Incubus 1 Page 7

  “I understand that,” Anthony said softly.

  “If you understand, then be more careful,” Professor Incanscino admonished him. “That sword the girl wields is an incredibly powerful weapon known as the Geminus Sword. Aside from being a dangerous double-bladed sword, it uses a form of spatial magic that severs the molecular bonds of anything it touches. It doesn’t matter how strong something is. Unless they can also use spatial magic to resist the effects, anybody who is cut with that blade will receive severe injuries no matter how durable their body is.” She stared at him with a look that made Anthony turn his head. “Right now, you are weak. You have no bondmates, and you’re relying on me to keep you alive. One cut from that weapon will spell your doom.”

  “I understand,” Anthony muttered. “I’ll be careful.”

  “Good. You can leave now.”

  Anthony didn’t say anything as he left the classroom and began heading off to get some lunch. His footsteps were drowned out by the chatter of other students passing him in the hall. However, he barely paid them any attention.

  He understood that Professor Incanscino was just worried about him, but he still wished she wouldn’t be so harsh, though he could understand that too. He was mooching off her kindness. Anthony’s refusal to bond with even a single woman had resulted in her creating a magical ritual that somehow gave him mana. He wasn’t sure how it worked, but he did know that it was a taxing ritual to perform every month—and she’d had to perform it twice within the past few days.

  If only there was something I could do… he thought as he walked down the hall. Maybe if I did bond with someone, I wouldn’t burden her so much. He shook his head. No, I can’t do that. It’s out of the question.

  “Anthony!”

  Just as he was about to reach the end of the hall, a voice shouted from behind him. He turned around to find Secilia, dressed in black tights, jean shorts, and a black sleeveless shirt with a jacket, walking up to him. She was grinning from ear to ear. It didn’t look like her normal smile. For whatever reason, Anthony could not help but repress a shiver at the way her lips curled.

  There was something off about that smile.

  “Hey, what’s up, Secilia?”

  “Oh, nothing much.” Secilia placed her hands behind her back as she walked up to him with deliberately slow steps. He didn’t know why, but each step felt like someone was slamming a hammer against his heart. “I was just looking for you.”

  “Looking for me? What for?”

  “Do I need a reason?”

  “I… guess not.”

  Anthony began walking again, this time with Secilia in tow. They chatted about inconsequential matters for a bit. However, as the conversation continued, the strange sense of dread welling up inside of Anthony grew. Nothing about Secilia seemed different from how she normally acted. Even so, he could not help but feel like there was something bugging his friend.

  “Is everything okay?” he finally asked.

  “Oh, everything is fine. Just fine. However, I do have a question for you.” Secilia paused, the smile left her face, and her eyes grew flat as she stared at him. The tension in his heart peaked. “Who was that girl you were with the other night?”

  Anthony froze. It was obvious she was walking about Brianna. He hadn’t been with any other girl the other night. In fact, aside from Secilia and Professor Incanscino, Brianna was the only girl he had spoken to for any major length of time since becoming an incubus.

  “Well…” he began.

  Secilia raised an eyebrow. “Well?”

  She took a step forward.

  He took a step back.

  “It’s… um… she’s…”

  “She’s… what?”

  Anthony had no idea what he should say to Secilia, but he knew damn well that he couldn’t answer with the truth. He couldn’t tell her that Brianna was an assassin sent by Custodes Daemonium to kill him because he was an incubus. Secilia didn’t even know he was an incubus. As far as the general population was concerned, Anthony was just a normal human attending college, and he aimed to keep it that way. There was no need to stir up a hornet’s nest.

  And so, Anthony thought fast.

  “Oh, wow! Would you look at the time! I really need to get going to my next class!”

  “It’s lunch time,” Secilia responded flatly.

  “I have some questions I’d like to ask Professor Reno before class. See you later!”

  “What?! Hey! Wait! Stop running and answer my question, damn it!”

  However, Anthony did not stop running. He took several turns, hopped onto an elevator that took him several floors up, and then hopped on another elevator that took him down one floor. After that, he raced to one of the walkways connecting buildings and entered building #2. Only after he had passed through multiple shops within the restaurant section of the building did he wipe the sweat from his forehead and search for a place to eat.

  His stomach was gurgling and he needed some sustenance.

  Anthony had somehow managed to dodge Secilia for the rest of the day. He knew he would eventually have to confront her, but he hoped to have a solid story for her by then. There was just no way he could tell her the truth.

  After leaving school, he hopped onto a maglev that took him back to his apartment. As he leaned against the elevator wall, he tried to think up a good story he could tell Secilia when he saw her next time. Should he say Brianna was a relative? No. That would never work. Secilia wasn’t stupid, and she already knew that Anthony’s only living relative was Calvin. What about a childhood friend? That could work. He’d never shared his past with anyone aside from Professor Incanscino, so the childhood friend story could potentially work, but he would have to talk with Brianna about this. A cover story only worked when all parties involved agreed on the story.

  The lift slowed to a stop and the door opened. Anthony snapped out of his stupor and was about to walk out of the lift—when a face appeared right in front of him.

  “Whoa!”

