Malice's smile broadened as her charm magic took hold on the young succubus standing before her. Her people's innate resilience against enchantment magic was tricky to overcome, but that was just one more reason to appreciate her whip, Dominance. The violet chains dug into her skin, holding her fast, but the demon didn't mind things getting a little rough. The magic was steadily losing strength and, now that Jade was under her control, she would be able to subvert the effect.

The charmed woman approached her with halting steps, a typical glazed look in her eyes. Even enchantment magic as powerful as Malice's wouldn't last long against another succubus, not when applied so bluntly, but she only needed a little time. A handful of uninterrupted seconds was all it took for Malice to slip free of the binding spell, leaving her standing before the other woman, whip in hand.

Now that she finally had the chance to inspect her closely, the succubus was a little disappointed. Jade hadn't made good use of her shapeshifting power, her body retaining a few minor imperfections that she should have corrected. She supposed the woman had put up a decent fight considering the awkward situation she'd been caught in and the disparity in their power, but Malice had been hoping for more.

"Maybe I'll drain you after all." she mused, unhooking a coil of rope from her belt. "But first, I need to take something from you. Now, hold still."

The command was issued like the crack of her whip, leaving no room for resistance. Jade complied, remaining in place while Malice activated the enchantment on the rope, commanding it to bind her. Regardless of what came next, her immediate task required a rather delicate brand of magic. She couldn't risk Jade breaking free of her influence and ruining the process. That, and Malice simply enjoyed exercising control.

The rope coiled around Jade like a serpent, pulling her to the ground and binding her arms and legs together behind her, leaving her on her stomach. She grunted as the cords tightened, the magic flickering in her eyes as her will strained against the power oppressing it. Malice could taste the suppressed anger railing against her mental prison, a delicious cocktail of passion and frustration that begged to be savored. Unfortunately, there wasn't time. The magic was already unravelling, finding little purchase in a mind so naturally attuned to subversive power.

"This is a much better way to bind people, by the way." Malice explained with a smirk, sinking to one knee beside her. "Far more efficient than the mess of a spell you used. You need to practice."

The succubus focused on Jade's wayfarer sigil, blazing on the back of her right hand. She removed a small tool from her satchel, a two-pronged tuning fork etched with specialized arcane runes. The expensive device was fragile, and Zertrolk had instructed her to handle it with utmost care. While it went against her nature to do as she was told, even she wasn't immune to the wrath of a greater demon. So, she reluctantly took great care as she activated the tool's magic.

Jade's existence was a remarkable coincidence, a wayfarer from the newly integrated planet who happened to also be a succubus. Copying the navigation spell held in her wayfarer mark would normally require complex and time intensive translation rituals to make it compatible with her own physiology's mana circuitry. As the magic was already properly formatted for her species, however, in this case Malice could simply transfer it directly.

Malice adjusted the device, touching the tuning fork to the shifting wayfarer symbol. Immediately, a sigil appeared on the back of her own hand. It was similar, but not identical, to the one Jade possessed, glowing red rather than blue. She took a moment to admire it, reveling in the knowledge that she was almost certainly the first demon to succeed in this vital task.

Lady Ira, one of the very few people whose opinion Malice cared about in any capacity, would be pleased.

As Malice expected, the magical intrusion was too much for her strained charm spell. It shattered, returning Jade to her senses as the succubus finished copying the magic imprinted in her sigil. The red mark pulsed once on the back of her hand, and then faded away.

Perfect.

"What are you doing?!" Jade growled, struggling against her bindings. Malice watched her fruitless efforts with amusement, drinking deeply from the fountain of her growing frustration.

"Oh, nothing you need to be concerned with." She smiled down at her.

Malice had what she'd come for. Jade's 'Pathfinder' spell was safely imprinted in her, and she'd satisfied her curiosity regarding the unexpected addition to her family. Jade did have some fire in her, but she lacked the cunning and resourcefulness of a true demon. Subduing her had been a little too easy.

You never would've made it out of the spawning pits…

Ah well. While she had been hoping for more, Malice hadn't truly expected any better. Using her as a distraction for the upcoming operation would have been interesting, but the demon couldn't stomach the idea of allowing someone as weak as her to wander the cosmos masquerading as one of their own. Succubi had a reputation to uphold, after all.

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Malice leaned closer, preparing to drain her captive. Jade's struggles intensified, the woman tugging ineffectually against her bindings. The display of resistance was as futile as it was entertaining.

A font of power blossomed from Jade like a surging tide, her aura suddenly blazing with renewed energy. Malice jerked back in surprise and, before she could react, Jade met her eyes with a gaze as cold as a winter glacier.

"Kneel."

