Chapter 221: For Elize (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 221: For Elize (6)
An elf and a fox, competing for a common goal.
Between them, a cunning witch cleverly taking advantage.
If Narsha had been here, she would have said, “You must be most wary of those who feign innocence.”
Of course, it was a world that would take time for the two, who were still new to its ways, to fully understand.
Meanwhile, the believers were thrown into confusion. The faith flowing toward Elize had been abruptly cut off.
The cause was Elize herself.
Receiving the believers' faith in its entirety, Elize could be considered a veritable avatar of God.
But her body was undeniably human, and half vampire.
Her body was sturdier than a normal human's, but upon receiving an amount of divine power that surpassed its limits, the very balance of her physical form began to crumble.
The halo spinning above her head, as if she were about to ascend to the heavens, vanished.
Didn't I tell you? You are my daughter, and a vampire. Drink blood. If you drink blood, you can pass judgment on that monster fox, the elf, and the witch.
A voice flowed into her mind.
Fresh blood was ready. Novice nuns, a vampire's favorite, were waiting in the temple.
They were probably having a pleasant chat right now, talking about how they wanted to become saints, too.
Let's drink blood. The blood of a pure maiden is sweeter than any other in the world.
Yes.
Let's drink blood.
There was no reason to hesitate after coming this far.
I have to return to the temple.
I have to get out of here.
I can't let them catch me like this.
“Gasp…!”
“M-my strength?”
The believers, bewildered by the sudden loss of strength, collapsed.
Elize was forcibly squeezing the divine power from her followers—not just from the Holy Kingdom, but from believers all across the continent.
Don't be alarmed. As long as you're alive, you can be healed, can't you? I'm making this sacrifice for all of you.
Answering her own question, a halo reappeared above Elize's head.
This wasn't an easy place to escape. But if she could just get out of here, she could manage somehow.
Elize gathered all her power and tore a corner of the black veil with her fingernails.
It was a tiny gap, too small for even a child to fit through.
Elize transformed into a small bat and swiftly slipped out.
“You think you can escape?”
Swish!
Not letting the fleeing Elize get away, Alfia shot an arrow.
Just as the fiercely flying arrow was about to pierce Elize…
Shnk—
…it vanished without a trace, struck by a slash that came from nowhere.
A hundred million points were right in front of her, and she’d missed.
Alfia narrowed her eyes.
An indigo light flickered in the darkness.
There, Mirabelle's reaper was lowering the scythe he had just swung.
“Cutie? Why are you interfering? You want to make a bet with your big sisters, too?”
“Master says to stop.”
“He did?”
If Karami said to stop, then she had to stop.
It was a shame to lose Elize, but she had no intention of dwelling on it. Alfia dismissed her Servants.
The remaining enemies were still clustered around the apostles, trying not to be consumed by the abyss, but that was all they could do.
Very few could maintain their sanity within Rin's Solar Eclipse. And now that Elize had taken their power, they wouldn't last much longer.
Alfia and Rin returned to Karami's side.
Who had subdued more clergy members?
Just as Alfia and Rin were about to settle their bet, Rin sniffed the air and then smelled Karami.
“What are you doing?”
“Master smells different… You, you were held by Master, weren't you?”
The scent on Karami's clothes was none other than Mirabelle's.
“Miss Mirabelle said she was scared of the dark. I felt sorry for her trembling, so I held her.”
“Who was scared of what?”
“Miss Mirabelle, of the dark.”
Rin let out a disbelieving laugh.
She knew Mirabelle very well.
Mirabelle was the only one who had torn through her Solar Eclipse. Heukbi had trembled in fear when trapped inside it, and even Elize had only managed to create an opening to escape.
Of course, Mirabelle was under a slave contract while Rin was not, so there was a difference in their enhanced abilities.
But regardless, she wasn't the type to cling to their master just because it was dark.
A Great Witch who looked like she could drag down gods, trembling just because it was dark?
“That cunning little witch.”
“Why? Rin, you were riding on Master's back on the way to the Holy Kingdom.”
“That was little Rin. The Rin of now knows nothing about it.”
“Wow, the way these girls use their heads is something else. There's no one I can trust. I can't let my guard down for a second. I get it now.”
She thought she'd learned everything she needed to from being with Narsha, but to think there was still more to learn. The world truly was a wide place.
“That's enough chatter. Rin, would you please get rid of this barrier?”
Rin dispelled the Solar Eclipse.
A yellow moon—neither blue nor red—and the night sky appeared.
All around them, the clergy who had struggled to endure the Solar Eclipse were strewn about.
The apostles weren't in good shape either. It was because Elize had taken most of their divine power.
All that remained was Elize.
Mirabelle's magic wouldn't work on her, but that didn't mean there were no other options.
