Blood Witch (2)
Blood Witch (2)
The moment Ian laid eyes on the approaching woman, he knew.
This person was a calamity.
— Step.
Her gait was elegant, bewitching.
But what mattered wasn't her appearance.
One step.
With a single step, she crossed the distance in an instant.
Her hair, pitch-black, caught the air as she moved.
Locks that seemed to hold every darkness in the world, and a face so pale it stood in stark contrast—black against white.
Against that backdrop, her eyelids lowered in a slow blink, drawn like a long brushstroke, as if signaling the curtain rise of a play.
Her eyes were crimson.
Clearer and more vivid than any Blood Rock cultist's, those blood-red eyes fixed on Ian.
"So, you're Ian. This is the first time we've met face to face."
Even the low voice that slipped from her scarlet lips was seductive and uncanny.
"...Blood Witch?"
Ian murmured before he realized it.
The woman's ruby-like eyes curved with amusement.
"You knew of me?"
Her tone was free of formality.
But her smile was a lure.
Just a slight lift of her lips, and the world itself seemed to blush redder.
"Still, I'd prefer you call me just Blood Maiden. I hate witches, you see."
Ian nodded silently.
From what he knew, her power ranked among the top five in the Blood Rock Sect.
No.
He didn't even need to piece together that information.
A platform frozen in time for thousands of people.
The presence radiating from her words and gestures.
He could feel it in his bones—this woman was a transcendent powerhouse.
For now, he would play along with her rhythm.
"What business do you have with me?"
"Ahh. Such a cold tone."
A faint glimmer of madness flickered in the Blood Maiden's eyes.
"It wounds me deeply, especially from a child I've always watched over."
Her brows sank, as if she were truly hurt.
The Blood Maiden wore a sorrowful expression, like someone longing for a lost lover.
"......"
Ian clenched his teeth in silence.
Always watched over.
When, and from where?
No. More importantly, why?
One thing was certain: he'd gotten himself tangled with a certifiably insane woman. A tremendously powerful one, at that.
"But since something joyful happened, I suppose I can let this slide once."
"...?"
"The fact that you defeated Reinhardt."
The Blood Maiden's face bloomed with a smile.
It was the smile of someone genuinely delighted by the growth of their child—or perhaps a cherished pet.
"I was watching, ready to help, but you crushed him splendidly on your own."
"How can I believe that? That you, a Blood Rock cultist, meant to help me..."
The Blood Maiden's brow furrowed.
— Whisper.
Her form vanished.
Simultaneously, Ian's vision blurred.
He blinked once, and those blood-red eyes, as if fashioned from liquid crimson, were right in front of him.
Close enough that their noses almost touched.
— Smoothly.
Through the swaying strands of black hair,
the Blood Maiden's eyes churned with fury.
"Doubting my feelings for you—that's something I won't forgive, even from you."
"Doubt...?"
"Just now. Weren't you questioning whether I'd prioritize an old wreck like Reinhardt over you?"
Of course he had assumed she'd side with her fellow cultist. But if he voiced that, his head really might go flying.
"Answer me."
Her killing intent sent prickling pain across his skin.
"Whether you doubted me. Or not."
The heat of her bloodlust parched his lips and scorched his throat.
Ian forced the words out.
"... I didn't."
The Blood Maiden's glare dissolved in an instant.
The killing intent vanished without a trace, replaced by a gentle smile.
"Good. As I thought, you understand me well."
Watching her, Ian repeated inwardly,
'... Crazy bitch.'
For a split second, the Blood Maiden's eyes narrowed into crescent moons.
Had she read his mind?
A chill crept over him, but that wasn't it.
"I liked your reaction just now."
Her exhale brushed the bridge of his nose.
"Even when I drew close, you didn't bother stepping back. Few people do that."
Ian's reason for not retreating was simple.
Running would've just guaranteed he'd be caught.
"When you're snared in a spiderweb... it's best not to move."
"Ahaha. You really are clever. But let me tell you one more thing."
Smoothly.
The Blood Maiden's face slid past his vision and stopped beside him.
The nape of her neck was impossibly pale.
As it trembled slightly, a sultry breath escaped her.
"... Once you're already in the web, you should beg."
She whispered intimately into his ear.
Her breath tickled his earlobe.
"... 'Please spare me, Spider-lady.' Like that."
Her slender, long fingers coiled around Ian's neck with a silken glide.
"... 'I'll do anything, please just spare me.'"
Goosebumps erupted from his neck and raced across his entire body.
Every instinct screamed at him to flee, right now.
But Ian gritted his teeth and held still.
Whatever her reasons, this woman wasn't going to kill him.
If she intended to, there'd be no point in all this troublesome theater.
"But you're not begging?"
"......"
"It's as if you're certain I'd never harm you."
"If you wanted me dead, you've had plenty of chances."
"Clever as always. But what if..."
Smoothly.
Her fingers stroked through Ian's hair.
"...overcome with excitement, I suddenly wanted to crack open that clever head of yours and see inside?"
The Blood Maiden's breathing came in shallow, ragged gasps.
"Even if I savored every piece of that brilliant mind and made it mine?"
Her mouth opened wide, as if she intended to devour his head whole.
"Would you still think so then?"
Instead, her soft lips closed around his ear.
— Nibble.
She gently bit the shell of his ear, then the tip of her tongue settled against it.
From his earlobe down to his neck, her tongue dragged a long, lingering path, leaving behind a trail of thick saliva like a beast basting its prey.
"What a delicious-looking neck."
Lick.
Ian shuddered.
A rough, wet sensation scraped across his nape.
"Delicious."
Again.
And then once more.
