for how draining my time magic is.” Making sure there was enough distance between her and Elizabeth, her outstretched hand began to glow a dark violet colour. “Death Harmony.”
The glow expanded quickly, the violet light created by it forming into a crescent shape. It morphed and moved a little more until the shape was complete, and the light exploded in her hand. Held in Sarana's hand now was a large scythe, ornately designed in dark colours befitting her style and elegant air. Along the handle of the scythe near the curved blade were several wires formed of magical energy, attached to a small extension of the weapon. Upon closer inspection, Elizabeth was also able to notice a thin stick in Sarana's hand along with it.
“This is my weapon... i-it is actually based on my papa's weapon, but with my own additions to it.” Sarana explained as she flipped the scythe around, cradling it between her arms as she teased the stick in her hand along the strings. “By having a clear image of something in your imagination, all you must do is channel your magic and use it to project that image into a real object.”
Elizabeth nodded slowly, in awe of the scythe that she had created with such ease. She was drawn to the elegant yet imposing air it gave off, and was equally fascinated by how the succubus held it like a violin. “That's amazing... but I don't know where to start with an image.”
Sarana smiled gently and giggled. “Try not to overthink it too much right now, but we are both in a history class. Think about something from history or even mythology, work on an image in your mind until it becomes clear for you!” She tried to encourage her, but slowly started to revert back to a shyer demeanour. “B-but we can have a proper lesson another time... w-with more clothes.” She told her as her hands quivered subtly.
She had been so engrossed by the brief lesson that she forgot they were both still naked in the bath. She blushed deeply and nodded in agreement, excited deep down to start learning something.
After a few moments, Sarana suddenly began to wobble on her feet as dizziness filled her head. The scythe and stick in her hands faded away into sparkling lights as she held her hand against her head.
“What's wrong?!” she called out. She watched as the succubus closed her eyes and fell forward with little notice. Her reflexes were luckily sharp enough, jumping ahead enough to catch her before she could hit the bottom of the bath.
Shortly after being caught, Sarana opened her eyes again and noticed she was held carefully in her friend's arms. Realizing what just happened, her eyes went wide and her face faded into a little more red. “I-I am sorry... I should have been more careful...”
She shook her head and watched over her with great concern. “What happened, was the steam too much? Should I call one of the others for help?”
The succubus tried to give Elizabeth a reassuring smile. “I-I am okay... I have just been using too much magic lately. I just need to rest for a while.”
She felt a small pain in her heart, feeling partially responsible for her current state. She knew that the succubus was making her own choices in being 'faithful' to her, and using her magic the way she was. However at the end of the day, she was doing it all for her.
Sarana moved her head slightly, almost nestled into Elizabeth's neck as she spoke. “M-may I... stay like this for a little longer...?” She asked quietly with a pure smile on her face.
She nodded without a second thought, although deeply embarrassed as she kept the succubus close in her arms. She tried her best to ignore that their bare bodies were touching so closely, her mind wandering as a self-distraction. Although she wanted to learn from Sarana, the succubus' magic levels were running as low as they could be. She didn't want to have her teach in this condition.
“Elizabeth? Are you still in here?” Euryale's voice called out from the doorway to the bath.
Elizabeth jumped slightly in surprise, turning her head back and calling back to her. “Y-yes! I'm here with Sarana!” After answering, she heard footsteps head towards the pool through steam.
Once Euryale was close enough, she could see the two women huddled close to each other. She glanced away from the scene and took a step back. “Was I... interrupting you two in the middle of something?”
Elizabeth's eyes went wide, and at the same time Sarana's eyes opened completely. They both turned scarlet red and answered her in unison.
“N-no!”
“N-no!”
She took a calming breath and began to wade them towards the edge of the bath. “Sarana said she used too much magic. She almost fell down but she's okay.”
Euryale nodded with a concerned look as she moved over to the tables by the entrance. “Just wait at the edge for a moment!” She told them while grabbing their towels from the table.
By the time Elizabeth had moved herself and Sarana to the edge of the bath, Euryale was crouched down nearby with their towels slung over her shoulder. The pair eased Sarana out of the pool, after which Euryale wrapped a towel around her body to help her dry off. “I’ve been warning you about using your magic too much,” she scolded the weak succubus.
“I-I am sorry, I just wanted to help Elizabeth...” Sarana replied with a slight whimper as her strength came back enough to sit up on her own.
Elizabeth hopped out of the bath as well and took her towel from Euryale. She sat on her knees near Sarana and gave her a gentle smile. “I appreciate everything, but please take care of yourself first and foremost.”
“Elizabeth is right, besides, you wouldn't want to worry your parents when they come visit do you?” Euryale reminded the succubus while easing her back onto her feet.
Sarana nodded slowly, taking a step back once she had the strength to stand on her own. “Y-you are correct, I should have considered that.”
