"Argh!"
I finally ran out of breath and choked, bringing Vermeil back to her senses. Her eyes turned fiery as she asked with seething anger in her voice.
"What did you do? What the hell did you do to our young Miss?!"
As she shook my cuff, I managed to take in a breath of air for a moment, enabling myself to utter a few words.
"I-I can... explain..."
"Then do so while you still have the chance!"
The angry goddess shouted back in reply, not showing any sign of letting go.
I raised my hand and tapped on the arm holding me up. Although I was reluctant, I had to do it, or else I would die of asphyxiation. With the tap, I sent my Violent Energy inside her body, ramming at a dense point and disturbing the flow of her energy.
A moment of weightlessness.
I fell from her grip as she dropped to one knee. A drop of blood could be seen seeping from the corner of her mouth as her body trembled. Her eyes stared at me in anger and disbelief. I coughed roughly as I stared back at her, not losing my spirit.
"W-What did you do to me...? How could someone as weak as you injure me, a god-level tamer?"
Although still fuming, she asked.
Thinking normally, a tamer around the fourth or fifth level shouldn't be able to cause any sort of damage to someone like her, who already transcends what a normal mortal could reach.
"Before that, *Cough* Let me explain myself."
I took deep breaths, calming my coughing fit. Then, I slowly said it with a face as serious as I could show.
"I have an inkling as to what happened to the three of them, but I honestly don't have an idea as to why it happened."
I slowly relayed what the system messages said and what I heard. I even added some explanations here and there. However, everyone listening still had question marks above their heads.
"... In short, the three of them awakened an old God Bloodline and were transformed?"
Vermeil asked, calming down a little after hearing the explanation. However, she seemed to still doubt my claims. At that moment, Wan Li and Wan Er came to the rescue, reinforcing the information I just gave.
"We did hear the sound of the system before everything happened. It also matched what Will just said..."
Wan Li said as she stared forward, refusing to get out of the water.
"Rather, this is amazing! I feel more powerful in this appearance than before!"
Wan Er was optimistic about their transformation, even when they didn't know if they could return to humans or not.
"..."
Vermeil stared at the three of them. She was probably churning the information she just heard inside her head, looking for the best course of action to take. After a few seconds of silence, she finally spoke once more.
"... For now, I called someone else who's better fit to address this problem."
As she declared that, behind her, a large white rectangular portal appeared. From it, a woman, followed by dozens of men in black suits, entered. The woman wore a traditional white Hanfu with blue highlights and gold linings. Her silvery white hair flowed behind her, chasing her back as it waved while she walked.
"Lady Meng Yao, it is as you've heard. What should we do?"
Vermeil knelt on one knee as she greeted the woman, Ying Yue's mother, Lady Luo Meng Yao.
She ignored Vermeil and stared at me, her eyes narrowing down to slits. Inside my head, I could hear a voice ordering me to kowtow. However, I could see no telepathic energy or any indications that she was using a skill to control my mind.
The voice seemed to be coming from deep within me, from my own blood. I didn't notice it before, but now that my mental power was stronger, I could detect the powerful bloodline suppression that she was releasing. A powerful command was trying to control my body and make me kowtow before her.
"Khh!"
I gritted my teeth as I fell to one knee, resisting the urge. Seeing this, Lady Luo snorted as she covered her mouth with her golden folding fan.
"Hmm. It looks like you got a lot stronger while we haven't met. You can even resist my bloodline suppression now."
As she muttered this, her eyes wandered, as if searching for something, before stopping at where the three girls were. I could hear a faint gasp as she stared without blinking for a few seconds.
"My god... My daughter... What..."
She whispered words that echoed all around the silent hall. Ying Yue, who finally gathered her wits, noticed the presence of her mother and muttered, "M... Mother...?"
The pupils in her eyes keep on dilating and then shrinking in an unstable manner, showing that she has yet to get used to the changes in her body. A moment later, a teardrop fell as she sobbed.
"Mother... I... Did I become a monster...?"
A sharp gasp echoed as Lady Luo dropped her fan and rushed to her daughter. She grabbed her into an embrace and gently patted her head, bypassing the two horns that appeared on top of it.
"Shh... Don't worry. Leave everything to your mother."
She gently appeased her daughter as she continued patting her head. I felt awkward, though. Seeing how they act, I can't help but feel like I've become the villain.
As the mother was comforting her daughter, the men in black carefully surrounded me, preventing me from escaping. I couldn't move anyway, as the bloodline suppression was still going strong.
After Ying Yue's sobbing stopped, she fell asleep. Her body probably needed to rest to reset completely and adjust to her new appearance.
With her daughter asleep, Lady Luo turned back to me, her gaze cold and angry.
"Kneel!"
Her words echoed heavily, probably through the use of some sort of skill.
Everyone before her fell to their knees, including the other members of the Seimei, the men in black, and even Goddess Vermeil. This was an extremely powerful command, making it hard for me to hold on.
As I was about to let go and surrender to the whims of my body, a voice echoed inside my head.
[It looks like this is getting dangerous for you. You already manage a Servant Contract, so you shouldn't feel much burden after this. Let me help a bit.]
As the voice finished, a golden sigil appeared behind me, eliminating the pressure covering my body.
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