Chapter 627: Crim and Hibiki
"Now then, your name wouldn’t happen to be Crim, would it?"
The question was so absurd, so random, that for a moment, she froze. Not only because of how unexpectedly close they had gotten, but because she hadn’t even sensed them coming until they were right behind her.
Half in shock, half on instinct, she gave a small nod.
Seeing her nod, the boy who had spoken first turned to his companion with a satisfied smirk.
"Told you it was Crim. Pay up—5 million."
The other boy who wore a mask clicked his tongue in irritation and cursed under his breath.
"Damn it, why the hell are you doing this to me, Author?"
Still confused and trying to process what had just happened, the girl blinked, then managed to stammer.
"Um... what?"
Arthur still holding her hands, smiled as he spoke.
"Ah, sorry about that. Right, proper introductions are in order. I’m Arthur, and this idiot beside me is Evan."
Evan gave a light bow, echoing Arthur’s introduction.
"I am Evan, and this idiot beside me is Arthur."
Before the girl could recover from the whiplash of the entire encounter, Evan continued.
"You see, we saw you earlier and couldn’t help but notice that you were a blonde vampire girl wielding a katana. Then we had a bet on whether or not your name was Crim, and well, clearly, he won."
He rolled his eyes in Arthur’s direction, while the girl—Crim—only had her confusion deepen as she processed their explanation.
"But how does being a vampire, having blonde hair, and using a katana connect to my name?"
Arthur was the one who gave a response this time.
"Let’s just say we’ve seen a lot of blonde vampires around your age who use katanas, and your names happen to be Crim."
She gave them a skeptical look, clearly unconvinced but too perplexed to argue. Then, she glanced down at her restrained hands and spoke up, her voice laced with a mix of confusion and mild exasperation.
"Right... well, now that you’ve got your answer, can you let go of my hands?"
Arthur blinked, as if just realizing he was still holding her wrists.
"Oh! Right, sorry about that."
He released her immediately, stepping back with an awkward smile.
Crim, still recovering from the sudden ambush, stared warily at Arthur and Evan, her hands now free but still tingling from their firm grip.
She stepped back, eyeing the two boys with a mixture of wariness and curiosity.
"So... you two just guessed my name based on the fact that I’m a blonde vampire with a katana? How many people like that have you met?"
"We haven’t exactly ’met’ any since they’re in different dimensions and all, but we’ve seen enough that it’s kind of a trope at this point."
Evan chimed in after Arthur’s initial response to her question.
"Yeah, it’s not like you’re the only one, but, I doubt we’ve seen any that’s a cultivator though."
Crim’s frown softened a little, but the confusion lingered in her expression.
"Right... so, what exactly do you two want now you got your answer?"
Arthur and Evan looked at each other, then shrugged and spoke one after the other.
"Nothing actually."
"Yeah, we just came over because of our bet. You did put on quite the show back there."
Evan paused and glanced down at her sheathed katana before continuing.
"Those blood magic techniques were pretty impressive. You’ve got serious skills."
Crim tilted her head, a hint of pride glimmering in her eyes.
"Thanks... I guess. But next time, maybe don’t sneak up on someone who just finished a fight. I could’ve sliced you both before realizing what was going on."
Arthur just laughed at her warning and waved her off, completely unbothered.
"Don’t worry, it’s not like you’d deal any damage anyway."
His words implied that he was strong enough to tank her attacks with zero damage and Crim narrowed her eyes at this comment.
Not bothering to elaborate further, Arthur glanced down at the fallen sect members, still groaning on the ground and asked.
"What about your sect members? They left you alone to deal with this lot?"
They hadn’t seen the start of the fight, so he was making assumptions, however, Crim shook her head.
"No. I was actually on my way somewhere after separating from them."
She then eyed their very different clothes that didn’t have any sect’s symbol and asked.
"I’m guessing you’re not with any of the other sects here?"
"Nope."
Evan responded while ducking, avoiding the hand that nearly grabbed the back of his collar. Turning, he saw Beatrix who raised an eyebrow at him.
"What for?"
In response to his query, she gestured towards Crim who was still very wary of both of them and spoke.
"Come on, you two scared the poor girl."
Now it was Arthur’s turn to raise an eyebrow.
"Excuse me, we just wanted to find out her name for our bet."
Remembrance suddenly flashed in his eyes, and he turned back to Crim with newfound seriousness.
"I noticed you did something interesting with your blood magic earlier. I don’t use blood magic myself, but I think I have an idea of how you could improve that technique."
Despite still being confused and a bit wary, Crim found herself listening closely. Arthur’s suggestion, though unexpected, made sense.
He spoke with a clarity that caused her to reconsider her approach, and she quickly realized that applying his advice would actually refine her magic.
As her understanding grew, a flicker of realization crossed her face.
"Wait, that actually makes sense!"
Seeing the dawning realization on her face, Arthur gave a small shrug.
"Don’t thank me. Your name being Crim just helped me win five million credits."
Evan, who had been inching away, froze mid-step, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
"I thought you’d forgotten that."
