The seven leaders with Bonny and Ryu sighed together again.
“Is there something we can do to help them?” → Fiora
Fiora asked while feeling down, her tail and ears as drooped as before.
“Shiroko looks completely devastated while Lissa seems to be more and more irritated lately. Only Gregor is like before, the only difference might be his tiredness and vigilance. It appears that his injuries aren’t fully healed yet.” → Fiora
“There’s nothing we can help with. This is something they will have to get over with, by themselves.” → Lilia
Lilia explained with a calm voice.
“Lilia is right, we can’t interfere in their matters right now.” → Severus
Severus nodded as he sighed helplessly.
“Sigh… The young ones are so emotionally unstable. Ay! The youth can be a flame hard to control sometimes…” → Old Mingzhi
Old Mingzhi sighed and shook his head just as helpless, remembering his younger days when he was the same.
“Well, you can’t really blame them. When it comes to Miss Shiroko, anyone would feel devastated if their colleagues and friends suddenly got exterminated or turned weapons against themselves. As for Lissa, her loved one sustained a ridiculous amount of damage, and almost died right after reaching our gates, all of this just to protect her and another woman together.” → Tama
Tama tried to explain and defend them, her face showing a sad smile on.
“Indeed, their emotional shocks are reasonable, as for how they got out alive, that’s even more surprising. Sir Gregor’s defensive abilities are no laughing matter. He was able to hold on against the waves of spells and skills from players with a power ranking between master and grandmaster, I heard there were even some saints? He’s truly magnificent.” → Gerome
Gerome nodded in admiration. He thought that, even if Ryu tried to do the same, he might’ve failed to resist all the blows sustained by Gregor.
“Indeed, I heard he practiced the Tian Set and focused only on boosting his defensive aura. Also, while sparring with him in the free time, I found out that he trained in the mana and chi control. Every time he attacked he would focus around 80% of his full energy in his fist while when he was attacked, he would focus the same amount at the place targeted by his opponent. Such fast thinking and control over the energies are truly outstanding. Even if I tried to use my full power in attacking him, he would be able to guard it without sustaining any kind of damage.” → Bernard
Bernard sighed while feeling immense respect for him.
“I see… So you mean to say that his defensive abilities may as well surpass my own?” → Ryu
Ryu asked with shining eyes.
“That might be so, yes.” → Bernard
Bernard answered back with no thoughts of hiding it.
“Then isn’t this good? We need such outstanding people in these troubled moments.” → Severus
“Then Lissa might present you with some surprises as well.” → Bonny
Bonny said with an anxious face.
“Hm? Is there something about Lissa that I don’t already know?” → Ryu
“From the moment I laid my eyes on her after she returned, I was able to see a faint reddish-dark glow in her aura. It’s like she awoken some kind of inner power.” → Bonny
“…”
Inner power? What’s with this ridiculous idea? → Ryu
Ryu was dumbfounded.
“You mean to say that there is more to this dragon blood from inside the dragoons and it can awake in case of danger? Gerome? Have you ever heard of such a thing?” → Ryu
“No, never. Us dragoons already have the dragon blood awoken from the moment we’re born. That’s why we can show more power than a normal human, also the reason for our horns and always tanned skin a larger body.” → Gerome
Gerome shook his head and answered seriously.
“… I might know something.” → Lilia
Lilia raised her hand.
“Oh? Please do tell.” → Ryu
“I think Miss Lissa is something like a half dragoon. A hybrid.” → Lilia
Lilia said, not fully sure herself.
“Huh?”
Everyone was surprised but not shocked. They did suspect something.
In comparison with the other Dragoons, Lissa had red eyes and they were always in slits, something that happens to dragoons only when they are excited from battle or mating. Some people had some misunderstandings about her but nobody really minded that. She also had a whiter skin in comparison with the other dragoons and her horns, from the usual dagger-type horns, hers look a lot like those of mountain goats, pointing upwards like the normal dragoons but looking more normal.
“And you thought of that after hearing about the aura Bonny talked about?” → Ryu
Ryu asked back.
