Is It Strange for a Succubus to Wear Clothes?

Chapter 3: The Succubus Empress Pulls Out a Suit 3

“This, this can’t be! You, say something! What is happening right now…!”

“Representative.”

Deputy Chief Dan Ahyeon had to summon superhuman patience, honed through years of public service, to endure the tirade from the beer-scented lawmaker yelling at her.

“This is a dangerous situation. So, please… until the matter is under control, do not take even one step out of the VIP room.”

“Aren’t I asking for an explanation of the situation? Is that so hard!?”

“Yes, it is difficult. Because everyone here might die.”

“…What.”

“If you understand, please quickly return to the VIP room. It’s fortified with a protection ritual and should be safe… for now.”

Dan Ahyeon couldn’t bring herself to say, “Listen, you stupid bastard. We’re on the brink of catastrophe because of you, so shut up already.”

Instead, she opted for the most diplomatic language she could muster.

Sensing the unusual seriousness in her tone and expression, the lawmaker instinctively recoiled and returned to the VIP room.

Had Dan Ahyeon been the kind of person to act on impulse, she might’ve briefly considered, “Since it’s all going to hell anyway, should I just get rid of this lawmaker too?”

But there was no time to waste on such thoughts.

[Meeeeeeehhhhh…!]

As the bleating of the Old Lamb, steadily approaching the ground, resonated, the Public Hunters all had the same thought.

Who the hell.

Who was the idiot who looked at the Old Lamb?

Hadn’t they heard Deputy Chief Dan Ahyeon’s warning to avoid eye contact at all costs?

Their frustration escalated into bafflement.

Still, any seasoned Hunter would know the risks of ignoring safety guidelines, warnings, or peculiar traits of hostile entities.

Then the realization dawned.

Someone who wasn’t a Hunter had looked.

The event for observing the Night Sea phenomenon was far from any civilian area, and the Old Lamb’s fit would only trigger if seen clearly within close proximity.

Only then did the Hunters grasp it.

Aside from the Public Hunters present here, there were civilians arrogant enough to dismiss the warnings of a Hunter.

—Damn it… One of those esteemed lawmakers must’ve ignored Deputy Chief Dan Ahyeon’s warning and looked at the Old Lamb.

—Wow. You must be so curious; perhaps you should consider becoming a science student. Or, given your age, maybe you’re aiming for Minister of Science and Technology?

“You bastards.”

“….”

One particularly hot-tempered Hunter couldn’t hold back and cursed aloud.

No one rebuked them, as they were likely all thinking the same thing.

Later, someone might try to reprimand that Hunter, but they could just claim they were swearing at the Old Lamb.

Of course, that was only if they survived.

“Deputy Chief, we can’t handle this alone….”

“I know. It’s tough.”

“What about other Hunters in the metropolitan area? I heard the major guilds are on standby.”

“The Old Lamb’s characteristic is that the more eyes meet it, the stronger it gets and the more entities it spawns. Additional guilds stepping in… would only happen if all of us here died first.”

“…I see.”

Due to the Old Lamb’s tendency to treat gazes as hostile, calling for reinforcements wasn’t feasible.

The major guilds had likely been informed, but requesting their aid would risk multiplying the number of Old Lambs from one to two, three, or perhaps even more than a dozen.

“Whether we like it or not… we’re stuck here.”

“…Understood.”

Eye contact had already been made.

Thanks to some damned lawmaker, everyone here had been marked by the Old Lamb.

At this point, there was only one response from the Old Lamb.

Descent.

Followed by endless regeneration and division of flesh to invade the ground.

At first, however, it was eerily calm, as if they’d stepped into the eye of a storm.

—Thump-thump-thump!

The sound of its heart echoed so violently that even the Hunters at a distance could feel its rhythm.

A transparent quadruped beast, over four meters tall, descended to the ground.

It didn’t fully touch the ground, hovering about a meter above it.

Its body was covered in countless eyeballs, darting aimlessly in all directions without any sign of life.

No one could tell what those eyes were truly seeing, but their mere presence evoked primal fear in all living beings.

The Hunters either froze in tension or gulped audibly.

