Chapter 178: For The Yet Unknown Tales (9) |
“…Hmm♡”
The sweet nasal voice of Iona echoed in my ears.
It had been a while since she had tasted human blood—triggered perhaps by direct vampirism when her wounded body craved it.
Having tasted the blood, Iona passionately demanded me as if she had lost her mind.
Slurp. Shlurp.
The tongue that had been pushing me away just moments ago now began to pull me in fiercely, as if begging for more.
The lips that had barely touched mine were now pressing down hard, as if trying to devour me.
All I could do, having lost the initiative, was to diligently let the blood flow with my saliva.
Each gulp of my blood made Iona’s breathing rougher, tickling my face.
After tasting the blood once, Iona seemed unsatisfied and demanded more boldly.
“Bah… Ah!”
Suddenly, she dropped her head and tried a surprise kiss.
But she aimed solely for my lips.
She sucked on my wounded lower lip as if a baby sucking on a nipple, pulling strongly.
“Tsk. Tssup…”
Perhaps she was pleased to be able to drink pureblood without saliva mixed in. Iona sucked so strongly that her cheeks hollowed.
No, that wasn’t enough; she bit my lip with her sharp fangs.
“Ouch.”
The pain was sharper than expected, and I thrashed about, pulling her face away from mine, fearing my lips might be torn.
“Ahhh.”
“…Ah.”
Finally coming to her senses, Iona’s eyes regained focus.
However, as soon as she saw my blood-covered lips, her eyes glazed over again.
“I’m sorry, Student Yandel… I didn’t mean to do this… It’s just… we’re in the middle of a battle… Uh…”
Iona stammered like a child who had done something wrong.
I smiled wryly and reached out my hand cautiously.
I gently pulled her pale face toward me without much force.
Then, I carefully licked the blood overflowing from her lips.
“It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt that much, you know? And I told you from the start.”
“What…?”
Whether it was trauma, guilt from having hurt me, or the heat from the long-awaited vampirism.
I pulled her trembling body close and offered my neck.
“If it’s Professor Iona, it’s okay.”
“……”
She said nothing, but her body was honest. Iona’s gaze fixed on my neck as she swallowed hard.
I showed her a subtle smile.
“Please drink as much as you want.”
“Really, really. This shouldn’t be happening. It really shouldn’t… but if Student Yandel says it’s okay…”
As if enchanted, she buried her head in my neck.
The sensation from Iona’s sharp fangs pierced my neck, making a hole in my veins.
Suck.
A massive amount of blood flowed out, incomparable to my lips. Suddenly feeling dizzy, I quickly drank the potion I had at hand.
“Aaah…”
What in the world is this?
I felt a dizzying feeling as if my life itself were being sucked out, and there was an inexplicable pleasure coursing down my spine.
It was an ambivalent feeling, and I was unsure whether to like it or hate it.
However, the effect was clear, as I could feel Iona’s vitality quickly recovering.
The once chaotic magic power was quickly organized, and the vampire-like pallor of her skin gained a bit of color, her cool body temperature becoming slightly warm.
Moreover, an intensely seductive aura began to emanate from Iona.
Her flowing dark-red hair, breath filled with ecstasy, and the softness of her occasionally touching tongue.
Before I knew it, the pain and emptiness from being drained of blood became irrelevant. All that remained was the ecstasy of becoming one with Iona.
…Is this why? Is this why vampire bites are said to combine appetite and sexual desire?
The admiration inside me was short-lived.
Crack!
As I lay in Iona’s embrace, looking up at the shield, I heard a dangerous noise that snapped me back to reality.
It seemed so cracked that touching it might cause it to crumble.
“Um… Professor?”
*“*Hmm… Tsuup…“
“It looks like it’s about to break.”
“Hmm…”
Iona was completely lost in drinking my blood.
Poking her in the side, I continued talking.
“If you don’t want us to die together, come back to your senses quickly!”
“Eek! Eek! Okay, I’m awake! I’ve woken up, so stop poking me there…!”
Iona twisted her body, seemingly ticklish, but once I stopped poking, she quickly assessed the situation and narrowed her bloodshot eyes.
“If we repair it now… no, it’s too late for that.”
“How much have you recovered, Professor Iona?”
“Um, um. 30%? Considering what was left before, I’ve almost recovered by half.”
“What? Is that so? I heard that drinking the blood of one person only recovers 10%.”
“Right, right! Usually, that’s the case. But Yandel’s blood… how should I put it? It’s very rich? Tasty? Compatible? Anyway, it’s much more efficient… That’s why I lost my mind a bit!”
“What…? There’s compatibility in vampirism, too?”
“Yes, there is. But that’s a long story, so I’ll tell you later! We need to think about how to defend ourselves if the shield breaks, as attacks will come from all directions!”
“Ah, about that, please listen to my plan.”
“What? What? You’re not suggesting we just keep using vampirism and push forward with magic, right? That would mess up Yandel’s mind!”
Certainly, the pleasure from the vampirism was a bit dangerous. But that wasn’t what I meant.
