Ocelio was walking in the middle of the street followed by Korrito. Countless pairs of eyes glanced their way before leaving them just as quickly.
[That outsider, the woman who just arrived in the city. You can confirm that she has red eyes?]
Korrito tilted her head at the question. Her sight wandered to the crowd on both sides of the street.
[I have not seen her with my own eyes, but from all the rumours, it does appear so. After all, not many people would get this wrong. We are used to our murky brown eyes, so seeing a person with a pure hair and eyes colour would surprise quite a few.]
She glanced at his face, pausing on his red eyes. Her rosy lips stretched into a repressed smile.
[She came alone, does that mean that she’s also a Bloodrainist?]
When his sight landed on her, she crossed her hands behind her back, making her green jacket tighten on her upper body.
[Or her group could be wandering around. There are a lot of foreign Warriors going south right now. I’m not sure what her identity is, but based on her appearance, she should be someone important.]
He stared at her smiling face; a frown came to rest on his face before commenting.
[In other word, you don’t know much. Let’s go meet her then, I want to see just what kind of woman can reach this city alone.]
[Haven’t you also done the same?]
He remained silent at her words. It did not take long for them to reach the inn the red-haired woman stayed at.
After ordering Korrito to set up a meeting, he glared at the two stories inn with a heavy atmosphere all around him.
The next moment, the colour of his eyes became more intense.
Every living being in the area appeared as a bloody dot in his sight, all the walls and structures were replaced by a grey shadow that outlined their shapes.
His face showed traces of disgust as the scents travelled to his nose.
When his eyes fell on Korrito’s form, he regained his calm and close his eyes. The bland sap like smell dissipated as the blood sense ability was cancelled.
[No luck, she already left. But the owner told me she already paid for tonight’s fees. Should we come back then?]
[We’ll see. Let’s eat something and then we’ll leave it at that. No point waiting for Lampus any longer.]
She appeared delighted at his words; her eyes brightened as she recommended a nearby restaurant.
[It’s my favourite place but I only visit it once every two weeks, the dishes are succulent and the atmosphere is excellent, I hope you’ll like it.]
She led him to a store close to the prosperous district, the whole building emanated a modern décor with posh furniture.
Young men and women were already seated in the restaurant, dressed in fine clothes with the same colour gradient of brown and red.
After talking to the bartender for a second, Korrito led him to the staircase leading to the first floor.
The chatter upstairs was much lower in volume, a few glances from nearby clients landed on them when they climbed the stairs, more of them landing on Ocelio than his female partner.
A waiter dressed in an elegant uniform came to lead them to a private room, isolating them from the gossip of the city upper class and their soliciting glances.
Korrito ordered a number of dishes, meanwhile, Ocelio remained seated on the fur cushion with his eyes closed.
A few minutes after, the waiters brought the food, filling the table with steaming dishes.
His eyes wandered to the numerous plates that emanated sweet, sour and salty scents. The meats, vegetables and fruits all had their own plates and were separated.
After the waiters filled their glasses with a dark yellow nectar, they placed the bottles down and left.
[Quite an expensive place you chose. Is this the gathering place of the wealthy residents of the city?]
He took a sip of the liquid on his cup before placing it down.
His hands moved to two dishes containing a soft meat and light brown vegetables.
Korrito followed his actions, however, instead of vegetables, she took hold of a plate containing reddish fruits with an oval shape. When one of the fruits fell from the top of pile and plopped down on the side of the plate, her eyes narrowed into crescent shape. She licked her lips in a bewitching manner before retuning her attention to her companion.
[What can I say, being a Bloodrainist is quite lucrative. This restaurant would turn down anyone below the V class, this is why there are only middle class and nanti that patronise this place. Even then, this place is still crowded at lunch and dinner.]
He brought a piece of the meat to his mouth, when he closed his lips, the piece of meat drowned his mouth in its warm sour sauce. For a moment, his eyes shone with a light reminding of blood, surprise and joy altered on his face.
