Chapter 122: Changing targets

The violet-black vortex had barely closed when Karin lost her footing.

"Wait..."

Thud!

She fell straight into a thick layer of dry leaves, rolled twice more, and only stopped beside the base of a tree. Her long golden hair, already slightly disheveled after the fight, immediately picked up several more leaves. The black feathered wings that had only spread halfway were pinned beneath her body, leaving Karin lying still for several seconds.

Not far away, Velyss appeared more steadily. She only staggered two steps, braced one hand against a tree trunk, and quickly regained her balance. Her long pink hair swayed gently in the wind, and her black battle suit bore a few scorched marks from the lightning, but at least compared to Karin lying face-down on the ground, she had managed to preserve her dignity.

Velyss looked at Karin. "Still alive?"

Karin did not answer. Velyss waited another two seconds, then nodded. "Then you are."

"What are you basing that on?" Karin’s voice was muffled by the layer of leaves.

Velyss replied calmly, "Dead people do not argue."

Karin immediately raised her head. "You are still in the mood to joke?"

She pushed herself up into a sitting position, but the moment she exerted herself, a sharp numbness shot through her left shoulder, making her face twist at once.

Velyss noticed. "Give me your hand."

"No need."

"Give it."

"I am fine."

Velyss looked at Karin’s arm, which was still trembling faintly. Karin immediately hid it behind her back. "It is because I am cold."

Velyss raised her head to look at the sky. The night wind truly was a little cold, but she clearly remembered that not long ago, Karin had stood outside the villa window and insisted she was so "hot" that she was sweating.

The corners of Velyss’s lips lifted slightly. "Cold again?"

Karin immediately understood what she was implying. The two curved black horns on her head nearly stood straight up. "Do not bring that up!"

"I did not bring it up."

"You are thinking about it."

"Hm."

"Velyss!"

Velyss did not continue teasing her. She walked over, directly took Karin’s wrist, and sent a very thin stream of mana inside to examine her. Karin initially wanted to pull away, but in the end, she stayed still because she knew her current condition was not suitable for continued stubbornness.

After a while, Velyss released her hand. "It is not serious."

Karin immediately snorted. "I told you."

"But you have not fully recovered."

"I will be fine tomorrow."

Velyss did not object. She turned to examine their surroundings.

The two of them were in a forest quite far from the residential districts. Silver Moon’s lights were now only faintly visible at the horizon, enough to confirm that Karin’s strange sphere had taken them some distance away from the villa grounds.

Velyss recalled the sensation from when the vortex had appeared. Space had been torn open, the surrounding airflow dragged off course, and even Meira’s mana had been unable to lock them down at once.

She looked at Karin. "That sphere..."

Karin immediately raised a hand to cover her spatial ring. "You cannot have it."

Velyss fell silent. "I did not say I wanted it."

"You looked like you did."

"I only want to know whether it can still be used."

Karin was silent for several seconds before reaching into her spatial ring. The sphere made from countless violet-black crystal fragments appeared in her palm. The red light running between the seams was still moving slowly, but it was clearly weaker than before.

Karin looked it over. "It is still fine."

Velyss narrowed her eyes slightly. "Do you know what it just did?"

"It got us out."

"I know." Velyss looked at her. "I mean the mechanism."

Karin immediately turned her face away. "I do not know."

Velyss: "..."

Karin looked slightly annoyed. "Why are you looking at me like that? It is not like I made it." She put the sphere away. "As long as it works, that is enough."

Velyss did not ask further. There were already too many things about the energy related to Rahapt that they did not understand. It could help Succubi suppress their hunger and replenish energy, and now it could even create a phenomenon similar to spatial teleportation.

They knew far too little.

But there was another problem that mattered more right now.

"The data on Meira is wrong," Velyss said.

Karin immediately stopped fiddling with her spatial ring. Her golden eyes narrowed slightly. "I noticed too."

She leaned back against the tree trunk, her expression gradually turning unpleasant. "In the old reports, Meira was called the Elemental Lord, but her current strength clearly surpasses what was recorded."

Velyss nodded faintly.

The title Elemental Lord was not something Meira had only just acquired. She had held it for a long time. What was truly abnormal was the degree of elemental control they had just witnessed firsthand.

Karin lifted one hand and began counting. "Wind." One finger went up. "Lightning." Two fingers. "Air pressure." Three fingers.

She looked at Velyss. "And your weapon."

Velyss nodded faintly. "It was not Metal magic."

"I know." Karin frowned. "But she could use the elements around her to lock your blade down before you even touched her body."

As she said this, her expression grew even uglier. "Most importantly, she barely needed any preparation."

Velyss recalled the entire fight. Karin had attacked first, she had circled around behind, and the two had coordinated their attacks at once. Meira had even still been wearing nothing but a thin towel, clearly having just left that room not long before.

Yet from beginning to end, she had never truly been forced into danger.

"Meira did not use her full strength," Velyss said.

Karin immediately fell silent. She did not want to admit it, but there was nothing to refute. If Meira had truly wanted to kill them, that fight would likely have ended much sooner.

"That Succubus..." Karin clenched her fist. "Next time, I will definitely..."

Velyss looked over. Karin was silent for two seconds before finally correcting herself. "...prepare more carefully."

Velyss’s lips curved slightly. At least the fight had been useful. Karin finally knew to consider whether she could win before talking about killing someone.

Then she remembered something else. "When did Meira become stronger?"

Velyss did not answer immediately. Karin quickly thought of the same person.

Erik.

The air between them fell silent for several seconds.

Karin immediately frowned. "You are thinking about him again?"

"Hm."

"Do you have evidence?"

"Not yet," Velyss answered very directly. "But the timing of the change matches."

