Raise and Devour
Spear devours them whole. To put it nicely, Spear loves studying. Or rather, she finds it a hassle but for some reason gets a kick out of solving math problems, and she genuinely enjoys group study sessions with others. I still remember how dumbfounded I was when we first met. Instead of hanging out and chatting with people, there she was, humming tunes while poring over math or history problems that no kid her age should touch—enough to make me seriously wonder, 'Did the harsh northern environment finally break her mind?'
Well, she is influenced by her environment, so that's not entirely wrong.
"So, for this equation, you first plug 4 into f(x), and then..."
"No, no no. Hold on a sec b..."
"Just hear me out. Yeah, and since the bottom equation has to be less than or equal to zero, out of these options..."
Watching this gives me chills. The thought of it happening to me makes my skin crawl. I burst out laughing at Vivian shrinking under Spear's relentless pressure. One shut-in corner-dweller dominating another with sheer hikikomori power.
And so, Spear's Math Hell (Mandatory Edition) dragged on for a full four hours without a break.
"P-please... spare me..."
Four hours later, the liberated Vivian looked utterly wrecked. Her once-bold voice was now cracked and tiny, like a freshman getting chewed out by a senior. Even her speech had reverted to normal.
"You're smarter than I thought."
"Looks can be deceiving—I'm a fairy, after all."
Her talent probably outstrips any average person's. Fairies aren't low-IQ like spirits; they're just... extremely quirky in personality.
Vivian sprawled on the floor like wet laundry on a clothesline. Her exhaustion was a bit pitiful, but what can you do?
"...Another dogfight over there."
Ignoring the gods' squabble, I picked up the limp Vivian from the floor. Her body twitched, so I turned and took a step toward Spear.
"Kieeeek!!!"
"Whoa, what a reaction."
Just one step, and she freaks out that much? If I brought her Spear's workbook, she'd probably have a heart attack.
"So, feeling like handing over the magic artifact now, Lake Fairy?"
"I-I'll give it! Just tell that girl to stop giving me problems!!"
"You're too much. Even though I only used stuff you learned before the academy."
Pre-academy level, my ass—Spear's problems were straight out of second-year finals. I could only shake my head at how she'd pre-studied like it was nothing.
...For a split second, I actually thought it'd be fun. I hate myself for that.
"Anyway, got the magic artifact?"
"What magic artifact?"
"Vampire fangs, right?"
"Vampire fangs?"
Vivian shot me a look like, Why the hell would you want those? Most people know vampire fangs are for bloodsucking. Not wrong, but vampires need more than just blood.
"Well... it was tricky to deal with anyway. Hold on."
Vivian rummaged in her sub-space and pulled out a pristine white fang.
"You sure you want this?"
"Yeah, this'll do."
Its sharpness screamed pureblood vampire, not some commoner. And as a proper magic artifact, it was fully processed. This should absorb a good chunk of Skaya's mana.
"What the hell are you gonna do with th—"
Puuk!!
The vampire fang tore through my skin and flesh. Vampires drink blood for flavor—human blood is like the finest wine to them. But quality varies by mana rank.
Wuuuuung...!!
The fang greedily sucked in Skaya's mana and my blood. Even her mana couldn't ignore it unless she controlled it directly. Vamp fangs are absolute against blood they've touched, unless a higher-rank vamp shows up. No matter how OP Skaya is, unguided mana loses to a processed artifact.
"Is that really okay?"
Spear frowned as she realized what I was doing, but there was no other way. Skaya said I could handle it—why the fuck should I?
"Stop."
"Guh!!"
My body froze. The sucking stopped. The mana flow halted. Her single word froze everything around us.
"Seriously. Don't go betraying my expectations like that, Lian Primal."
"Skaya...!!!"
What the hell is she planning? How'd she even know to come here?
"Whatever, curiosity aside—you shouldn't be doing that."
"What bullshit are you spouting? Who the hell are you to—"
"Lian Primal. Academy's top entrant, possessor of the same rare attribute mana as me. Right?"
"Yeah, so why the fuck did you give me this cursed mana...?"
Tap.
Skaya's hand stroked my cheek.
"I'm turning 49 this year."
No, gods... I can't even run because of her Word Magic right now. Your warnings just amp up my anxiety.
"Lately, I've been feeling a bit lonely, honestly."
The gods' reactions to Skaya's nonsense were a spectacle. Sponsorships poured in like water—great for me, but their freakouts made my skin crawl. What the hell does she plan to do?
"All the people I can actually talk to are just old fogeys who've lived too long. No women I click with, and the men aren't my type."
You only clicked with me because I was the only one left in the war... Wait, what?
"But chatting with you? It just flows so well."
Hold on, no. Tell me that's not it.
"But no matter how well we talk, if you're too weak, we can't be friends—or lovers, right?"
Whoa, friends or lovers from Skaya's mouth? This twist was so out of left field I wanted to smack my forehead, but I couldn't even move.
"And when I scanned your mana circuits? Plenty of potential."
I nodded along inwardly as Skaya bobbed her head smugly. Tears welled up. Hell, one actually trickled out.
"So I decided to try that 'raise and eat' thing I heard about!"
"Fuck!"
Couldn't hold back the curse. Raise and eat? What are you, a wild beast?!
"Relax. I'll eat you physically, but not by chomping you with teeth like you think."
That's even worse!! Can't you just chew me up normally!?
Skaya slowly caressed my face, her red eyes gleaming as she forcibly scanned my body via the mana inside me.
"You've gotten stronger. Mana's resisting mine—not dramatically, but growing. Body's developing just as I predicted."
The mana sweeping through me felt like being dissected—unpleasant as hell. And being unable to resist? Infuriating.
"Keep growing like this... and you'll be delicious."
This... this isn't the Skaya I knew!!!
Help me out here!! You damn gods!!!!