RSE CH 14: (Patreon)

After taking a hot bath, Leo enjoyed a delicious dinner made by his succubus maid. Tonight, it was a medium rare steak cooked to perfection, with a side of broccoli and a baked potato. He ignored every attempt Lucy made to brush his arm or side with her breasts or hips.

Although Lucy kept to her part of the bargain, the flirting had only gotten more obvious—well, more obvious than greeting him when he got home from school wearing the flimsiest bits of silk and lace while lounging on the couch in the living room. She’d stopped tempting him with the sight of her lovely body to supposedly innocent touches.

He’d already decided that he would use these opportunities to strengthen his resolve. Like the physical and magical training that Lucy now assisted with in a more constructive manner, ignoring what her touches did to his libido made for good training of his willpower. 

Walking back to the sink with an empty serving platter, the maid trailed her fingernails across his shoulders along the way. He rolled his eyes, but otherwise didn’t react. He set his fork down, though, when he heard some concerning words escape Lucy’s lips.

“By the way, Master Leo… You should be very careful when going out at night for the next few days. Stray devils have been sighted in the area.”

‘A stray, huh…’

The term ‘stray’ was used to identify a fairly broad class of devils. It was also very narrow at the same time. The term applied to criminals or dangerous devils that should be eliminated on sight, with no questions asked.

The problem was that most, if not all, stray devils were devils who had fled their Circle without the permission of their masters. In short, all criminals were stray devils, but not all stray devils were criminals. 

This made possible the enforcement of the devils’ social hierarchy. Higher-class bestowers could thus eliminate innocent devils who wouldn’t follow their master’s orders. For this reason, Leo found it a moral conundrum to hunt stray devils. 

‘This isn’t my problem.’

The devils in charge of the territory were supposed to take care of such things, since they refused to allow exorcists from the church to do their duty in Spartanburg. 

Thinking about Miyu and Shuri, Leo frowned. “How powerful is the stray?”

“Strays, Master… not just one stray. As for their power. The first one is just a small fry. But the second one…” Lucy showed a worried expression for the first time before shaking her head. “Just be careful when you go out.”

Leo swallowed his bite of steak. “If you think some stray is stronger than me, I’ll have to apply myself more seriously to my training.”

“Even for you, as you are now, facing her would most likely result in your defeat. After all — She is an Ultimate class devil.”

***

The moon stood high in the sky and bathed the world with its stolen light. Despite the ungodly hour, though, not everyone in the city slept. The streets were lit by flickering yellow lamps as people walked in groups of two or three. They spoke in monotone voices and knew to mind their own business.

But behind these lights and the apparent peace, shadows lurked and dangers roamed unrestrained.

Somewhere in the less reputable part of town, in a deserted alley…

“Ugh!! Bitch!! The Lord  won’t let you go. His Queen will avenge us.”

A man giggled hysterically as he was lifted in the air. The dainty hand that choked him cut the giggles off by crushing the man’s throat. It was a woman’s hand.

She was, no doubt, enchanting in her allure. The darkness hid her beautiful features, but deep golden eyes gave off an eerie, nigh majestic, glow as they shone in the dark.

Hers was an ethereal beauty, the likes of which could make bards chant poems for days on end. Sadly, the man did not have the time to appreciate her beauty as he gasped for air, fighting for his dear life. 

Well… he tried to put up a fight.

Sneering at the feeble attempts of the man who had previously mocked her to free himself, the woman only had one thought.

‘Weak.’

She twisted her wrist in a violent motion.

Crack!!

The sound of bones breaking resonated in the black alley, echoing between its narrow walls.

She hadn’t really intended to kill him, but the difference in their power was so high that the slightest slip of control at hearing that name had been enough to snap the man’s neck.

The result was immediate. An incredulous shock and despair briefly flickered in his eyes before the light of life slowly faded from them.

Once she’d ascertained his death, she tossed the body aside with a flick of her hand. Curling her nose at the stench of death—why did the weak ones always lose control of their bowels when they died?—she walked away.

‘I wonder if they will truly send will send someone stronger? It would be best if they gave up, but I need to prepare myself.’

Remembering the dying man’s words, she couldn't help but frown.

The Queen piece of her enemy was an ultimate class devil. She was better known as the hunting hound of Zolgear.

Her companions weren’t currently accessible, as they had been sent to another mission.

If Zolgear sent that bunny-like devil against her, she’d be in trouble. The last time she had caught her trail, she only managed to survive and to escape thanks to Vali’s help.

A bleak laugh escaped her soft lips. 

She had taken the mission to infiltrate Spartanburg because she thought it would be easy, and because she could observe her little sister from afar. But it now seemed that she had underestimated the deep currents running through this small town.

It was allegedly the home of small fry. If half of what she’d learned since coming here was true, that was far from the truth. Some of the biggest fish swam in this little pond. Or, rather, the fish that swam in this little pond had connections to and the protection of the most powerful among Hell’s elite.

If she wasn’t careful, she might die for real this time.

“Fufufu! Well, I can’t die yet. I have yet to give birth to the next generation of Nekoshou.”

She couldn't let her race face extinction. She would never let that happen.

‘Sadly, the White Dragon Emperor refused me. Fufufu! I wonder… would the Red Dragon Emperor turn me down, too?’

Shaking her head while a wry smile curled her lips, she walked to the end of the alley and vanished without a trace. 

***

Nyaa!!

From the shadows, a black cat with abnormally intelligent eyes strutted from the alley onto the boulevard. Looking both ways before continuing merrily on its way with lethargic yet graceful strides that only a cat could make, it wrinkled its nose to rid itself of the fetid stench of death.

Behind it, a ray of moonlight shone where the woman had stood. It cast its silver light on a macabre scene where ten devils lay in a pool of their own blood—all dead.