"What do you mean you lost her trail?"
Malrion questioned with a threatening calm as he twirled the champagne in his glass, watching the golden liquid spin.
"We… We sent the strongest Nightbinder. We don't know how, but… She killed it, Sire."
The words caused Malrion to pause.
"What?" He questioned in astonishment, and the tiny creatures in front of him shrieked back in fear.
"S-she killed it, sire. By the time we located the site of the encounter, there was no trace of her. We don't… we don't know how she was able to escape an S-rank Nightbinder." The green creature explained, and Malrion's mind raced as he listened.
It made no sense. Absolutely no sense. Selora wasn't a fighter.
Sure, every demon has enough strength to put up a candid fight against lower members of the heavenly body, and eliminate humans… but to kill an S rank Nightbinder??
"Clearly, we underestimated her, sire. If we want to get her… we need to try another approach." A medium-sized black creature with horns like those of a bull spoke, and crimson eyes. Malrion looked over at him.
"She's stronger… and smarter than we anticipated." He added, and Malrion swallowed the rage of anger and disappointment clawing up his throat.
Rage clawed at the back of Malrion's throat, but he forced it down.
"Get out," he said coldly.
They hesitated.
"NOW!" Without waiting another second, the creatures all scrambled out. None of them wanted to be left behind with Malrion's unforgiving wrath.
As soon as the massive doors clicked shut behind the creatures, Malrion threw his glass across the room as an enraged roar escaped him.
"You can run, Selora," he snarled, eyes glowing with the fury that stirred his soul.
"Run, little succubus. But I'll find you. I swear it. I'll find you, and you will be mine. Mine!"
********
Selora sighed as she finally saw Isabel's house in the distance. She had dragged herself from the site of the fight and spent the past few hours trying to find her way here.
With no money, a dead phone, and a body too weak to use most of her succubus activities, she was forced to rely on the frail stamina of human strength.
"How much longer till I pass out?" She groaned dramatically, and her screen popped up in front of her again.
[One more hour, till exhaustion hits its peak]
The words read, and she sighed. She wasn't expecting the system to reply, but it did.
Now that she knew she had one hour before passing out cold, she felt on edge. She wanted more than anything to get a warm bath and just close her eyes in sweet, relaxing sleep.
Using Isabel's memory, she reached into the flower pot beside the door, and pulled out a key. She inserted the key and unlocked the door. The moment she stepped in, and unknown, but still familiar voice yelled.
"Isabel!?"
Selora spun around in panic and found a busty, middle-aged woman draped in a long, flowery dress running up to her.
"Oh, my baby!" The woman exclaimed as she held Selora's head against the succulent tenderness of her breasts, and Selora froze.
This was… Isabel's mother.
Shit! Selora cursed as she shut her eyes.
She had completely forgotten about them. Isabel's doting mother and her overprotective father, who was a Catholic priest.
What a chaotic situation. A succubus hiding in the body of a priest's daughter.
"Where have you been? What happened to you, dear?!" Isabel's mother questioned in worry as she pulled Selora away, and Selora blinked at her, not knowing how to respond.
The woman looked down at the clothes Selora had on, and her eyes widened.
"I-Is that blood?! Are you hurt!?" The woman demanded as she grabbed Isabel's arm and began to spin her around, inspecting her.
"And why are you dressed that way?" Another voice demanded, and when the woman stepped aside, Selora's eyes landed on the elderly, white-haired man who was eyeing her with angry, curious eyes from the sofa where he sat. His eyes were hard, angry, and full of judgment.
A waterfall of lies and excuses flooded Selora's mind, but she was not in the right frame of mind to construct one properly. She just wanted to sleep.
The infuriating human exhaustion was weighing down on her, and she needed sleep.
"I was almost kidnapped."
The words rushed out of her mouth before she could stop to vet it, and Isabel's parents frozen.
"W-what?" The woman questioned in horror as she drew her hands to her lips.
"H-How did that happen??" She demanded, and Selora took a deep breath.
The best way to save oneself from a situation like this without having to do too much, was whisking the truth and a few lies together into a simple, fluffy cloud of convincing events.
"I..., don't know how, but… everyone at the bus station I usually take a bus home from started acting weird."
Selora began, slipping into the facade of an innocent, clueless 19 year old who just had a traumatizing day.
"They... they were acting weird, touching each other in strange ways. It was uncomfortable. I had to get away from there…" She continued, and the woman turned to her husband.
"See! I told you it was real. I saw it on the news. Videos of it are all over the internet right now." She exclaimed, and Selora shut her eyes in relief.
Thankful that at least they were buying her story. After all, she hadn't told any lie yet.
"That doesn't explain why you're coming home this late." Isabel's father questioned, and Selora raised a brow as she stared at him from under her lashes.
He was going to be a tough nut to crack, now wouldn't he?
Tough or not, she had to keep up her act. She couldn't slip up or let them figure out that something was wrong with her.
Staying in a house with such heaven believing humans was a risky move. But if she played her cards right, she would be fine.
"I'm awaiting your answer, young lady, and why are you dressed like that?" Isabel's father's voice came again, and Selora drew a long, frustrated breath.
How would she answer these very specific questions? This man already looked like trouble.
She would have to do something about him.