The Blood Maiden pressed the entire flat of her tongue against Ian's neck, as if savoring the taste.
"Mmm."
Heat laced her exhale.
The skin of his neck, coated in her saliva, burned with a stinging ache.
"It tastes of fine earth. Nutty. Pure mana. So pure I want to defile it. But someone else has already defiled you. Not that this is bad."
Her breathing grew progressively rougher.
The friction between her saliva-slicked neck and her tongue made a wet, sticky sound.
A breath spilled from her lips, as if she could no longer contain herself.
"Haa. I was planning to wait a little longer."
Nuzzle.
Her lips traced idle paths above the thick artery pulsing in his neck.
Then the sharp points of her canines touched skin softened by her saliva.
A prickling sensation.
"... I should hold back."
The Blood Maiden withdrew her fangs, which had half-sunk into his flesh.
A single bead of blood clung thinly to the tip.
She faced Ian, licking the droplet off with her tongue.
Her eyes, glistening crimson with every conceivable debased desire, locked onto his as she spoke.
"You and I are well-matched."
As if she might kiss him at any second, her hand cradled Ian's face.
Their gazes met.
What glazed the Blood Maiden's eyes was pure madness.
"From the moment I first saw you, I've always watched from afar. I dug through your past, untangled the people around you."
The Blood Maiden continued in a wistful tone, as if reminiscing.
"Sharing every possible moment with you, I came to realize it. That mind of yours, your talent—all of it is radiant."
A soft smile.
Which made it unimaginably chilling.
"Since I alone can recognize you, you belong to me."
Cold sweat trickled down his skin.
This was the most terrifying encounter he'd had since the possession.
Not even Reinhardt had been this bad.
As if she'd read his thought, the Blood Maiden spoke his name.
"I meant to just keep watching, if possible. But then Reinhardt..."
Gnash.
The Blood Maiden ground her teeth.
"...that damned old bastard shoved you into his filthy dantian."
Ian could not fathom why this enraged her so much.
"I was so heartbroken. That the first dantian my loved one ever experienced was that all-consuming, filthy dantian of Reinhardt's."
At that moment.
Before he could resist, the Blood Maiden locked her hands behind his back.
"But I'm different. I've preserved mine without ever accepting anyone inside. Look."
A honeyed voice.
The Blood Maiden pressed their lower abdomens together.
Their dantians touched, separated only by thin layers of skin.
Her clasped hands made escape impossible.
"How is it?"
He had no words to answer.
Her eyes curved as if in disappointment.
"I'd rather like to hear more of your impressions."
"What do you... Khh!"
The Blood Maiden's dantian suddenly opened.
In an instant, a passage formed between their touching dantians.
Everything about her dantian flooded his senses with vivid clarity.
Its size, its strength, the magical power it contained... even the thick, bloody fragrance within.
That was all—they were simply connected.
And yet, Ian's mana churned violently, threatening to pour into her.
Even though she made no attempt to draw it in.
'What in the world...'
Ian clenched his teeth.
This was his mana. He had to control it.
But.
The magic wouldn't circulate through his mana circuits.
He'd had no time to stabilize his mana after the battle with Reinhardt.
Impurities mixed into his mana disrupted his control.
'... Damn it.'
His mana—no, everything—felt as though it would spill through that passage and be absorbed completely.
All he could do was strain to force the passage shut with sheer willpower.
Watching Ian struggle, the Blood Maiden smiled lasciviously.
"Don't fight it."
She pressed her body closer.
The distance between their dantians shrank even further.
"Just feel it."
The Blood Maiden gently rolled her lower abdomen.
In that instant.
The misaligned passages locked into perfect alignment.
Ian bit down hard.
But.
— Rumble!
In the end, his mana broke through the narrow channel and gushed into the Blood Maiden.
"... Ah."
Her slightly parted lips released a sweet breath.
She tightened her clasped hands and pulled Ian into a full embrace.
"Don't be afraid. Pour everything into me."
The entrance to her dantian opened wide.
— Cascade.
No—he wasn't even sure if a "dantian entrance" existed. He simply felt his entire mana being sucked into her.
A dizzying sensation.
Control was utterly impossible.
At this rate, she'd drain him of everything.
... In that case.
— Gnash.
Ian clenched his jaw.
Then he manifested his Authority.
Not toward the Blood Maiden, but into his own body.
Following the same paths a healing priest would channel holy power through him, he sent his Authority coursing through his mana circuits.
— Sizzle!
The moment the Authority made contact with her dantian, the Blood Maiden's eyes flew wide.
"Hngh!"
With a startled moan, the Blood Maiden staggered back, putting distance between them.
"You...!"
A mouthful of blood spilled from her lips.
"A-As expected, you're incredible. Good. I adore that method of resistance too. Aaah-hah!"
The Blood Maiden laughed, thoroughly amused.
Ian stared at her, flabbergasted.
She looked utterly depraved.
Lick.
Having drawn the spilled blood back into her mouth, she smiled, all red.
"It was delicious, but still unripe. I suppose I'll have to wait for you to grow a little more. Don't forget today, and grow strong enough to satisfy me."
In his dazed mind, as if his spirit had been drained, Ian repeated silently,
'Crazy bitch...'
"Until next time."
The Blood Maiden's hair fluttered like silk.
◆
Crash!
The sound of something shattering rang out.
At the same time.
— The gate for Lichten will open shortly. Passengers, please...
— Clang!
— Damn it! I spilled it everywhere!
All the vanished noise came rushing back.
Everything that had been frozen sprang into lively motion, as if it had all been a lie.
It was like someone pressing play on a paused video.
As if nothing had happened at all,
the world began to move again.