"H-Here is today's pay. N-Now, please give me my elixir!" A man wobbled into the home and threw his wages for the day on the table.
"Elixir? Hahaha!" The lady of the house laughed in response before pushing forth a glass, "Since you worked hard today, I've filled the glass. Consider it your honour and relish it."
"Y-Yes, I will, definitely." The man grabbed the glass in a hurry and gobbled up its contents like a man in the desert that had chanced upon water after days of thirst.
The moment he finished downing the last droplet, he collapsed to the floor, snoring hard, not even having the energy to twitch a finger.
"Such a coward." The lady muttered casually as she threw the glass in the sink. Obviously, she wasn't going to clean it. Whether it was to do the dishes, wash the clothes, clean the house, or even bring in wages, her husband did everything.
All she did was boss him around and take everything for herself, only giving him minimal necessities. To be honest, all the man had to do was use his pay to buy alcohol on his return and have his fill. But, the fear installed in his mind was to such an extent that he had developed a phobia.
Every moment of his life recently, he felt as if he was being watched by his wife and would be punished the moment he went against her orders. Hence, he never went against her even for a moment ever since he was beaten up by her.
Over the days, the lady's control over him had tightened to the extreme. At present, if she ordered him to die on her behalf, he would do so, completely brainwashed.
As for the alcohol she fed him, it wasn't pure alcohol. She had added in stimulants and other substances to keep the man full of vigour, so that he could work overtime like crazy without giving in to his exhaustion.
Of course, his organs were being strained as a result and it was only a matter of days before the repercussions slammed into him. His death was fast approaching. But, the lady showed no signs of stopping her actions.
After all, she wished to milk him dry in the short duration she planned to use this identity.
Once the man had fallen asleep, the lady slowly removed the extra layer of clothes she had draped over herself, revealing a thinner, toned body.
She rested on the floor and began to do push-ups, training herself. All this time, she had been doing the same, working out in preparation for her subsequent plans. As a Devil's worshipper, she lived a different life from the rest.
Unfortunately for her, she wasn't a Spirit of the Devil she served. Hence, her life wasn't a safe journey. Therefore, she had to prove herself to rise among the ranks and become a Spirit. For that, she must steal more faith power.
Whenever she wished to replace someone, she prayed to the Devil and gained the power of a Spirit temporarily. Using that, she changed identities and collected some faith before the duration of the power lent to her ran out.
She stored that faith in her body to temper herself. The power of the Devil she served was to devour the essence of others and make it their own. Of course, it came with plenty of limitations, especially the amount of faith that could be stored in their body and the duration of storage.
Hence, the lady was training her body while seeking out better targets with some accomplishments to their name that she could use to temper the faith stored in her body and gain some form of special ability. The moment that happens, she would gain qualifications to become a Spirit.
It was why she was working so hard.
Every time she replaces someone, she would gain their body. This meant that her body would become no different from theirs. Therefore, she had to train. Otherwise, while fighting to replace her next target, she might be defeated instead.
Hence, the lady didn't waste a moment and trained her body to the limit, using the funds in the house to buy as much nourishing medicine as possible. She had enough knowledge to do so and carefully built up her muscles in a short time, experienced in the field.
Days passed in such a fashion before eventually, it was a month since she replaced the woman.
Thud!
Her husband collapsed to the floor, having lost a lot of weight. His cheeks were sunken while he seemed to have aged a decade in the short month. Limited sleep, limited food intake, and excessive work amplified by stimulants had pushed his body past the brink of no return.
His condition became critical the moment he collapsed. He was left on the cold floor during the night which resulted in his death. He failed to see the morning of the next day.
Of course, before this happened, the lady used his sickness as an excuse to put on a desperate act and managed to sell their house. Her husband wished to live, of course. And under her orders, he signed the documents to sell the house, believing his wife would use the money to treat him.
He was left alone during the night and when the new owners came to occupy the house the next day, they were greeted with his corpse. As for the woman, she was nowhere to be seen, having fled with all the money.
Moreover, she had also sold all valuables within the house, looting everything possible.
"Would you be a dear and accompany me through the cold night?" The lady was now in a different street within the town, wearing revealing clothes as she winked at a man that she appointed as her next target.
"I'm not interested…" The man intended to walk away upon staring at her face, but his eyes trailed below, gazing at her curvy body and her trained muscles, something rare for the women in the town. Obviously, he was interested, "…Sure."
"Let's head in, then." The lady said and motioned him towards the house that she had rented for the night.
The moment they entered, she jumped upon him, resulting in a fiery passion that lasted a few minutes. The two lay on the bed following that when suddenly, the eyes of the woman glinted as she grabbed him by the neck, intending to choke him to absorb his essence.
But suddenly, the man screamed upon seeing his essence flowing into the woman, "You're not human!"
"My God! Protect me!"
Boom!
His shadow squirmed and formed spikes that jutted toward the woman, impaling her.
