Incubus, Volume 4 (Light Novel)

• Male Protagonist
• Harem
• Magic
• Academy
• Modern Fantasy
• Supernatural Elements
• Unique Protagonist
• Powerful Protagonist
• Rapid Growth
• Secret Identity
• Handsome Male Lead
• Romantic Subplot
• Possessive Characters
• Strong Female Leads
• Beautiful Female Leads
• Loyal Subordinates
• Jealous Love Interests
• Childhood Friends
• Enemies Become Lovers
• Tsundere
• Friends to Lovers
• Multiple Romantic Subplots
• Conspiracy
• Assassins
• Political Intrigue
• Secret Organization
• War
• Terrorist Attack
• Corporate Power Struggle
• Artificial Intelligence
• Magical Academy
• Island Setting
• Nobles
• Vampires
• Demons
• Succubus/Incubus
• Supernatural Creatures
• Peace Treaty / Political Negotiation
• Reluctant Hero
• Tragic Past
• Overpowered Protagonist
• Emotionally Guarded Protagonist
• Goal-Oriented Protagonist
• Leadership
• Anti-Hero Tendencies
• Hidden Power

Anthony’s vision was blurry, war hammers were battering his skull, and his body had become sluggish to the point where even lifting his hand required monumental effort.

If he included that time when Director Azrael had captured him, this was the second time he had been poisoned. As an incubus, a creature who sustained himself on mana, he had a certain level of resistance to poisons. That did not mean, however, that he was immune.

Especially if the poison was not magical in nature.

“You want me… to help you… kill… someone?” As he spoke those words, Anthony tried to figure out when this woman had poisoned him. He hadn’t given her any opportunities. She had never drugged any of his food or drinks when she joined him for lunch at the Institution of Magical Sciences, and he never saw her outside of school, so how could she have poisoned him?

Unless…

Anthony vaguely recalled an intruder sneaking into his apartment, kissing him, and shoving something down his throat. The object had dissolved after he’d swallowed it and nothing had happened, so he had honestly forgotten about it. Professor Incanscino had also looked over him and not found anything strange. His trust in that woman was such that he was incapable of thinking she could miss anything.

But it seemed even his esteemed professor could make mistakes.

“That’s right.” Selene was no longer smiling. Her eyes were narrowed, hands clenching and unclenching as though just thinking about the person she wanted to kill caused her to feel unbearable hatred. Her entire body shuddered from the overwhelming emotions bombarding her. Anthony could see her hatred manifested physically through her body language.

“Why should we help you?!” asked Brianna.

The redhead already had her double-bladed sword out. The Geminius Sword shone in the light of so many neon signs as she pointed it at Selene.

Despite Brianna’s obviously threatening stance, Selene appeared unbothered by the other woman. In fact, she wasn’t even paying attention to Brianna. She was staring at Anthony. She had been this whole time.

“Why should I… do what you want?” Anthony asked.

A coy smile caused her lips to curl as if she had been waiting for him to ask that question.

Selene said, “Don’t you want me to remove that poison from you? While it isn’t deadly, it also isn’t something that you can just get rid of. That poison was made from a combination of herbs that can only be found in my personal garden. They’ve been infused with the darkness element to enhance their effectiveness. I am the only one in the entire world who can make the antidote for you.”

Selene walked over to them, hips swaying hypnotically from side to side. Anthony was sure he would have appreciated the sight, even though her body was covered by a cloak, but he could barely even see. His vision had become fuzzy.

“This poison is one that makes your entire body feel heavy, like you are being weighed down by a mountain. It will give you headaches, exhaust your strength, and make it so you can never function properly again. It is also self-propagating. It is a poison that latches onto the host and drains their vitality in order to continue existing.”

Brianna was still right next to Anthony, her blade drawn, feet spread apart and knees bent as though ready for action, but she wasn’t attacking. Perhaps she knew that attacking when she didn’t know how to cure this poison was a bad idea. That said, her grip on the Geminius Sword had tightened so much her knuckles had turned white.

Selene knelt before him. The wide smile on her face remained. It was like she took sick amusement in his suffering.

