Succubi Chapter 205. Not Enough
Succubi Chapter 205. Not Enough
Lilith and Sera’s PoV
Lilith looked back down at him quietly.
He shifted slightly in his sleep then, unconsciously moving closer again.
Seeking warmth.
Seeking contact.
Her chest tightened painfully at that.
“No wonder he reacts so strongly to affection,” she whispered.
Sera nodded slowly behind him.
“He’s starving.”
The room went quiet after that.
Not awkward.
Just heavy.
Because now both of them understood something terrifyingly simple.
Evan wasn’t greedy for affection because he was spoiled.
He was greedy because he’d barely received any at all.
The realization sat heavily in the room.
Not dramatic.
Not loud.
Just… painful.
Lilith’s fingers continued combing slowly through Evan’s hair while she stared down at his sleeping face. His expression had softened completely in sleep, all the sharp edges melted away beneath exhaustion and warmth.
He looked younger like this.
Too young.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like part of him had been forced to grow up in survival mode before it was ready.
“That’s bad,” Lilith murmured quietly.
Sera hummed sleepily behind Evan.
“Especially for a Pride demon,” Lilith continued.
Her voice lowered slightly on the last words.
Because Pride demons weren’t built like Wrath demons.
Or Sloth.
Or Lust.
Pride fed differently.
Pride grew from admiration.
Validation.
Recognition.
Feeling important.
Needed.
Wanted.
Loved… Or feared.
That last word left Lilith softer than before.
Darker too.
Because both of them knew exactly why the current King of Hell had become so monstrously powerful.
Fear.
Fear from enemies.
Fear from followers.
Fear from entire realms.
Fear was still attention.
Still acknowledgment.
Still power.
And for Pride demons?
Attention itself became fuel eventually.
Sera’s tentacles shifted slightly around Evan as she nodded slowly.
“Yes,” she murmured. “So it was a terrible environment for him to grow up in.”
Lilith exhaled quietly.
It could’ve been worse.
Much worse.
A neglected Pride demon could become terrifyingly unstable.
Obsessive.
Violent.
Desperate for validation in increasingly destructive ways.
The fact Evan still laughed, still cared about people, still felt guilty when others got hurt?
That alone meant something inside him survived.
“It’s good he doesn’t have low self-esteem,” Lilith whispered.
Sera’s sleepy eyes softened faintly. “Yes.” Then her expression dimmed slightly. “But the bad part…”
Lilith already knew.
Sera looked down at Evan quietly. “He’ll always feel like he isn’t enough.”
Silence.
Heavy silence.
Because yeah.
That matched too perfectly.
Lilith remembered it immediately.
The look on Evan’s face after the assassin attack.
Evelyn had told her everything afterward.
How Evan stood outside the room overhearing injured people he cared about.
How he blamed himself instantly.
How guilt ate through him like poison.
Not anger.
Not arrogance.
Guilt.
Hopelessness.
Like he genuinely believed stronger people wouldn’t have failed like that.
Like if he were “better,” nobody around him would’ve gotten hurt.
Lilith’s fingers slowed slightly in his hair.
Dangerous thinking for a Pride demon.
Because Pride demons pushed themselves endlessly already.
Add emotional starvation on top of that?
And they’d run themselves into destruction trying to prove their worth.
Sera shifted slightly behind him. “There are easy ways to boost a Pride demon’s growth,” she murmured.
Lilith snorted softly. “Yes. We know.”
S*x.
Praise.
Attention.
Feeding ego.
Making them feel desired and powerful.
Pride demons practically exploded with growth under affection and admiration.
Which explained Evan leveling at absurd rates lately.
Lilith’s gaze darkened slightly. “The side effect is dangerous.”
Sera nodded. “Mhm.”
Because overfeeding a Pride demon’s ego without balance created monsters.
Reckless monsters.
Pride demons who stopped recognizing limits.
Who started believing they couldn’t fail.
And those demons usually died young.