“Do you trust me, Professor?”
“Suddenly? I’m worried?! That’s something people usually say when you shouldn’t trust them!”
“You have to trust me even if you don’t.”
From now on, I’ll be giving the orders.
Even if I knew the strategy, I couldn’t catch them due to my lack of specs, but with Iona, it was a different story.
“Perchance. Is this the plan you were talking about, Student Yandel?”
“That’s right.”
“Good. It’s already beyond my expectations that we’ve come this far. I guess it’s okay to trust Student Yandel once.”
“Good decision.”
“Well, the shield is about to break anyway.”
Craaack…
As the shield began to break, revealing part of the outside scene, I quickly shouted.
“Don’t use flying magic. Use Gravity Reversal! And hold on tight to me!”
“But I won’t be able to use my arms! Can’t you hold on by yourself?”
“What if I lose strength while being drained of blood?”
“It can’t be helped!”
Iona embraced me and rapidly chanted a spell.
Gravity magic was known to be difficult, but to be precise, it would become exponentially harder depending on the area it affected.
If the magic applied only to us, a brief chant was sufficient.
As Iona’s magic completed, the shield completely shattered, revealing the figures of the cultists surrounding us.
And as expected, a barrage of attacks poured down.
…However, we fell upside down faster than anticipated.
Whoosh.
Normally, Gravity Reversal would float slowly if not manipulated, but now was not a normal time.
Since gravity weighed heavily on us, we could shoot upward rapidly.
While witnessing the landscape and feeling the disparity in gravity, I shouted.
“It’s the grey giant! He’s about to leap up soon, so attack with penetrating magic! Then create distance with Blink!”
“Got it!”
Even if the remaining archbishops coordinated, ultimately, they could only hinder teleportation, suppress with gravity, and launch direct attacks.
When relying on divine powers to fight, one could roughly guess the outcome, as it boiled down to a few tactics.
Indeed, the chaos of the God of Tainted Unity’s void feast and Ayla’s evil eye bombardment struck simultaneously, piercing through the space we had occupied just moments ago.
Then, a beat later, changing trajectory, the leaping grey giant… the reckless Archbishop Wilfred charged.
His immense bulk and strength were fearsome, but his real threat lay in his defense.
In a frenzied state, he possessed incredible physical and magical defensive capabilities, and if his anger exceeded a certain threshold, he could even delay death.
In other words, a bothersome tank who was tough, strong, and hard to kill.
But he wasn’t invincible. Iona could certainly pierce his hide.
“…Blood Spear!”
From Iona’s wrist, blood extracted swiftly formed into a spinning spear, and shot forth.
The speed of the plunging spear and Wilfred’s leap were both extraordinary. Would they clash and penetrate halfway?
They would know this, too. Hence, they would switch the barrier that disrupted spatial movement to defense.
Just like now.
Boom!
“Graaahhhhh…!”
A translucent barrier acted as a buffer between Wilfred and the Blood Spear.
There was some flexibility. The Evil God granted him abilities to manipulate barriers as a divine power, responsible for sloth.
An archbishop of his caliber could handle Iona’s attacks with a solid barrier… but such a level could only manipulate one at a time.
As expected, the tingling sensation around us vanished. Iona immediately blinked away to a safe distance.
Then, countless distortions and curses penetrated the spot where we just were.
It must be Ayla.
“Definitely, definitely. You’re reliable, Student Yandel. If it were me, I’d have taken a hit or two.”
“The Professor’s body is robust, so it was possible, but I’m not.”
“I’ll cast Blood Shift on you.”
A short chant. Soon, a red mist seeped into my body.
Now, all the damage I received would be transferred to Iona. This allowed us to use a tactic that relied on a vampire’s regenerative abilities.
Of course, it would consume twice as much of Iona’s life force… but that was what my blood was for—to replenish it.
Iona and Ayla were at a standoff again.
The difference from the beginning was that they had lost two archbishops, while we gained a blood bag giving advice.
Even from a distance, Ayla’s eye-covered arms were horrifying, and up close, they were even more grotesque.
The eyes wriggling and staring at us made me avert my gaze and whisper.
“Professor Iona, I can help with the other archbishops, but I don’t know anything about your sister.”
“Student Yandel, just keep advising about the others. I’ll handle Ayla myself.”
“Sure. Don’t hesitate, and if you need it, just drink my blood.”
“…I feel like I’m doing something terrible.”
Indeed. Vampires who fight with blood bags like this were usually the villains, particularly the ruthless type from before the Great War.
Perhaps they disliked our whispering to each other.
Ayla gritted her teeth and glared with countless eyes.
“Sister… revealing your lascivious nature now? Yes, you even charmed the prince away from me back then.”
Despite being a 300-year-old incident, Ayla still burned with jealousy and hostility towards Iona.
It was a fierce sight, but there was no need to fear. I had Iona with me.
“Now’s the time! Restrain him below to the left with a binding spell!”
“Huh? Ugh!”
Wilfred, cluelessly charging in mid-conversation, had chains of blood pouring down on his head.