Even though Tiffany repeatedly reassured Seojun that there was nothing he could’ve done, he still couldn’t help but feel a little guilty, especially after hearing what lengths Tiffany proposed they would need to go to save Taeyeon. Seeing the reluctance and annoyance, anger, whatever emotion that was mixed in on Tiffany’s face that Seojun had trouble recognizing because Tiffany never seemed to be anything but happy and cheerful was enough to build pre-conceived notions in Seojun’s mind of these ‘devils’ that seemed to be necessary to match the overwhelming power Seohyun and Yoona wielded. What concerned Seojun even more was that these devils didn’t seem to be the ‘police force’, but rather, a … mercenary force? An extra-legal military, or at least militant, force? Tiffany didn’t give Seojun any additional information, probably for his own benefit, as leaving him in the dark gave him the benefit of being able to claim ignorance if they were caught by authorities.
“What about Sunny? She’s a witch, right?”
Tiffany nodded. “Sunny is one of the few demons that aren’t prejudiced against succubae. Although, from what I’ve heard, Sunny is somewhat of an outcast amongst other witches and warlocks.”
“Could she help?”
Tiffany pursed her lips. “I doubt it, but it’s worth asking.”
When Sunny arrived at their house later, she confirmed Tiffany’s suspicions. “The biggest difference between witches and High Witches is that High Witches can manipulate something else we call ‘ecliptis’.”
The presence of some other magic-type system was something that Seojun was speculating about, seeing how easily they were able to subdue Taeyeon, but seeing Tiffany become shocked at the revelation, despite everything, was a bit funny.
“Yah, you’ve been a succubus for over a millennium and you still don’t know about ecliptis?!”
“What? How can you blame me, my Trait only deals in life force!”
“Your best friend’s Trait uses ecliptis, though!”
“Hm? Taeyeon’s?”
Although it was Seojun who asked the question, the same question was written all over Tiffany’s face. Thankfully, Sunny didn’t seem to catch it, as she had turned to Seojun to answer him. “Do you remember my explanation of vitalis—I mean, life force from last time?”
“Hm? ‘Vitalis’?”
Sunny shook her head. “Sorry, I forgot succubae refer to vitalis as ‘life force’. ‘Vitalis’ is what most other demons call it.”
Was this another discrimination thing, or was this something succubae were just resistant about? Considering how young he was relative to the other two demonesses in the room, Seojun figured there was no point in guessing. The history they’ve lived through was probably something Seojun couldn’t even comprehend. Even a glance at Tiffany didn’t help, whose face remained neutral at Sunny’s statement. Maybe it wasn’t a tool for discrimination? Just a difference in naming convention amongst different cultures, or demons, perhaps? “So, life force, or ‘vitalis’, I guess, is an energy that can be stored from living things, and allows your body to do anything it can normally do but more.”
“Right. Tiffany’s Trait invokes a natural bodily function, recovering from intense physical activity, and shortens that recovery time significantly. Taeyeon’s Trait also invokes a natural bodily function, of swelling, and uses it to create very specific shapes. What about her Trait, then, seems to break that convention?”
Seojun was stumped. He wasn’t expecting a biology quiz—or, rather a … demonology quiz? A magic quiz?
“Oh, the thing where someone feels the sensations of the body parts Tae makes!”
“Yes, and one more crucial part of Taeyeon’s Trait that invokes ecliptis, and is most likely the reason why Seohyun and Yoona want to study Taeyeon. Any guesses?” This time, Tiffany was also stumped, so Sunny continued with, “A hint: it’s something else to do with these body parts.” After a little bit more of silence, “…especially the male body parts.”
“Oh. The—uh, what do I call it? The, er, how the body parts can … how should I … how the body parts can spray out the same fluids as the original.”
“That’s right! Good, Seojun. Taeyeon’s Trait seems to have the ability to not only transport a seemingly unlimited quantity of a substance seamlessly across the working range of her Trait, but also the ability to recreate that substance perfectly.” As the words sank in, the eyes of both Tiffany and Seojun widened.
“Wait. Does that mean Tae could, like, duplicate money, or gold, or something?”
“Well, I doubt Taeyeon could do that herself, but I’m sure that’s what Seohyun and Yoona intend to find out. From what I heard, the succubus was created in an experiment to test the limits of ecliptis, and as you can tell, that experiment turned out extremely well. The fact that succubae are the only demons that were once completely human, and that they rely so heavily on humans for their continued existence, were enough reason to discriminate against succubae, but after it was discovered that the Traits of some of these succubae use ecliptis in a way that even High Witches and High Warlocks couldn’t comprehend, the already marginalized class of demons began to be hunted for experimentation.”
Holy shit … Seojun never gave it much thought, but the history of demonkind was pretty brutal. How were Taeyeon and Tiffany able to survive through those times?
“Not only that, but succubae already had a reason to not like other demons. Tiffany?”
Tiffany made a face of disgust. “Their semen is disgusting. Like, I want to rip open my skin and dig it out of me.”
“A succubus consuming the sustenance of a demon is probably similar to what it’s like for you to eat rotten food.” Just hearing that made Seojun want to throw up. “While vitalis—while life force is present in all living things, ecliptis is only present in demons, and it’s that which is what taints the sustenance that succubae—and I—consume.”
