The Watch of Power

"So what are you thinking?" Isuka said, drinking a potion that she made for herself. It didn't have any magical properties, she just calls many things potions as a general term. Actual potions and other miscellaneous mixtures, including….

"For one, I think that you shouldn't be drinking soda so much," Virto pointed out. "How does your toothpaste keep up?"

"Toothpaste? I don't wait my three minutes on that task no more." She tapped her front teeth, the teeth seeming to clean themselves in a wave that spread out until each teeth was naturally clean of any food. "Spells have their uses, you can not deny."

"Sure maybe, but I still prefer technology over magic. There's just a sense of achievement that you can't get with wiggling your fingers and saying abra-cadabra. Speaking of which, and getting back on topic, I fear that I won't be able to get back to my world."

"You're giving up just like that?" Isuka said, seeming surprised. "No, I currently don't have the power nor stature to get myself back to my world, and if there's some hope, no one would have noticed my presence being missing. But my idea is some sort of portable device...one powerful enough to counter most magic effects."

"Like a spellbook?"

"No….actually, maybe." Virto looked at his wrist, looking at the fitness watch he wore. He remembered how he would go for runs so he is at least fit while doing science, thinking about how the watch stored data. Maybe if it could store more than what companies try now….

"I'm thinking more of a watch. You see, we don't need handwritten text to store spells, or anything else. We have this. "He held up his fitness watch, showing the screen to Isuka." What is it, a compression spell?" She asked, tapping the black screen. She gasped when it came on, displaying the time for her to see. "Impressive, but why is it 7 hours behind?"

"We must be in UTC...anyways this watch uses programming to store bits of data, which can be converted into ACSII, or words in layman's terms. But if I make some adjustments to it, I can increase the power that this can hold."

"What if you also throw in a bit of wizardry?" Isuka asked. "No, I made my stance on technology, and I must keep myself there. It would be like admitting I couldn't do anything without you."

"I guess I can respect that...but what will she do while you're busy working away?" Isuka gestured to Kiris, who was cooking a 3-person meal while talking as if she had Bluetooth earphones in her ears. "Yes, I'll ask them now...I...I just need to butter her up with some pancake batter…"

"She has been talking to herself for a while. Is she sane?" Isuka asked. "Except for being a succubus, I think so. A little ptsd wouldn't hurt her. Now, I will ask one thing."

"What do you wish?"

"I need you to spell up some material. While I am tech-savvy, I can't exactly start mining and making tools from ore…"

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Why have you not arrived yet? The Di asked her future slave. Kiris searched around for an answer as she cut the pancake into smaller parts, making use of Isuka's spells to create a large iron for her to heat the batter on. However Kiris made it a bit too big, so she was able to create a giant pancake that was the size of a dining room table. Haven't you seduced the Dark Mage yet?

"It's really hard! What if I…" Kiris went to the back of the large library, where Isuka was watching Virto dismantle the watch. "What if they kick me out?"

Hmm….would you like me to, give you a bit of confidence in your ability?~ Kiris could hear the voice in her head leak of lewd intent, but she didn't feel in a position to refuse a positive-sounding offer. You're thinking yes aren't you my specimen? Fine then, please give me a moment. It takes time to transfer consciousness over the expanse of the universe…

"Universe? D-di what do you m-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as the color in her pupils suddenly left her eyes. She fell on the floor, dropping the knife beside her as her body landed with a thud.

"Show yourself fiend!" Isuka yelled as she rushed over to the sound of the thud, her hands glowing with purple energy as she looked around for a signature. The only one she could find was Kiris, who was laying on the ground unconscious. "Kiris, did someone hurt you?" Isuka asked, picking Kiris up and sitting her on a chair. She tapped her cheek, watching her red eyes open up to gaze at Isuka. "Yes, I am very well," 'Kiris' said, getting up and stretching her legs. "I'm still a lesser succubus?"

"Yes, you haven't really absorbed the spirit energy from yesterday yet. So what happened? I heard a noise."

"Oh, that? It is nothing, I…." Kiris looked to the side of her, seeing the pancake in the midst of being divided into smaller circles. "I slipped on some batter that I didn't notice before. You know me, shy and clumsy as ever…." She put on a convincing smile, swaying her body while Isuka nodded. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Be careful with that knife, if you slip again you might not be as lucky with where it lands."

