Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!

The afternoon sun painted Syux's streets in lazy golden light as Melisa wandered through the city.

She was almost skipping.

"Hmmmuhhh humuhhh!" She was humming a song to herself, like a happy-go-lucky airhead in a kid's show and, honestly? She felt she deserved it.

For once, she wasn't rushing anywhere. No assassins to dodge, no Shadow Mages lurking in every shadow, no urgent need to get railed by one of her girlfriends (that last one had been thoroughly handled just before this moment, to be clear).

She could just... exist.

[Kind of miss the excitement sometimes,] she thought, stretching languidly. Her ever-so-slightly bigger boobs bounced a little. [I mean, yeah, the constant threat of death did put a damper on my sex life. Hard to cum when you don't know if the moment you walk outside, someone's gonna try to stab you. Never stopped me, but still. Now? Now, I can just... Be. Crazy.]

A familiar alley caught her eye. It was one she'd usually walk through on her way to Javir's house, narrow, dark, perfect for an ambush. This dark alley kinda had her feeling nostalgic.

A year ago, she wouldn't have dared walk through this place without looking over her shoulder every couple of steps.

[Ah, memories. Almost got stabbed right over there. Turned an assassin to dust right there. Good times, good times.]

Maybe it was the nostalgia, or maybe she was just feeling reckless after that charged morning with Isabella, but Melisa found herself turning down the alley. Her boots clicked loudly against cobblestones as shadows swallowed her.

"La, la, la, la~ Sure hope no scawy assassins twy to muwder me!" Melisa grinned as she looked around.

Yep, no-

Wait a moment.

Movement caught her eye. Dark figures in hooded robes emerged from hidden alcoves, surrounding her.

[... Am I hallucinating?]

Melisa rubbed her eyes, shook her head, and slapped herself lightly.

No, those hooded figures were, indeed, here, around her.

[You've got to be fucking kidding me. More Shadow Mages!? I thought we got them all! What the fuck!?]

But as the figures moved closer, Melisa noticed something different.

The attackers... They had purple skin. As some of them drew even closer, their hoods pulled back to show purple, red, and grey eyes, typical nim irises.

[OH,] Melisa deflated with relief.

Clearly, she was fine.

[They're nim! Well, that's a relief. Just some fellow purple people wanting to chat in a dark alley. Nothing suspicious about that.]

"Heyyya!" she called out cheerfully, waving at them. "What's up? Oh, by the way, you don't really need to do a whole dramatic entrance like that. You can just walk up. It's fine."

No response.

Melisa tilted her head.

"Uh, did you guys-"

One of them tried to punch her.

Melisa dodged purely on instinct, years of dealing with assassins making her body move before her brain caught up. She could feel the wind of the blow passing her ear.

Stepping back, Melisa blinked.

[What...] She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. [Did that guy just...?]

"Uh... Do I know you? Why did you just-"

A second punch. Melisa dodged again. The guy didn't stop.

"Wait," she tried again, ducking under another swing. "I'm nim too! We're on the same-"

"Traitor!"

[What?]

That word came from behind her and this time, the sheer surprise she felt stopped her from reacting to the knee that connected with her back.

"Ack!"

She hit the ground. The other nim drew closer, presumably to do the same. Looking up, Melisa's eyes widened as she took in their expressions.

[What the fuck is going on?] She wondered as she took in their hateful looks. [What the fuck is this about?]

"You parade around with humans," one spat, magic gathering around his fists in unstable waves. "Let them treat you like a pet. A curiosity. Their perfect little nim who knows her place."

"While our people suffer," another added, pressing forward. Her hood fell back revealing features twisted with rage. "You whore!"

Melisa picked herself up.

"Look," Melisa raised her hands. "I get it. Things aren't perfect. But violence isn't the answ-"

A blast of raw magic cut her off.

Melisa's instincts took over again.

"Lumine, aegisa, surga!" She erected a shield of light just in time.

[Mages?]

Those news articles she'd read flashed through her mind. Those people who'd attacked the human nobles.

[Are these...?]

Whoever they were, though, their intentions were clear. And, in this position, Melisa couldn't really afford to play it safe.

[Okay then. Diplomacy failed. Time for plan B.]

"Fine," she growled. "Let's see if you're better at fighting than talking."