“You know, I originally didn’t want to do this. My original goal was to simply seduce you and convince you to help me afterward. I figured you were the kind of man who would do anything for his bondmates. However, immediately after I joined your college, you became wary of me. You never let me get any closer than was necessary to maintain an amicable relationship, so, you could say that what is happening right now is all your fault.”

Anthony wanted to speak, but all he could do was groan. The poison was beginning to affect him more as time went on. He could barely even think straight, so the most he could do now was listen to this woman blame him for what was happening.

Damn… her… if I manage… to heal from this… I’ll make sure she… regrets it…

Selene’s smile widened as she stood up. “I’ll give you some time to think of an answer. That said, I suggest you make a decision soon. That poison might not kill you, but it’s perfectly capable of putting you into a coma you’ll never wake up from.”

Selene turned around and began walking away. At this point, Brianna finally seemed unable to stop herself. She brandished her sword at Selene.

“Hold it! Do you really think I’m going to just let you walk away after all this?”

Selene turned only her head to look at Brianna from the corner of her eye. A smile touched her lips. It seeped with a sort of cold amusement.

“Let me walk away? My dear girl, you have no choice but to let me go. I am the only one who can remove the poison from Anthony’s body, so you cannot kill me, and if you lock me up, then I definitely won’t want to help you.”

Brianna clenched her teeth as Selene continued walking away before, quite suddenly, her body became covered in darkness and burst into bats. They weren’t real bats, however. Even Anthony could tell they were made purely from mana. The bats flapped their wings like they were real and scattered into the air.

“What a… a pleasant woman…” Anthony muttered bitterly. He couldn’t believe he’d been so careless. While Selene’s words that he was responsible for what happened to him were not true, he did feel a certain amount of responsibility regarding his current state. He should have been more vigilant.

“Are you okay?” Brianna asked as she knelt by his side. She placed a hand on his shoulder, but he could hardly feel it. His body already felt like there was a mountain sitting on his shoulders.

“I… don’t think so…” Anthony admitted. “Damn it. I was really careless… this time.”

“All of us were careless,” Brianna said softly. “None of us could have imagined this would happen. Anyway, let’s get you back home.”

Brianna slung his arm over her shoulder and hauled him to his feet. Anthony sagged against her. He had no strength to move. Even so, Brianna didn’t seem bothered by this at all as she began walking resolutely to the nearest maglev station.

They were fortunate it was so late and there were very few people out and about, which meant no one really paid attention to them at the station or on the maglev. Anthony spent all of his time on the maglev resting against Brianna. His eyes felt so heavy, like they were being forced closed by an invisible hand.

The walk home was long and laborious. Anthony’s strength had already disappeared, and he couldn’t focus enough to activate Physical Enhancement. He didn’t know what kind of poison was running through his body, but he could tell it was incredibly strong, even if it was non-lethal.

“About time you two returned. Do you know how long we have been—Anthony?! What’s wrong?!”

The first person who greeted him and Brianna upon their return was Secilia, who had stood up to greet them, only for her eyes to widen with shock when she saw the state he was in. Her feet thumped against the floor as she rushed over to him. Marianne, who had been sitting on the couch, also stood up and ran to his side. When she caught a glimpse of his sweat-covered and pallid face, her eyes went wide as she brought a hand up to hide the shocked O-shape that was her mouth.

“He’s been poisoned,” Brianna said through gritted teeth. “I’ll tell you about it later. For now, help me get him to bed.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Secilia took Anthony’s other side to take some of the burden off Brianna. His bondmate could have used Physical Enhancement, but she probably wanted to spare him some dignity by not carrying him in her arms like a princess.

Marianne trailed behind them as they took Anthony into the bedroom and laid him on the bed. His entire body was soaked in sweat. His skin felt cold, but his body felt like it was burning up. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down with several deep breaths, but it was no use. HIs breathing was so labored that he was struggling to take in oxygen.

“Now that Anthony is in bed, tell us what happened,” Secilia said. Her expression was more serious than normal as she stared at the redhead, who looked overwrought with nerves.