"I'll keep it in mind~" Kiris waved as Isuka turned around a went away, licking her lips as she stared at Isuka's ass before the mage turned the corner out of sight. "I'll definitely keep it in mind…now then, what is this about you not being able to take in spirit energy?" Kiris felt around until she reached under her torn dress, moving her hand around until latching on to something metal. "Aha, what a cheap trick those orderites do. Sorry Kiris, you will have to bleed for a bit...urrr!" With a grunt, she pulled a metal ring out from between her thighs, watching it weakly glow gold until it faded and crumbled to dust. "Scarring children by putting such a crude limiter into their body...poor soul must have felt backed up in her heart for months. Now then, back to cutting these pancakes before they realize…."

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"These pancakes are very well made Kiris," Isuka said while making another piece fly into her mouth. "Yes, it's a shame Virto isn't here to try them along with us," Kiris said, looking in his general direction. Behind the rows of bookshelves that block her view, there is a Virto doing work on his watch. To the side of the watch frame he held while adjusting it, laid the machinery that he took out. To the other side of the frame, new parts and materials he planned to incorporate into her re-invention of his watch. "It would be lovely if he was here with us…."

"Yes it would...say, you've gotten a lot more eloquent ever since you finally started changing into a proper succubus," Isuka noted the more purplish skin, the larger, more disproportional breasts size. "You can say it's a side effect of leaving my ignorant roots. Do you like the pancakes?" Kiris asked her. "Yes, it's...very good. Say, what is your homemade recipe? I wish the share this with my book group later."

"You have a book group?" Kiris asked her. "Of course, remember when I showed you yesterday? Come on you have to remember someone," Isuka said, a cup of cocoa floating up to her mouth for her to sip. "Of course I do, but can you remind me?"

"...Maybe later." Isuka got up all of a sudden, clearing her throat. "I need to keep my distance...so I don't become influenced by your sudden change I mean."

"Of course," Kiris said. "Demonic Energy can radiate off anyone…"

"Yes…" Isuka left the table without another word, going back to where Virto was working with a plate of pancakes for him so he doesn't forget to eat. "Why can't she be oblivious, like those funny people in the horror theater…no matter. Once I fully perfect Kiris' form I'll enough power to bring both of them to my castle. Ahh, being able to watch my minions convert all three of them would be wonderful…"

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"Do you get an off feeling about Kiris?" Isuka asked, handing Virto a screwdriver. "No, not really. Then again, I haven't slept in 20 hours."

"You've also not left this room in 20 hours. You have no idea what I'm talking about. I would be impressed if only not left to wonder how you're holding your bladder."

"Years of practice and not wanting to use the campus bathrooms does that to you. Look, I'm sure whatever is going with Kiris she's fine," Virto said, tightening the last screw on his new modified watch. "There, done compressing an incomprehensible amount of engineering and coding into this small thing not larger than a very large coin."

"Yes, now will you come to see what I'm talking about?" Isuka said, waiting at the door. "Sure, I guess I can put on a watch while I come see this strange Kiris. What if she's just going through monsterization?" Virto got up from his seat, putting the watch pokey thing through one of the holes as he followed Isuka's footsteps. "Monsterization doesn't cause this much of a personality change this quickly. I fear it may be something more that we're not seeing…"

They walked quickly, arriving back at where Isuka and Kiris ate previously. The leftover pancakes and pieces that were cut out were packed away neatly onto plates. Everything used was cleaned up and dried off, set on the edge of the table. The cooking materials received the same treatment, the area was wiped clean of any spillage, and the chairs were pushed in. The only thing missing was an awkward succubus in the middle of a transformation.

"Kiris? Where are you? Isuka says that you are acting awkward," Virto said out loud, his voice having a slight echo before the library quickly fell into silence once more. All of a sudden, all of the lights of the library went out, only for a single floodlight to shine up to the rafters. There sat a demon, her purple skin and yellow eyes basking in bright light. "Well, he isn't wrong," the demon said, licking her lips while she looked down to the man that came up to right under her below.

"Isuka, that isn't Kiris. That's just a demon that got in your library. Hey demon! Can you get out? The library's closed."

