Chapter 117: We don’t need men

"What the hell is this?"

The fat man, who had just been fed a piece of meat by a Succubus, immediately sat upright when every light in the room went out. The woman kneeling at his feet was startled too, but her hands remained beneath his heavy foot on her thigh, clearly used to not changing position without an order.

The young man reacted faster. He threw his wineglass onto the table and reached for the drawer beside him, but the moment he had pulled it halfway open, a thin streak of light swept past.

Click.

The entire drawer was cut off from the table and fell to the floor. The black pen inside rolled into the middle of the room, making the female Succubi serving them turn pale at once.

In the darkness, a calm female voice spoke. "I advise you not to touch it."

The red emergency lights slowly came on. The young man spun toward the door, only to see a pink-haired Succubus already standing there.

Velyss leaned lightly against the doorframe, one arm folded across her chest and the other holding a dagger so thin it nearly blended into the darkness. Her long pink hair fell over one shoulder, while her seductive face was so indifferent that no one could guess what she was thinking.

The fat man pointed at her. "Who are you?!"

Velyss did not answer. She stepped forward, flicked the black pen up with the tip of her shoe, and caught it. That single movement made the Succubi in the room instinctively step back.

Velyss watched their reaction, and her violet-pink eyes grew slightly colder.

The young man immediately shouted, "Give that back!"

He lunged forward. Velyss shifted slightly to avoid him, grabbed his wrist, and twisted it gently.

Crack!

His arm bent at an unnatural angle.

"Aaaaah!"

The young man dropped to his knees. Velyss still held his wrist, her expression unchanged. "Don’t scream."

His face had gone red from the pain, yet he still forced himself to look up and curse, "You bitch..."

Velyss stomped down on his knee.

Crack!

The second scream was even louder. The man collapsed to the side, one arm and one leg completely unable to move. Velyss released him as though she had just thrown away something unnecessary.

The fat man watched the scene and turned in panic to run for the back door, but he had only taken three steps.

Boom!

The window beside him exploded. A blonde figure rushed in through the shards of glass and landed directly before the exit.

Karin straightened up, brushed a piece of glass from her shoulder, and looked at the fat man with bright eyes. It was not coldness.

It was joy.

"Keep running."

The fat man froze. Karin tilted her head slightly, the corners of her lips curling higher. "I like chasing."

Velyss looked at her. "Karin."

"Hm?"

"Go easy on him."

Karin turned to her with an obedient smile. "I know."

Velyss looked at her for another second, clearly not believing her.

The fat man took advantage of that moment to turn and rush in another direction. Karin heard his footsteps and immediately looked back, her eyes lighting up. "I told you to keep running. Did you think I was serious?"

She giggled and rushed after him. Before the man could reach the door, Karin appeared beside him.

She did not use a sword or magic. She only raised one foot and stomped down on his knee.

Crack!

The joint bent backward. The fat man screamed and crashed to the floor.

"Aaaaaah!"

Karin stood beside him, looking at the twisted leg with even brighter eyes. "Oh."

She crouched down. "That sounds better than I thought."

The fat man immediately began crawling away with both hands. Karin did not stop him. She even walked slowly behind him, her hands behind her back as though she were taking a stroll.

"Crawl faster."

He turned around in terror. Karin smiled. "I’m giving you a chance."

The fat man grew more frightened, both hands dragging his heavy body across the ground. Karin watched for a few more seconds before becoming bored. "Too slow."

She stepped forward and planted her foot directly on the ankle of his other leg.

Crack!

"AAAAH!"

The man convulsed. Karin laughed out loud. "Hehe..."

Velyss sighed softly behind her. "Karin."

Karin turned around. "I’m still going easy on him."

"You’re laughing."

"I’m happy."

"I can see that."

Karin did not look embarrassed in the slightest. Instead, she looked down at the man beneath her foot. "I haven’t been allowed to play with this kind in a long time."

The fat man’s face turned pale. "Don’t..."

Karin immediately crouched down. "Don’t what?"

He trembled so badly that his lips would not close. "I have money."

Karin blinked. "I don’t lack money."

"I have crystals!"

"No need."

"Real estate! Supply warehouses! I’ll give you everything!"

Karin rested her chin on one hand, her expression beginning to turn bored. "Is there nothing more interesting?"

The fat man looked around. His gaze suddenly settled on several female Succubi. It was as if he had seized the last straw. "I have seven Succubi!"

The smile on Karin’s face vanished.

Not slowly.

It went out completely.

The man still did not realize it. "I’ll transfer the Contracts to you! You can have whoever you want, all of them..."

Karin tilted her head. "What did you just say?"

He stiffened. "I..."

