True Incubus: The Demon with No Limits

”Welcome.”

Aevrienne smiled at Lucian.

Lucian stared at her, then at the passed-out Naomi lying beside her and he—

”...what did you do to her?”

He narrowed his eyes.

Aevrienne looked back at him and as she did, silver energy moved his body, gently placing him near a wall to support his back as it made him sit. Then, Aevrienne herself walked towards him and sat next to him.

Yes, even now, Lucian couldn’t use his limbs, his body’s state was... bad.

And despite all that, his eyes remained on Naomi.

Aevrienne did not fail to notice that.

”She is fine.”

She smiled.

”She merely pushed herself too far.

It seems she learns from the best.”

That made Lucian look at her, he was still a little confused. He was just talking to her a moment ago, how was he... moved away and... still talking to her...?

Also, why did this Aevrienne feel different from the previous one when they both looked the same?

”Which one of you was fake? I presume mine?”

He asked, understanding some of the situation.

Aevrienne nodded, not hiding it.

Lucian nodded back.

”When will she wake up?”

”Her mind needs some time to recover.

An hour, I think?”

Lucian nodded.

Aevrienne nodded back as she kept looking at him, it was clear his body’s state was getting worse with time.

But he was still holding on for her sake.

Perhaps...

He really was different.

For a moment, the place remained silent, neither Lucian nor Aevrienne said anything, then—

”She likes you very much.”

Aevrienne spoke after a few seconds.

”More than I initially understood.”

Hearing those words, a gentle smile appeared on his face.

”I’m grateful.”

”That’s all?”

Aevrienne tilted her head.

”What else should I say?”

”I expected something more...”

She thought about it.

”I thought you’d be proud.”

”Oh, I’m very proud.”

Lucian laughed.

”But mostly grateful.”

Aevrienne kept staring at him, while he looked at Naomi.

”Having someone care about you that much isn’t something you should take for granted.”

After a few more seconds of silence—

”She told me about your parents.”

Aevrienne revealed the truth and...

Lucian did not show any change in his expression.

”Is that so?”

That was it.

That was all he said on the matter.

Clearly, he was hiding something, Aevrienne did not press further, not right now because right now, she wanted to ask something else.

”There is something else I wished to ask.”

”Hmm?”

”During your battle with Varek... why did you not use that form earlier?”

She asked directly and... Lucian’s expression changed.

”The form you used at the end, the strength it gave you was enough to overwhelm him completely, if you had used it before, the Witch may not have been eliminated.”

She spoke carefully, then...

”Or... was that the plan all alon—”

”I couldn’t.”

Lucian shook his head.

He did not plan to eliminate Isolde.

He truly did think of her as an ally.

But...

”I only had fifteen seconds.”

Lucian revealed the problem.

”And I don’t just get everything when I use it.”

”What do you mean?”

”When I use that form, I ask for something.”

”You... ask for something?”

”Yes, strength, speed or defence, what I desire most at that moment, that is what I am granted.”

Aevrienne frowned at that.

She...

She had never heard about something like that before.

He desires it and it’s... granted?

...what?

Lucian, oblivious to what she was thinking, continued.

”This time, I asked for strength so I only got strength, not speed. If I used my form when Varek was still moving around the battlefield, it would have been useless, I wouldn’t have been able to catch up to him.”

Those words brought Aevrienne back to the topic as well.

”So you needed to make sure you used your form when you were already holding him.”

”That’s correct.”

Lucian nodded.

”How did you know a situation like that would occur?”

”Because I created it.”

”...what?”

”Well, more accurately, I waited for it.”

Lucian tilted his head, correcting himself.

”I let him continue attacking me, to weaken me and become confident enough to approach me, him being smarter than expected helped too.”

Aevrienne continued listening.

”He figured out Naomi was my ’weakness’, he thought he could use her to harvest suffering energy from me.

I assumed he would want to push me into a helpless state, that he would want to make me fight in a situation where he knew he would win.

Thanks to someone very dear to me, I obviously had the advantage when it came to energy, so a physical altercation was his only bet.

And that’s exactly what he did.

It wasn’t particularly difficult once I understood what sort of man he was.”

Lucian answered casually and Aevrienne...

She couldn’t believe it.

”You thought of all of that... while your body was being torn apart?”

Lucian blinked in surprise.

”Was I supposed to stop thinking?”

He asked in a ridiculous tone as if what he did was the most obvious thing in the world and... Aevrienne looked at him with a strange look on her face.

She wasn’t... impressed.

She was... disturbed.

”One of your teammates abandoned you, another was eliminated, the last one was captured and you could barely move your limbs and you... were still thinking...?”

Aevrienne still couldn’t believe it.

But she herself had watched Lucian constantly telling Naomi he could win even when he was in that ruined state.

Even back then, he was stopping her from surrendering.

Did he... really think that far ahead that entire time...?

”Always look for a way to win, if there isn’t one—

Make one.”

Lucian laughed as he turned towards Aevrienne.

”That’s what my teacher taught me, I was only following her instructions.”

And Aevrienne...

”I see.”

She nodded slowly.

Still feeling a little odd.

For a moment, she remained silent, thinking about everything Lucian said, then, her expression changed again as she thought of something.

”What if Varek didn’t do what you expected?”

”What do you mean?”

Lucian tilted his head.

”What if... he immobilised you and tortured Naomi to see if he could harvest any power of suffering through you?

Didn’t your plan... endanger her?”