Chapter 68: Her poisoned heart
Other entrances went through different development.
Leon couldn't possibly have three more scarlet foxes like Louise, right?
And while others couldn't efficiently deal with the darkness like her, everyone had their own advantages against them. The black asura faced many things, but those that met Leon's slaves had it the worst.
It was because Leon didn't care about them.
If he enslaves someone, that person either has to be connected to The Human Emperor, like Louise or Celes or must have pointed his weapon at him, aiming for his or his friends' lives. In both cases, Leon didn't like slavery, but only the former received a chance to obtain freedom.
The latter became his momentary power — units that he'd gladly sacrifice.
And if he could save his traps for the future, why would Leon not turn his slaves into suicidal freaks? He ordered them to fight without thinking about their lives, commanding them like an emperor to cast their lives away for him!
With the fake and forced loyalty etched in their hearts and souls, the slaves obliged all commands.
"Come here, you sneaky fucks! I'll show you what's the ass for!" said a male slave with an oddly shaped mustache, licking his dripping saliva.
Another one shouted in a cheerful voice. "Come with me to the basement! I'll show you nice cats!"
"You'd rather have fun with a sexy lady like me, wouldn't you? Reveal yourselves! I'll squeeze you into my bosom and give you a soft and breathless death…" said another woman that reminded Leon of the slut from the inn's queue event.
Speaking of those people, it was amusing how Leon hadn't met Erectile Dysfunction Team. But everyone in the world had limited chances to interact with the man of the peak humanity's body. They had used their chance in the worst way, with the man barking and the slut trying out her luck.
No one knew what had happened to them now. Maybe the man with the broad sword had already died, and his slut went to someone else, spreading her worthless legs.
Leon casually thought about them once in the spirit realm, for he'd expected them to actually chase after him.
But now that the events of the Tehmezhya Region were about to be done, he went all out with this fortress, focusing on leaving the realm with the best spoil — the dwarf.
Still, the army of the slaves was a force to be reckoned with! Their numbers filled the corridor, threatening to kill the black asura through their weight, for everyone stomped on the darkness. The black asura couldn't simply reveal themselves because that would mean they'd suffocate to death.
And now that all forces crowded the entrance, the black asura could no longer even think of leaving their darkness. The problem was that their mana had been running out! They focused mostly on their health points and external wounds, making their mana a low priority.
That came to bite them in the ass — an asinine choice.
The same thing happened at another entrance.
Spirit Monsters crawled on the walls, flew within the corridors, and rushed back and forth like maddened bulls — their numbers overwhelming the black asura. Even here, Leon had decided to save on his traps, blaming himself for expecting more challenges.
His class was enough against those people, and his plan to invite him here was the best idea so far.
Only one person decided to use his traps.
Celes Diamante.
It wasn't because Celes needed them to deal with her enemies. If she wanted, she'd be able to face them in her usual way, but things had changed since her last battle. Now, Celes thought about herself and her desires, with the main concept of biting her enemies' necks going through her little head.
Moreover, her newest item was not just your usual item.
[Veronica B. Jade's Battle Uniform(Growth)(Legendary) - a part of the battle equipment specially created for The Vampire Queen, Veronica B. Jade. Woven by Arachne, The Spider Queen, who had used bloody threads, the uniform significantly increases blood-related skills, gives a user a new skill, [Blood Web], and enhances the stats.]
[You are eligible to read the hidden information: If you learn all of the equipment's skills and it suits you, thee shall become the next vampire queen.]
Donned in that red-black uniform, Celes stood like Louise, awaiting her enemies. She had recalled the spider queen because of her name written in her uniform's description, having pleasant thoughts as that girl had been nice to talk with. As for the hidden information, Celes had ignored it.
She focused on her matters.
The darkness soon went through her boots, threatening to suck her in. But the vampires remained unfazed, glaring ahead with her shining red eyes gathering the attention of her enemies. Those were naturally hidden in their [Cloak Of Darkness], but Celes didn't have problems noticing their presence.
In the end, those guys were still around her. It wasn't like they could move through walls or change location with that skill of theirs. At most, they could hide and summon their skills through it to fight their opponents.
That was what they had done.
But as Celes had already spread her bats around, those little creatures screeched, ushering their own element — the sound. It created so many vibrations that the darkness flickered, and the black asura's skills missed her.
The black asura hadn't stopped. They kept creeping their way to the vampiress.
Unfortunately for them, Celes had decided to use some traps. The ground shook and split, revealing a black pitch hole that seemed bottomless. If a normal human fell, he'd turn into a bloody mess. In the black asura's case, they could simply go down through their darkness pool, then climb up to face the vampiress.
But that would severely slow them down.
Additionally, they realized that Celes knew exactly their location, for she'd activated that trap.
In this case, they could only leave their darkness and face her head-on.