“Miss Mirabelle, is it possible to form a contract through blood?”
“It's possible. Blood pacts are the standard for vampires, after all. But they maintain the position of absolute master. They won't submit to anyone.”
The vampire's blood pact, where they give their own blood to another to make them a subordinate.
The reverse was also possible.
It was a different category from the act of drinking blood to sate hunger. It was about taking another's blood into one's body and accepting them as master.
Of course, a vampire with a strong ego would never place themselves beneath another.
“So it's possible, then. That's all I need.”
Karami turned and started walking toward the temple.
“Everyone, wait here. I'll go to the temple alone. Don't let anyone inside.”
“You're going into that dangerous place alone? What if she tries to harm you?”
“I'll handle that part myself, so you don't need to worry.”
The help of his slaves had been indispensable on the way here, but no longer.
From now on, this was something Elize and Karami had to resolve alone.
“But…”
The slaves couldn't hide their anxiety. But if they insisted, wouldn't Karami resent them?
Having been separated from Karami for quite a long time, they couldn't carelessly voice their opinions. They hinted at their feelings, but Karami was firm.
As he was leaving the slaves behind, Karami turned back and smiled lightly.
“I'll be back soon.”
Since Karami had said that much, they couldn't insist any further. They could only watch from where they stood as their master entered the temple.
Karami entered the temple.
Unlike the outside, which looked like a war had broken out, the inside was dead silent.
There were a few clergy members waiting in the temple, but they couldn't lift a finger, having been drained of their divine power.
He casually walked past them as they lay collapsed on the floor.
Karami arrived at the temple's chapel. The place, once more sacred than anywhere else in the world, was stained with blood.
The floor was slick, and streams of blood dripped from the ceiling. The view beyond the windows was also red.
Elize was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, a pool of blood that looked similar to Mirabelle's portals was before him. He had a gut feeling that Elize was inside.
Before entering, Karami glanced around as if looking for something, then bent down.
He picked up a red ring.
An item should be returned to its owner.
Pocketing the ring, Karami walked into the gate of blood.
*
Blood was everywhere.
A land stained with blood, a sky saturated with it.
A lily bloomed. White petals, a green stem.
But the white petals that sprouted from a sea of blood were fated to be drenched in it.
The once-white petals were stained red. The sight of it trying to resist being defiled, its heavy head drooping at the end of its stem, was desperate.
But when Elize's fingertips brushed the petals, the lily couldn't hold out for even a moment and was completely dyed red.
It was a sanctuary of blood that seemed to be a manifestation of Elize's inner self.
At its center were Elize and a sleeping novice nun.
It was well known that vampires had a preference for beautiful women. It was also a given that the younger the person, the fresher the blood.
A girl, undefiled and just beginning to blossom, was a more than suitable target for a first feeding.
Some vampires were reluctant due to their divine power, but most favored the blood of the clergy.
Because there was nothing more pleasant than defiling those who upheld order with their own blood.
In any case, a vampire whose bloodthirst had reached its limit wouldn't have the luxury of caring who their target was. Just like the current Elize.
Elize's eyes glowed red as she gazed at the sleeping girl.
A radiance like a cursed flower blooming in the dark.
Two pairs of black wings sprouted from her tailbone.
Fangs elongated into a shape optimized for piercing skin and tearing blood vessels.
In her arms was a girl sleeping peacefully, her breathing faint. A fragile being that should be protected under God's blessing.
But at this moment, what Elize saw was something else.
A lamb.
A lost little lamb.
Not a being to be protected, but prey lying defenseless at a predator's feet.
Though her lips were tightly sealed, viscous saliva dripped from the tip of her tongue. A sweet scent tickled her nose, stimulating her instincts.
The whisper of reason telling her to endure was far too faint.
Bite. Tear. Swallow.
The impulse seeped into her relentlessly.
Elize lifted the girl.
A face that held only pure faith. She slowly brushed aside the girl's hair, revealing the nape of her neck.
A perfect purity, unmarred by anything.
Elize traced a finger over that white skin.
It was warm.
Unlike her.
The moment she bit down, the girl would surely die.
Because the impulse she had suppressed for so long, the desire bound beneath the guise of faith, was about to erupt. She would drink every last drop.
But the girl would consider it a blessing, too.
To become nourishment for the saint she admired, to become a cornerstone in establishing a new order. That was surely the most sublime role bestowed by God.
Just as Elize leaned in, her fangs pricking the girl's nape…
“Slaves are so much work, I swear.”
At the sudden voice, Elize's movements froze.
Not the divine oracle she had desperately longed for, but the voice of a cunning man.
She turned her head to see Karami, covered in blood from head to toe, walking toward her with a smile.
“The moment you bite her, there's no going back. So put her down quietly.”