King of succubus

"..."

As the two suddenly became silent in their frantic conversations following Alvine's question, Alice finally had time to thoroughly analyze everything the two had just said to each other.

'Huh? Is it possible for this old lady to be the Oracle? After all, the Oracle may be mysterious, but her age, which is twenty-five years old, is known to all. How can she be an old granny?!' She stared at the Korean woman with her wrinkled face and skeptical eyes.

"If I try to see through the thread of destiny of the gods, I believe that I would not even have the chance to reincarnate anymore." She answers with an ironic smile.

"Hmm, gods, do you say? Will giving birth to a child and educating him until he is independent make his mother a god?"

"..." She remained silent with confused eyes in the face of Alvine's comparison.

"I am not a god, and this woman behind me does not deserve this position either. We are all cats, servants voluntarily or involuntarily, consciously or unconsciously more powerful masters than us," he said, pointing to Reha.

"?!... I'm confused. Is it because of my limited knowledge about the hidden truths of this world?" She stammered while looking briefly at Reha.

"Don't get tired; your ignorance is a blessing."

"...Ignorance is also no different from involuntary suicide." She said with a frown.

"Hm? Do you think so?"

"Yes, if I can afford it."

"You have the right to do so; who am I to prevent you from having ideals? But if this is the case, let's take an example from a random cat, its master, and the subordinate of its master."

"..." Her silence was not a lack of respect or other negative feelings towards Alvine but somewhat related to her emotions of neutrality or confusion.

"Suppose this table is the cat, and the documents and everything on it is the cat's family. These three vials that you see, hmm, they will play the role of lackeys. Are you following me?"

"Yes, but I have a proposal; what if you play the role of the master? I'm not saying that to disrespect you, but it's for--

"Don't worry; I was planning to take on this role; after all, no matter where I live, people tend to give me the role of the bad wolf. So I think I'm starting to get used to it." He said with a glance at Reha, who seemed to follow their little games with more interest than usual.

After assigning all the roles, Alvine began his story.

"You see, it doesn't matter if a cat is white or black. As long as it's skilled at catching mice, then it's a good cat; and everyone will want to have it in their store.

-After all, no matter the strength of a cat, it will remain a cute kitten who can never defeat a human. It's a bit like your current situation; am I wrong?

-You may have this power that exceeds the standards of this world and the deadly laws of this world, but as long as you do not turn into a predator above those who covet you, you will be destined to be locked in the store of one of your masters who will use you as a rat trap."

The Oracle's eyes widened following Alvine's words; she managed to identify herself as if he were talking about her experience.

"But what would happen if the cat refuses to catch the mice?" She asked in a monotonous voice.

"Hmm? A cat who disobeys its master?" While pronouncing these words, he grabbed one of the vials on the table and which played the roles of the acolytes of the cat's master.

"In this case, two destinies would be offered to it. Either its master will punish it by deciding not to feed it, and thus force it to hunt mice to survive, or get rid of it methodically and ruthlessly."

As he continued his explanations, he opened the vial and overturned a drop of its contents on the table.

-Shrrrrrrr!!!

-?!

Instantly, from the moment the deep blue mixture touched the table, it corrupted it, nibbling its stamina and everything on it!

The smooth and sparkling table, like the head of a bald old man, became dark black as if he were caught in a fire after three seconds in a row!

"And believe me, the cat's master will not be lenient in his actions; deep down, he knows that cats that are good at hunting mice are not uncommon."

"..."

Seeing her silent, he continued.

"But on the other hand, a cat that disobeys its master is considered rare in the wrong sense. That is why such a useless cat does not deserve to live; neither it nor its family nor its entourage. We must get rid of evil at its root."

"!?"

"Do you understand what I'm referring to?"

"... But what would happen if the cat managed to divert the subordinate of its master against him?" She asked, pointing her hand at the bottle already open.

Just by seeing the other flacons being the only ones not to have suffered damage even though they are on the table, she could conclude that the materials with which they are made could not be as simple as their appearances.

"Hmm... it's a good idea to use cunning to defeat your master. But there is one thing you don't seem to have considered."

"... What detail?"

Hearing her ask him this question, Alvine took over the bottle and ultimately drank the liquid before burning the empty bottle to nothing with a smile.

"It is not because his master used one of his subordinates to take care of the cat that it means that the same subordinate will be able to defeat the master. In reality, the master feels disgusted or lazy to care for the cat. And what he appreciates about this is seeing the cat suffer slowly, dying day and night before dying. It's more entertaining than if the master takes care of the cat and kills it at once; this is the reason that motivates the master's ruthless actions.

-End!

His role as a master was to prove that no matter the dangerousness or power of his subordinate (flacon), he would not be able to hurt him.

"..."

"Do you know what is ironic about this story?"

