223 [Bonus chapter] Chapter 223: Stage Six.... Bitter Choice [2]
"The simple fact is..."
"I fell in love with a guy not even half my age... but as if that didn't already seem a hard challenge to win his heart, he has the harem from hell following after him like it was an amusement park..."
'He's gotten a lot more enthusiastic about biting me... Not to say, not in a good way...!'
"Ghuk..."
Laura couldn't stop the feeling of sickness growing within her chest as a foreign object invaded.
Her left hand felt him, now holding the left side of her chest as her body held against his while her blood flowed.
No word in the language of man or elves could describe the painful sensation of the tiny blades piercing their way through the inner workings of her body, breaking the small capillary and vein walls to continue feeding the growing mutant.
*Throb*
She began to see stars, and red and black filled her vision.
'No! I'm still...not... Ugh! Give it... give it to you.'
'You need it... Need my essence!.'
With eyes blurred by both her determination and tears of pain, she tried to call out.
"Let this blood reach wherever it is, you think... is your destination!"
His movements were violent, greedy for the taste of his prey.
*Strip*
As they both rolled in the mud, he grabbed her breasts like a starving wolf devouring them, leaving marks across the entire area.
The soft skin of her neck turned into a patchwork quilt of biting, scratches and tearing claws; she knew the one thing keeping him from the last remnants of her essence, the main artery and veins of her neck, were a layer of sturdy skin and bone.
But time seemed to stop momentarily when she noticed the water drops rolling down his cheek, appearing more prominent in the darkness and illuminated by the dim lights and starry sky behind them.
"The fact you can shed tears... It means my choice wasn't wrong, right? You always said you wanted to enjoy my taste."
'My emotions, life and body aren't in a lie.'
"Go ahead; feed until your thirst has subsided."
Laura spoke with hoarse words like sandpaper brushing along flesh, but the sight of his eyes, no longer bulging but filled with emotions, made her feel a sense of victory; his grasp became less violent and more like the caress of something precious. She didn't ask or question why he continued to devour her.
They both knew either would die and if he stopped, they would.
Her vision cleared enough for her to notice something between his hair and the scales forming along his head.
White teeth, long and sharp like beautiful fangs, were pushing through the black teeth; the veins that were so volatile before began to wrap together and twist into a more pleasant shape, no longer pressing against his skin that began to peel away.
'Something good must have happened. He is also evolving.'
'Letting me be a part of it...'
A weak, bloodied smile rose along the edge of her mouth as she lifted his jaw with her feeble left hand, weakly feeling like something was gathering within him from her essence.
'Those girls...I wonder if he will end up loving them more, or did I have a chance? Either way, I don't want them...To suffer worse... Then what I'm enduring, trying to resist... him...'
Even as he tried to move closer to the deepest parts of her, she resisted and lifted her head, one final selfish gesture as she kissed his still-mutated lips, tasting her blood from them.
'He is certainly a selfish lover but in an unexpected way... a warm heart and soft lips despite looking inhuman now.'
With her life almost gone, and his fingers wrapped around his hair in the motion of a beast clinging on, she stared with a fading vision at the one man, perhaps mutant now, she thought the world of, a true monster but one that held his heart out for everyone, selflessly, an equal treat.
Her eyes focused on the warm smile appearing within the misty colours, and then no longer could she stay conscious...
Laura lost the battle.
To her final thoughts of dying with his taste lingering along her tongue, she felt him removing his hand.
And simultaneously, her ears detected the cries and cursing voices from behind his position.
No words, but she could feel his lamenting from their connection, one that never existed due to her deceitful heart.
'Ah... did I finally become one of your true Vesta... Ironic, it was this simple...'
Laura let a soundless smile linger as the last part of the Alex she had a dream about turned towards the distance, his eyes flickering for a moment.
Then he held her fragile and now limp body close as if she were fragile and the wind would steal her away.
A manly, beautiful voice reached the elf's dying ear, filled with more vitality than anything.
"Thank you."
Those words alone helped her feel complete and satisfied with what she offered, what she could give him for helping her when no one else would.
The warmth she sensed in his arms made Laura think of home, a place far away yet strange and welcoming.
'No, I'd rather wait in a place for him.'
"Even in death... even if death is eternal, I will keep loving you..."
Then, finally, she felt her heart stopping, and darkness fell.
Only she never disappeared.
"Don't worry... You can rely on me from now and forever... So don't think of me going anywhere, not yet... not ever."
-
Sparks and red mist-like mana appeared before everyone.
The overwhelming energy carried the scent of blood.
It brought everyone to a state of awe, knowing one thing.
A sacrifice had been offered.
Those close could detect a distinct change from Alex, something else causing a large influx of information and energy as his body was bathed in energy and a cold red light like burning metal.
After a short delay, an eye-opening scene began.
Every fragment, tiny particle or droplet of energy carried a destructive and potent wave of power, wrapping the many corpses in a vivid dance of death.
Every cell began to move frantically, seeking to become closer to this phenomenon.
Catching the essence that entered the air, Alex absorbed it instantly, the thickening of mana spreading to each organism it touched and swarming like the ocean tide seeking their fate.
Vibrant crimson orbs, dull and lifeless moments before, sprang open with a mysterious lust and hunger as they flooded his body while he caught them, forcing them into Laura's body.
Laura was empty and dying, a void for something, anything to fill.
'If Laura was giving up her body, at least let this offer save her...'
Alex didn't care to spare any portion for anything else.
The whole blood-red mist vanished, and not a second later, a forceful shockwave burst from his position, forcing those close to cover their heads with arms.
A chaotic and unstable surge of energy, more vibrant than ever, forced every organism apart as though seeking to birth something or cleanse his existence.
It was more than just evolution or mutation; this was a rebirth.
The rebirth of two.
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