  Anthony and Brianna leapt apart as they nearly collided. The redhead placed a hand against her chest as she stared at him with wide eyes. Meanwhile, Anthony was just shocked to see her again so soon.

  “Why are you here?” he asked. “Were you waiting for me?”

  “I… no.” Brianna calmed down, removed her hand from her chest, and let it drop to her side. “I came here because I wanted to check out my new apartment before buying furniture.”

  “Oh. I see.” Anthony nodded. “I understand. That’s a perfectly reasonable—wait.” He paused and looked back at Brianna. “Did you say ‘new apartment?’”

  “Yes,” Brianna said.

  Anthony needed a moment. The doors tried to close, but he placed his arm between them so the sensors could detect the intrusion and opened again.

  “You’re… moving in here?”

  “That is correct,” Brianna confirmed as she placed her hands on her hips. “Because I have decided to watch over you instead of kill you, I needed to find a place to live. It’s best if I live close by. That way it’s easier for me to keep an eye on you.”

  “I see.” Anthony calmed down and blew out a deep breath. What she said did make sense, though he didn’t know if he was happy about it. That said, he was now curious about something. “Does that mean you didn’t have a place to live until now?”

  Brianna shook her head. “Until today, I was sleeping inside of a playset in Doyle Hollis Park.”

  Anthony pressed a hand to his face and massaged his forehead. He felt another headache coming on, but he did his best not to respond negatively to the situation. While Professor Incanscino said he should be wary of her, Brianna didn’t seem like a bad person, so he’d like to think she wouldn’t use their close proximity to kill him.

  “So… which apartment is yours now?” he asked.

  “Let me show you,” Brianna said.

  She led Anthony to her apartment, which he realized was the one literally right across from his. Anthony
had an apartment located on the outside, so he had a view of Academy Island and the bay several miles out. Hers was located on the inside, meaning it didn’t have any windows, but it was also bigger.

  Brianna let him inside and showed him her apartment. It was a two bedroom apartment with one bathroom. The living room was about two times bigger than his, and the master bedroom that would be her sleeping quarters was also bigger than his bedroom. Likewise, the bathroom was a lot more extravagant. All Anthony had was a toilet, a sink, and a tiny square shower with just enough room to move around in. Brianna’s bathroom consisted of two rooms. The first room was a changing room, while the second was a shower with a bathtub.

  In short, her apartment kicked his apartment’s ass.

  “So… who is paying for all this?” asked Anthony after Brianna finished showing him around.

  “Custodes Daemonium is obviously paying for it.” The look Brianna gave him made Anthony feel stupid. “They pay for all of my expenses when I travel. I just need to send them the bill each month and they pay it off.”

  “Must be nice having such a large organization footing the bill.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Anyway, you said something about buying furniture?”

  “Yes. As you can see, I currently have no furniture.” Brianna paused as she looked around her empty living room, a sort of self-deprecating smile appearing on her face. “I did not expect this mission to involve me finding a temporary place of residence. That’s actually why I was sleeping in the park until now. This was supposed to be a one-day trip, so I didn’t book a hotel to spend the night in.”

  “Right,” Anthony said. “Well, let’s go then. I’ll help you find some furniture.”

  “You don’t mind coming with me?” asked Brianna.

  “Would I say I’ll help you if I did mind?”

  “I guess not. Thank you.”

  Brianna sent him a smile, and despite feeling somewhat exhausted, he smiled back.

  Shopping had changed significantly from the time when Academy Island was part of the Americas. The advancement in technology also meant shopping experiences had advanced as well. While many shops still had items on display and even appliances for people to try out, the products they sold were not present at each store. They were located in a warehouse, and when someone bought something, it would be delivered to them.

  It made shopping easier, especially furniture shopping.

  “Look at this chair, Anthony! It has a massager!”

  “I can see that.”

  “T-t-t-t-t-this f-f-f-f-fe-e-eeels soooo niiiiiice!”

  Anthony’s lips twitched as he tried not to smile at the redhead, who was acting like a naive kid as she sat on a massage chair, which was apparently doing wonders for her back. He wondered if she realized what else it was doing.

  His gaze wandered from her face to her chest, which was bouncing around like a pair of beach balls being tossed through the air. She wasn’t wearing a bra because she had that bodysuit of hers underneath her normal clothes, which he could see when her shirt rode up her torso. Was that why her tits were flopping around so much? Did her suit not have an inbuilt bra?

  “Are you going to buy that for your living room?” Anthony asked.

  Brianna thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. “I-I-I d-d-d-don’t t-t-t-think s-s-so.”

  “Then maybe you should get off. I don’t think the clerk glaring at you appreciates what you’re doing,” he suggested.

  Indeed, the store clerk—a young woman with mousy brown hair—was glaring at Brianna like the other woman had murdered her mother. Of course, she could have been glaring at Brianna’s breasts, which were around three times bigger than the clerk’s. That was always a possibility. The way they were jiggling brought a lot of attention to them.

  While reluctant, Brianna didn’t remain on the massage chair for long. They soon began searching the store some more.

