"Murderous Natsuki Subaru, the replaced minister…"
Tatsuki rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
They must be anomalies, but it seems that neither side has actually come into direct contact with the problem yet, and the Apocalypse Journey event hasn't even been triggered…
Clatter!
Just then, the sound of the bathroom door opening interrupted Tatsuki's musings.
"Tatsuki-kun…"
It was Marin's gentle call.
Putting thoughts of those two worlds aside, he lifted his head—
"!"
'What was going on?'
Tatsuki's eyes widened.
At that moment, Marin Kitagawa's appearance made it impossible for him to look away.
Her skin was smooth and radiant, with only the most crucial areas covered—by nothing more than the barest strips and straps.
But what shocked him even more was that Marin now had two red horns growing from her head, and behind her swished a slender black tail ending in a small heart shape.
Across the flat, creamy skin of her lower abdomen was a pink heart pattern.
Looking closely at Marin's face—she wasn't wearing colored contacts anymore. Her irises were naturally tinted a faint crimson, and her lips were an even more vivid red. A single glance into those eyes lit a scorching flame of desire deep within him.
"Hehe."
Though clearly embarrassed by what she was wearing, Marin grinned triumphantly.
Part of it was because she wanted to repay Tatsuki for saving her life—she never forgot her promise.
But she also intended to use her new ability to toy with him a bit.
During the Apocalyptic Game, she'd gone on a shooting rampage against the Xenomorphs, racking up over 30,000 survival points. When she left that game world, all those points had automatically been converted into a special power that best suited her: Succubus.
Yes, that's right, the kind of succubus that can incite a person's deepest carnal desires and use charm to control them.
All she had to do was transform into her succubus form to charm and dominate others—be they men or women, they'd all fall under her sway.
Of course, once she transformed, certain physical traits changed—like her eyes, horns, and that heart-shaped tail, along with the pink markings on her belly. Her existing clothes wouldn't simply vanish. Rather, Marin had deliberately picked out this succubus cosplay outfit to thank Tatsuki.
It amounted to little more than a few flimsy strings covering her entire body.
At the moment, Tatsuki just sat there in a daze, not moving an inch.
"Hmph, I've ensnared you, haven't I?"
Seeing Tatsuki apparently succumbing to her charms, Marin boldly stepped closer on light feet.
From behind, she took out a small bag and drew out a few very revealing black garments.
She leaned her face near his, staring at him intently.
A mix of fresh-out-of-the-shower fragrance and demonic allure wove around them, teasing his senses.
She nodded in satisfaction. "As I thought, Tatsuki-kun's face is perfect for cosplaying Duke Levi of Once Upon the Gates of Hell!"
Holding up the black garments, a mischievous grin tugged at her lips.
"Hehe, Tatsuki-kun, put on this cosplay outfit. I want a good look at you as Duke Levi."
"…"
That outfit was… pretty over-the-top.
Duke Levi, the male protagonist of a certain R18 work.
Obediently, Tatsuki raised his hands. He undid a button, removing his shirt.
"Gulp!"
Exposed arms—firm, beautifully toned muscles.
Coupled with that handsome face, the sight at such close range made Marin swallow hard.
"Eek!"
Suddenly, Tatsuki stood up.
His burning torso pressed against Marin's barely covered body, startling her enough to step back.
She worried that Tatsuki might have broken free from her charm, but he was just slowly untying his belt.
"!"
In that brief moment, she glimpsed his weapon.
There were only thin clothes in the way, but it was still clearly powerful.
Memories flashed in her mind of its actual form when he'd emerged from the pod in the Apocalyptic Game.
She shook her head, cheeks aflame, muttering in embarrassment, "That's… not even possible, right…?"
But Tatsuki kept going.
"Wait! Stop, stop, stop! Don't go any further!"
In a flustered motion, she tried to stop him—but instead, she accidentally hit him.
"…"
Tatsuki's brows rose. He had been playing along with her little act, but if she was going to behave like this, he wouldn't hold back.
Without another word, Tatsuki reached out, grabbed Marin by the shoulders, and pressed her down onto the bed.
"Yah! Hey—!"
With a small cry, Marin found herself pinned beneath him.
She looked up at Tatsuki in confusion. "You… why aren't you obeying me?"
With his left hand, Tatsuki pinned her crossed wrists above her head.
Given his strength, she couldn't resist at all.
"You think I'd be controlled so easily? I can even manipulate my own rational mind at will—who did you think you were dealing with?"
Glancing from top to bottom, Tatsuki didn't immediately go for the nearly exposed breasts.
Instead, he reached out with his right hand and grabbed that swaying tail.
"Ah!"
The moment he seized her tail, Marin shuddered all over.
Her cheeks flamed red with embarrassment. "D-Don't touch my tail!"
"This getup—horns, a tail, silver markings, a seductive power… you're a succubus, aren't you?"
Tatsuki asked, intrigued by the nature of her ability.
Meanwhile, his hand never stopped moving, running fingers along the thin tail, up and down.
That tail seemed as sensitive as any part of her body—maybe more so. Every little motion sent a tremor through her; eyes glazing over, she bit her lip to stifle any noises.
Eventually, Tatsuki let up.
After a brief moment to recover, Marin confessed in a tiny voice, "Y-Yes… I'm a succubus."
Upon hearing this, Tatsuki put on a mock-angry expression.
"So you were planning to control me with your charm, were you?"
Fearing he was truly angry, Marin apologized immediately.
"I'm sorry! I just wanted to see Tatsuki-kun cosplay as Duke Levi, so I tried it. It's my fault—please forgive me!"
"Forgive you? Sure. But do you know what you need to do when you apologize?"
"Eh? Bow?"
He shook his head.
"A dogeza?"
