Chapter 152: The Man Who Interested the Saintess |
Leon silently allowed Weiss to suck blood from the wound on this side of his neck. Weiss was extremely absorbed in drinking his blood, but Leon found it difficult to stay focused.
The current situation was like this: earlier, he truly had not thought much about it. The image of a Blood Kin sucking blood had naturally surfaced in his mind, and he had instinctively exposed his neck.
This posture was not much different from embracing someone while kissing their neck. His chin was practically brushing against Weiss’s cheek. At the spot where his neck was being bitten, he could clearly feel the warmth of Weiss’s lips and tongue. Every time her breath brushed past his neck, it brought a ticklish sensation across his skin.
The feeling was not unpleasant, but it was indeed rather awkward. Besides, there was nothing he could do right now except stand there motionless.
However, after some time passed, he could not help but grow worried. Even a werewolf’s physique could not withstand continuous blood loss forever. He had hidden here in order to recover enough strength to continue escaping. If he lost too much blood, he might not even have the strength to flee later.
“Um, hasn’t this been going on a little too long?” Leon softly tried asking.
Under these circumstances, he did not dare casually call out the other party’s name. Right now, knights across the entire city were searching for Weiss.
Weiss gave no response, as though she had heard nothing at all. She remained engrossed in sucking blood from the wound on his neck, even faintly showing signs of hugging Leon tighter.
“Stop for a moment first.” Leon tried to push Weiss away, but he felt a slight resistance. She even licked at his wound reluctantly.
“Hah, hah, hah…” Weiss panted heavily while Leon held her shoulders down. Leon’s crimson blood still stained her lips, forming a striking contrast against her snow-pale complexion.
After a moment passed, the red glow bursting from her eyes dimmed somewhat, and she finally regained her senses.
“Sorry, sorry!” Realizing what she had just done, Weiss apologized repeatedly and hurriedly used the Blessing of Exhaust Blood to stop Leon’s bleeding.
Seeing that a trace of blood still remained on Leon’s neck, she instinctively reached out and wiped it away for him without thinking under the influence of guilt.
Then she stared blankly at the blood staining her fingertips for a moment. As if possessed by some inexplicable impulse, she extended her tongue and licked her fingertips clean, licking away even that small amount of blood.
When she came back to herself, she discovered Leon staring at her with a mixture of surprise and awkwardness.
“It’s not that, I just… didn’t want to waste it…” Weiss stammered in explanation.
“Oh…” Leon could only respond like that.
Whether intentional or not, that action had been far too suggestive.
And even disregarding that little movement just now, merely recalling the feeling of them being pressed together while biting at his neck was enough to make it impossible for them to look directly at each other.
The memory surged back of her clinging tightly to him under the influence of Blood Addiction Symptoms, sucking and licking at his neck while refusing to let go. Weiss felt blood rushing wildly to her face and wished she could crawl into a crack in the ground!
Why had she bitten his neck? Wouldn’t biting his arm have worked just fine? Only now did Weiss think of that. The blood vessels in the arm were equally rich enough for blood-drinking.
Could it be… this man had done it on purpose?
The instant that thought surfaced, she immediately felt like slapping herself out of self-reproach.
Weiss, what are you thinking? He risked his life to rescue you from that hopeless situation, and you’re doubting him over something so trivial? You were the one who proposed drinking blood in the first place!
Besides, thinking about it rationally, when people thought of Blood Kin sucking blood, they naturally thought of sucking blood from the neck. It was also the most efficient method.
Just now she herself had not considered anything either. In that state of extreme hunger, if something edible was brought to someone’s mouth, they would devour it without hesitation.
However, that did not mean Leon’s blood had merely been “acceptable” to her.
In truth, the mana within Leon’s blood was astonishingly rich and mellow. As that mana seeped into her body, every inch of her body felt nourished. No wonder she had refused to let go while in that hazy state earlier.
“Are you feeling better now?” Leon suddenly asked.
Weiss abruptly snapped back to reality. Right now, they had far more important matters to worry about.
“Mm, much better.” Weiss nodded.
The effects after drinking blood had been unexpectedly good. Her Blood Addiction Symptoms had immediately been satisfied, and the dense mana absorbed from Leon’s body had diluted the interference caused by the Magic Potion within her own mana.
Although the instincts of the Magical Beast were still restlessly stirring inside her body, for now she could at least suppress them through willpower.
At present, she could finally calm down enough to think about their situation and what to do next.
Leon first sensed Bishop Beckett’s location. The farther the distance, the weaker the Cursed Blood’s perception became, until he could only vaguely sense a rough direction.
But once the distance narrowed to within about a hundred meters, the perception would suddenly become much clearer. The dormant Cursed Blood parasitizing the target’s body would awaken and become active due to approaching its original owner. Within this range, Leon could trigger the poison’s effects.
Right now the perception was still somewhat vague, meaning they remained far apart. However, it was slightly clearer than before, which meant Bishop Beckett was likely still insisting on tracking them despite his injuries.