"Dude, I literally just won the bet a minute ago. There’s no way I would have forgotten it."
Arthur shot back and immediately, the two boys started bickering. Beatrix, clearly used to their antics, sighed and grabbed them both by their collars, hauling them back with surprising ease.
She then turned her attention to Crim with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry about these two idiots who do not know how to properly treat people when meeting them for the first time."
Crim’s apprehension began to melt away, especially in the presence of Beatrix’s approachable attitude.
"Oh, no problem. Actually, he did help me out just now."
She said, glancing at Arthur and referring to the technique advice he’d given. In response, Beatrix rolled her eyes with a sigh.
"Yeah, well, even though he can be a pain, whatever he told you probably made sense."
Crim chuckled, feeling the tension ease further as she saw Beatrix’s slightly exasperated expression.
As the conversation carried on, Crim grew more comfortable talking with Beatrix and Artemisia. The girls exchanged small smiles and shared some light banter, making Crim relax even more as they got to know each other.
Beatrix asked about her fighting style, and Crim explained her use of the katana, while Artemisia was intrigued by her blood magic techniques, clearly considering acquiring some for herself.
"You’re pretty good, I don’t usually see that kind of control over blood magic."
Beatrix said, genuinely impressed and Crim smiled shyly.
"Thanks. It’s something I’ve been working on for a while."
As they talked, Crim opened up, feeling less wary with the girls than she had with the boys. The conversation shifted to lighter topics—favourite foods, recent travels, and, inevitably, how Crim ended up on Denerth Prime.
Meanwhile, Arthur had just finished extorting Evan, his grin widening as Evan grudgingly handed over his five million credits.
Arthur then literally poked his head into the conversation and tossed in a question.
"But anyway, Crim. Why were you fighting those guys, though?"
Crim’s expression shifted slightly, her smile faltering. Beatrix noticed the change immediately and, sensing the discomfort, stepped in gently.
"Maybe it’s something she doesn’t want to talk about?"
Before Crim could respond, a loud voice echoed across the area.
"Crim!!"
They all turned in unison to see someone charging toward them. The newcomer reached Crim quickly, grabbing her and pulling her away from the group.
"Someone said you got attacked! Was it them?"
The girl asked, glaring at Arthur, Evan, Beatrix, and Artemisia with open hostility.
Arthur blinked, his mouth half-open in surprise, while Evan’s brow shot up. The girls, too, were momentarily dumbfounded, but Crim, snapping out of her own daze, quickly intervened.
"Um... I wouldn’t be talking with them if they attacked me.
The ones who attacked me are unconscious over there...."
She pointed to the five sprawled figures on the ground nearby and seeing this, the newcomer sighed in relief, her shoulders relaxing.
"Oh... okay."
She gave an awkward laugh and turned to the group, bowing her head slightly.
"Sorry about that."
As she spoke, Artemisia’s expression darkened, and she instinctively took a step back, dragging Beatrix with her. As for the two boys, they both raised their brows in surprise, both for different reasons.
The reason for their reactions was simple—the girl had a passive ’charming’ effect, an allure that radiated subtly yet powerfully.
Her presence was almost intoxicating, not in an overt way, but enough to make those around her feel drawn in.
With slightly curved horns jutting from the sides of her head, the black-haired beauty was undeniably striking, her figure balanced and alluring without being overly voluptuous.
She wore snug robes that hugged her form, revealing no hint of skin except for her face, yet somehow, she radiated a ’sexy’ vibe that drew admiration from the crowd.
Despite meeting one for the first time, Arthur instantly identified what race she was from.
"Succubus?"
Indeed, she was a succubus. A Greater Succubus, to be precise.
The passive charm she exuded explained why both Artemisia and Beatrix had recoiled slightly, and why even he and Evan had felt the subtle pull of her presence.
The succubus girl noticed the way everyone reacted to her passive charm, her shoulders slumping slightly in exasperation.
Clearly, this wasn’t the first time she had to deal with it. She crossed her arms and sighed, her tone tinged with frustration.
"I’m not trying to charm you or anything, okay?"
She looked ready to turn to Crim and suggest they leave when Arthur suddenly closed the distance between them.
His eyes locked onto hers, grasping her hands as he asked in a slightly challenging tone.
"I’d actually like you to try."
Before she could respond, Beatrix teleported over and smacked the back of Arthur’s head.
"Why the heck would you make such a request?!"
Arthur, rubbing the back of his head, looked at her, clearly aggrieved.
"What?! I’m supposed to be immune to all forms of charm and status effects cast by mortals. The strongest I’ve experienced is a dryad’s charm, but I’ve never been hit by a real succubus’ charm before. I wanna test it out!"
The succubus blinked at him, her incredulous expression saying more than words ever could. Crim, seeing her friend’s confusion, lightly patted her shoulder.
"I’ve not known him long, but from what I can tell, he’s the ’crazy one’ of their group."
She then pointed to Evan, adding with a small smile.
"He’s Crazy Number 2."