Or became tyrants.
Or both.
That was why pure ego-feeding alone wasn’t enough.
What Pride demons truly needed wasn’t worship.
It was validation without losing grounding.
Affection without manipulation.
A place where they could fail safely.
And Evan… clearly never had that before.
Lilith looked down again.
At the sleeping boy currently clinging unconsciously to her waist beneath blankets while Sera’s tentacles curled protectively around him.
This version of him felt very far away from the confident academy menace people usually saw.
He shifted slightly in his sleep then.
A small movement.
A quiet grunt.
His brows furrowed faintly.
“Hot…”
Both women paused immediately.
The air changed.
Subtly.
But noticeably.
Evan’s demonic core suddenly pulsed beneath his skin.
A faint glow spread outward from his chest, veins of dim crimson light branching across his body like cracks through glass.
Lilith straightened slightly. “Sera.”
“On it.”
Sera lifted one hand lazily.
[Observe]
A translucent system screen appeared above them instantly.
Lines of analysis began flowing rapidly across it.
[Target: Evan Drakos]
[Race: Pride Demon (Awakened)]
[Status: Emotionally Stabilized]
[Aura Flow: Improved +37%]
[Core Synchronization: Rising]
[Negative Mental Suppression Reduced]
[Confidence Stabilization Detected]
[Passive Growth Condition Met]
[Affection-Based Demonic Development Active]
[Power Control Efficiency Increased]
[Level Growth Rate Temporarily Enhanced]
Lilith’s eyes narrowed slightly as she read. “I thought he already fully awakened before.”
“He did,” Sera murmured softly.
Her sleepy expression sharpened slightly now.
Actually focused.
“But this isn’t awakening.”
The glow spread slowly across Evan’s skin again.
Not violent.
Not unstable.
Different.
Calmer.
His aura shifted subtly around the room.
And Lilith immediately felt it.
Before, Evan’s demonic energy always felt chaotic beneath the surface.
Strong.
Explosive.
But emotionally unstable.
Like too much power forcing itself through cracked foundations.
Now?
The pressure felt smoother.
More controlled.
Still dangerous.
But… stable.
Sera’s eyes scanned the Observe window carefully. “Interesting.” Sera tapped the floating screen lazily. “His aura structure changed.”
Lilith frowned slightly. “From what?”
“Anxiety.”
The answer came instantly.
And somehow that hurt worse than expected.
Sera’s sleepy voice remained soft while she continued reading.
“He already had the power.”
Another pulse of crimson light spread faintly through Evan’s chest.
“He just doubted himself too much to use it properly.”
Lilith went quiet.
Because yeah.
That matched everything.
Every moment Evan second-guessed himself.
Every time he acted shocked someone genuinely wanted him around.
The bottleneck wasn’t talent.
It wasn’t potential.
It was fear.
Fear of not being enough.
Fear of losing people because he couldn’t protect them.
Sera looked down at him quietly.
“His confidence stabilized.”
The affection.
The warmth.
The safety.
The feeling of being wanted without conditions.
That was what his demonic core responded to.
Pride demons weren’t sustained by arrogance alone.
Real Pride demons grew strongest when they felt acknowledged.
Seen.
Valued.
Loved.
Lilith’s expression softened painfully.
Because Evan didn’t even realize what was happening to him.
He thought he was being spoiled.
Pampered.
Indulged.
But his demonic instincts were doing something much deeper.
Healing.
Evan shifted slightly again in sleep, moving closer unconsciously toward both of them.
Seeking warmth.
Seeking safety.
His glowing aura softened gradually afterward, stabilizing into something smoother around the room.
Lilith stared quietly at the sleeping Pride demon beside her. Then sighed softly. “We’re doomed.”
Sera blinked sleepily. “Mhm.”
“Because now I want to protect him. I thought he was just food for us.”
Sera considered that for two full sleepy seconds. “Too late.”
Lilith laughed weakly under her breath.
Yeah.
Way too late.