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

{Melisa}

The backstage area was a mess of nervous energy and rustling papers. Melisa stood near one of the curtains, trying not to fidget too obviously with her notecards.

[Wow. Is this what celebs always felt like? Never thought I'd be in that position myself.] She tried to ignore the way her hands trembled. [Okay, deep breaths. Just gotta convince everyone that nim aren't evil. That's literally all, that's my entire goal.]

Someone cleared their throat nearby, and Melisa looked up to find a blonde girl staring at her like she'd personally insulted her entire family tree.

"So," the girl said, tossing her hair in what was probably meant to be an intimidating way. "Finally decided to grace us with your presence?"

Melisa blinked.

[... Who the fuck is this?]

"Um," she said eloquently. "Do I know you?"

The girl's face went an interesting shade of red.

"Are you serious? I'm Claire Brightwood! Top of our class in theoretical magic?"

[Oh. Wait. We have theoretical magic classes?]

"Right," Melisa nodded slowly. "Claire. Of course. From... class."

"You haven't taken a single lecture seriously all year, and yet you're being allowed to speak here??? Unacceptable!"

Melisa blinked.

[Is this girl for real?]

Other students were gathering now, some shooting her looks that ranged from curious to outright hostile.

Melisa had absolutely no idea who any of them were.

[Have they been here the whole time? Wait, how many students does this place even have???]

Before Melisa could respond, someone started ushering them all into position. Melisa found herself being guided toward center stage, surrounded by what she assumed were her classmates.

[This is fine. Everything's fine. Just ignore the fact that apparently you've been ignoring an entire student body for a year.]

The curtain pulled back, and suddenly Melisa was staring at what felt like half of Syux. Journalists with their notepads, nobles in their fancy clothes, regular citizens probably hoping for some drama...

[Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck-]

She caught sight of Raven in the crowd, looking ready to stab anyone who so much as breathed wrong. Next to her, Isabella was practically bouncing with excitement. And, beside her, Armia was sitting with one leg over the other.

[At least someone's enjoying this...]

"And now," Headmistress Eliana's voice rang out, "I present to you our students, led by Melisa Blackflame, who will address recent events..."

Claire was still glaring at her from the corner of her eye. Someone else was whispering something that sounded distinctly unfriendly.

Melisa stepped forward, her tail swishing nervously behind her.

[I guess it's too late to suck Isabella's cock to calm myself down, huh? Here goes nothing. Time to save the world. Or at least try not to make it worse.]

---

Melisa tried not to fidget as Headmistress Eliana went through what felt like the longest introduction in history.

[Does she really need to thank EVERYONE? Even the guy who swept the floor this morning? At this rate we'll still be here when Syux's next war starts.]

"... and we're especially honored by the presence of Her Majesty, Queen Aria..."

The whole time, while she was having a borderline panic attack, she could feel Claire's glare burning into the side of her head. The blonde hadn't stopped staring since they got on stage.

[... Has this bitch been hating me all this time? I literally just learned of her existence. And, here she is, acting like my sworn rival.]

"... and of course, we must acknowledge the generous support of the merchant's guild..."

[For fuck's sake, I could've solved nim/human relations entirely in the time it's taking her to finish this introduction.]

"... and now, I present to you, Melisa Blackflame."

"..."

All of a sudden, Melisa's eagerness to get this over with vanished, and all she felt was a cold sense of anxiety.

[Shit.]

Still, Melisa stepped forward, her notecards damp with sweat.

The crowd stared back at her. Nobles, some of which probably owned nim slaves, merchants who'd lost business to the attacks, parents worried about their children's safety...

[Deep breaths. Deeeeep breaths.]

She cleared her throat.

"Thank you, Headmistress," she began, proud that her voice barely shook.

And, with that, she stepped forward. Click, click, click, her heels tapped against the floor as she made her way to the center of the stage. There was no microphone, no spotlights. And yet, she felt like she was on TV somehow.

She began:

"I stand before you today not just as a student of Syux Academy, but as a nim student of Syux. Recent events have caused many to question whether nim can be trusted," she continued, forcing her mind away from much more pleasant activities. "Whether we deserve the rights we've been granted. Whether we're anything more than violent savages."

She looked away. Inhaling slowly, Melisa found herself gaining some confidence.

"It's kind of funny, isn't it? Even though our kind have been living together in this city for so long, many of you still don't understand us nim. And, to be fair, many of us nim still don't understand you."

She took a brief moment to look at the faces in the crowd. Some listened attentively. Some didn't care what she had to say and were about to fall asleep from boredom. It made Melisa smirk.

