Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!-Chapter 260 : Loyalty, Part Eighteen

"Well... first, I'd follow them," Raven said quietly. Melisa got comfortable, shifting a bit as Raven stared up at the ceiling. "Learn their schedule. When they sleep, when they eat... That sort of thing. The key to catching them is to understand what makes them tick... that way, you know exactly when it is that they'll have their guard down. From that point on, it's about finding them at the right place, at the right time... Or, I guess, the wrong place and the wrong time, from their point of view."

"Like where?"

"Not their home, obviously. That's the first place people look, so your tracks will still be fresh by the time the person is found. You want somewhere in between. Somewhere they go regularly but not daily. Give yourself time to remove yourself from the minds of those who'd want to catch you."

[Hmm,] Melisa thought. [Like that bar maybe?]

"Did you watch me that closely?" Melisa teased, but Raven's expression didn't grow any lighter.

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"I did," she said. "I memorized what time you like to wake up. What time you look out the window to catch some sun before you head off. I knew your route to class, your favorite study spots, where you liked to practice magic when you thought no one was watching."

"Hey," Melisa called out. "Raven. Look at me."

Those grey eyes met hers. It was just a hint, but it was there. Guilt.

"You're not going to kill me anymore," Melisa said firmly. "You're going to help me kill other people. Much better!"

That actually got a small laugh out of Raven.

"Right... Right."

"Now come on, tell me more about how you stalked me. It's kind of hot actually. Plus I need to know how to do this right."

[Though seriously, how did I never notice her watching that closely? Was I really that oblivious? Or just that horny all the time? I mean, it took all the way up until Raven actually tried to kill me for me to realize she had ulterior motives... Maybe I'm just dense.]

"Well, your mission was... peculiar. You were horny all the time," Raven continued. "You were both easier and harder to track because of it."

"So... what you're saying is I should try to get 'em horny?"

"I'm saying you should learn when they're most distracted. For you, it was during sex. For others, it might be during meals, or exercise, or their morning routine. Everyone has moments where they're vulnerable."

"And once I find those moments?"

"Then you strike. Quick, clean, and with an exit strategy already planned. No obvious violence - it draws too much attention. Unless you attack in the night. Otherwise, make it look like an accident, or better yet, like they just left town randomly."

"Would it really have been that easy for you with me?" Melisa raised a brow.

"No offense... but the only reason you're still alive is because my assassination mission wasn't an assassination mission at all. It was mast-... Miria, trying to test my resolve in a weird way, so she had me stand around you for months. If I'd been allowed to simply eliminate you as soon as I could? We wouldn't be having this talk."

Melisa blinked.

"Damn."

"In any case, though, the real trick," Raven continued, "is making sure no one knows they're dead. At least, keeping that reality hidden for as long as possible. If a body is found immediately, there's an investigation. But if someone just... disappears? Especially a nim? The local guard loses interest incredibly quickly."

"Really?"

"Mhm. I mean, you got into many, many skirmishes with Shadow Mages over the years, and how many times did you end up with guards at your door?"

"None."

"Exactly," Raven sighed. "The local guards don't want to investigate nim disappearances. They view it the same as investigating where a kid's lollipop ended up. So, then, the key is making sure there's nothing to track. No body, no blood, no evidence of a struggle. Just... gone. Then, the guards can rest easy knowing they did everything they could."

"Sounds easy enough. Kinda sad when you think about it, but whatever."

Indeed. All Melisa would need to do was go back to that bar, chat a few people up, and...

[I need to find out exactly who runs this little terrorist org of theirs,] Melisa thought, as she and Raven sat in comfortable silence. [Then... Pick them off. One by one.]

It was almost scary how little emotion the thought of doing that stirred up within her. But, again, they'd turned this personal. They struck first. Now, it was Melisa's turn to strike back.

But, to do that...

[I need to head back to Izzy's house,] she thought, smirking. [Plus, I've got something I want to try out with her.]

---

"So let me get this straight," Isabella said as she worked on Melisa's makeup. "You want to practice your charm magic on me?"

They were in Isabella's room, which somehow always smelled like sex despite the windows being open. Probably because Isabella fucked everything that moved, including her mother.

Repeatedly.

"That's exactly why," Melisa grinned. "I need to test if it works on someone who's already... you know..."

"Desperately in love with your purple ass?" Isabella leaned down, speaking those sweet words directly into Melisa's ear.

"I was gonna say 'charmed by me' but sure, that works."

Isabella's hands were surprisingly gentle as she applied the finishing touches to Melisa's "Melanie" disguise. Like before, looking at herself in the mirror, Melisa slowly started to look like Margaret's dorky, slightly less well-endowed little sister.

"There," Isabella declared, stepping back to admire her work. "Now you look like a proper undercover spy. You know, if spies were hot as fuck and had tits that could cause heart attacks."

"Thanks babe. Now..." Melisa's eyes glowed slightly. "About that charm practice..."

"Oh?" Isabella spun Melisa's seat and knelt between her legs. She grinned up, excited."You gonna make me your mindless sex puppet?"

"Most people would be terrified of that."

"Strange. All I feel's excitement."

Melisa rolled her eyes.

[Well, whatever.]