Karin pointed at the women behind her. "They belong to you?"

The man trembled, but he still tried to explain. "I’m their Partner. By law..."

Karin suddenly laughed. "Hehehe..."

The sound was very quiet, but the moment Velyss heard it, she frowned slightly because she knew that kind of laugh.

Karin stood up. "I’ve changed my mind."

The fat man looked at her.

Karin stepped on his right forearm. She did not use all her strength immediately. Instead, she slowly pressed down. The man panicked at once. "Don’t! Don’t!"

Karin lowered her head to look at him, her bright eyes like those of a child who had found an interesting toy. "Do you hear that?"

"What?"

"Bone."

She increased the pressure.

Crack!

"Aaaaaaaaah!"

Karin laughed loudly. "That." She pointed at the broken arm. "That sound."

The female Succubi in the room watched her with complicated expressions. They were afraid, but no one stopped her.

Karin immediately shifted to the other arm. The fat man began to cry. "Please..."

Karin placed her foot on his arm. "Guess this time."

He shook his head frantically. "No!"

Karin stomped down.

Crack!

The sound of breaking bone rang out. She shuddered slightly in delight and laughed. "That’s right."

Velyss finally spoke. "That’s enough."

Karin turned to her. "There’s still one left."

Velyss looked at the young man lying on the ground. Karin followed her gaze, and her eyes immediately brightened again.

When the young man saw her walk over, all color drained from his face. "No..."

Karin crouched down. "Don’t be afraid." She smiled gently. "You still have two healthy limbs."

He began crawling backward. Karin followed. "You really liked using that pen, didn’t you?"

The young man fell silent. Karin pointed at the female Succubus who still had cigarette ash on her lips. "You also liked making her serve as an ashtray?"

His face stiffened. Karin watched his expression, and her smile deepened. "Then I understand."

She stomped on his uninjured arm.

Crack!

The man screamed. Karin did not wait for the scream to end before shifting to his other leg.

Velyss looked at her. "Karin."

"The last one."

"You’ve said that twice already."

"This time, I mean it."

Karin grabbed the man’s ankle. She deliberately lifted it slightly so he could see his own leg, then brought the heel of her shoe down onto his knee.

Crack!

His body jerked up in pain. Karin released his leg and put her hands on her hips. "Done."

She looked at the two men lying side by side, all four of their limbs broken. After a while, Karin nodded with satisfaction. "Much prettier now."

Velyss rubbed lightly between her brows. "You really are sick."

Karin immediately turned to her. "I’m giving back what they did to others."

"You’re clearly enjoying yourself."

Karin did not deny it. "So what?" She shrugged. "Can’t I work and have fun at the same time?"

Velyss was silent for a few seconds before deciding not to say anything else.

Karin used her foot to push the fat man toward the Succubi in the room. "Take them outside."

No one stepped forward immediately. Karin looked at them. "Don’t tell me you’re scared?"

One Succubus trembled slightly. Karin did not mock her. She only said, "I’ve already broken their arms and legs." Then she pointed at the two men. "What can they do now?"

No one answered.

Karin walked over to the Succubus who had been used as an ashtray. She crouched slightly until they were eye to eye. "What’s your name?"

The woman answered softly, "Lysa."

Karin nodded. "Lysa." She turned to the young man. "Does he know your name?"

Lysa fell silent.

The young man immediately said, "I do!"

Karin looked at him. "Then say it."

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Karin laughed. "That’s what I thought."

Lysa looked at the man lying on the ground. After a while, she slowly walked over and grabbed his collar. Another Succubus stepped up to help her. The two women dragged him outside. His body scraped across the stone floor as he called out in panic.

"Lysa!"

Lysa did not turn around.

Several others began dragging the fat man away as well. Karin watched them go, and a smile appeared on her face again. "Now this is interesting."

...

Fifteen minutes later, the entire garrison had been brought under control. The three Succubi locked in the warehouse had also been rescued. One of them had so many old wounds that even Karin fell silent for a few seconds when she saw them.

The two men were thrown into the middle of the yard. No one from Karin’s team continued beating them. Velyss stood at the edge of the crowd, while Karin sat atop a nearby crate with her legs swinging, chin resting on one hand.

More than thirty Succubi had gathered around them. No one came close.

The fat man began to laugh, the sound twisted with pain. "You don’t dare."

The expressions of many Succubi changed. He saw that, and his confidence immediately returned. "I’m your Partner."

The young man also forced himself to lift his head. "Without us..." He gasped. "...how will you cultivate?"

Several people unconsciously stepped back. The fat man laughed louder. "That’s right! Without men, all you can do is wait to die!"

Karin, who had been sitting nearby, immediately burst into laughter. "Ahahaha..."

