Chapter 2

The blue flame devoured the parchment. The smell of burning blood and scorched magic filled the cramped attic.

A sharp hiss escaped Astar’s lips.Belial staggered back and hit the wall with a loud thud. Cassius gripped the wooden doorframe. His knuckles turned stark white.

The broken bond ripped through their magical cores, severing the connection that tied them to my soul.

They were in pain. But nobody stepped forward to stop me.

"Fine. Break it," Cassius spat. "I'd rather endure this backlash than starve to death here. Cecilia has high-tier mana. You don't. We need a real witch to survive."

He said it straight to my face. No hesitation. No guilt.

I looked at Belial. I looked at Astar.

They avoided my gaze. They stared at the floorboards, waiting for the fire to finish its job. Silence filled the room.

Not a single one of them asked to stay.

My chest felt completely hollow.

I stared at their flawless faces. I remembered the Abyssal Rift. I remembered dragging their half-dead bodies out of the poisonous mud. My fingernails cracked and bled. My boots sank into the toxic sludge. I carried them on my back, one by one, until my knees gave out.

I spent my last gold coins on healing drafts. I stayed awake for six nights straight. I fed them water drop by drop while they shivered in fever dreams.

When their mating season hit, they begged for a contract. They knelt on this exact floor. They swore they would protect me forever.

I was just a low-tier witch. I took double shifts at the alchemy lab. I scrubbed cauldrons until my hands blistered, just to buy their expensive mana supplements.

Back then, they were gentle.

Astar used to grind herbs for me. Belial used to massage my aching shoulders after a long shift. Cassius used to kiss my blistered fingers and call me his savior.

Then the family council called.

My mother’s face appeared in the transmission crystal. She wanted to marry me off to Duke Howard. He was an ugly, sadistic old man with a reputation for torturing his wives to death.

"Cecilia is too delicate for the Duke," my mother had said. Her voice was cold and commanding. "The Duke originally wanted her, but I won't allow it. You're older, Elise. Do your duty for this family."

I refused.

The family immediately cut off my research funding. They abandoned me.

I cried that night. I sat on my narrow bed and sobbed.

Astar held me. Belial wiped my tears. Cassius whispered sweet promises in my ear. They told me I wasn't alone.

But Cecilia heard their voices through the open crystal connection.

"Who is that?" Cecilia asked. Her voice dripped with pure jealousy. "You have incubi?."

She hung up.

The very next morning, Cecilia knocked on my door.

She wore a pristine white dress. High-tier mana radiated off her skin like a beacon. It smelled like expensive perfume and raw, intoxicating power.

I watched my three incubi freeze.

Astar’s eyes locked onto her neck. Belial stared at her lips. Cassius couldn't look away from her waist. They breathed in her scent like starving wolves.

I stood right next to them. I saw the raw hunger in their eyes.

It was the exact same look my parents gave Cecilia when she manifested her high-tier talent.

I was being tossed aside. Again. My things were always taken away.

After that day, everything changed.

The gentle kisses stopped. The herb-grinding stopped.

They started demanding more of my magic. When I said no, they hit me with that succubus aphrodisiac magic and forced me to fuck them—all three at once. But after the intense sex, I just felt this huge emptiness… my magic was completely overdrawn.

They didn't care if I lived or died.

They just wanted to keep themselves in peak physical condition for their new master. They wanted to look good for Cecilia.

And today, I finally heard them say it out loud. They wanted to drain me until I broke the bond, so they could run to her.

The parchment turned to ash.

The heavy, suffocating weight of the contract vanished from my mind. The magical tether snapped. I was finally free.

I looked at the three men standing in my room.

They weren't my saviors. They were just leeches.

"Pack your things," I said. My voice was completely steady. "Cecilia will be here this afternoon. Don't keep your new owner waiting."

Astar frowned. He rubbed his chest where the bond used to be. He looked annoyed, not guilty.

"Elise, don't act like a victim," Astar said. "You brought this on yourself. You're just too weak. We need more than you can give."

"Yeah," Belial chimed in. He fixed his collar andsmirked. "We deserve better. We're top-tier incubi. We shouldn't be stuck in this dusty attic."

I didn't argue. I didn't scream. I didn't cry.

I just pointed at the door.

"Get out of my room."

Cassius scoffed. He turned around and walked out. Astar and Belial followed him without a single backward glance.

The door slammed shut.

I stood alone in the dark room. I brushed the ash off my hands.

I didn't feel sad anymore. I just felt clean.