[I’ve heard from Lampus that you lived with your master most of your life, he must have been an impressive personage.]
Ocelio’s focus remained on the food, he did not raise his head nor show any response to Korrito’s words.
The care he showed during the meal seemed to surprise his companion. There was almost something artistic that drew the eyes on how he savoured his meat dish, not one drop of sauce was spared.
[The food is succulent right? The meat is good, however it’s a bit too uncooked for my taste. The blood make it too greasy, I can ask for the cook to roast it a bit more if you’d like.]
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He still remained silent, altering between bites and sips, never spilling one drop.
She too appeared to enjoy her meal, however she looked intent on making small talk to brighten the mood.
[Did your family, no, your dynasty, never visit you while you were training with your master?]
A pair of vermillion orbs stared at her. She lowered her head to stare at her hands.
[Sorry…I didn’t know…I shouldn’t have asked.]
When his stare moved away, the meal continued to progress in silence.
Ocelio took his time, moving his fingers only when to bring food to his mouth. Most of the time, his body was motionless, with only his jaw rising and falling.
[Those fruits, I can smell fire from them. Most of the food has a scent of earth. This place…it’s an earth affiliated land. I assume most of the magical beasts are of this element. Then, how many elements are there, how many have you come into contact with?]
At the end of the meal, his attention returned to the brown-haired that had kept her head low and munched on the food as if she was sulking.
[You are able to smell magic from the food?!]
Her head rose in a blink, her eyes were wide open.
Just a moment ago she was twirling her tongue around a red fruit in her mouth, yet, when she heard his words, she coughed as the fruit fell down her throat.
[Answer my question.]
Despite the frown on his stern face, she seemed to hesitate. Her hand scratched her head, releasing a sigh.
[I don’t know most of what you’ve asked. I don’t know what’s an element. All I’ve seen in my life is this city, the Silverpine Forest and only once did our group venture east, toward the Rellnian Marsh.]
[Then, you do know what’s fire and earth, do you?]
Her eyes wandered across the room, underneath the table, her legs shifted ever so slightly.
[Magic?]
He brought his palm to his forehead. A long sigh leaking from his lips.
[Forget it, I did not expect anything out of you anyway.]
Her thin eyebrows furrowed; her closed lips inclined upward but she kept silent.
It was only outside the restaurant that Korrito regained her usual vigour. A smile drew itself on her face as she patted her belly.
[We have a mission in the prosperous district tonight, I’ll ask the others if they’ve heard about this.]
[Forget it. I don’t think my answers lie in this city.]
Her eyes moved to his figure then stopped, her lips parted into a wide smile.
[You’re leaving? Soon?]
He continued to walk ahead, leaving her behind. His steps increasing in speed.
[In due time. Your mission tonight, what is it about?]
Despite his words, her smile remained intact. She trotted to catch up with him, being only half a step apart.
[Mnasyllus told just as I left this morning. We have a protection job in the prosperous district, he hasn’t told me the detail but I can skip it if you want me to stay with you.]
He shook his head, his eyes focused on the faraway buildings.
[You don’t need to care so much about me, when I need you, I’ll call you. Otherwise, just live your life.]
She continued to follow him, however, she looked at his back in a daze, not paying attention to anything around her.
That night, Ocelio stood on the 3rd floor of the Warrior Association building, gazing at the back of the Bloodrainists leaving for their mission.
It wasn’t until they disappeared from his sight that he jumped outside.
A dark figure shrouded by a cloak quickly made its way to the roofs of the trading district buildings.
The dark light emitted by the crystals made the whole city appear sombre and dangerous.
His red eyes peered at the hotel he had visited earlier. His sight went through a change, allowing him to perceive all the living beings residing inside.
He had barely begun his inspection when he froze. A delicious scent stroked his nostrils, igniting an emotion on his face.
The next moment, his eyes returned to normal.