"But, clearly, if things are going to get better, this bridge needs to be built. If the next era of Syux is to come, we need to be willing to open our arms to receive it. And... Well, if I'm going to keep studying in Syux Academy, I'd like to do so not just as a nim, but as a peer. To that end, uh... I hope you'll have me. And, I hope you'll give chances to others like me. That's-"

She'd been just about to finish.

But, then, a crash from somewhere in the back of the hall made her jump.

[Huh?] Melisa raised a brow. [Is... Is something going on?]

The crash was followed by screaming.

Several people burst through the doors - some purple-skinned nim, but also... members of the security detail?

[What the actual fuck?]

"Die, human scum!" one of the nim shouted, hurling what looked like a fireball.

It landed right on the head of one of the viewers in the audience, setting it on fire.

Melisa's eyes widened.

In an instant, chaos erupted.

People scrambled over each other trying to escape. On stage, Claire let out an indignant squawk as someone shoved past her. The security guards who weren't part of the attack drew their weapons, as did Aria's knights.

Melisa's eyes darted to her friends. Isabella was already moving, her wand out. Armia had stood up, looking ready to throw down. And Raven... Raven was nowhere to be seen, but she was probably already stabbing someone.

"Everyone remain calm!" Headmistress Eliana's voice boomed across the hall. She raised her hands, magical energy crackling around them. "We have the situation under-"

A guard - one who was supposed to be on their side - swung his sword at her.

[Oh for fuck's sake.]

Melisa moved without thinking. Her hand shot out, magic flowing through her.

"Ventus, spirare, defendere!"

The wind spell caught the blade just before it could connect with the Headmistress's neck. The guard's eyes widened in surprise.

Then, Melisa used her blue flame spell on him, reducing him to ashes.

[Good. My little spell's gotten stronger over this past year.]

There was no time to pat herself on the back, though. More attackers were pouring in. Melisa could see both nim and humans among them.

[Great. Just great. Of course they'd pick today to attack. But, seriously, what is going on?]

She caught sight of Queen Aria being rushed away by her guards. At least someone was doing their job properly.

"Hey!" Claire's voice cut through the chaos. "You ruined my chance to show off my theoretical knowledge!"

And then, to Melisa's absolute shock, the blonde threw herself into the fray, hitting an attacker with what looked like the most academically precise fireball ever cast.

[... I guess I'll take it.]

She needed to help out as well, though.

So, Melisa cracked her knuckles, magic gathering around her.

[Alright... Let's do this.]

Magic crackled through the air as Melisa launched herself forward. Two attackers came at her simultaneously - one nim, one human. The nim tried throwing another fireball while the human charged with his sword.

She ducked under the fireball and caught the sword with another wind spell, then finished both with a concentrated burst of her signature blue flame.

[Easy. Keep it up, Mel,] she told herself.

Across the room, Isabella was putting her wand to good use.

"Tempestas fulgur cadena!" Lightning arced between three attackers, dropping them instantly. Her tail swished with satisfaction as she twirled her wand like a conductor's baton.

Armia had forgone magic entirely. She'd picked up one of the fallen guard's swords and was cutting through the attackers with practiced ease. Her darian strength sent one particularly foolish nim flying across the room.

A flash of movement caught Melisa's eye - Raven appearing behind an attacker, her daggers finding their mark with surgical precision. Then she vanished again into the chaos.

[At least everyone's holding their own.]

More attackers poured in through the doors. Melisa could see matching pendants around all their necks now - some kind of organization symbol?

She didn't have time to think about it. Claire's spells were keeping some at bay, but others were breaking through. Melisa spotted one particularly large nim heading straight for where Aria's guards were trying to escort her out.

[No. Not happening.]

Melisa sprinted forward, gathering her power. The nim reached Aria first, backhanding one of her guards aside with supernatural strength. He raised his hand, dark energy crackling around it-

"Illumi, nerca, var fal!"

Her blue flame caught him square in the chest. He stumbled, turning to face her with hatred in his eyes.

"Traitor," he spat, blood trickling from his mouth. Then he collapsed.

Silence fell across the hall.

Bodies - both attackers and innocent bystanders - littered the floor. The survivors looked around warily, as if expecting more attackers to appear.

As everyone slowly realized there was no more danger, some people lowered their weapons. Others, mainly Aria's knights, kept theirs out.

[Well...] Melisa's eyes locked with Aria's. [This sucks.]

But, naturally, there was one question on everyone's mind. Or, at least, it was absolutely in Melisa's.

[... How exactly did those people get past security?]