A single one of these creatures was capable of destroying an entire city.

If anything went wrong here, the nearby metropolitan area would be at risk.

After a brief, tense silence, the Old Lamb finally opened its grotesque mouth.

[Meeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhh—!!!]

With its wailing cry, Young Lambs were unleashed.

Countless offspring and chunks of flesh from the Old Lamb began to rain down on the ground, where the humans who dared to look at it were gathered.

Unlike the Old Lamb, they couldn’t fly at high altitudes, but they floated eerily in the air like specks of dust, writhing grotesquely as they transformed into new lifeforms.

The Young Lambs began drifting toward the line of Public Hunters.

Slowly.

Like jellyfish riding the wind, their movements were sluggish but deliberate.

Yet their numbers resembled a tidal wave or tsunami, and several Hunters couldn’t help but tremble instinctively.

They had the chilling sense that being caught in that swarm wouldn’t simply mean death—it would be far worse.

“It’s the Young Lambs! Don’t let even one slip through! We’ll hunt them all right here!”

At Dan Ahyeon’s shout, a prepared magic circle activated.

The passage to the surrounding area was sealed off, and the ritual redirected all of the hostile entities’ attention to their location.

The writhing masses of flesh, with barely formed limbs and endlessly gnashing teeth, lashed out at everything with rage and malice.

“Prepare the area spell!”

“Ready!”

Despite the grim situation, the Public Hunters weren’t amateurs.

While technically lower-ranked, they had been established under government supervision, given ample equipment and elixirs, and were capable of using advanced area-destruction magic far beyond their individual capabilities.

The State-Designated Public Hunters stood in their pre-arranged formation and simultaneously activated their spells, creating a scene that was, in its way, breathtaking.

“[Communal Flame-bombing]!”

Together, they unleashed a massive magic spell.

A wave of flames surged forward, swallowing up countless chunks of flesh and Young Lambs.

To the naked eye, it seemed as though the fiery tide had consumed the Young Lambs entirely.

Unfortunately, the power of the lower-ranked Public Hunters wasn’t nearly enough to annihilate them completely.

Many Young Lambs burned, charred, and evaporated into flesh vapor, but the majority survived the flames and regenerated, swelling with vigor as their movements became even more ferocious.

-Crack-crack!

-Snap-snap!

As the collective flame spell subsided, the chunks of flesh emitted sounds like bursting blood vessels, charging toward the Hunters at an alarming speed.

“Activate the defensive ritual!”

“Do not let them through!”

Numerous rituals and barriers engraved in the air were solid and sturdy.

The Public Hunters had begun setting them up a week ago, and even Dan Ahyeon, the highest-ranked among them, had spent two sleepless nights carving the safety net.

It wasn’t something that would collapse just because a few thousand chunks of flesh pushed against it.

“Commence bombardment!”

“Reduce their numbers as much as possible!”

And so began the indiscriminate barrage.

Various magic projectiles and artillery.

A rain of fire, ice, and lightning bullets passed through the barrier and began indiscriminately hunting the Young Lambs.

Defense rituals and barriers typically isolate and block both enemies and allies, but the protection ritual crafted by Dan Ahyeon allowed allies’ attacks to pass through while restricting the movements of the enemies.

Though individually weak, the collective destructive power was unexpectedly strong.

Thanks to this, the number of Young Lambs, which had survived even the wave of fire, began to gradually decrease.

-Screeech!

-Creak-creaaak!

Despite their lower ranks, the Public Hunters were well-equipped and numerous, and the once-overwhelming swarm of Young Lambs covering the sky began to dwindle.

No matter how exceptional their regenerative abilities, if their bodies were destroyed beyond the point of maintaining regeneration, the Young Lambs became manageable prey.

The problem was what came next.

[Meeeeeehhhhhh—!!!]

The Old Lamb let out another mournful wail.

At this, the Young Lambs, who had been falling limply, began attaching and merging with one another.

“We’re screwed.”

Watching this, Dan Ahyeon gritted her teeth inwardly.

It was the Floating Flesh Mass.

“I thought the Young Lambs evolved only by consuming a certain amount of prey, but they can forcibly evolve by merging with each other…!”

