Chapter 96: Succubus Age

The sphere of Fire and Wind in Jacob’s hand trembled violently.

At first, only the currents of wind around the outside strayed slightly from their paths. But very soon, even the compressed flames at its center began to fluctuate. Jacob immediately clenched his hand, trying to reinforce his control with more mana. Yet the harder he tried to suppress them, the more violently the two elements reacted, like beasts that had heard the call of their true master and no longer wished to obey him.

"What did you do?"

Jacob gritted his teeth as his translucent projection flickered continuously with the energy he was transmitting across an immense distance.

Meira remained suspended in midair, her golden hair swaying gently in the wind. She showed no intention of answering him immediately. She simply looked at the fireball in Jacob’s hand, then slowly curled one finger toward herself.

Whoosh!

The Wind element instantly separated from the flames.

There was no explosion or violent struggle. All the currents of wind simply abandoned Jacob and flew toward Meira, obediently circling her wrist. Without the surrounding layer of wind, the flames immediately contracted. But before Jacob could stabilize them, the remaining Fire element escaped his palm as well.

The two streams of energy flew through the air and gathered above Meira’s fingertip, shrinking until they were no larger than a slowly spinning marble.

Jacob stared at his empty hand, his face instantly stiffening.

Only then did Meira smile.

"You used what you stole from me for so long that you truly began to believe it belonged to you?"

"Shut up!"

Jacob immediately poured more mana into the projection, but the Fire and Wind Meira had just seized were already compressed into a point of light no larger than her fingertip. She did not even need to prepare. She merely flicked her finger forward.

The point of light shot through the air.

Boom!

Jacob’s projection was pierced straight through the center of his chest. White cracks rapidly spread across his translucent body, distorting his face. This was clearly only a projection cast from afar, but the destruction of the energy maintaining it still inflicted a certain amount of backlash upon his true body.

"Meira!"

Jacob roared, but his body had already begun disintegrating into tiny fragments of light.

Meira paid him no attention. She merely waved her hand, scattering all the elemental currents remaining around his projection and accelerating its collapse.

At that point, Jacob seemed to realize he could no longer maintain the connection. The fury on his face gradually transformed into a vicious smile, and his resentful gaze left Meira before settling directly on Erik.

"Enjoy it while you can."

Erik frowned slightly.

Jacob’s laughter grew louder.

"You think breaking a few Contracts, embracing each other, and hiding inside your tiny safe zone will be enough to change everything?"

Meira narrowed her eyes but did not immediately sever the projection.

Jacob looked at the two of them, his voice growing increasingly distorted as the projection collapsed.

"We’re coming."

Erik remained silent.

"This time, we no longer need Succubi. Nor do we need those filthy Contracts you’re all so proud of."

A large fragment of Jacob’s shoulder broke away, but he continued laughing.

"The age of the Succubi is coming to an end."

Meira’s gaze finally changed slightly.

Jacob noticed her reaction, and the madness on his face immediately intensified.

"Because..."

He deliberately paused, seemingly wanting them to remember his final words.

"...we’ve found a new source of energy."

Crack!

The entire projection shattered into countless fragments of light. The glowing specks floated in the air for several seconds before the wind sweeping over the mountainside carried them away, leaving behind only empty space and the rustling of leaves.

Erik continued staring at the place where Jacob had disappeared.

"A new source of energy?"

No one answered.

He was still considering what those words might mean when the elemental barrier surrounding the branch automatically dissolved. Meira descended from the air beside him, and the cold aura she had displayed moments ago almost entirely vanished the instant her feet touched the branch.

She looked at Erik, then walked directly toward him. Without saying anything, she slipped into his arms, wrapped both arms around his waist, and buried her face against his chest.

Erik lowered his gaze toward the golden hair before him.

"What are you doing?"

"Master..."

Meira’s voice grew much softer.

"Your little dog is scared."

Erik fell silent for several seconds. He looked toward the empty space where Jacob had just been destroyed, then back at the woman clinging to him.