"...??"

"It's the spirit of the cat."

"The spirit of the cat?"

"Yes, if it had not sought to know more than he should have known, it would never have been able to discover this hidden truth about the reasons for its existence. It could have lived peacefully by joyfully hunting mice while being pampered by its master after its accomplishment if it had not sought to know the identity of its master and its role in his plans. It could have lived peacefully with its whole family and died feeling self-satisfaction and gratitude to its master.

-That is why ignorance is a luxury possessed only by a privileged few."

He closed his little story, leaving the Oracle herself speechless.

"... I understand, but I still do not understand why you have not assumed the role of the master of the cat, which nevertheless suits you perfectly." She murmured under her tongue as she looked at the table that could barely stand.

She was even sure the table would collapse if a wind blew into the room. And to say that Alvine had hidden this potion among the three bottles! If it wasn't pure cruelty, then what was it?!

"You are wrong, Miss In Soon Min; just like you, I am also the same cat who fights daily to surpass his masters. As a cat, who enjoyed his illusory freedom after freeing himself from the clutches of his master, I realized afterward that the person I thought was my master was another cat who served another master.

-A battle in perpetual, day and night, without rest; this is a part of my life that you cannot see through your divinations. And also, one of the reasons I ask you not to see me as a deity; is that I am far from being one.

-To be honest, I haven't even met one on my way yet (deity). All those I have met so far are only cats who fight to free themselves from the shackles of their masters or others who think they are the master of all cats. But these people just don't know who their masters are, at least not yet. Accept your role as a docile cat or revolt yourselves to freeing; it depends on you, Miss In Soon Min."

Resounding like a celestial drum in her eardrums, the oracle's body, In Soon Min, froze with each paragraph, sentence, word, or syllable that Alvine pronounced.

"That's why you allow me to start all over again by offering me different choices?"

"Kuku, what are you talking about, Miss In Soon Min? I am not an emissary of light but darkness as you define me. This choice is not free; it's the same for your freedom; no, it's more than that."

"?!"

"Hmm, how to say, see this as a kind of irreversible pact if you decide to drink the contents of this vial. It is not this vial that you will take, but it is your life and your loyalty that you will give in to me. You will have everything you want from me in exchange, as long as it is within my abilities. Including getting rid of the minor demons that forced you to use your powers and become so weak."

"... So, what you're telling me is to deny my past--

"No, I ask you to deny your existence and what you have believed so far. You are an ignorant cat who fought for five years to escape from your masters.

-Even though I know that ignorance is a luxury, I never wanted to be one of those groups of people I hate the most. They prefer to lament by constantly accusing their destinies that they do not even know if they have one; since they cannot see their destinies. And this destiny is not even fixed. Everyone can change it. And seeing your memories, I noticed that you are not one of those people; no, more than that, you are, just like me, a fighter. But it's just that you don't yet know how to fight.

-I suggest you go up in rank and aim for a new master that you will try to defeat in the future and surpass; me. And as a reward, I would eliminate all the masters who think they have control over you and those who try to control you. Of course, you will have other advantages exceeding your expectations; they are not empty words. But for now, I'm not going to go into these details, not until I've heard your choice.

'It's dizzying. Why does the earth shelter people who have affinities with my subordinates?! First, the inspectress Alice, and now this woman who looks like Zakiel's soul powers. Why?! I feel like someone is playing me wrong tricks.' He whispered as he watched In Soon Min hesitate between her choices.

He then looked at Reha with contracted eyebrows.

*Don't look at me like that. I don't know the reason for this phenomenon, not to mention the cause of it. Just like this girl who has followed us from the beginning, this woman is also not supposed to exist on this planet. I think it's related to what you came to look for on this planet.* Reha calmly explained when he saw Alvine's questioning look.

'It's true; there is this thing whose influence I don't know its influence and the limits of its powers. But how do you know if it has a cause? At first, I was stunned to hear that someone on such a low-ranking planet could prophesy my coming here. A planet with the worst cultivators can never have such special people who can have so many ideas about creators' existence. But if this pearl could influence them in any way, it would change the whole game.' He murmured with furrowed eyebrows.

"Do I have the right to have some time to think calmly?" She suddenly asked, waking Alvine in her thoughts.

"The time?"

"It won't take more than three days."

"Hmm, I don't mind. But there's a question you want to ask me from the beginning; I wrong?"

"?! - Sigh, obviously, you can see through my thoughts." Her surprise was only short-lived before she regained her usual calm, even if it was only an external facade.

"In this case, you intend to destroy this planet before-

"No!" He retorted before the oracle finished her sentence.

"??"

"Is this answer satisfactory for you?"

"... Y-Yes."

'Why does he seem to be frustrated by my question? It's like he's angry because of my question; why?' She whispered to herself in her thought.