The Hidden World

It wasn’t long before Erica was intercepted by someone. Yuki had barely followed her out of the inn after paying for their rooms when two people approached them, one male and one female. They wore a uniform and held long batons by their sides. 

“Erica,” the man announced. “You have violated the order of your exile.”

“And you’ll be taking me to the circle to await my punishment,” Erica finished. “No need to go into your speech. Just take me.”

“Who’s your friend there?” the woman asked. She gestured towards Yuki with her baton. 

“I brought her here because she needs some help,” Erica replied. “Are you going to be restraining me?”

“Of course. Your friend is a different matter. Will she be coming with us?”

“I will,” Yuki said. “Do you need to restrain me as well?”

“No need,” the man said. “You haven’t done anything yet, and we don’t make it a habit to capture those that are only associated. That’s only if you come with us peacefully, of course.”

Yuki only nodded at the man’s words. She could feel the magic behind it, whether intended or not. Erica’s warnings echoed in her mind. 

‘She was right about not having to worry about the women,’ she thought. ‘Maybe that’s why they’re not worried about restraining me. Their magic is enough for someone that isn’t a succubus. I do look like an elf right now.’

The man stepped forward and put a pair of shackles around Erica’s arms that were attached to a long chain the man held. 

“Come along,” the woman said to Yuki as the man led Erica with the chain.

They walked down the main street of the village, the attention of the people around them immediately getting drawn to them. Yuki noticed frowns and confusion on their faces. Most didn’t seem to recognize who Erica was, but Yuki saw a few whose eyes widened or faces hardened. 

The two uniformed people stopped in front of what was probably the fanciest building in the entire town. Ornate designs were carved into the glossy wood that the building was made out of. White stone accented the building and arching windows let the sunlight in. A wooden door was shut at the building’s entrance. It looked reinforced with metal.

That door swung open, a person pushing it out. The male captor nodded at the person before stepping up the stairs into the building, tugging the chain in his hands as he led Erica. Yuki followed with the woman right behind her. 

In the building, three people sat on something that resembled a throne more than it resembled a chair. They made a semicircle around a platform, the entire place looking like a courthouse. There were even pews lined up neatly for an audience.

The three that sat on the bench were all women. Yuki looked at each of them, taking in their features. They were all quite attractive as was expected from succubi. The one on the right had red hair while the one on the left had striking blue eyes. Yuki’s attention fixated on the middle succubus. There was a different air around her, one that was commanding but more comforting than the other two. 

‘Erica looks better than them,’ Yuki thought.

“We have brought her, Leader,” the man said as he kneeled before the three. The woman followed his lead. 

“Were there any complications?” the redhead succubus asked. Her voice was deeper than what Yuki had expected.

“No, General,” the woman replied.

“Who is this?” the blue eyed succubus asked, her voice as striking as her eyes. She pointed towards Yuki.

“An acquaintance of Erica, it seems. She insisted on coming with us,” the man explained. 

“What is your name, elf?” the blue eyed succubus said.

“I am Yuki.”

“What is your business here?” 

“I would like to explain that,” Erica said, her voice soft. “If I may, of course, Advisor.”

The Advisor frowned, but didn’t say anything. She looked at the person in the center who gave a small nod. 

“Thank you,” Erica bowed. “My friend here is trying to meet with the angels. She is trying to escort someone to them. Because of that, I’ve brought her here so that she can do that.”

“You want to take our route,” the Advisor said. 

“I do. It would be the fastest way for my friend to reach the angels. It is a mission of importance.”

“Erica, you do realise that if we grant this favor, you will not be able to follow your friend,” the General said. Erica’s face tightened, but she gave the General a nod. “Then why are you doing this? There are other routes.”

“As I said, General, this is a mission of importance and speed is naturally a part of that,” Erica replied. “The life of a person may be at risk here. A person that I care for.”

“Ha,” the Advisor scoffed. “Do you believe that this will convince us to let you go? Remember why you were exiled in the first place.”

“I will never forget for as long as I live. I can guarantee that,” Erica said, her voice steady.

“Speaking of that,” Yuki interrupted, “would you mind telling me what this event that led to Erica’s exile was? That is the reason I am here.”

The Advisor frowned at her and opened her mouth to speak before the woman in the middle raised a hand to silence her. The Advisor sat back, her expression a bit troubled.

“Elf,” the woman in the middle said. She sounded elegant and refined, a certain soft quality to her voice. “Why do you want to know?”

“Erica is someone close to me,” Yuki replied. “This, however, is something she never told me about. I want to understand this better. So that I can help her better.”

“A very respectable reason,” the woman said. “Erica, do you mind?”

Erica stayed silent, but gave a small shake of her head. 

“Then I will tell your friend what happened. Yuki?”

“Yes?” 

“As you know, Erica was exiled. The reason for this exile was due to safety concerns for the town as a whole. She posed a distinct threat that we couldn’t risk keeping around.”

“A threat?” Yuki frowned. 

“Yes. Before she was exiled, Erica held the position of bodyguard for the leader,” the woman said. “I was not in my current position. That was held by the late Faye.”

Yuki recognized that name. That was the person Erica had fallen for.

“The two of them started an ill advised...relationship. We didn’t agree with it, but Faye defended it and we couldn’t do anything but respect her wishes.”

“A bodyguard being so attached to her charge can lead to poor decisions,” the General added. “When a sacrifice must be made to protect the charge, emotions will cause hesitation.”

“Bryn, I was speaking,” the Leader said.

“My apologies.”

“What Bryn said is true. That was why we found such a relationship ill advised,” the woman continued. “And ultimately, it was what led to Erica’s exile. She failed her task. Faye was killed.”

“That can’t possibly be the only thing that led to her exile,” Yuki said. 

“You would be right, elf. It was what happened after this that led to her exile. The death of Faye affected her deeply. Her emotions got the better of her, taking over and leading her to a path that would be filled with blood. She sought vengeance for Faye’s death, so she went back to where Faye was killed. She tracked the person that committed the murder and found the village they lived in.”

“Then she annihilated it,” the Advisor said. “Completely destroyed it. Not one survivor in the entire village.”

“Who lived in the village?” Yuki asked.

“Others of our kind. A rival clan. She killed them all.”

“If they were some other group, then exile might not have happened,” the Leader said. “But since anger and grief took her over and she had no qualms with killing her own kind, we were pushed to exile her. It was for the safety of our town.”

“And that,” the Advisor growled, “is her story.”