Everyone looked at her. Karin jumped down from the crate. "I’ve been waiting for someone to say that."

She walked forward. The fat man frowned.

Karin reached into her spatial ring. A fist-sized object appeared. At first glance, it looked like a crystal sphere. But upon closer inspection, it was made of dozens of small crystal fragments of different sizes fused together. The violet-black pieces were joined in a strange way, with thin red lines flowing slowly through the gaps like veins.

The moment it appeared, every Succubus in the yard froze. The lingering hunger inside their bodies eased. Not by much, but clearly enough.

One female Succubus asked in shock, "What is that?"

Karin lifted the sphere. "The thing that makes the two men on the ground worthless."

The fat man immediately shouted, "Don’t believe her!"

Karin did not even look at him. She used her fingernail to separate a small piece from the sphere.

Click.

The remaining fragments shifted on their own, closing the gap. Karin held up the crystal fragment. "Only one piece."

She looked at everyone. "Attach it to your body."

"And then?" someone asked.

Karin curved her lips. "You’ll be able to keep absorbing energy."

The crowd immediately stirred.

"No Partner needed?"

"No."

"No vital essence needed?"

"No."

An older woman asked, "Where does this come from?"

This time, Karin did not answer immediately. She raised the crystal fragment to eye level. The pride in her expression gradually became something almost like reverence.

"Rahapt."

The crowd fell silent.

Karin slowly said, "The great God Rahapt has given us another path."

Velyss did not speak beside her. She only looked at Karin, then at the sphere.

Karin continued, "You don’t need to beg men anymore. You don’t need to trade your bodies for resources. You don’t need to fear that one day your Partner will leave and you will lose everything."

She clenched the crystal fragment. "Succubi can still grow stronger."

The fat man immediately shouted, "Lies!"

Karin turned to him. "Oh?"

"Nothing can replace us!"

Karin smiled. "Then let’s try it."

She looked at the crowd. "Who wants to?"

No one stepped forward right away. After a while, Lira stepped forward. The female captain beside her grabbed her hand. "Lira."

Lira shook her head. "I’ll try."

Karin watched her for a few seconds before nodding. "All right."

She stepped behind Lira. "Move your hair aside."

Lira did as she was told, revealing the nape of her neck. Karin placed the small crystal fragment against the skin just below her hairline.

The crystal immediately melted and sank into her skin.

Lira trembled. "Ugh..."

The female captain immediately grew worried. Velyss raised a hand. "Wait."

Several seconds passed. Lira’s breathing gradually steadied. She opened her eyes, and the magic power around her began to ripple. Lira looked at both hands. "I..."

She created a small sphere of magic power. "I really am absorbing energy."

The crowd went completely silent.

The female captain immediately asked, "What about the hunger?"

Lira closed her eyes before slowly answering, "It’s fading."

One woman burst into tears. Another covered her mouth. The way they looked at the two men on the ground began to change. The fear from before was gone.

No one noticed that beneath Lira’s hair, around the spot where the crystal fragment had disappeared, a thin blood-red pattern was emerging. At first, it looked like a vein. Then it split into several branches.

Lira felt nothing.

Karin did not notice either.

Only Velyss seemed to narrow her eyes slightly, but when Lira let her hair fall again, everything vanished from view.

The fat man saw the looks in the eyes of the Succubi approaching him and immediately panicked. "Wait!"

No one stopped.

"I didn’t treat you badly!"

A woman stood before him. "Do you remember my name?"

He froze.

She waited, but there was no answer.

A kick immediately smashed into his face.

Boom!

His head snapped to the side.

As though a final door had been opened, another Succubus stepped forward, then a third. At first, there were only slaps, kicks, and punches, but cries soon rang out one after another.

"I worked for you for eleven years!"

"My daughter died outside the wall, and you didn’t even remember her name!"

"You took my mother’s treatment money!"

The two men began begging, but no one listened.

Karin stood outside the crowd, watching. Her eyes shone, and the corners of her lips slowly curved into a smile that was almost too delighted.

Velyss looked at her. "Do you like this that much?"

Karin did not deny it. "A little."

"Only a little?"

Karin smiled. "Hehehe..."

"Fine." Velyss turned away. "I won’t ask anymore."

A long while later, the beating finally stopped. The two men were completely motionless.

The female captain drew her sword. No one stopped her.

Two slashes.

Two heads fell to the ground, then were hung above the garrison gate. Blood slowly dripped down the metal wall.

There were no slogans. No organization name. No symbol.

Only two heads, serving as a warning.

Behind the crowd, Lira unconsciously raised a hand to touch the nape of her neck.

She only felt a slight itch.