Meira had always been strong. There was no question about that. But the power she had displayed recently clearly went far beyond the old data. Meanwhile, Erik was the biggest variable to have appeared by her side.

Karin immediately crossed her arms. "Just because she slept with him?"

Velyss looked at her. "I did not say that."

"But you are thinking it."

"I am thinking there could be a connection."

Karin snorted. "You think too much."

Velyss replied calmly, "And you look too much."

Karin froze. She immediately remembered the gap in the curtains, Erik’s body, Meira, Elowen, and Laviana. A string of images that should not have appeared all came rushing back at once, making Karin’s cheeks burn.

"I was investigating!"

"Hm."

"You looked too!"

"I was investigating too."

Karin fell silent. She felt that if this topic continued, she would definitely be the one who lost in the end.

"Forget it." Karin turned her face aside. "What do we do next?"

Velyss took out a communication device. A small screen appeared between them. "We are not going back to the villa."

Karin immediately said, "It is not like I am afraid."

"I know." Velyss scrolled through several lines of data. "But our job is not to prove how brave you are."

Karin pouted.

Velyss continued, "Silver Moon differs from the reports more than expected. Erik is different. Meira is different. The people around him are not simple either."

"So?"

"Change targets."

Karin looked at the screen. Two dossiers had been opened.

The first had a photograph. A woman with very long black hair stood beside a large motorcycle, wearing a black biker jacket, a leather corset, tight leather pants, and knee-high boots. Heavy purple makeup surrounded her eyes, her lips were black, and her figure was much taller than that of an ordinary Succubus. Her shoulders were broad, her arms toned, yet her waist remained slim, while her full legs gave her an impression of both strength and seduction.

Corvina.

The moment Karin saw it, she sat up straight. "A Titan Succubus?"

"Hm." Velyss opened more data. "Epic aptitude. No Partner. Her Titan physique gives her physical strength far beyond most Succubi of the same rank."

Karin stared at the photograph. "And the group behind her?"

"Her people."

"How many?"

"The total number is unclear," Velyss replied. "But Corvina has a close-knit group that often travels with her."

Karin enlarged the photo. The women behind Corvina were also dressed in leather jackets, boots, chains, and motorcycles. The corners of her lips slowly curved upward.

Velyss noticed. "You like her?"

"Finally, a normal Succubus."

Velyss looked at the photo again, then at Karin. "Your standards for normal are rather worrying."

Karin ignored her. She pointed at Corvina. "No Partner."

"Hm."

"She fights on her own."

"Hm."

"She does not live by relying on men."

"At least the current data does not show that she does."

Karin was even more satisfied. "I will go meet her."

Velyss did not answer. She opened the second dossier.

This time, there was no photograph, only several very brief lines.

An ancient Succubus. Identity not confirmed. Once one of the most terrifying existences in Silver Moon. Later vanished from all public records.

Some sources believed she was still alive and was being held somewhere in territory controlled by the Men’s Council.

Karin frowned. "That is it?"

"That is it."

"No name?"

"The sources are inconsistent."

"No appearance?"

"No."

"No exact location?"

"No."

Karin immediately pointed at the screen. "Then how are we supposed to find her?"

Velyss closed the dossier. "I will find her."

Karin turned to her. "You?"

"Hm."

"What about Corvina?"

Velyss looked at her.

Karin was silent for two seconds, then understood. "Me."

"You just said you wanted to meet her."

"I only said she looked agreeable."

"Then that is even better."

Karin did not object again. In truth, compared to slipping into Council territory to search for a woman who might not even still exist, she clearly preferred going to find Corvina.

At least Corvina had a photo, a known area of activity, and people to ask. Besides, she looked very much like the kind of Succubus Karin could talk to.

Velyss put the device away. Karin suddenly asked, "Should we report Meira’s situation to the higher-ups?"

Velyss paused slightly. "Not yet."

"Are you sure?"

"We only know she is stronger than the reports say." Velyss looked at Karin. "We do not know why, we do not know to what extent, and we have not confirmed whether Erik is connected to it."

Karin tilted her head. "We can report it first and keep investigating."

"And what if our initial conclusion is wrong?"

Karin fell silent.

Velyss continued, "We have not been in Silver Moon long. What we need to do now is gather information, not send a pile of speculation to the higher-ups and make others act on it."

She looked toward the city lights. "First, we need to understand what is happening here."

Karin looked at her for several seconds, then shrugged. "Fine."

She had no interest in arguing about procedure. Karin spread her black feathered wings, but before she could fly up, Velyss called out, "Karin."

"Hm?"

"Do not cause trouble."

Karin turned back. "I am not the kind of person who fights everyone I meet."

Velyss said nothing. She only looked at her.

Karin was silent for two seconds. "...Unless they cause trouble first."

"Do not deliberately make them cause trouble either."

Karin: "..."

"You understand me too well."

"That is not a compliment."

Karin snorted softly. She took out her device and opened Corvina’s photograph once again. The Titan woman stood beside a black motorcycle, arms crossed before her chest, dark purple eyes staring directly into the camera. Just looking at her gave off an extremely unapproachable feeling.

The more Karin looked, the more satisfied she became.

’Strong.’

’No Partner.’

’Does not need a man to back her up.’

At least this time, she was certain she would not encounter another strange Succubus whose mind had been ruined by some man.

Karin put the device away. "I am leaving."

Velyss nodded faintly.

The two separated in the middle of the forest. Karin flew toward the western district of Silver Moon. Velyss pulled her hood lower and slowly walked toward the center of the city.

One was going to find the Titan Succubus. The other was heading for a place that even ordinary Succubi did not want to approach.

The Men’s Council.