Appearing outside, the three men threw themselves at the vampiress and locked their skills on her limbs. Many black hands shot up like arrows, barreling into her.
Celes remained rooted on the ground. Her old self would've hurled a skill at those guys and distanced herself to fight them with a 'hit and run' tactic. She'd also pour all of her mana into one bat and rapidly attack one of them, leveraging its quick speed and size.
But the current her chose a different way.
Lifting her hand, Celes ordered all of her bats to fly forward. Those little creatures rapidly flapped their wings and smashed themselves against the black asura. With their numbers, scratching all three black asura was given.
Celes activated her newest skill, [Blood Web], and small threads spread around those scratches like a web, slowing and sucking out the black asura's blood. Swatting away those threads didn't help.
The black asura also didn't have time to deal with that skill.
Celes appeared before them as though teleporting, then elbowed the man's torso. Before the sound of his ribs breaking filled Celes' ears, she made a quick ninety-degree rotation and smashed the back of the man's head, bringing him down. Following a certain fox's style, Celes raised her leg and sent another man flying.
He slammed into a wall, then fell.
The last one managed to actually stop Celes.
Black hands coiled around the vampiress' arm, rooting her to the ground. Those tried to rip apart her arm and severely wound her…
But Celes just glanced at the man and smiled. "You're weak. I was just trying out new stuff… And I also must check something…"
"New stuff?" The man coldly glared back, not expecting another trap beneath him. Spikes went through him, immobilizing his dark body.
He was like a shashlyk.
And Celes actually wanted to eat his neck! She easily yanked off his black arms.
Inspired by Her Highness, Celes trod to her prey, then took a bundle of his hair into her little hand. She lifted his face, then gouged out his eyes, for that man couldn't look at her from so close. At last, she leaned down and took a quick bite of his neck, one of the softest parts of the human's body.
She didn't sink her teeth into him for a long time, for once again, this man wasn't worthy of that.
With his flesh in her mouth, Celes' eyes expanded, shimmering with an unknown until now ecstasy. With blood streaming down her throat, it felt so good to munch on someone's flesh. More blood spouted each time she squeezed that soft piece between her teeth, filling her mouth in abundance.
She moaned, covering her face. "So good… Not as good… as Master's blood… But so satisfying… Like good booze. Master's is much better… Yes, he's… His blood will never… I'll never allow that!"
[Because of your feelings, your skill Blood Web has evolved.]
Although Celes hadn't made that clear to Leon, she was inwardly troubled by biting others. But because it was a desire from a far past and something she could never disclose to anyone, it had won over her in her new life. Leon also told her to be herself and not hold back, for no one ordered her now.
He also just told her to not eat his and Louise's necks.
Celes followed his advice.
But now that she gulped down the flesh and drank all of the man's blood, her conscience flickered with many thoughts. She felt so damn dirty, so dirty that she couldn't help but feel more troubled than ever.
All of it was because Celes had developed a genuine liking for her master.
[Let the bats drink the blood. Never sully your teeth, hearts, and your bodies. You're of a royal breed, pristine red jewels — unattainable by anyone… You belong to me.]
That no longer applied to her.
Celes slowly wheeled to another prey that had been bitten by her bats, with bloody webs riddling him. Those webs immobilized him, sucking his blood and strength. He couldn't properly look at Celes, for his vision shook, but he still caught a glimpse of her wide and crazy smile.
That expression genuinely frightened him, for he felt worse than an animal, like a breeding stock.
The vampiress saddled him and bit his neck.
And as she munched on a soft piece of flesh, Celes again covered her gorgeous face with her hands. But this time, red threads came out from beneath her nails, extending.
Those caught her attention.
[Your skill Blood Web has evolved.]
[You can make Bloody Threads by eating people's flesh.]
"Ah, it's for Master!" Celes screamed like a crazy girl in love who would kill anyone for her beloved. She treated those threads with affection and care, stuffing them inside her inventory.
Then, she ate for the last time.
And as she left the corridor, her expression returned back to normal. Celes fished out a handkerchief from her inventory and wiped dripping blood off her lips and chin. She washed her mouth with her favorite booze, then went back to her master's side as though nothing had happened.
But her heart kept racing and drumming within her. Her teeth had been sullied a few times now… And now, Celes understood that her heart had been utterly poisoned, too. But like her favorite booze, that poison was hella good.
She liked that. She loved that.
But because her 'killer mode' greatly influenced her usual self, Celes knew she was in quite a troubling situation. In fact, it worried her more than she thought.
She had never screamed like that, let alone because of someone. "I'll have to work on that… A new style, a poisoned heart… And when I control all of that, I'll dirty myself more… with master…."
At that point, Celes knew she was done, so she shut her lips — she felt so weird talking like that. It wasn't like she was playing around: those were her genuine words.
Moreover, not only did she need to move on from her previous life, but her master, too.
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