“Wait.” The fact that Tiffany knew what it tasted like … Seojun shook his head as he felt the two heads turn towards him. “Never mind.” Seojun didn’t want to imagine what the implications of that were. The visceral reaction Tiffany had when she, herself, suggested the potential necessity of requesting aid from devils was enough to make Seojun dislike them, but this additional context created a sinking feeling in Seojun’s chest. Surely, if they wanted help from these ‘devils’, they would want something in return. And, what was it that a succubus could do to pay for the services of these demons, a type of payment that only succubae could pay?
“High Witches and High Warlocks are very prideful, though. My guess is that, the reason why they kidnapped Seojun was to trade him for…?”
“A year.”
Sunny nodded, albeit with a grim expression. “Their pride disallows them from making bargains that don’t offer equal value to both parties.” So, that explained the reason why Seohyun and Yoona didn’t levy their position of power to demand more from Taeyeon. “But, an entire year being experimented on by High Witches…”
“So that’s why you can’t help? They’re more powerful than you?”
Sunny nodded again. “I would otherwise love to help, but unfortunately, I’m about as useful against Seohyun and Yoona as you are, Seojun.”
“But if you can’t help, then why would ‘devils’ be helpful?”
“Devils are unique in many regards, but the important one is that they are the only ones who can manipulate their own bodies with vitalis or ecliptis. That’s why it’s devils that make up the policing force for demonkind: they’re the only ones that are impervious to demonic attacks.”
“Sunny, you never explained what ‘ecliptis’ is.”
Sunny sighed. “Honestly, there isn’t a very apt description for what ecliptis is. Think of it as magic. It was once thought that ‘ecliptis’ deals with distance, that it enables actions normally done by the human body but at differing distances. For example, pushing or pulling is ordinarily an action only doable if an object is within arm’s reach, but with ecliptis, a High Witch and High Warlocks can push or pull an object much further away. However, ever since experiments started on succubae and new ways of using ecliptis were discovered, this understanding of ecliptis has become archaic.”
“But, why can’t we just go to the policing force? It sounded like Boa did something that protected succubae, so shouldn’t it be fine to go to them for help?”
“That … is a tough question, Seojun. Demons, even High Witches and High Warlocks, used to fear humanity. They outnumbered us a thousand, ten-thousand, a hundred-thousand to one, and some of them even became adept at trapping, capturing, and killing us. Demons, for the most part, can make themselves appear as humans, but an issue arose if someone began questioning the unchanging appearance of a demon. The fact that we don’t physically age was the number one indicator for humans to differentiate us from normal humans, so when Boa developed her Trait to be able to affect the memories of humans at a global scale, she offered her services on a condition: a pact, forbidding demons from hunting, from raping, from discriminating against succubae, and in return, she would use her Trait to allow demons to mingle with humans without having to fear being questioned for their un-aging appearance. Of course, discrimination against succubae still happens, and that is especially evident in the policing force: from what I’ve heard, Taeyeon has had a few bad encounters with them—”
“So have I, those scum bags.”
“—right, and Tiffany as well, which is why Taeyeon was hesitant to actually call them, especially against such prominent High Witches as Seohyun and Yoona. Beliefs, grudges, general prejudice and disdain that span centuries and millennia are hard to shake, I suppose.”
There were so many more questions Seojun wanted to ask Sunny: who created succubae, and in fact, how about witches and warlocks? It seemed like succubae were the only demons that were ‘artificially’ created, or rather, not ‘natural’; did that mean witches and warlocks, devils, High Witches and High Warlocks, were naturally born? Under what circumstances were they born?
But Seojun knew better than to delay much more. They already spent enough time asking Sunny questions; the more time they spent doing this, the longer Taeyeon suffered. There was one more crucial question to ask, but this time, directed at Tiffany: it was a question he was almost too scared to ask, because he feared he already knew the answer, but as was already established, Seojun knew frighteningly little about the world of demons. Maybe his preconceived notions were mistaken.
“Um, Tiffany, so then, how are we going to convince these devils—what were they called, ‘2PM’?—to help us? I don’t know if I have enough money—”
“It’s not a matter of money, Seojun.” Hearing that was the last thing he wanted to hear. “It’s ok. I’ll pay.”
Standing before the six of them, the pompous, confident gazes cast upon them made Seojun dread the terms of payment even more. On the outside, they looked no more than regular, normal human men—extremely attractive and well-built human men—but even Seojun could feel their power. There wasn’t anything intimidating about their expressions or the casual way they held themselves per se, but Seojun felt intimidated nonetheless. Just looking at them sent shivers down his spine, but looking away would be rude, and doing something that might offend them was not what Seojun wanted to do. Tiffany had insisted on him accompanying her, to which Seojun agreed without a second thought, but now, he was regretting that decision.
“Seohyun and Yoona … it’s not going to be easy, dealing with those two. I nearly lost my arm last time I got into a scuffle with them, and I get the feeling they weren’t particularly trying. How do you plan on compensating us?”
Seojun noticed that Tiffany only mentioned that the semen of demons was disgusting, but nothing of the act itself. And, now, looking at their relatively human-like builds, Seojun figured the act itself was probably no less pleasurable for demons as it was for human males. Further, considering succubae were quite literally designed to heighten the experience of sex, combined with the explicit mention of the pact forbidding the rape of succubae from Sunny, there was one conclusion Seojun came to: despite how much succubae seemed to hate it, from the other side, sex with a succubus seemed to be, for a lack of a better term, a highly sought-after commodity.
“I’ll do anything. Please, just save Taeyeon.”
“Hmm … yhen, how about … one week?”
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