An invisible cloud of energy started to leave Ocelio’s body. Like thin snakes, tendrils of spiritual power moved from the cloud into the building, penetrating the door holes, the opened windows, any space that air could sneak into.
As the spiritual energy moved into the building, Ocelio closed one of his eyes.
When the spiritual power moved to the second floor of the buildings and sneaked into the bedrooms, Ocelio’s face changed.
[No one?!]
His muscles constricted as the spiritual energy retreated from the building in a hurry, disappearing back into his body.
He jumped down into an alley, activating the shroud ability as soon as his feet touched the ground.
It was only after jumping over the wall to the prosperous district that he cancelled the ability. His expression, however, was still grave.
[I could not pick up her presence, did she notice me? Is she a Magicalist?]
His whispers were too low to be heard but appeared to be begging for answers.
[I need strength, now more than ever. Running is what the prey does.]
He turned around, finding two rows of buildings on two separate paths.
Without hesitation, he ran on the right path, his feet bringing him back above the city, below the ceiling.
Just like what happened the first time, he entered the manor without trouble, however, this time, a maid was guarding the door he once opened with ease.
[Ah!]
The woman cry of surprise was cut halfway; her eyes became tangled with his. Time appeared to have frozen as they stared at each other in silence.
[You should take a little nap; nothing will happen to your lady. You are tired, you need rest. Let sleep carry you to peace and tranquillity. Have a nice dream.]
His gentle tone reached the maid along with a constant flux of spiritual power. As he spoke, he continued to step closer to her. When her eyes closed, he caught her body and let it slide to the ground.
Inside the bedroom, a blonde woman slept in a large bed under a pure white blanket. Her body was resting on her side with her hands gathered in front of her chest.
His eyes glowed in a bright red colour, his fingers moved to her face and lifted her eyelid to peek at her hazel iris.
When her eyelid went down, her breaths deepened, a slight noise was produced by her nostrils each time she inhaled air.
[Having trouble sleeping, aren’t you?]
He carried her upper body out of the warmth of her blanket and made her sit on his lap. She wore a purple pyjama that was made of a soft textile. His sight trailed on her neck and down on her bosom.
His fingers unbuttoned her top just enough to reveal her shoulders and cleavage.
She did not seem to have been perturbed by any of his action, her faint snores rang in the bedroom, however, the next moment it turned into a soft cry as his fangs entered her skin.
His tongue licked her shoulder, taking his time to suck her blood.
Her voice was sonorous and echoed in the room. The next moment, a hand covered her lips and muted her voice.
Drool stuck to his fingers but he only stopped after filling his stomach with her blood.
She had a wide smile on her face, a healthy red blush coloured her cheeks. Her sleepwear was back in place and so was she, in her warm bed.
He gave her one last glance before leaving the manor.
[It took 1/4 of her blood to fill me but the conversion is slower than usual.]
He was sitting on his bed in a meditative posture, his eyes wandered across the room as he muttered his thoughts.
[I can feel the strength in the blood. It is close to perfect purity, it’s like there’s something in it that is hard to remove.]
Even after spending the whole night in meditation, he was only able to convert around half of the blood.
However, something seemed to have changed in him. He used most of the morning to feel the changes in his body and exercise his body.
[I’m becoming stronger, at a slow pace, but I can notice the improvement. The purer the blood is, the slower the conversion, but at the same time, the greater the gain.]
After washing up, he went to his mental space to record all his findings.
In the cafeteria, all the Bloodrainists were gathered for the meal. They ate in silence and only opened their mouth to greet Ocelio when he joined them.
[When did you return from your mission? Did it go well?]
He sat by Mnasyllus side with a tray of food, most of the Bloodrainists were sitting at the same table except Kerkyon that occupied a table on his own.
[An hour ago. Nothing happened the whole night, we were just paid to act like bodyguards for a rich princess.]
Korrito smashed the potatoes in her plate, her teeth gritted in frustration.
[We’ll go out this afternoon to scout the area near the city if you want to join us Ocelio.]