She and Brianna were sitting on the edge of the bed, while Marianne stood by the foot of the bed, looking uncertainly between the two. Anthony wanted to reassure the vampire girl, but he couldn’t. His mouth refused to form words.

Brianna sighed once before nodding. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell you what happened.”

Anthony found it hard to focus on Brianna’s words as she talked about how Anthony’s body suddenly began losing strength, and how they had been confronted by Selene Dracul, who wanted him to kill someone for her in exchange for the antidote. Secilia was silent as Brianna explained everything to them. Marianne had gasped when Brianna mentioned Selene showing up. Anthony found that odd, but he couldn’t speak, so he let it slide.

“So that’s what happened.” Secilia crossed her arms and gnashed her teeth. “I can’t believe someone managed to poison Anthony, and it was Selene?! When did she have a chance to do that?!”

“Do you remember when Anthony was attacked by an assailant who snuck into the apartment?” asked Brianna, though she didn’t give Secilia a chance to answer before continuing. “That person was not only able to sneak into our bedroom without anyone noticing, but she was able to quietly dismantle my barrier without me noticing. I first thought his attacker was a magician since they are clearly well-versed in magic, but now I believe it was Selene.”

Anthony had come to the same conclusion. Her being the attack also explained why she had been able to use the darkness element. It was common a common magic among vampires.

“I see. That does make a lot of sense.” Secilia glanced at Anthony, then looked away, perhaps unable to continue staring at him while he was in such a sorry state. “What should we do now? How can we cure him?”

“I don’t know.” Brianna reached out a hand and began stroking Anthony’s hair. Her hands felt cool against his burning skin as she brushed away the bangs sticking to his forehead. “We might… we might have to agree to do what Selene wants in exchange for having her remove the poison.”

“Are you crazy?” asked Secilia, standing up and glaring at the redhead. “Do you really think we can trust a woman like her? If she’s willing to go so far as to poison someone just so we agree to do her bidding, then she’s obviously not the kind of person we can trust. Even if we agree to kill someone for her, she probably won’t remove the poison completely. She might even keep a little bit of poison inside of Anthony to keep a constant bargaining chip available whenever she wants him to do something for her.”

“I know that! But what else can we do?” asked a now frustrated Brianna.

“I might be able to build a machine that can remove the poison from Anthony,” Secilia said.

“And how long will that take?” asked Brianna.

“… Probably a few weeks?”

“So you want him to stay like this for several weeks?”

“Of course not! But I don’t want us to agree with Selene’s demands, especially when we don’t even know who she wants us to kill.”

“Neither do I, but it’s not like we have a choice! We can’t leave Anthony like this! If you really care about him, you should be willing to do anything you can to help him!”

“What do you think I’m doing right now?!”

The conversation was quickly becoming heated, with accusations and exclamations flying around. While Brianna and Secilia traded snipes often, they had never argued to this extent. Anthony wanted to step in. He wanted to tell them they needed to stop. But he couldn’t. With the poison running through his body, sapping him of his strength, all he could do was lay there.

He felt useless.

It was at this point in time that the quiet Marianne raised her hand. “Um… I might be able to help him.”

Brianna and Secilia stopped arguing and turned to her. When their gazes landed on her, Marianne nearly stumbled back in fright. Her entire body went stiff like a plank as she broke out in a cold sweat. The other two either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“You can remove the poison?” asked Brianna.

Marianne shivered and her eyes darted about like she wanted to run away, but she nodded instead and said, “You… you probably already know this, but high-level vampire nobles have a very strong regeneration factor. We can heal from almost any wound. We can even regenerate lost limbs if we consume enough blood.”

“I do know of this ability,” Brianna said with a frown. “But how can that help Anthony? It’s self-regeneration. All that means is you can heal yourself.”

“Um… as a vampire noble, my own body can heal itself as long as I consume enough blood,” Marianne tried to explain. “I should be able to suck the poison out of Anthony, then dismantle the poison inside of me by drinking his blood.”

Brianna and Secilia grew silent. Tension seemed to fill the room. Anthony couldn’t possibly know what those two were thinking. His head was spinning as he tried to retain a grip on his consciousness, but he at least heard what Marianne had said.