Raw magic crackled through the alley as five nim rushed Melisa at once.

[Okay!]

Melisa went on the defensive. So many years of fighting Shadow Mages had educated her on how one was supposed to fight groups like these.

[If I just rush in like a Sylvester Mallone, John Gambo movie, I'll get killed. You need to wait for someone to make a mistake and let that cascade in your favor.]

It became clear, though, that she wouldn't have to wait long.

"AAAAAGH!" One guy yelled passionately as he tried to hit her. Punch, kick, bite. Melisa dodged it all easily.

The others weren't much better.

Their attacks were wild, uncoordinated. Clearly, most of the fighting these people had done was random street brawling.

[Oh man, they really don't know what they're doing, do they?]

"Lumine, aegisa, surga!" Melisa's shield caught a particularly sloppy fire spell, dispersing it harmlessly. The caster's eyes widened in shock as his magic dissolved against her barrier.

[Yeah, that's what actual training looks like, buddy.]

She ducked under a wild punch, the untrained attack leaving her attacker completely open. Melisa used his momentum to send him sprawling, wincing slightly as he hit the cobblestones hard, and Melisa stomped on his back to keep him down.

Another tried to grab her from behind. That was absolutely an amateur move. She dropped and swept his legs out. He went down with an undignified yelp before she elbowed his gut, knocking the wind out of him.

"Look," she tried again, dancing between their increasingly desperate attacks. A badly aimed spell singed her dress. "We can talk about this! What is you guys's problem!?"

"Shut up!" A female nim then muttered an incantation, drew a quick spellsign, and launched a bolt of pure energy. It looked powerful but completely unfocused.

[... What the hell is going on, man?]

Melisa's counter-attack was precise, controlled. A quick blast of Fire Magic sent two attackers stumbling into each other like drunken dancers.

As they fell in a tangle of limbs and curses, she saw that one of them was the guy who hit her earlier and stomped his solar plexus.

[That's for kneeing me in the back, asshole. And for ruining my dress!]

The remaining two backed off, finally showing some sense. One of them was shaking slightly.

"How..." one gasped, sweat running down his purple face, "h-how are you so fast?"

"Years of practice," Melisa answered, sighing. "Also, getting constantly attacked by professional assassins really helps your reflexes. Speaking of which, your guard is way too low."

Muttering a spell in less time than it probably took that guy to think of what to do, Melisa shot out a bolt of lightning at him that sent him back.

[Sh- oh, no, he's not dead. Thank goodness.] She looked down at her own hand. [It's harder than people would think, holding back enough to not murder these people.]

They charged again, this time trying to coordinate. It might have worked if they had any idea what they were doing.

Melisa caught the first with a simple binding spell, Javir's spell, sending vines sprouting from the ground to wrap around his legs. He struggled uselessly.

The second got a simple fist to the gut, dropping like a sack of potatoes.

And...

That was it. The nim were down and out.

[Well, that was anticlimactic. But, whatever. I need some answers.]

"Now, about why you're attacking other nim!? Tell me!"

Before anyone could respond, though, Melisa heard:

"Guards!" someone shouted from the street. "Fighting in the alley!"

The nim she'd knocked down were already scrambling to their feet, helping their unconscious friend. They bolted toward the other end of the alley, shooting her looks of fear.

Melisa got nothing.

"Everything alright here?" A guard rounded the corner, hand on his sword.

"Uh..." Melisa thought about it. "Just... a disagreement that got out of hand. Sorry for the trouble."

The guard looked skeptical but nodded. Melisa could immediately tell that the moment he saw her, he recognized her. Everyone knew who she was, after all. The nim who saved the king.

[The traitor, apparently,] she thought, remembering their accusations.

"Well, alright then, Miss Blackflame. Please, be careful."

She watched them disappear into the maze of streets, wondering how many more angry, untrained nim were out there wanting to hunt her down.

[This... might be a problem. A really annoying, poorly trained problem. But, still a problem.]

At least she'd worked out some frustration. Though next time she felt nostalgic for danger, she'd just ask Armia to get rough with her instead.

Much simpler. Way more fun.

And significantly less likely to end with property damage.

[... What the hell was all this about though?] Melisa thought as she finally got to walking. [I'm trying to help you idiots.]