----------------------------------------

The bindings restraining Jade hadn't been quite restrictive enough to push her 'Allure' spell over the 'B rank' threshold, so she had to improvise. Several moments of frustration-empowered tugs, and a little bit of trial and error, got her the rest of the way there. Just in time, as Malice was already closing in on her. When her 'Bondage Queen' ability triggered, power erupted in Jade like a breaking dam, flooding her aura with enhanced strength. She channeled all of it into her spell, enveloping the demon with the full force of her own enchantment.

"Kneel."

Being on the receiving end of a succubus's charm herself had finally made something click for Jade. Malice hadn't just told her what to do, she had commanded it. Jade had felt the arrogant willpower infused in the words directed at her, and how that emotion resonated with the enchantment. The 'Allure' spell had more depth to it than simply issuing orders, you had to make them feel your power. Project your dominance. Your authority.

So, that's what Jade did. She laced her command with all the arrogant, self-centered pride she could muster, hitting Malice with the twice enhanced 'B rank' spell. The magic encountered heavy resistance, breaking against the demon's mind like water on rocks. But there were cracks in that armor, and the boosted power Jade commanded was enough to force them open. The spell took, a tenuous link forming between them. The enchantment wavered as the powerful demon's mind thrashed against its prison, much as Jade's own had moments earlier. But, for the moment, Malice was hers. The succubus rested back on her knees in front of Jade, a blank look on her previously scornful face.

There was no time to celebrate. Jade's mind raced through possibilities. She could order Malice to release her, but the spell would almost certainly break as soon as her bindings loosened and the enchantment lowered down to C-rank. She made a snap decision, following an instinct that told her something wasn't right here. That there was some hidden purpose at play.

"Why are you here?" She asked, in as commanding a way as one could when tightly bound on the floor. This was ridiculous, even for her.

"To investigate you, and to copy the navigation spell from your wayfarer mark." Malice said mechanically. The demon's eye twitched, and Jade could feel the enchantment slowly cracking. She didn't have long.

"What information?"

"The location of the Labyrinth Cores powering the harvest of your world."

"Why?"

"Because…" Her eye twitched again. The spell began to fracture more quickly. "Because the rest of us, and the demons sent to your world…-"

Jade desperately wanted to dig deeper, to learn more, but she couldn't afford to let her break free. Not while she was in no position to fight.

"Leave." she commanded. "Get out of here. Go far away."

She was too late. The charm magic slipped out of her grasp like water through her fingers. Malice blinked once, rising and taking a step back, a look of stunned surprise on the succubus's face.

"You…"

Jade flinched, expecting retaliation. She'd lost her chance, and now she was vulnerable.

To her surprise, Malice burst out laughing.

"Barely a month as one of us, and you've already mastered that power?" She laughed. "I take it back. You're fun. There's hope for you yet."

Jade didn't know what to say. She glared up at the demon, refusing to show any further weakness.

"That was rude." Malice said, folding her arms across her chest. "No one’s supposed to know that yet, and I’ll get in trouble if anyone learns I’ve been giving hints. But don't worry, you'll learn what's going on soon." A smirk formed on her face. "Everyone will. And you may find that your decision to become what you are was an especially good one, in the end."

"What-"

"Hush." Malice said, placing a finger against Jade's lips. Her tail swished and she cocked her head, as if listening to something Jade couldn't hear.

"Ah… Your friends are almost back. Time for me to be going."

Jade could feel them too, now. A group of familiar auras approaching the house. Relief swelled in her heart, and Malice grimaced in distaste. The expression only lasted a moment, soon replaced by her usual smirk.

"See you around, Jade." She said with a wink. "Come visit me in Estelhelm, if you do want to learn more. It's not far. In the meantime, you can think about the fun we had today."

Without another word Malice left, moving to a nearby window and sliding through it. The demon's wings flared, carrying her off into the night sky. Jade watched, filled with righteous indignation.

Seriously?! She gets to fly?

That was outrageous. Out of everything that just happened, for some reason that was what got to her the most. Jade grunted, trying once more to wriggle free. Her mind was spinning from suddenly meeting another demon and from what she'd said, but she hadn't had time to process any of it yet. Demons? Sent to Earth? And what had Malice meant when she said Jade would be glad she’d become one?

Jade could have summoned an aura blade to slice through her bindings with ease but, now that she wasn't in imminent danger, she was loathe to destroy a valuable item. A rope that could restrain enemies at-will paired too well with her powers to casually discard. Although… she also didn't much relish the idea of her companions finding her like this, either. Frustrated, she tried again to escape, meeting with just as little success as her previous attempts.

All her violent thrashings accomplished was sending her toppling over onto her side. She landed with a thump just as the front door opened to admit Naomi, Luis, Fenrin, and Siora. They all stopped, staring at her in stunned surprise. She glared back at them, daring any of them to comment on her situation. No one said anything for several awkward moments, until Jade finally broke the silence.

"Are you just going to stand there?” She huffed. “Or is someone going to help me?"