After all, he was the executor of the Earl’s plan.
“Why are you a Witch?” Leon asked Weiss first.
“I became a Witch for the sake of the Rose School’s research. If one wants to research Witches, there is ultimately no way around doing this. We obtained authorization. This is a confidential Church research project.”
Weiss told Leon the truth, then stared at him with burning eyes as she seriously asked, “Then what about you? You’re male, so how can you possess a Witch’s Blessing?”
She was curious, unbearably curious! This was an unprecedented singular case.
While drinking his blood earlier, she had actually sensed a great deal of information, including information from the blood sample itself. Through perceiving the flow of blood, she could also sense Leon’s physiological structure.
Judging from the blood sample’s information, Leon was undoubtedly a genuine man through and through. More importantly, his body was actually complete and lacked any disability. He possessed both the Blessings of the Supreme God and Moilai, yet had not paid any price like she had!
As a seeker devoted to research, there was no way she could fail to be interested in a mystery-filled existence like Leon!
“My situation is a long story. For now, you only need to know that I came here to save you.” Leon brushed past the topic regarding himself.
“To be honest, I don’t really understand. Why did you come save me? Although it’s true that I asked you for help, I can’t think of a reason for you to take such a risk…” Weiss looked at Leon in confusion.
In order to rescue her, Leon had to risk the enormous danger of being discovered by the Church. He had also inevitably revealed the secret that he possessed Witch powers to Weiss.
She could not understand the reason. She had considered the fact that her medicine could save Sally, but she knew nothing of Leon’s past. She did not know that Sally was the one Leon had sent into prison, nor did she know of Leon’s determination to rescue Sally again.
In her eyes, the relationship between Sally and Leon was merely that Leon sympathized with Sally’s circumstances and was willing to lend her some help. It was similar to how she had continued the research into the special medicine for Saltification Disease that she believed Sally had conducted, and then provided the medicine to Sally for testing.
That kind of relationship should not have been enough for Leon to risk his life for, right?
“I’ll reserve that explanation for now. You only need to know that you are very important to me, and I’m willing to risk my life to help you escape danger. After what I just did, I believe you shouldn’t doubt that anymore.” Leon looked at Weiss seriously as he spoke.
Weiss’s heart suddenly stirred. Leon’s words made it sound as though he had risked himself specifically for her sake.
“So now tell me first what exactly happened.” Leon continued questioning.
“About that…” Weiss began recounting her experience of being framed while trying to recall the details.
After being invaded by that blood mist, her consciousness had constantly suffered interference, causing her memories regarding those events to become blurry.
But she still clearly remembered the erupting blood mist and the Bloodsucking Mosquito Bats.
Halfway through speaking, she suddenly realized something, and her expression drastically changed.
“What’s wrong?” Leon noticed the change in her face.
“The person who framed me might be able to sense where I am!” Fear flashed through Weiss’s eyes.
“What?” Leon was also shocked.
“That blood mist, and those Bloodsucking Mosquito Bats summoned out of nowhere—only a Third-Rank Witch could accomplish that. That was definitely a Witch’s blood. The one who framed me was a Witch!
That blood could actively infiltrate my body as a medium for the Magic Potion. This should be a parasitic-type Blessing ability. Her blood is now parasitizing my body, so within a certain range she should be able to sense me!” Weiss had already begun sweating coldly by the time she finished speaking.
Leon’s heart also sank upon hearing this. From the description, the one who framed Weiss was a high-ranking Witch. If the Earl truly was the mastermind, then this helper was most likely someone he had brought from Moirland.
This Witch’s Blessing ability was very similar to his Cursed Blood. It could parasitize others and also sense them.
That meant the other party could track them through that perception at any time. They would become unable to escape no matter where they went!
“In that case, she can basically determine your approximate location at any moment?” Leon asked.
“But until now, I still haven’t seen that Witch…” Weiss muttered in confusion.
“That’s because she has collaborators! A Witch can’t move freely around here on her own. Think about who’s been relentlessly pursuing you this entire time,” Leon reminded Weiss.
“Bishop Beckett? He betrayed the faith?” Weiss stared blankly at Leon as she asked, “How can you be so certain? Isn’t he your recommender? Could it be that you… know something?”
She thought of the relationship between Leon and Bishop Beckett. After all, Leon had been recommended by Bishop Beckett.
If Bishop Beckett had a hand in framing her, then Leon being able to immediately confirm Bishop Beckett’s involvement likely meant he knew part of the inside story!
Leon was still considering how to explain things to Weiss when he suddenly sensed something and instinctively glanced in a certain direction.
The perception of the curse on Bishop Beckett suddenly became much clearer. That meant the man had already entered this area.
Weiss also sensed something and expanded the domain of Exhaust Blood.
Multiple heartbeats were approaching from two different directions. The number of people had doubled compared to before, and it was still increasing.
If they did not act quickly, they would likely be surrounded!