Succubi Chapter 237. Pattern and Habit II

Succubi Chapter 237. Pattern and Habit II

I stepped in.

He expected another wrist tap.

So I changed direction and cut lightly toward his ankle.

He jumped back.

Too wide.

His stance opened.

I could have taken first blood there.

Instead, I tapped his chest with the blunt guard of my rapier.

Not a wound.

A message.

The balcony gasped.

Cassian froze.

I stepped back before he could retaliate. “You’re thinking too much,” I said.

His expression twisted. “Don’t lecture me.”

“Then stop giving me material.”

He rushed again, and now there was no elegance. Just anger wrapped around technique.

He struck from high right. I slipped left.

Low thrust. I pivoted.

Quick feint to the shoulder. I didn’t bite.

Real attack to the ribs. I caught it, turned it, and let his blade slide off my shadow rapier with a hiss.

My body moved easier now.

The first minutes had been hard because I was learning.

Now I had learned.

Cassian was fast, trained, and his weapon was definitely cheating in a suit. But his rhythm had limits. He liked controlling distance. He liked forcing reactions. He liked making opponents feel late.

So I stopped arriving on time.

I arrived early.

Before his blade extended, I was already out of line.

Before his wrist rotated, my rapier was waiting.

Before he stepped, I occupied the space he wanted.

His attacks began to miss by larger margins.

One inch.

Two.

A whole hand.

The audience noticed.

Whispers changed flavor.

At first, they had sounded entertained.

Now they sounded impressed.

“He’s reading him.”

“Vale can’t pin him down.”

“That shadow weapon…”

“No, it’s not just the weapon. Look at his feet.”

My confidence rose, not wild, not reckless, but clean and sharp. The attention fed something inside me, but Lilith’s warning held it in shape.

Don’t become cheap. Don’t become stupid.

Cassian thrust toward my throat.

I leaned back just enough and smiled.

The blade missed.

His eyes widened.

I stepped in close. Too close for his rapier’s best range.

His breath hitched.

I twisted, hooked my shadow guard against his weapon, and forced his blade outward. His enchanted rapier resisted, gold mana flaring. Strong. Annoying. But his grip was tense now.

Tension was weakness.

I drove my shoulder slightly into his chest, not enough to break rules, just enough to disrupt balance, then swept my foot behind his.

Cassian stumbled again.

This time, worse.

He caught himself with a sharp inhale, one hand almost touching the grass.

The balcony laughter came louder.

A woman shouted softly, “Oh my.”

Someone clapped once before stopping.

Cassian stood upright, breathing harder.

His hair, once perfect, had fallen loose near his forehead. His sleeves were slightly uneven. His polished aura had cracks.

Mine?

I was barely sweating.

Okay, slightly sweating.

The suit was expensive, not magical climate control.

But I looked calm.

That mattered more.

Cassian’s grip tightened. “Stop running.”

I blinked. “You’re the one missing.”

His face flushed.

Alyra turned her head away.

She was definitely smiling.

Mirena, though, looked… complicated. Her hand was still near her chest, but her eyes were on me again. Too openly. Too hungry with curiosity. Like she had come to watch Cassian defend her honor and accidentally discovered the other man was more interesting.

Cassian noticed.

Again.

Poor man. Really.

He was being spiritually stabbed from every angle.

With a snarl too quiet for the audience but loud enough for me, he attacked with his strongest sequence yet.

Three thrusts in rapid rhythm.

High.

Mid.

Low.

Then a sudden upward flick meant to cut my cheek.

I blocked the first.

Shifted the second.

Stepped over the third.

For the fourth, I didn’t dodge.

I met his blade.

Shadow and gold crashed together.

The impact rang through the field.

Cassian pushed, trying to overpower me.

The enchanted rapier flared.

My arm shook.

For one second, his eyes lit with triumph. Then I smiled. “You rely on it too much.”

His eyes widened.

I let my shadow rapier soften.

Not vanish.

Soften.

Just enough that his pressure sank into nothing.

Cassian’s balance pitched forward.

I spun under his extended arm, turned behind his line, and struck the back of his wrist with my guard.

Hard.

His hand opened by reflex.

The golden rapier flew from his grip.

It spun once in the air, moonlight flashing along its blade, then landed on the grass several steps away.

Cassian froze.

I moved before his pride could.

My shadow rapier snapped up and rested against his neck.

The crowd held its breath.

I stood behind his angle, close enough that he could feel my presence, far enough that he couldn’t easily grab me. My voice came low, but clear. “Yield to me.”

Cassian’s throat moved against the blade.

His eyes trembled with fury.

He had expected a dance partner. He found a predator with manners.

“I will never—”

I flicked my wrist. Not at his neck. I wasn’t stupid.

My blade moved down and grazed the back of his hand before he finished the sentence.

A thin red line opened across his skin.

Blood welled.

Then dripped.

One drop fell onto the perfect grass.

The officiant’s voice snapped through the silence. “First blood!”

The balcony erupted.

Gasps.

Whispers.

A few stunned laughs.

Mirena’s hand flew to her mouth.

Alyra went still.

Cassian looked at his bleeding hand like the world had broken a contract with him.

I lowered my rapier from his neck and stepped back.

Then I smiled. “I won.”

The words were simple.

Clean.

Expensive.

[Formal Duel Result Confirmed]

[Outcome: Victory]

[Duel Participation Bonus: +500 Creds]

[Duel Victory Bonus: +500 Creds]

-Kaching!

My soul cried tears of gold.

The shadow rapier dissolved slowly in my hand, fading into black mist that curled around my fingers before vanishing.

I turned toward Alyra.

She was looking at me like she had forgotten the entire banquet existed.

Her cheeks were flushed again, but this time it wasn’t only embarrassment. It was pride. Satisfaction. Heat. Something darker and sweeter curling beneath her noble mask.

I walked toward her calmly, sleeves still rolled, hair slightly loose, breathing steady.

The crowd watched every step.

Alyra didn’t move.

When I reached her, I bowed slightly and offered my hand. “Shall we return, my lady?”

For a second, she just stared.

Then she placed her hand in mine.

Her fingers were warm now.

“You,” she whispered, voice barely controlled, “are going to be expensive trouble.”

I smiled. “Add it to the invoice.”