Dan Ahyeon wanted to join in the bombardment, but she was already struggling just to maintain the widespread protection rituals and barriers.

In the meantime, the chunks of flesh began merging with one another.

Sticky, large, and small masses moved as if they were a single organism.

Soon, they transformed into an even larger and more grotesque form.

“The Young Ram!”

“Ah…”

The Young Ram.

They had bypassed the stage of the Floating Flesh Mass entirely and taken on the form of the Young Ram.

These creatures, having endured indiscriminate barrages, had deliberately and aggressively evolved to hunt and kill humans.

“In the end… is that the only option? I really shouldn’t do this, I really shouldn’t…!”

Dan Ahyeon finally had to resort to the last measure she had been avoiding at all costs.

“Cease all bombardment!”

“What!?“

“What do you mean by that!”

“There’s no point in bombarding them if the Young Ram has appeared! I’ll use another method!”

At her words, the lower-ranking Public Hunters nodded their heads.

The only person they could trust in this situation was Deputy Chief Dan Ahyeon.

To survive, they had to follow her lead.

“Stop attacking! Support the protection rituals instead!”

While the other Public Hunters poured their mana into the protection rituals and barriers, Dan Ahyeon grabbed her phone and ran somewhere.

She wasn’t running away.

If she were the kind of person to run away now, she would have abandoned her family long ago and emigrated to another country.

“Emergency… call….”

Dan Ahyeon’s main job wasn’t even observing the Night Sea phenomenon.

As a civil servant, she often had to take on overlapping tasks or help out where hands were needed, but her usual job was solely one thing.

[Managing Special Returnees.]

Her job was to handle individuals who were impossible for others to manage and who should never be treated lightly.

For Dan Ahyeon, this job was always nerve-wracking, like walking on a tightrope, yet strangely reassuring and filled with trust.

-Beep.

The call was quickly connected.

A short sigh could be heard from the other end of the electronic sound.

Upon hearing it, Dan Ahyeon immediately sensed that the other person was in a bad mood.

“M-Ms. Jaehee! Ms. Jaehee! I deeply apologize for calling you so late at night!”

[Yes, yes. Good evening, Deputy Chief.]

A beautiful voice.

It filled Dan Ahyeon’s ears, like the first rays of sunlight breaking through morning fog.

That voice spread softly like the scent of roses and momentarily enchanted her, as if touched by the hand of a devil.

Ah, no matter how many times I hear it, I’ll never get used to this beautiful voice.

“It’s not a good evening at all—kyaa! Don’t come near me!”

Dan Ahyeon shouted as she shot a magic bullet at a chunk of flesh that was about to pass through the barrier due to the unstable mana of the other Public Hunters.

Panting heavily, she apologized again to the [Special Returnee].

“Huff, huff, huff… I’m sorry, Ms. Jaehee! The thing is….”

[Is it because of the Night Sea?]

Gasp.

How did she know?

No, that’s not what’s important now.

“Yes, yes! An unexpected anomaly and unidentified hostile entities have appeared, and the Gimpo Field Unit is responding urgently!”

[Is it so urgent that you needed to call me directly at 4 a.m.?]

“Uh, uh, well, that is….”

Ah, no wonder she sighed when she picked up.

It’s so late…

T-To be honest, maybe calling Ms. Jaehee wasn’t the right decision.

But the situation here is too dire.

If my superiors find out, they’d probably demand I call her immediately.

But honestly, I can’t think of any other way to resolve this without her.

What do I do….

As Dan Ahyeon stood there flustered and visibly troubled, a faintly teasing chuckle came from the other end of the phone.

[I’m just kidding. I’ll be there right away.]

“Huh! T-Thank you so much!”

Unconsciously, Dan Ahyeon bowed her head at a 90-degree angle, even while on the phone.

And then, silence.

Had she hung up?

She must have.

Confirming the disconnected call, Dan Ahyeon sighed in relief and immediately rushed back to the scene.

“Aaagh!”

“Grrrr…!”

“They’re sharing pain through a sensory link!”

“It’s not real pain, so hang in there!”