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow as she stood up alongside them, fixing her towel so that it wouldn't accidentally fall off. “Parents? Your parents are coming to visit?” she asked. It only just came into her mind that she didn't actually know anything about any of the succubi's families, or if they even had any. She just assumed most of them didn't since they seemed to put a heavy emphasis on the Umbreise Clan being a family itself.
Sarana nodded with a slight smile. “Yes, they come to visit us here from time to time. They are coming to visit for dinner in a few days.”
“That's right, so make sure you take things easier for the next few days. That way you won’t make them worry.” Euryale told her like a surrogate mother.
“Okay Yu, I will.” The timid succubus complied and carefully made her way out of the bathing area.
Elizabeth wondered what kind of people Sarana's parents were. A bit of anxiousness washed over her when her only indicator was that her father wielded a menacing scythe. “If Sarana is fond of them and they visit the clan, they can't be bad, right?”
Euryale frowned as they left the bath and entered the small changing room. “Your breakfast will be cold if you two take too long, by the way.” She warned them as she allowed the girls to have some privacy to change. Once she left, Sarana and Elizabeth's stomachs growled audibly in unison. The pair looked at each other in embarrassment, but managed to share a shy laugh together.
She watched her succubus friend closely, the sight of her pure happiness whenever they were close made her heart skip a beat. “I may only be a human... but I want to somehow be able to protect her and the others, like they do for me.” She thought to herself as Sarana’s smile filled her with determination.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Larkin had gathered his top subordinates from the Asni Clan once again, having grown quite impatient with the lack of progress in capturing Elizabeth. Eira, Bifrons, and Eligos stood before him, while Sitri and Seire sat on the floor of his throne. The impatient demon tapped his finger against the arm of his golden seat. “Bifrons, I need you to organize another assault to capture the Umbral Queen. Gather something stronger than a bunch of no-brained raptilaks!” He demanded while he spit off to the side in disgust.
Bifrons lowered his head slightly, although it was unclear if it was meant to be a bow or him actually falling asleep for a brief moment. “I understand your frustration, Master Larkin. With her being so close yet unable to capture her, it would cause anyone to snap.” He attempted to appeal to his slim amount of empathy. “The amulet’s repair is still making progress. I can attempt to gather stronger monsters, but it might not be enough at this stage.”
“SEND ME DAMMIT!!!” Eligos roared in fury as he stomped the stone floor beneath him, causing the room to shake subtly.
Eira took a step away from him and rolled her eyes, annoyed by how loud the man constantly was. As usual her face was disinterested in the discussion at hand, although the mention of Elizabeth briefly welled up some of her own anger.
Larkin sighed in annoyance as well at Eligos’ small tantrum. He snapped his fingers at them, “Silence!!!” his voice boomed.
The room went dead silent, none of his subordinates dared to speak out after hearing that. Larkin was an incubus with incredibly strong power, so disobeying his orders would be suicidal. Eligos and Bifrons were still shocked with Eira’s lack of true punishment for almost killing Elizabeth before.
“Nikral Retsam nwod mlac esaelp. Niaga gniyrt morf su gnippots gnihton si ereht~” Sitri reassured her master in her tongue while soothingly stroking his leg.
Larkin leaned back in his throne and took a deep breath. “Bifrons, however you execute your next attack, bring Eligos along. The extra manpower may be all you need,” he ordered them.
Bifrons wasn’t necessarily opposed to the idea, but he disliked how little brains there were to Eligos’ brawn. “Then I will do that, Master Larkin.” In reality, he would have much preferred to have Sitri and Seire directly assist him. He knew however that they would remain glued to Larkin unless absolutely necessary.
“Hell yeah!!!” Eligos howled in excitement as he crashed his fists into each other. “When are we gonna smash some heads?!”
He sighed and tried to ease the nether golem down as best he could. “We must wait a few days. I have caught wind of some unpleasant guests that I believe we should avoid if we value our lives.”
Larkin nodded in understanding, as even he was not impatient enough to want to deal with ‘those’ troublesome demons without the amulet’s full power. “In the meantime then, Bifrons continue the repairs on the amulet. Eligos, I want you to search around for some suitable monsters you can use in the next attack.”
Eligos and Bifrons both nodded and bowed to Larkin as they turned to leave the throne room. As they walked away, Eira discretely shot them a pitiful look. Turning her attention back to the throne, she gave a similar stare to Sitri and Seire. Thankfully the two were preoccupied enough with Larkin not to notice. “Did you have something for me to do yet, Master Larkin?” she asked him in a quiet manner.
“I do, actually.” He replied in a very pleased tone, leaning forward in his throne as the glint in his fangs showed through the darkness under his cloak. “There is a demon clan to the north that is encroaching on our territory... They try to hide their base of operations inside of cave systems, but I doubt you will have any issues with that.” He paused for a moment, his voice lowering deeply, practically growling. “No survivors, do I make myself clear?”
She nodded slowly, her eyes barely making eye contact with him as she let out a chilling breath. “I will get it done right away, Master Larkin,” she replied in a monotone voice. The temperature in the room dropped drastically as she turned to leave, not daring to allow him to see the conflict in her expression.
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