“Indeed. That aura, I was able to feel it the strongest when I rushed to help them together with the other warriors and golems. I felt a familiar feeling at that time as if I stood beside a fellow demon and not a dragoon.” → Lilia
Lilia said everything she remembered.
“What?”
This time, everyone was truly shocked except for Bonny.
“Lilia is right. I was able to see her energy flow the same way as the demons.” → Bonny
“Do demons have their energy circulate differently?” → Ryu
Ryu was surprised. Such things he did not know.
“Yes. Humans, elemental fairies, dragoons, elves, demons, and beast-men have different energy circulation from one another. The difference is quite small so they can learn the spells and skills from one another, but this is a reason why some spells work better for one respective race. For example, Shen told you how your Draconic Materialization works the best for dragoons, right? That’s exactly because of our dragon-blood which modified our energy vessels to circulate in a different manner so the body could handle it. Through time, such changes remained in our genes. That also means that the genes of a dragoon are close to the strongest from any other race.” → Bonny
Bonny explained one thing after the other.
“… I see. But it seems there are still some features of a demon visible on her. She’s literally half dragoon-half demon?” → Bonny
Ryu was still surprised.
“There are some demons that have genes much stronger than the norm. Such races are normally strong tribes or huge families, and the only one that resembles most of her features is the Diablo Family, which is an infamous family of demons, extremely cruel, bloodthirsty, merciless and the kind that would use anything for their own benefits. This is one of the strongest clans inside the Eihwaz continent. Some say they are right below the Demon Lord’s family.” → Lilia
Lilia explained in a serious and cool voice.
“T-that’s quite the news you gave us.” → Maru
Maru the pig gulped, feeling a little nervous now.
“… I traveled some time with Lissa and I wasn’t able to feel anything evil from her, beside her devilish appearance.” → Ryu
Ryu said while thinking some more.
“That was before she awakened her demonic powers. Now she has the [Blood Energy] characteristic only to the Diablo family… Also, to sustain such enormous powers, the Diablo clan needs a ‘Blood Bag’. They will suck the blood from living beings to recover their energy and get stronger even if the respective ‘Blood Bag’ is a fellow demon. This is also a reason why they are viewed as such a tyrannical family.” → Lilia
Lilia explained in a serious tone.
“Suck blood?!”
Everyone had their eyes wide open in shock.
“Yes. And if she can’t control this power then she might become just like any other Diablo member, thirsty for blood and murder.” → Lilia
“L-let’s wish Gregor will be able to handle this…” → Severus
Severus said while feeling his back turn cold.
Oh, wow. Now we have something like a vampire between us. So such living beings really do exist. → Ryu
Ryu didn’t know how to feel about this.
“…”
While everyone scratched their brains in thinking what to do with these two abnormal characters, Maru looked outside the window and saw Shiroko on top of the walls.
“… I wonder how we should help Miss Shiroko after experiencing such a tragedy… I heard from Gregor she was too stunned from the sudden betrayal to even defend herself at that time.” → Maru
Maru said with concern in his voice.
“Sigh Miss Shiroko is still too immature it seems. She almost lost her life just because she was too conflicted. At such times, she should have at least started to run away, not stay there like an idiot.” → Bernard
Bernard said with some irritation.
“Bernard! How can you say that?! Miss Shiroko had to go through all that when she saw them like her true companions! Of course, she would be devastated.” → Fiora
Fiora shouted at Bernard in a reproachful tone.
“Even so, she could’ve at least ran away from the danger. Staying there like that only gave Sir Gregor more problems.” → Lilia
Lilia shook her head.
“O-oy, let’s calm down… Please?” → Maru
Maru tried to calm down everyone but to no avail.
“Lilia you too?!” → Fiora
Fiora’s eyes started to tear when Bonny made a step forward.