"On the contrary," the demon said. "For I am Kiris A., former orderite villager, and now a beautiful spitting image of Master Di. Now, shall we go?"

"Even if you are Kiris I'm still not going to whoever that Di person you keep talking about. This is your last warning before you get forced out."

"Fine then. Just yesterday I pinned you to the ground so you can be fucked, then later I managed to get us both captured by some prisoner escorts. I am the reason you know more about mamono, as I gave you a book created mainly by the Wandering Scholar."

"Oh, yeah then that's pretty personal and accurate. Fine, but I'm still going to shoot you if you don't stop being threatening." Virto aimed his left arm at Kiris while holding his right arm over the watch to press it.

"When I wished for an oblivious foil, I didn't expect it to happen so easily. He really does not know?" Kiris asked Isuka. "He's sleep-deprived," Isuka responded

"As all humans are to a certain. On that note, what if you surpass your mortality, through my guiding ha-"

"Nope." Virto pressed his watch, a small needle shooting out up to Kiris at a rapid speed. The demon only laughed and tilted her head, the needle sailing by to hit somewhere else harmlessly. "Tsk tsk, you didn't let me finish my offer. Well, we can make it another time, maybe in person when you're more willing...until then, Holi!"

The roof shattered, covering both Virto and Isuka in a shower of dust. It blinded them temporarily, enough that something hit them both in the back and knocked them to the ground. The dust that had risen had suddenly be fanned away, and it soon became clear why. As Isuka looked up at her assailant, she saw a strange-looking gun pointing at her forehead. The bearer had a black war helmet and a visor that completely covered her face and head. Her armor looked made for her body, with grey metallic portions that had been rounded out to leave whatever human or mamono was under there comfortable.

"God fuck," Virto said, coughing the dust out while getting some out of his eyes. He managed to get most of it out of his right eye, only to open it to a pistol cocking over his head. "...hey why does your roof buster look like the female version of Master Chief?"

"I have no idea who you are referring to, but this is one of my treasured members of my group. I will leave the subduing to her while I take this body back to my own home. Ta ta~" Kiris winked and leaped from her spot down to the ground, strutting out through the front doors away from Virto and Isuka. Isuka attempted a spell before the doors swung back closed, but Holi stepped on her foot, keeping it down so she couldn't make any use of her power. She stood still like that for several minutes, with two fully loaded guns held to both their skulls until she didn't. She put the blaster back on her back and pistol in her holster on her side and stepped back from the two on the floor.

"She got away Isuka," Virto said, getting up and brushing off his clothing. "But um...the Holi gal isn't leaving."

"It's nothing new. When one takes over new territory, she leaves a second in command behind to ensure the Chief God doesn't encourage any uprising once the mamono leader leaves. My guess is that she's going to keep us on house arrest." Isuka tried moving to the door, but Hoil quickly got in front of her, standing in the way. "But that doesn't matter right now. Where's the real Kiris being kept?"

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Kiris opened her eyes, stirring with a headache pounding against her head. She looked around, seeing only the dim light of the moon that entered into her room.

As the cloud moved out of the way of the moon, the room got bright enough to see in. She saw herself in a bedroom, a large one that looked fit for a queen. "W-what happened to me…"

She tried thinking about the memories of before she went under. It made the headache worse but started working as she pieced together what she had. She was making pancakes, and Isuka and Virto were in another room busy….wait where were they?

"Isuka? Isuka!?" She yelled at progressively louder volumes, the only thing answering is the light sound of her mattress when she moves around. They won't answer child, you are far, far away from them.

"What did you do with them!?" Kiris yelled back. They are fine, and so are you. All I've done was simply brought you to where you belong. Think of it as spending time away from your schoolmates to do something you're passionate about. What are you passionate about Kiris?

"W-well...I like cooking."

Yes, but sometimes you must learn cooking on your own to truly grow as a chef. Yes…

"This doesn't make sense Di…" Kiris said, rubbing her temples as she waited for her headache to pass.

Di is too informal if you are going to come under my wing. Call me master for now…

"Yes, master?"

Good, now everything will make sense in due time. For now, however, get your sleep, let your body rest...you'll need it for tomorrow.