Amare Iterum | Jensoo

5 - Ruby's Conundrum

As her lips brushed across the heart-shaped lips, she grinned, expecting the exorcist to fall to her death. Suddenly, she felt the exorcist bite her lower lip, which made her stop abruptly. She pulled away, expecting Jisoo to fall lifelessly on the floor. Yet what she saw was far from what she had expected.

There stood the exorcist, looking more alive than ever.

Jisoo's lips were swollen red after being kissed by her, and oddly enough, she looked unrealistically beautiful. For a moment, Ruby thought she was looking at a painting of an angel depicted by skilled painters, especially with how the moonlight shone through the window, basking the exorcist in a faint glow.

The exorcist, with her pale cheeks flushed red, was breathing heavily as she slowly looked at Ruby with undisguised hatred. She made herself smile at the bemused succubus, even though she felt sick inside. She remarked mockingly,

"Cat's got your tongue, love?"

She raised her hand and placed it under Ruby's chin. Ruby, still reeling from the shock, swatted her palm away from her chin and vanished.

Meanwhile...

Ruby went back to the place where her kind, the succubi are currently staying — an abandoned mansion. Hundreds of questions raced through her head as she tried to piece together what had happened earlier.

How did a mere mortal survive her kiss?

An incubus appeared beside her. He was tall and looked devilishly charming. He was wearing a slim-fitting trousers, a waistcoat, and a white shirt with an attached winged collar. He eyed Ruby lustfully as he watched her touch her lips.

"What's wrong, Ruby? Didn't get enough victims?"

Ruby had always found him infuriating and arrogant. She glared at him before wrapping her hand around his neck.

"If you don't stop being so infuriating, I'll be the one to rip off your head and display your head in the gates of hell."

He smirked as he raised his hands in surrender. He said smugly,

"Take it easy, little whore. No need to be so heartless than you already are."

Before Ruby could even use her strength, a hand reached for her shoulder. It had a sweet, alluring scent and a spellbinding aura.

"That's enough, dear. Leave that poor thing alone and come with me."

She said it so convincingly that anyone who hears it will be in an unbreakable trance. Ruby loosened her grip and started to calm down. She quietly followed the tall woman onto the balcony.

Her name is Jessica. She's a succubus, like her. The only succubus who showed an ounce of kindness and helped her fit in when she became a part of their kind. Ruby couldn't remember how she became a succubus. Jessica simply told her that she was meant to be a succubus.

That alone is her sole reason for existing, and for the longest time, Ruby believed her.

"Ruby, tell me what's troubling you."

It wasn't a question or a request. It was more of a command, and she knew she had to obey her. She sat down in the old rocking chair as she looked at the full moon. Her mind wandered back to the peculiar yet hauntingly beautiful exorcist.

"Is it possible for a mortal to survive our kiss?"

She asked unsurely. The older succubus quirked her eyebrow and looked at her incredulously. She chuckled amusingly as she shook her head and replied,

"No, dear. No mortal can withstand our kiss, let alone any form of physical intimacy. That is one of our strengths...which could also be our curse because—"