"You’re scared?"

"Mhm."

"I just watched you steal the elements straight out of his hand."

"But the little dog is still scared."

Meira answered with complete seriousness, even rubbing her cheek against his chest several times as though afraid he would not believe her.

Erik immediately understood what she wanted.

"Then what do you want me to do?"

Meira raised her head, her green eyes curving into crescents. She took Erik’s hand and placed it on her golden hair before rubbing her head against his palm.

"Pet me."

Erik: "..."

"Pet me a little more."

"..."

"Your little dog was frightened."

Erik laughed, but ultimately indulged her. His hand slowly stroked her soft golden hair, moving from the crown of her head down to the nape of her neck before returning. Occasionally, his fingers brushed over her pointed elven ears, making Meira’s shoulders shrink slightly. But instead of pulling away, she nestled even deeper into his embrace.

"Does that feel good?"

"Mhm."

Meira closed her eyes, the corners of her lips curving upward. A moment later, she lifted the hand stroking her hair, gently kissed his fingertips, then pressed her cheek into his palm.

Erik watched her blissful expression and finally could not resist commenting:

"You’re becoming more natural at playing the little dog."

Meira opened her eyes.

"Is that bad?"

"I didn’t say it was."

"Then continue."

She immediately closed her eyes again.

Erik sighed, but his hand continued stroking her hair. He knew perfectly well that Meira did not need protection from Jacob. With her current strength, even if the man’s true body had been standing before her, the result might not have been much different.

What she wanted was not protection.

Meira simply loved the feeling of being able to lower all her defenses when she was with him. Outside, she could be the Elemental Lord. She could stand before thousands of people and assign their duties, or single-handedly destroy an entire horde of monsters. But when she returned to Erik’s side, she only wanted to be held, have her head petted, act spoiled, and hear him tell her that she had done well.

Perhaps because Erik understood that, he did not find her present behavior strange at all.

He let Meira remain in his arms for a while longer before asking:

"Was Jacob really your former Partner?"

Meira’s body stiffened slightly.

She immediately raised her head.

"Don’t call him my ex-husband."

"I said Partner."

"It still sounds unpleasant."

Erik raised an eyebrow.

"Then what should I call him?"

Meira considered the question very seriously.

"A parasite."

Erik: "..."

"Or a leech."

Erik nearly laughed.

"All right. So that leech just now was Jacob?"

"Mhm."

Meira lay back down against his chest, but this time, her expression was no longer as cheerful as before. Her finger slowly traced a small circle on Erik’s shirt, as if she were trying to sort through memories that had grown far too distant.

"Jacob was assigned to me during the First-Generation Linking Program. Everything was extremely chaotic back then. Even what we now call Contracts was not as complete as it is today."

Erik did not interrupt.

Meira remained silent for a while before continuing:

"Before that era, many races had their own cultivation methods. We Elves relied on the natural elements, while humanity also possessed many different magical systems and paths. But after the laws of the world changed, the energy required by those old paths began to disappear."

She raised one hand. A tiny sprout quickly emerged from her fingertip before blooming into a white flower.

"For many people, cultivation became increasingly difficult. Some races nearly lost their ability to evolve altogether. The Succubus bloodline was one of the few things capable of adapting rapidly to the new laws, so many women began choosing to undergo fusion."

"You did as well?"

"Mhm."

Meira looked at the flower in her hand.

"I was originally a pure-blooded Elf."

Erik already knew that, but he allowed her to continue.

"After the fusion, our bodies could continue absorbing energy and cultivating, but another problem appeared."

"Men?"

Meira nodded.

"The more complete the Succubus bloodline became, the more obvious our dependence on men grew. The first Contracts were created during that period. Their original purpose was merely to help both parties survive and study how far the new system could develop."

She chuckled softly, but there was no joy in her smile.

"After that, everything gradually became what you see today."

Erik looked at her.

"Men began viewing Succubi as inferior beings?"