Chapter 125: Full Moon (1/2)
Evelyn groggily yawned and rubbed her eyes as she opened them. She beheld the blanket covering her half-asleep. She blinked a few times then speedily sobered up when she saw that Rakna was sitting cross-legged on an adjacent couch.
She let out a muffled yelp and wiped the drool around her mouth before sitting properly. She took a closer look at him and sighed in relief once she noticed he was in deep meditation.
”{Don't be so fast in your respite, young Cambion. He still saw you drooling in your sleep.}”
”Eh?!” The succubus almost fell over when she heard a voice in her head. She looked around her nervously and a chuckle sounded before the blurry figure of Higure solidified in front of her.
”{It's me.}”
”Oh… Higure…” Evelyn began to calm down until her words registered in her mind. ”Wait, he saw what?!” The lioness burst out laughing and she flushed. ”Don't make fun of me!” She shouted with a pout.
”{Hahaha! Don't fret, young lady. You were adorable, you know? Especially when you mewled as he swathed you with that blanket,}” Higure said and enjoyed the succubus' blush deepen.
Evelyn glanced at the meditating form of Rakna then back at the blanket and even the scarf around her neck. This warmth… the one she felt in her chest was the first she had ever felt from anyone other than her family. Now, it was even more predominant after becoming a Cambion; after she had resigned herself to her fate.
Higure watched her with a softening gaze as she gripped the blanket with a small smile. ”{Young lady, can I ask you something?}” She inquired without a trace of teasing.
Evelyn looked back at her with a calmer expression and tilted her head. ”Yes?”
”{What is your opinion on your current situation?}”
”Sorry?”
”{I mean to say; are you fine just following my devourer like this? I'm aware of the promise your brother made with him, Rakna told me, but there isn't any obligation for you to stay with him. You could just bind yourself to something other than Sonata and live your life. I heard Phantoms can even have children.}”
Evelyn's eyes widened a bit. ”So… you're asking me why I stay with Rakna?”
”{Well, other than your crush on him,}” the lioness snickered and the succubus opened her mouth to retort, embarrassed, but ultimately forced herself silent. It was true, after all. ”{I'm not trying to say that you are misguided or something. I just want to know your motives a bit more.}”
She shook her head. ”It's all right. You don't need to justify it. It's a legitimate question. I admit that maybe I'm possibly, perhaps, a tad bit, attracted to him,” she said while shyly looking away. ”But, regardless, what choice do I have? He freed my brother and took me under his protection. If I were to decline, where would I go?”
”You say I could settle down; I would like that. Even with the constant reminder of the System telling me to climb Plateaus ever since I was unsealed, it sounds like a peaceful life,” she said. ”But I'm not ready for it… I will be frank with you, I just can't find rest,” she stated and clenched her hands. ”Just like my brother, I feel my demonic nature boiling every time I recall that day and what happened to us.”
Higure hummed pensively. ”{Is it… revenge?}”
”Heh, I don't even know,” she replied helplessly. ”No, I wouldn't say so. It's just… anger. I feel angry at myself. Angry at the world. Angry at that damn family. And I can't erase it,” she spat and for the split of a second, a strand of darkness sparked around her and her eyes glowed red. ”I'm not even sure if the ones who caused our demise are even alive anymore. I don't even know who they were exactly.”
”{Regarding that,}” Higure followed up, noticing but ignoring the odd fluctuations. ”{It's the part I don't understand well. Rakna told me that your family had been betrayed by the Jin. Why so?}”
”Even to this day, I'm not sure,” Evelyn said somberly. ”But I clearly heard the ones who attacked us speak of their orders. If I had to guess, I'd say it was because my father's influence grew too big for their liking due to his talent and natural charisma as an incubus.”
”{I see… I think I understand. You need closure,}” the lioness concluded. ”{Phantoms are beings overflowing with powerful demonic energy. It has the nasty effect of amplifying negative emotions which you thankfully resisted thanks to the purity of your soul. You're a gentle girl.}”
”Thank you,” Evelyn smiled brightly.
”{Well, irrespective of your motives, I believe it would do good for you to be with Rakna,}” she said and glanced at the teen in question. Evelyn also looked at him, a bit confused.
”What do you mean?”
”{Rakna needs as much love and company as he can get,}” the lioness said. ”{Whether it is romantic in nature or not; it doesn't matter. I know for a fact that his entire being craves it.}”
”You think?” Evelyn seemed a bit doubtful. ”He doesn't act like it.”
”{Does he act like anything?}” The lioness deadpanned.
”…point taken.”
”{What I'm trying to say is that he's not someone who should be left alone for too long. He has confessed to me himself that his mental state was hazardous. At least, in the past. It would not be a good thing for him to regress.}”
Evelyn stayed silent and gazed deeply at the meditating werewolf before nodding to herself. ”I will do my best. I'm not sure how much I can do for him, but if it's even just as a friend, I promise to be there to assist him.”
Higure grinned. ”{That's what I'm talking about. Obviously, I'll also do it. I like to believe that being inside his head is a good spot to keep him in line.}”
The succubus giggled and her system abruptly notified her of a message. ”Oh, it's time for us to go. Allan and the girls are ready to go hunting. Flavia's bringing Tyran and Pronos as well.”
”{Hah, I can just imagine that young man's reaction at the little Dreorin joining them,}” the lioness quipped and Evelyn smiled.
”True,” she said and stood up. She folded the blanket and wore her cloak again. ”Thank you for the chat. It was… appeasing.”
”{It was my pleasure, young Cambion,}” Higure said and she nodded before walking away. As she left, the lioness squinted her eyes in thought. 'That brief burst of darkness… and that small ripple on her soul… was it a trace of Blackening? No, it was something different,' she thought and smiled at the realization. 'Devourer, you got yourself a wonderful ally.'
⠀
* * *
⠀
When Rakna opened his eyes, it was to the uncomfortable feeling of all his hair standing and his fangs growing over his lips. His brows twitched and he instinctively activated Fabled Sight, his irises turning gold.
”This is…” He whispered when he saw silvery strands of energy getting greedily sucked in by his tails and ears.
”{Lunar energy,}” Higure completed for him. ”{Interesting. Your body is absorbing more and more as we get close to the evening.}”
”Lunar energy?”
”{You can compare it to what I explained during my teaching of runecraft; it is a magical concept that is birthed by the world.}”
”I see…” Rakna replied, forced to repress a growl. He frowned and circulated his mana and soul to get control back. His hair and fangs returned to normal and he sighed. He opened his status and noted that his attributes were higher by a few digits. His attention was then caught by a blinking circle in the corner of his vision. He expanded it and a message from Gray appeared.