Amidst the chaos, the screams of Public Hunters trying desperately to maintain the barrier could be heard.

The Young Rams, though physically powerful, were also unique entities capable of psychic abilities, supernatural powers, and mental interference.

They attempted to break the Hunters by cursing them with shared pain beyond the barrier.

Dan Ahyeon reconnected her magic to the protection ritual, blocking the mental interference.

Just a little longer.

They just had to hold out a little longer.

Dan Ahyeon and the Public Hunters somehow managed to maintain the barriers and protection rituals, enduring the onslaught.

The Young Rams occasionally breached the barrier to inflict mental erosion and shared pain, attempting to shatter the Hunters’ minds.

Fortunately, each time, Dan Ahyeon promptly utilized the protection ritual to cut off the mental erosion, ensuring no casualties.

At least, for now.

If things continued this way, disaster was inevitable.

The Young Rams were multiplying even at that moment.

Eventually, their numbers would exceed what Dan Ahyeon could manage, and the protection rituals would break.

“Everyone! Just hold on a little longer. Reinforcements are coming!”

“Isn’t it dangerous to call for other guilds?”

“It’s not a guild; it’s just one person!”

“What? How can one person handle all this…?”

One of the skeptical Hunters trailed off mid-sentence.

That was because something unfamiliar appeared in the sky, where the Night Sea phenomenon had opened.

“…A person?”

Someone stood there.

In the faint light of the Night Sea, a figure completely shrouded appeared.

With long hair and a silhouette of an exceptionally elegant figure, it was clear she was a woman.

“Ah…”

As the Public Hunters’ gazes turned hazy, Dan Ahyeon also looked up at the sky.

Only then did she let out a sigh of relief.

The sight was otherworldly.

Her presence, serene and radiant like a unique light within the dark night, contrasted starkly with the chaotic ground below.

The black suit fit her form perfectly, its sharp contours gleaming softly in the moonlight.

Her long legs, wrapped in tailored suit pants, extended gracefully and elegantly.

Her pristine and refined appearance exuded an aura beyond mere fashion, something almost unearthly.

Her violet eyes shone through the darkness, cold and piercing yet imbued with an air of compassion and love.

Her long hair rippled slightly in the night breeze.

As her black hair cascaded like waves through the darkness, she began her slow descent from the sky.

When she landed, her waist bore wings that unfurled like a devil’s dress, long and wide.

A veil covering her face fluttered gently in the breeze.

[Mee…eh?]

The arrival of this new figure drew all of the Old Lamb’s many eyes toward her.

Turning her back to the humans, the woman—

No, the Succubus Empress—removed her veil.

“Growing children are always hungry.”

The humans could not see her face.

The Succubus Empress stood with her back to them, beyond the protection ritual.

Had she appeared inside the barrier, every Public Hunter—

No, every human—would have unconsciously moved to catch a glimpse of her face.

“Children are lively, they love to move, and their moods are unpredictable. Just like you.”

Her gem-like voice reached the Old Lamb.

The Young Rams pounding against the barrier stopped.

Even the still-evolving Young Lambs froze.

The woman locked eyes with the Old Lamb.

“When you tell children stories before bed, they eat and eat like insatiable monsters.”

All the lambs turned their eyes to the Succubus Empress.

Yet none of them convulsed.

Instead, they simply stared at her, silently, as if bewitched.

“I’ll feed you until you’re full. So please…”

With that, she gestured lightly.

Her slender, elegant hand moved like a conductor directing a symphony.

“Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb.”

A beautiful voice.

Yet lethally cruel in its sweetness.

The nursery rhyme from Mother Goose drifted through the air.

In that moment, all the lambs’ eyes began to tremble violently.

“Baby, baby, if he hears you,

As I gallop past the house,”

As if they had been forced to eat something they didn’t want.

No, as if they had been fed something so delicious it tore their mouths apart.

As if their stomachs, flesh, and intestines burst from overindulgence.

“Limb from limb at once he’ll tear you,

Just as pussy tears a mouse~”

Her beautiful voice resonated.

Underneath it, countless lambs lay dead, their stomachs ruptured.