“Please stop this. As a fellow player, I can understand her feelings. In our world, things like massacres or mass betrayal, which could endanger your life were almost nonexistent. No, the idea of killing so in the open was already uncommon, let alone mass-murder. Her reaction is something completely normal for a young maiden of only 21 years old. In my world, someone our age would focus on studying, search for love and maybe a part-time job to pay the rent or some other stuff that youngsters do. The idea of having your life in peril was close to non-existent and suddenly acquiring this kind of lifestyle would confuse anyone, be them great people or just some children. Me, Ryu, or Master Shen are no difference.” → Bonny
“Hmm. Then how come Gregor was able to react in such a composed manner?” → Gerome
Gerome asked out of pure curiosity.
“He told me he did some military camps before. He’s around 30 years old and I heard from him after he finished school, he was forced by his father to go in a military champ for at least 5 years. Because he showed some skills he had to stay 3 more years than the others. In the end, he stood in that champ for around 8 years, wasting his youth and the chance of finding a lover.” → Ryu
Ryu said with a wry smile.
That also explains his reservation when it comes to women. → Ryu
While the upper ranks of the Kingdom talked inside the King’s room (Ryu’s office), Shiroko looked at the horizon from atop the walls while Gregor and Lissa returned to their little house.
Gregor felt more and more tired. While protecting the two girls, he had to overexert his meridians by circulating huge amounts of chi through them, so he could focus it on the impact-zone all around his body. This also affected his mental strength after being overused. Doing such things in a fight is already impressive while having to activate this defensive method against waves after waves of strikes it’s already a titanic effort. Needing to read the movements of the enemy and guess where the attack will land then focus the chi in that place, doing this more times per second is something that not many could do, already reaching foretelling.
“…”
Lissa looked at Gregor’s tired face and felt her heartache. She also started to feel more and more irritated after she remembered how she lost his arm.
“If only that idiot would’ve run away at that time. What the hell was she thinking, staying there waiting to be encircled!” → Lissa
“Sigh~ Lissa, if you’re mad for me then I’ll ask you to stop wasting your breath. For someone who comes from my world, her reaction was completely normal. More than 80% of the population from my world would have reacted the same after witnessing such a tragedy.” → Gregor
Gregor felt saddened for Shiroko. He was able to understand her pain, more or less.
“Grrr why are you defending her?! You should’ve just left her there to die on her own! Look what happened to you! You lost an arm, an ear and I think that eye is also unusable anymore now!” → Lissa
Lissa snapped and started to lash out mean words one after the other while Gregor looked at her with a calm face.
After calming down she finally realized what happened and looked at Gregor with apologetic eyes.
“Have you calmed down now?” → Gregor
Gregor asked with his calm voice and a neutral face.
Lissa flinched at his neutral face and looked like a child that did something wrong. She stared downward, not saying anything while feeling sorry for her outburst.
“Ah… Why are you suddenly so aggressive, Lissa? Does it has something to do with that weird power you suddenly got?” → Gregor
Gregor asked while reaching out to hold her hand.
After hearing what Gregor said, Lissa felt anxious and when he touched her hand she reacted by reflex.
“Don’t touch me!” → Lissa
She jumped up and retracted her hand. After that, she felt distressed again and grabbed her head with conflicted feelings.
I-I can’t let him find out what I am. If he finds out, he’ll surely hate me. → Lissa
While Lissa was in her thoughts, Gregor felt even more confused. He tried again to enter in a conversation with Lissa and made a step forward.
“Lissa, if there is something wrong then please tell me. Do you think I asked you to marry me just because I felt lonely? I did so because I finally understood that I love you. That’s why I’m saying, if you know something about that red light around you then please do tell me. Maybe like this, I could help with something.” → Gregor
Gregor reached out his hand in front of Lissa.
“…”
Lissa looked at Gregor with pained eyes. She didn’t know what to say or do. She saw his hand and she wanted to reach out when a sudden pain stabbed at her head repeatedly.
“Ugh!”
Her head started to throb and she felt her energy circulation suddenly change the way it normally flowed.
“AAH!”
Lissa screamed from the pain. Her eyes became redder and started to glow while her canines grew to like those of a beast.