  The store they were in specialized in selling furniture. It was designed with several aisles. Between each aisle were a number of appliances that people could try out to see if they were interested in buying. They had everything from beds, desks, armchairs, couches, love sofas, dressers, and mirrors, to lamps, fridges, microwaves, sonic cleaners, and washing machines. They basically had everything a person looking to furnish their home could ever want.

  As they shopped, Anthony was able to see a completely new side of Brianna. Thus far, she had seemed to him like a strong and somewhat stoic but emotionally forthright and honest young woman. Right now, however, she looked more like a child visiting a candy store for the first time. Her eyes glowed with a vibrancy that reminded him of stars. The smile on her face was so wide it threatened to split her face in half. Her new demeanor took years off her appearance, making her look like a teenage girl instead of a mature War Maiden who killed demons for a living.

  It made him wonder how old she was.

  “You act as if you’ve never been shopping before,” Anthony joked as they sat on a black leather sofa.

  “I-I have too shopped before,” Brianna shouted with a slight stutter. Her cheeks were red as she looked away. “I’ve just… never shopped for furniture or anything like that. War Maidens are given assigned rooms that are already furnished, and while we are allowed to decorate them however we want, few of us have the time to go shopping because we’re constantly training and going on missions.”

  “Sounds like War Maidens have it rough,” Anthony said. “Speaking of, Custodes Daemonium doesn’t just have War Maidens, right? I believe there is also a magic division.”

  “That’s right.” Brianna nodded as she stood up from the couch and moved on. She continued talking as Anthony followed her. “Aside from the War Maidens and Magic Warriors, we also have the Assault Magicians. War Maidens like myself and Magic Warriors specialize in close-range combat magic. Assault Magicians specialize in long-range spells. They’re generally used for large-scale Magic Catastrophes that require complex magical rituals to solve, while War Maidens and Magic Warriors are assigned missions that deal with single targets or small terrorist cells.”

  Anthony guessed Magic Warriors was the male equivalent to War Maidens. It sounded like they divided the two into groups based on their sex. Saying that, it wasn’t like he knew much about Custodes Daemonium. His thoughts could be way off the mark.

  “Are you sure you should be telling me that much?” asked Anthony.

  “It’s okay,” Brianna assured him. “What I’m telling you right now is common knowledge.”

  He nodded as they moved on.

  They spent several hours in the store, and by the end of it, Brianna had bought two beds (a king-sized bed for her room and a queen-sized bed for the guest room), a table for eating, a coffee table, two chairs, two couches, a shoe rack, a dresser, and a holographic TV display. They also traveled to an appliance store and bought bathroom necessities and even a clothing store.

  Anthony learned during their shopping trip that Brianna only had three outfits. She ended up buying several more outfits under the justification that she didn’t know how long she was going to stay there. Anthony thought she just wanted to buy cute clothes, but he couldn’t complain because he got to see her wear those cute clothes while they were shopping.

  It was late by the time they finished. The moon was out and the pair found themselves sitting on the maglev, several bags of clothing at their feet.

  “Thank you for shopping with me,” Brianna said at last. Her hands were in her lap and she was twiddling her fingers.

  “You’re welcome,” Anthony said simply.

  “I just realized…” Brianna began with a small frown. “You didn’t get to visit your brother today.”

  A sad smile crossed his face as he gazed into those vibrant eyes that stared back at him with concern. “I think I can afford to miss a day. It’s not like anything will change even if I do go there every single day.”

  Brianna said nothing to that, and so the rest of their ride passed
in silence.

  Chapter 4

  Brianna stood in the shower, her head tilted up, eyes closed as water sprayed her face, chest, and shoulders. Thanks to her training, she had incredible perceptions. Her body was sensitive to touch, which allowed her to feel each and every water droplet trailing down her body, like the one adventurous droplet that moved between her breasts, or the ones sliding along her backside. However, at the moment, her mind was locked in a haze as she struggled to retain her consciousness. Only after standing under the water for several more minutes to completely wake up did Brianna finally begin washing herself off.

  She had low blood pressure in the mornings.

  Once she finished taking a shower, Brianna wrapped a towel around her torso and headed into the first room of her bathroom, which contained a sink, a toilet, and a clothing rack. She stared at herself in the mirror as she combed and dried her long, red hair. There were many times where she considered cutting it. A friend of hers from the Magic Warriors branch of Custodes Daemonium had said he thought long hair suited her, so she kept it like this. She also thought she looked good with long hair.

  “I wonder what Calencio is doing,” she murmured as the image of a young man with blond hair, green eyes, and a boyish face flashed through her mind.

  She shook her head and finished drying and combing her hair. Brianna walked into her bedroom after finishing up.

  Thanks to the shopping she and Anthony did last week, Brianna’s bedroom now had a king-sized bed sitting in the middle of it. The bed was incredible, with a mattress that relied on a special foam made of composite materials that conformed to her body for a comfortable sleep. She used standard white and pink bed sheets since she didn’t like the more ostentatious designs she’d seen while shopping. A dresser sat in one corner. There was also a vanity mirror and a desk. She didn’t have anything decorating her room, no posters or wall scrolls, but she did have a rack to hang the Geminus Sword on the wall.