He clicked his tongue and shook his head again. "Tsk tsk, clearly you have no idea."
Under Marin's confused gaze, Tatsuki proclaimed in an upright tone, "When you apologize, you have to show those pure-white—!"
"W-What?!"
Marin couldn't believe her ears.
She looked down at herself.
"How is this any different from that?!"
She yelled in mortification, squirming, only to bump against something that definitely shouldn't have been bumped.
"…."
Tatsuki gave her an odd look, speaking faintly: "Did you do that on purpose?"
"Why…why would I—"
Marin turned her head, face blazing. It was obvious she was lying.
Tatsuki said nothing more. His right hand slid along to the little heart shape at the tip of her tail.
"!"
Marin's body quivered again.
"Your apology was pretty sincere," Tatsuki said. "I'll forgive you this time. But don't try charming me again."
He felt he had collected enough interest for now.
He released her tail, freed her wrists, and started to get up.
Only—he realized he was stuck. Marin was holding him in place.
"Huh?"
He didn't move.
A few seconds later, Marin tensed, clinging to the bedsheet as her body went rigid in another trembling wave.
From that little scrap of cloth down below, he sensed a faint, indescribable sensation.
"You…"
Realizing what just happened, Tatsuki glanced at Marin in astonishment.
Covering her face with her hands, Marin hastily loosened her legs, jumped to her feet, and ran straight back into the bathroom.
…
After the two of them left the hotel, Marin kept her head down in silence.
Even someone as bright and outgoing as she was couldn't be completely nonchalant about what had just happened.
Tatsuki, for his part, felt no awkwardness. He had gotten his interest, after all.
He was even calmly analyzing her ability.
Earlier, Marin had stammered out a basic explanation.
Simply put, transforming into a succubus gave her the power to stir up someone's lust, making it possible to control them.
He found it a bit wild that it worked on any living creature, not just humans.
Whoever she aroused would end up under her sway, similar to how his Dominion skill could subjugate unconscious minds.
"I think your power might affect you as well. You should probably use it sparingly," Tatsuki said coolly.
He was recalling her sudden loss of control, which seemed very much like it was caused by her own ability.
"Mhm."
Marin only gave a muffled response. Inside, her heart was pounding like crazy.
In truth, there was another detail about her power she hadn't told Tatsuki.
If a succubus encounters someone who genuinely makes her heart flutter, she can be ensnared by a reverse charm.
So it wasn't that her succubus power caused her to lose control—she was simply drawn to Tatsuki, so his presence had turned her own magic back on her.
There was no way she could admit that.
Wouldn't that basically be a confession?
Her emotions were all over the place.
She'd only met Tatsuki a few times—why was she so taken with him already?
Yes, he'd been incredible in the Apocalyptic Game—handsome, powerful, always protecting her.
Today's outing had felt so much like a date, with him taking care of her at every turn.
He was always tolerant of her little quirks, meeting her small requests… He treated her so gently. Even his large, warm hand in hers felt so…
She gave her own cheeks a quick slap, telling herself to stop.
She kept scolding herself. 'Tatsuki has a girlfriend! This must be the power's influence. There's no way it's my own heart at fault!'
"Hey! Watch where you're going!"
Tatsuki grabbed Marin's hand, and she stumbled into his arms by force of momentum.
Honk! Honk!
A car sped past them, horn blaring.
"It's dangerous to stand there daydreaming in the street! Didn't you see the red light?"
He frowned, ready to give her a proper scolding.
"…"
Seeing Tatsuki's stern expression and hearing him reprimand her, Marin realized it wasn't the succubus power affecting her.
This was her own problem.
…
By dusk, Tatsuki escorted Marin home.
He was worried about how the succubus ability might still be influencing her—or so he believed, unaware of the real reason.
Touched by his concern, Marin happily agreed.
After getting off the train, Tatsuki was about to hail a cab when Marin tucked her hair behind her ear and said with a playful smile, "My house isn't far from here. Would you walk me back?"
"Sure, no problem."
…
Along the way, Marin was back to her outgoing, energetic self—she'd hop around, tugging at Tatsuki's sleeve, and he let her.
As they walked side by side, her hand would occasionally brush his fingers.
When Tatsuki looked at her questioningly, she'd give him the most innocent look, as though nothing had happened, making it impossible to read her thoughts.
After the umpteenth time her fingers accidentally touched his, Tatsuki decisively grabbed her hand.
This time, she didn't pretend to be confused; instead, she wore a half-smile that said my plan worked.
He got it.
She was flirting with him.
And how was he supposed to ignore that?
He firmly laced his fingers through hers, clasping their hands tightly together—right hand in left hand, their fingers interlocked.
"…"
The evening breeze caressed them, and Marin's cheeks flushed slightly.
Neither of them spoke another word as they walked like that, side by side, all the way to the front of her house.
"We're here."
Marin finally broke the silence.
"Yeah. Once you go in, I'll head off."
Tatsuki let go of her hand at last.
Marin walked to her door, then stopped abruptly.
She turned back, running over to him again.
"Did you forget something?" he asked, puzzled.
"Hmm, I wonder what I forgot."
Marin giggled slyly.
Rising on her tiptoes, she cupped Tatsuki's cheeks in her hands and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.
Her lips were warm and smooth—a fleeting moment of contact before she pulled away.
By the time Tatsuki realized what had happened, Marin was already back at her door, hair swishing. She opened it and waved goodbye.
"Tatsuki-kun, I had a lot of fun today. Let's go out again sometime, okay?"
Tatsuki smiled gently and waved back. "Sure."
Marin slipped inside with a radiant grin.
Under the glow of the streetlamp, Tatsuki lightly touched his lips—'not bad at all…'
***
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