CHAPTER 14: A STRANGE VISITOR, P4
~14.4~
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“Report.”
“As planned, I placed myself where we expected the Vampire Princess to search for a victim,” said the young man known as The Black Sword. No longer wearing street clothes, he had donned his formal black uniform. “The mission went much better than expected at first. She approached me. She wanted to go to karaoke, and once she turned to lead me there, I cut her arm off. Our preparations were well founded. My blade could cut the flesh of a royal vampire. However, not even ten seconds later, a blonde girl appeared out of nowhere in a bright flash of silvery white light exactly like that of the goddess’s divine light. Upon hearing the name of the goddess, she was insulted and claimed to be the goddess herself. After repeated instances of this, I attacked her, but she moved much quicker. She blocked my blade, of all things, then kicked me far down the street. I suffered no long-term damage, but I was knocked unconscious briefly. The two were long gone by the time I awoke and returned to the scene.”
In front of him stood the Archbishop of the Church of Elysium, dressed in an elegant white and gold robe, and holding an ornate staff in his left hand. “I see. This woman… she blocked a black blade and removed you from the scene long enough to escape with the princess. Incredible. When she blocked your blade, what did she use?”
“A strange weapon that she formed out of a bracelet on her arm. It took the form of a curved sword.”
“She did what?!”
The Black Sword nodded.
The archbishop couldn’t hide his curiosity. “Peculiar. And that weapon was capable of blocking yours?”
“Yes. And she used… aether.”
“Aether? You’re certain?” The archbishop was taken aback. Impossible. To employ aether in a weapon in such a manner that it not only didn’t shatter the weapon, but didn’t cause any collateral damage around her? Even a saint isn’t capable of such a feat.
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“This… is unprecedented.” I must meet this woman. She claims to be Goddess Elysia, wields a strange weapon, wields aether, and incapacitated Sir Caladbolg in a manner that did not leave him injured. This woman is clearly exceptional. If she truly possesses the divine light… then we must… I’m getting ahead of myself.
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The vampires have been very accommodating. I remember a time when I was young, an early life long ago, I believed vampires were bad. They and any other beast or demon-like people. Ahh, what a young, naïve soul I was. Anyway, the vampires - the Akaishi Clan in this case - gave me a room to use, so I suppose I’ll be staying here with them. I transmigrated here early in the night, so I went to bed soon after I got settled in. I slept until noon. I don’t remember the last time I slept that late. When I woke up, I found Aisha waiting for me as though she were my attendant.
Aisha curtsied as Kye rose and sat on the edge of the bed. “Hello, Lady Kye, did you sleep well?”
“I did. Though I must admit, I’m a little surprised to find you waiting in here.”
Aisha averted her eyes, her cheeks red. “Well… I have a question… I just wonder if you wouldn’t mind…”
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“Mind what?” Kye raised an eyebrow.
“Well… you see…” Aisha squirmed in place as she tried to work up the courage to ask her question.
“Whatever you want to ask, just spit it out.” Kye shrugged as she stood up out of bed.
“Well, last night… when you saved me… you see, I was hunting.”
“Mhm.” How cute, she’s blushing.
“And I didn’t get to eat…”
“Ah.” Well, that’s one mystery solved. “Does it need to be human blood?”
“Oh, well, the clan leaders have discussed that before, but it’s an ongoing topic and-”
“I’m not asking that in the political sense. I’m asking biologically. Do you have to drink human blood, or can it be other blood?”
Aisha perked up, thinking she understood what Kye meant. “I’ve always found that anything other than human blood makes us physically weak. Like, one time I drank lion blood and all of my physical stats decreased by half for a few days. But if it’s human or at least humanoid, there’s no known negative effects. There’s a big difference in taste between species… non-humanoids are rather nasty, for example. Human girls are usually sweet, human guys are usually sour, and cat girls taste an energy drink.”
Kye giggled and struggled to suppress an outright laugh. “That last one was amusingly specific.” She stumbled back on the back and burst out laughing. “Dammit! HAHAHA.”
“I… uh…”
“Hahahaha, cat girls taste like an energy drink!” She took several minutes to recover from her laughing fit. Aisha stood by, having no idea why it was so funny. Once Kye regained her composure, she returned to the blood topic. “Anyway, you settled my doubts. I just wanted to be sure it would be safe for you to have my blood. My body is human, but my soul is not. The soul has a lot of influence on the body, so… the scientist in me is very curious…” Kye shook her head and held her hand out to Aisha. “Go ahead. I won’t let you bite my neck, but I don’t mind the wrist.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to-”
“It’s fine. I’ll tap on your shoulder when I want you to stop.”
Aisha nodded and sunk her teeth into Kye’s wrist. A strange sensation washed over Aisha as she sucked. She felt as though they were the only beings in existence, nothing else was there. Not the floor, the room, the compound, or even the planet beneath them remained. In those few moments, nothing else existed for her. Kye felt practically nothing, aside from the gentle sucking sensation on her wrist. Once she felt she’d lost enough blood, but was still within safe limits, she tapped on Aisha’s shoulder, bringing her back to reality. Aisha had stars in her eyes.
“The scientist in me wants to know what that tasted like to you. Tell me.” Kye began to heal her wrist, but saw that it was already healed. “Oh.”
“Indescribable.”
“Try, heh.”
“I’ve tasted a lot of blood from just about every race on the planet, but yours is… how do I put it?” She pondered for a moment. “It’s like… everyone else is equivalent to mana, but you are aether. Sweet aether!”
Kye raised an eyebrow. “Really?” The vampire nodded. “Huh.”
“I apologize for asking, but… are you certain you’re not a god?”
“Quite certain. I am not like Lady Eve or her sons.”
“What makes you different?”
Kye sat down on the bed and explained, “The biggest difference between me and Lady Eve is her power. She is omnipotent. I am clearly not. Her sons are not omnipotent either, but they are…” She stopped short, realizing what she was about to say. Her eyes widened. No…
“Hmm. But in your real body, you are powerful enough to create a whole world. What of her sons?”
“…no.”
Aisha noticed the surprise on Kye’s face. “In our conversation last night, you said that you have frequently been sent to clean up their messes… not unlike what an older sister would do, no?”
“Well…”
“From my perspective, you - as well as Lady Alethea, whom I would very much like to meet - are a god, born as the Primordial Goddess’s first creation.”
Kye stood up abruptly and glared toward the door, as if staring someone down. “Give me answers!”
“Lady Kye?” Aisha was taken aback.
“Eve! Answer my questions!”
Suddenly, the world around them vanished, and the two were standing in front of Eve’s throne amongst the starry expansion in the nexus. The rainbow haired goddess sat upon the throne, leaning to one side with her legs crossed and leaning her head on her hand. “Ask your questions, Elysia.”
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Revision: 2024-5-3