“Do it,” he rasped, using the last bit of his strength to speak.

“Anthony?” Brianna looked down at him in shock.

Anthony stared at Marianne through half-lidded eyes. “Do it. It’s okay. I… I trust you.”

“R-really?!” Marianne’s eyes lit up like beacons in the middle of the night. She seemed a lot happier than he felt his words deserved. “Okay! I’ll start right now!”

Marianne hurried over to his side and leaned over the bed. She opened her small mouth, fangs glinting in the light. Brianna and Secilia remained silent. It was unknown whether they approved of this method or not, but this was also one of the only choices available to them.

“Um…” Marianne stopped just as she was about to bite his neck, looked at Brianna and Secilia, blushed, and said, “C-could you two please not watch me. It’s… embarrassing.”

They gave the vampire girl an intense stare but eventually turned around. Once they did, Marianne’s eyes flashed and a smile caused her lips to curve delightfully. It only lasted for a moment before the shy and embarrassed look came back.

Marianne leaned down again, her mouth so close to his neck that Anthony could feel her breathing on him. A shiver made its way down his spine. It wasn’t a shiver of fear, but one of pleasure, of anticipation. Even when poisoned, his incubus nature could not be quelled.

Anthony didn’t wince when Marianne sank her fangs into his neck. It didn’t hurt, not even when her fangs broke his skin. It actually felt oddly pleasant, like when Secilia would bite his neck and suck on it to leave a mark. Her soft lips pressed against his skin and her tongue flicked out to lick away the blood that leaked from the puncture marks.

He couldn’t feel his blood being drained, but he could tell somehow that she was, indeed, draining him of blood. It wasn’t long before his body began feeling lighter. The mountain that had been weighing him down seemed to disappear as if it had never existed. At the same time, Marianne’s body jerked and spasmed, shuddering several times as though she was in pain. Once she had sucked out all of the poison, her body slumped onto the bed.

Anthony sat up. Marianne’s head slid off his neck, down his chest, and came to rest on his lap. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was a touch shallow.

“Anthony?” Brianna turned back around. “How do you feel?”

“I feel a lot better.” Anthony raised his hands and clenched his fingers. “It’s as if I was never poisoned to begin with.” He looked down at the girl whose head rested on his lap, reached out, and began stroking her hair. “Marianne really saved me this time.”

Brianna nodded in agreement. “She did. I don’t know what we would have done if she wasn’t here.”

“Hmph. I could have saved Anthony if I was given enough time,” Secilia muttered as she crossed her arms.

“Time isn’t something we have at the moment,” Brianna said.

Secilia had nothing she could say to refute Brianna’s words.

Now that Anthony was feeling better, he didn’t believe staying in bed was appropriate. He climbed out of bed, lifted the unconscious Marianne into his arms, and set her down on the bed instead. He put her on the other side since the side he had been laying on was soaked with sweat. He didn’t want her catching a cold. After which, he sat on the edge and began stroking her hair again.

Secilia was the first to notice his expression. “Are you thinking of making Marianne your bondmate?”

“I am,” Anthony confirmed.

“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.” Brianna didn’t quite dismiss the idea, but she seemed reluctant. “Remember that her entire reason for coming here was you. Her mother sent her all this way because she wants to use your power to benefit herself.”

“But isn’t Elizabeth Tepes the most peace oriented of the three Vampire Warlords?” said Anthony. “I don’t think it would be wrong to ally myself with her. And besides, I like Marianne. She’s a bit… odd, but I can tell she’s a genuinely good person.”

“Hmph. You’re just attracted to her because she’s pretty,” Brianne muttered.

“There is that too,” Anthony admitted.

It was impossible to deny that Marianne was gorgeous. She didn’t have Brianna’s bountiful figure, but her lithe and graceful body looked like something made by a master sculpture. Her snow white skin, her beautiful silver hair, those gorgeous features. Every inch of her could drive a man wild with lust. Even her tiny feet were like works of art.

“So you’re gonna fuck her?” asked Secilia.

“Why are you always so crass?” Brianna muttered.

“Because I can be.”

