Chapter 188: Vampire?
I was definitely not prepared for Valletta’s sudden change in attitude...
It wasn’t just me either since I could tell Olivia was also quite surprised by her sudden change as well.
I raised an eyebrow at her, "Umm... Are you alright?"
She raised up her hand to lick along her index finger which I only just realised ended in rather long fingernails.
"Mmm~ So much better~ Way better than how you were holding yourself back earlier~"
"What are you talking about?"
"Ahhh~ I could taste your power~ Yet you were suppressing it so much I thought if I were to goad you a little, you might release some of your power~ And here it is~"
Her hand went to the sides of her cheeks and she was giving a rather weird look where her pupils seemed to be dilated and looking out into the distance, her body visibly shivering.
Err... Is this woman really ok?
I figured that talking to her in that state probably would bring more questions than answers so I decided to just ignore her.
And since all the Anomalies here have already been defeated, I relaxed myself and turned to the others, intending to ask Olivia if this was the end of the test.
Unexpectedly, Valletta let out a shriek and a crazed look settled on her face as she reached out to try and grab me.
"Nooo!! Please!! Just a little bit more!! Do you know how much I have been starved these past few years?!! Just a while more!! Please!!!"
I instinctively dodged her, but that didn’t stop her as she tried to grab me again.
That was when I realised her eyes had turned into slits and I could feel a really oppressive aura coming from her.
I held up my hand and surprisingly, she actually stopped.
"Hold on a minute... What are you talking about? What do you want?"
"Your essence, please!! I’ve never tasted life so rich, so thick, so absolutely delicious!! Yours is the best I have ever tasted!! I’ve yearned so long for this and I have finally found one that can sate my thirst!! Please!! I’ve held back for so long!!"
The only thing I understood was that she was most likely talking about my life essence or my Qi. Probably when I’m concentrating or using my full strength, I would leak out some of my Qi and that’s what she is ’tasting’.
I frowned at her, "So... You’re a vampire?"
She shuddered, "Please... Just let me have some of that essence... I really can’t hold myself back longer than this..."
She actually looked quite pathetic with how she was tearing up and sniffling at me, all the traces of that dignified and proud woman from earlier completely gone and nowhere to be found.
Feeling a little sorry for her, I sucked in a breath and focused on my core, allowing my life energy to leak out to coat myself with a layer of it surrounding my body.
She gasped and her face changed back into that same one where she clutched her face with her hands with her eyes rolling slightly back in its sockets while she let out a rather lewd moan.
I couldn’t help but feel a shudder go down my spine at the sight of that and this time, I could feel some of the life energy I was releasing flowing into her.
There was no doubt about it, she was definitely a vampire of sorts... Probably not the same type of vampire as the ones in our own legends but she is the type that sucks life from others in order to sate herself...
I kept the flow of energy going for a while more before shutting it off and it seems like that was enough for her as she didn’t freak out like how she did earlier and even let out a sigh of satisfaction.
I’m pretty sure I wasn’t imagining it but it looks like her skin wasn’t as pale as before... Though it was still pale as snow right now.
She straightened herself and gave me an actual genuine smile, "Thank you. You do not know how long I have starved for this."
"Err... You’re welcome?"
The woman then turned back and raised her hand, right as Olivia appeared in front of her with her fist raised.
She punched at Valletta and the woman might have been obliterated by that punch if she hadn’t raised one of her metal balls to reform it into a shield that blocked Olivia’s blow.
Surprisingly, the metal shield held against Olivia’s punch which I was sure she had not used her full strength to strike at her, but it was still a rather strong punch.
The only thing that happened was Valletta being sent skidding back a few feet but she remained standing upright despite how far she moved away from me.
Olivia pulled back her fist and encased it with lightning before shooting it at the vampire woman.
Even in the face of that, Valletta still had a look of aloofness as she flicked her hand and moved the metal balls in front of her.
The balls melded together to form into a rod and the lightning was redirected to the rod and channeled to the ground instead of reaching her.
"Wait! Stop!" I called out, prompting the red Oni to pause, her other fist still raised in the air. "Why are you suddenly attacking her?!"
Olivia kept her eyes on her as she stood protectively in front of me, "She just drained you, my Lord... She is most definitely trying to get close to you to absorb your powers from you and use them against you."
"E... Eh? ’Lord’?" Liliac muttered from behind us.
I wondered if that was a slip of the tongue from Olivia’s side but I don’t think it was and more like her deciding that there was no point in hiding it right now.
Valletta flicked her hair with her hand, "Ahhhh~ I see we have finally stopped pretending here. How long were you holding back as well, red demon?"
Olivia scowled at her, "You already knew?"
"Hmmm~ Know what? That he was the Mortal God? Of course I did. The first time I met him, I already figured out that he was divine. No mortal could have life essence that thick and filled with divine energy."
"So you’re here to drain him and take his powers for yourself?"
Now it was Valletta’s turn to scowl at Olivia, "What? Did you really think that was what I was trying to do? You’re more stupid than I thought."
Olivia moved her fist behind her, focusing lightning into it, "I read your files. I know you can drain power from your victims, am I wrong?"
"Hmph... I see you have done your research. It is true, but doing so kills them. I have no intention of killing my Master."
At this point, everyone around froze up.
The lightning around Olivia’s fist intensified, "What do you mean by that?"
"I see you’ve not done your full research. I have no obligation to tell you in that case. All you need to know is that I have no intention of killing the Mortal God, that you have nothing to worry about."
"And you draining him?"
"Nothing that will deal permanent damage to him. It’s merely his stamina that I am draining so it would be like he did a workout of sorts, not that he permanently lost strength. You could even say that I am strengthening him by doing so as his body will adapt to this and grow."
Oh, sort of like the draining of my life energy from my core that I figured out not too long ago? If she can help me do that as well, I’m not going to say no either.
I cleared my throat, "It’s alright, Olivia... I believe she is telling the truth."
Olivia clearly did not trust her but she obeyed me and straightened herself, dispelling her lightning.
"As you command, my Lord."
Valletta broke the lightning rod apart to return into their metal ball forms, "Hmm~ Had I been weaker, I would have been dead. Are you in the habit of indiscriminately killing people just because you don’t like them, red demon?"
"I will do what I must to protect my Lord. Even if my opponent is a life parasite."
I could see the sparks between the two of them as they glared at each other.
Damn... And here I was thinking that they might actually be on good terms after this test...
"So... So it’s true then?" A soft voice came from behind.
We turned to see the elf looking straight at me, her face still obscured under her good while she seemed to be reaching a shaky hand towards me.
"You... You really are the Mortal God?"
Well... I guess at this point there’s no point to hide it so I summoned my floating arms above me to confirm my identity.
"Yes. I am the Mortal God."
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