Is It Strange For A Succubus To Be Wearing Clothes?

Chapter 5

—–CROW—– 

“Watching the flock of rams die, their bellies burst from overfeeding, is like watching them fall into a peaceful sleep.”

“Sleep tight, Mary’s little lamb. Sleep tight, sleep tight, sleep tight with a burst belly.”

What I did was simple.

Did I infuse my voice with magic power to rupture their insides?

No.

I simply sang a lullaby to the pathetically jealous flock, while simultaneously shoving all the excess vital essence and life force overflowing from me—and needlessly wasted around me—into their bellies.

“Mary had a little lamb~ No, a hideous lamb~ A hideous lamb~”

The Succubus Empress can freely manipulate vital essence as if it were her own. Vital essence encompasses life force, the energy of all living things.

The rams, with their endless regenerative abilities, weren’t easy targets, even for me.  Physical attacks were useless.

Ironically, their overflowing regenerative power was their only weakness.

I reversed the flow of their life force, their vital essence, back into their bodies, overfeeding them until they burst.

The lullaby… well, that’s instinct.

A Succubus Empress’s instinct.

Elegantly gesturing to kill enemies is pretty, but singing a lullaby in a sweet voice is even prettier, right?

That’s why I instinctively do it.

Objectively, it might seem like something a chuunibyou would do. Who acts like that in real life? But a Succubus’s instincts have nothing to do with that. If it seems beautiful, we do it, no matter how childish.

And combined with my face, it truly was a beautiful sight.

Simply put: “I’m pretty.”

“One left~ The Old Ram remains~ The dying, tearing Old Ram~”

The flock wasn’t beautiful.

But they loved beauty more than anything.

Despite their near-blindness, they appreciated nature, the sky, the floating clouds, the harmony of humans and animals. They found beauty in everything.

Except themselves.

Even in my eyes—no, objectively, putting aside my personal preferences, even monsters and beasts would find them repulsive.

Their flayed skin, their countless useless eyes, their sensitivity to gazes…

They seemed to lash out in jealousy of those with sight, but they weren’t jealous of sight itself.  They were jealous of the ability to see themselves through another’s eyes.

They recognized their own ugliness reflected in the gazes of others.

The beautiful world, the beautiful creatures, and amidst it all, the hideous rams.

How could they not be horrified?

“Pitiful.”

That’s why they screamed when someone looked at them.  They couldn’t see the world, but they could see themselves through the eyes of others.  A flayed, four-legged beast with dozens of unseeing eyes.

How could they not feel cursed by God?

“A hideous ram, enraged and jealous of its own ugliness, perceived through the eyes of others.”

That’s why the pitiful ram, believing itself abandoned by the world and by God, cried out in anguish and resentment.

Why am I so hideous?

Why doesn’t my skin heal completely?

Do you also see me as this monstrous thing?

Recognizing its own wretched form, the ram raged.  Why did all the normal creatures have perfect fur and skin, while it was so deformed?

Its jealousy of normalcy, of beauty, fueled its hunger and rage.

How do I know this?

Beauty shines brightest when contrasted with imperfection. Recognizing that imperfection is a Succubus Empress’s instinct.

Ugly desires and instincts born from imperfection can transform into beauty and ideals.  It’s natural for a Succubus Empress, a lover of beauty, to sense this unconsciously.

Or maybe it’s simply because the Old Ram is a monster, and I’m something similar, so I understand its feelings.

“Ah, are you falling into a nice, full sleep?”

As I walked, the flesh of the Lambs and Young Rams began to rot and decay.  Their cloudy eyes, as they died, held my image.

“Are you full?  So full your belly burst.  Good.”

[BAAAAAAAAAA…]

With the younger rams dead, only the Old Ram remained.

It wasn’t dead yet.

Its wretched form, its eyes filled with misery and sorrow, stared at me.

It had been like this from the beginning.  The Lambs, the Young Rams, the Old Ram… all mesmerized by me, even if their atrophied vision could only perceive my silhouette.

I had unveiled my face, but the effect was even greater than I anticipated.

Ah, my beauty is sometimes a burden.

“Ah, you say I’m beautiful? Thank you. But it doesn’t please me. I hear it so often, it’s no longer novel.”

[….]

It didn’t speak human words, but I could sense its intentions.  Perhaps it was my imagination.

“A lullaby before you die?  One last look at my beautiful face?”

[Baa…aaa…aaa…]

I smiled and caressed the Old Ram’s eye.

Then I squeezed.

—Squish!!!

[…!]

The Old Ram couldn’t even scream in pain.

“No.”

[Baa…?]

“Because you’re hideous.”

[….]

Its eyes twitched violently.  Ah, such delicious anguish.

“Why so resentful? Driven by wicked jealousy, enraged by your own ugliness, you stole the lives of others. You tried to devour and kill anyone who simply met your gaze. Did you not foresee this outcome?”

[Baa…! Aaa…!]

“You’re ugly inside and out. Why should I grant you a beautiful farewell?”

Such intense flavors weren’t usually to my liking, like junk food.  I rarely indulged, but sometimes… maybe five days out of the year… I craved it.

Perhaps today was one of those days.

“Hideous ram. Hideous ram.  Ugly and monstrous, old and hideous ram.”

[Baa…Crackle, crack…Gah!]

“Die with a burst belly.  Die with burst eyes.  Die with burst flesh.”

—Squish!

“Truly hideous ram, don’t even look at my beautiful face. Just burst and die.”

—Squish! Squish!

I forced more life force into its body, and the Old Ram screamed in agony.  Its regenerative abilities couldn’t cope with the overwhelming surge of life energy.  Its cloudy eyes bulged and burst.  Its stomach, already ruptured, exploded.

Flesh and blood splattered, but I remained untouched.

The Old Ram, despite its age, possessed an immense amount of life force.  It would be a waste to let it dissipate.

“Thank you. Even though you’re old and decrepit, I’ll accept what you leave behind.”

Well, you can’t hear me anyway.

‘Drain.’

The lingering life force and vital essence flowed into me.

Ah, I’m full.  So full…

So full that my Succubus instincts are overflowing.

Vital essence, life force… it sustains me, but it also intoxicates me, clouding my mind.

If I consume too much… my Succubus nature begins to dominate my human reason.

The old, decrepit ram contained more vital essence than I expected.

“Haaa…”

It felt like I had eaten pizza and chicken for every meal, without any sides or drinks.

So greasy…

“J-Jae-hee-nim!!”

A refreshing voice.  A slightly teasing tone.  The image of a cute, slightly foolish face.

I quickly replaced my veil.  Even a high-ranking Awakened like Officer Dan couldn’t handle seeing my true face.

Was there anything out of place?  Sleeves, hair, face, expression, eyes…  Everything seemed fine.

I turned to see Officer Dan, much smaller than me, still bowed at a 90-degree angle.

Like a penguin.  An Adélie penguin.  Or maybe a juvenile Emperor penguin?

“Thank you! Thank you so much for coming on such short notice!”

“Ah, the greasiness is gone.”

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing.”

I almost patted her head.  But my hands were covered in the hideous ram’s remains.  She would have been sick.

I shouldn’t have touched it.  I shouldn’t have given in to the impulse to crush its eyes.  It was so ugly, inside and out…

Officer Dan, noticing my blood-soaked hands, quickly offered a clean handkerchief.

“Um… if you don’t mind…”

It looked unused. No, it had been used.

It’s fine.  No, it’s good.

“Thank you.”

“Of course…!”

I smiled, and Officer Dan bowed again.

Really, like a penguin.

Hee hee, greasy…

I think I could eat more.

—–CROW—–