Anthony sighed and stopped the two from arguing before they could really get going. He had no desire to listen to them quibbling right now.

“I’ll talk to Marianne about it within the next few days.” He paused long enough to smile at the two. “Why don’t you two get ready for bed? I’m going to stay here for a while longer.”

The expressions Brianna and Secilia wore when he said that made them look out of sorts, but they didn’t say anything against his decision. Anthony kept his eyes on them as they wandered out of the room. The door shut, the sound of their footsteps receded, and only then did he turn around to look at the woman lying on the bed.

“You can stop pretending to be unconscious now,” he said.

“Hee hee. When did you realize I was faking?” asked Marianne as she opened her eyes. Unlike before, when she had looked embarrassed and uncertain, her eyes now contained a glint of amusement.

“Shortly after I picked you up,” Anthony said. “You don’t seem to realize this, but I am studying to be a doctor. I can easily tell when someone is unconscious based on how they’re breathin and their pulse.”

“I see. A doctor, huh? In that case, would you like to play doctor with me?” Marianne lifted her skirt, revealing an expansive amount of her unblemished, milky legs. She would have looked like the epitome of confidence.

If only she wasn’t blushing.

“Maybe later.” Anthony beamed at her before his smiling expression disappeared, replaced with a more serious look. “Before that, I’d like to ask you something.”

“You want to ask about my abrupt personality change, right?” Marianne wore a knowing smile as she placed her hands in her lap and clasped them together. She squeezed her fingers hard enough to make her knuckles turn white. “Let me guess, you think this personality change is because I have multiple identity disorder?”

“That was the first thought that came to mind, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore.” Anthony observed Marianne for a moment, putting his thoughts and theories in order before speaking. “When someone has multiple identity disorder, they tend to have memory problems. There will always be gaps in their memory, but you… you don’t seem to have those. When you woke me up the other day, your personalities switched partway through. It was like you were trying to put up a strong front but lost your nerve at the last second. What’s more, you perfectly remembered what happened after your other personality appeared. That wouldn’t be possible if you had multiple identity disorder.”

“You’re a pretty smart guy.” Marianne leaned back on the bed and sighed. She looked a lot more mature in that moment than she did when her other personality came to the front. “You are right, of course. I don’t have multiple personalities. The personality you see before you is something I crafted for myself, to protect myself.”

“Protect yourself from what?” asked Anthony.

Marianne shook her head. “Sorry, but while I do like you, I don’t trust you enough to tell you that. What you’re asking about is my deepest and darkest secret. If you want to know about it, you’ll have to earn my trust.”

“Well… I guess that makes sense,” Anthony said with a sigh. “How can I earn your trust?”

“That’s a good question.” Marianne’s smile revealed her fangs, which glinted in the lamp light by his bedside. “I’m not going to tell you. If you want to earn my trust, you’ll have to use your own intelligence to do so.”

Anthony frowned and wanted to tell her that she was being unreasonable, but before he could, the expression on Marianne’s face changed, becoming less confident and more uncertain. Before long, the shy and easily embarrassed Marianne who was always apologizing had replaced the strong and confident one.

“Um… I’m sorry,” she said in a soft voice. “I know I’m being unreasonable, but…”

“No. I don’t think you’re being unreasonable,” Anthony interrupted the girl, causing her head to snap up and stare at him. When he saw the shocked expression she wore, he shrugged. “It seems clear to me that something happened to you in the past and it caused your trust in people to plummet. I’m willing to work hard and earn your trust.”

“Th-thank you,” Marianne mumbled. “You’re very kind.”

“Well, I try to be,” Anthony said with an uncertain smile. He stood up. “Anyway, get some rest. You can sleep on our bed tonight. Bri and I will take the couch.”

Marianne looked like she wanted to say something, but Anthony was already walking out the door.

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Method 1: Send to Kindle (Recommended)

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Step 1: Find Your Kindle Email Address

Go to Amazon → Manage Your Content & Devices (Link).

Click the Devices tab.

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Download Calibre (Link).

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Open the Kindle folder in File Explorer (Windows) / Finder (Mac).

Drag and drop the converted file into the Documents folder.

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