“Lissa! What’s happening?!” → Gregor
Gregor started to worry after seeing Lissa in pain then he became completely anxious after she shouted out and saw the changes on her face.
W-what’s happening?! Why is she like this?! → Gregor
“Lissa! Please get a hold of yourself!” → Gregor
“Ragh!”
Suddenly, Lissa pouched on top of Gregor and pushed him down on the wooden floor inside his room.
“Ugh… Lissa?” → Gregor
Gregor was stunned when he saw the wild look on Lissa’s eyes. It was as if she suddenly became a bloodthirsty beast.
Am I going to die… by the hands of the one I love? → Gregor
Gregor suddenly felt a twisting pain in his heart at such a thought. He worried sick at what Lissa would do once she found out what she did.
At least make it so I won’t die right away. I must not let her do something foolish after! → Gregor
-Bite-
“Wah?!”
Suddenly, Lissa bit Gregor’s neck nape and started to suck.
Suddenly feeling a light pain then her soft and moist lips on his neck, made Gregor shout in surprise and embarrassment. He expected her to kill him, not to bite his neck.
Lissa continued to suck on his blood and Gregor felt more and more tired, getting dried out from the blood.
Ugh… If she continues like this, I might seriously die… → Gregor
Gregor then patted her head and said.
“If this is how I can be of some help to you, then I don’t mind… but please drink with moderation, I will do you no good If I die here.” → Gregor
He tried to choose his words with care so he won’t anger her again.
“Mmmph~ Poah~.”
She released his neck then she started licking her lips, her eyes shining with a happy and fulfilled glint.
“…!”
After sucking enough blood to make Gregor feel like he’ll need to stay in bed for another 2 days, she finally regained consciousness and looked at him with shock in her eyes.
“Thank you for letting some for myself, how do you feel now? Any better?” → Gregor
Gregor smiled and reached out his hand to caress her cheek. His eyes were blurry and he could barely see her but he was able to discern her silhouette.
Feeling his affectionate touch on her cheek and the taste of blood in her mouth, Lissa’s eyes started to tear up and she shakily grabbed his arm with an apologetic look.
“I’m… Sorry…” → Lissa
She tried to talk but the sobbing made it difficult for her.
Gregor smiled then said.
“It seems you’re still a child. Please help me get in bed, tomorrow I wish to hear everything. I have at least this much right, no?” → Gregor
“Ugh… Fine.” → Lissa
Lissa helped Gregor to get up then placed him on the bed. She felt extremely apologetic but she saw him too weakened to be able to talk so she thought of waiting for the next day.
“Eh? Hya?!”
Suddenly, she felt a hand grabbing hers and pulling her strongly. She landed right beside Gregor on top of his bed. He covered both of them with his blanket then he closed his eyes, having now beside him a dumbfounded Lissa.
“G-Gregor?” → Lissa
“As my future wife, is there something wrong with sleeping together?” → Gregor
Gregor asked without opening his eyes. He embraced Lissa in his arm and smelled her hair.
“You smell especially strong today. It seems that even your smell has changed.” → Gregor
He continued to sniff her, making her more and more embarrassed.
She reddened like a tomato and tried to get off the bed.
“T-then I should go and clean-” → Lissa
She wanted to get off his bed and go to wash. She felt extremely embarrassed to be told such by Gregor but he simply grabbed her again and pulled her back in his arms.
“Kya!”
Again?! → Lissa
“Why do you need to wash? I love this smell. It’s sweet, like jam of roses… Ah, now I really wish to eat some jam.” → Gregor
This time his face landed on her chest but he was too dizzy to feel embarrassed and he simply fell asleep while mumbling something in her chest.
“…”
Lissa was surprised by his words and even more by his actions.
He seems more aggressive when he’s dizzy rather than when he’s awake… I wonder how he’ll react when he’s drunk. → Lissa
Her frivolous thoughts resurrected but she simply hugged Gregor back and fell asleep together with him, trying not to do anything that might wake him up.
