Chapter 62

【 Vampirism 】

Before I revealed myself before Lisa—

Up until that moment, I had quietly made my way into the cave, or rather, into Rhaineus’ stronghold.

‘What a complete mess.’

The cave was as vast as I remembered from the game.

And from the very entrance, countless people were sprawled across the ground.

Judging by the green masks they wore, they were all members of Rhaineus’ organization.

‘Looks like they were blown away by Lisa’s strike.’

Passing them, I moved deeper into the cave.

The further I went in, the more spacious it became.

Originally, this place had been filled with traps set by Rhaineus.

But now, every single one of them was shattered and scattered about.

Along with numerous fallen members of his organization.

‘As expected, Lisa really is strong.’

Half-baked opponents were no match for her.

Of course—only when it came to half-baked opponents.

If the enemy reached a certain level of strength, even Lisa would have a hard time.

‘…Just like right now.’

When I reached the end of the cave, a vast space appeared—almost like a plaza.

At the center stood a massive egg, and in front of it, an altar.

A female student from Lysquare Academy, who had been kidnapped, was bound to that altar. And in front of it stood a man wearing a deep hood and cloak.

‘That guy must be the Lord.’

The boss of this school trip episode.

I’d fought him plenty of times in the game—I knew him well.

‘Lisa… doesn’t look good.’

Surrounded by Rhaineus’ subordinates, Lisa looked exhausted.

She couldn’t even properly draw out her Blood Energy.

‘Probably because she hasn’t been able to drink my blood properly. And besides that…’

I looked again toward the Lord.

Behind him, a massive image of a bird shimmered faintly.

And that image seemed to be connected to the gigantic egg at the center of the plaza.

‘He must be forcefully drawing out the falcon’s power.’

It was one of the Lord’s attack patterns.

When he used that pattern, he would forcibly unseal the falcon’s strength, summoning small storms continuously.

‘The knockback was strong, and the damage was nasty. He kept spamming it non-stop—it was irritating as hell.’

Even for Lisa, that power would be difficult to handle.

And right now, she hadn’t even had my blood—she wasn’t in her normal condition.

There was no way she could win.

‘…Is he planning to kill Lisa?’

After absorbing the falcon’s power, Rhaineus’ men raised their bows toward her.

It was obvious they had no intention of letting her live.

“Huuuh.”

I quietly slipped into the plaza.

Then, after a quick thought, I put together a plan.

‘I’ll do this, then that… Yeah. This is the best option right now.’

After organizing my thoughts, I drew my sword and leapt in front of Lisa.

At that very moment, arrows flew toward us—and I deflected every single one with my blade.

“…Gide…on?”

“Lady Lisa.”

After blocking the first volley, I glanced back and smiled faintly.

“Sorry for being late.”

Lisa’s eyes were blood-red.

She was desperately suppressing her thirst and barely managing to summon her Blood Energy.

“How did you get here? I heard you wouldn’t be able to wake up before the antidote took effect.”

“I somehow managed to neutralize the poison. But that’s not what matters right now.”

I turned my gaze forward again.

The sudden appearance of an intruder threw Rhaineus’ men into confusion.

But the most startled face among them belonged to the Team 3 Leader, whom I’d met just a few hours ago.

“That white hair… How? I saw him get hit by the poison!”

“Don’t panic. We just need to kill him here. Everyone, nock your arrows.”

The Team 2 Leader calmly ordered the subordinates.

As the bowstrings drew taut once again, I raised my sword and spoke.

“Lady Lisa.”

“Yeah?”

“With my power alone, I cannot turn this situation around. But with yours—it’s possible.”

“…What are you saying?”

“Drink my blood.”

“What?”

“Drink my blood and recover your strength. Then, with your power, defeat them and destroy that massive egg. Lady Lisa, you can do it.”

At my current level, I couldn’t handle this situation alone.

Even in the game, the protagonist never raided Rhaineus’ base solo.

It was always with the academy instructors and allies that Rhaineus’ forces were crushed.

My original plan had been to come here with a large group.

Things had gone awry, leaving only Lisa and me—but that didn’t matter.

‘Because Lisa is enough.’

To be exact, a Lisa who could fight at full power was enough.

So I had to make sure she could fight at full strength again.

“Please, drink my blood quickly.”

“…Gideon, are you sure this is right?”

“Pardon?”

I turned to her.

Lisa should’ve been unable to think rationally, given that she hadn’t drunk my blood.

That’s what I thought—and so I expected her to rush at me immediately.

But somehow, Lisa seemed to have regained a sliver of her reason.

“I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want you to suffer. But if you stay with me… you’ll definitely suffer. So is it really right for me to keep being with you?”

“…You’re right, Lady Lisa.”

After a moment of silence, I spoke.

I remembered the personality she had in the game.

Considering that, I knew exactly what to say now.

“If I stay with you, it won’t be an easy path. I’ll get hurt, I’ll suffer, and I’ll probably even have my heart wounded.”

“So then you—”

“But that’s fine. No… I’m fine with that.”

With those words, I turned forward once more.

Countless red dots appeared before my eyes.

“Fire!”

A barrage of arrows flew toward Lisa and me.

I raised my sword and blocked them.

Cha-cha-cha-cha-chang―!

To protect myself—

And to protect Lisa, who stood behind me.

“Ugh.”

But of course, it wasn’t easy.

Thanks to my Attack Prediction Skill, I could tell where the arrows would come from, but blocking every single one was nearly impossible.

Puk―!

“Aagh!”

As proof of that, one arrow slipped past my defense and pierced into my left leg.

Even though I had coated myself in aura, it seemed I was still too inexperienced at properly controlling it.

“…Hurts like hell.”

The strength left my left leg, and I dropped to one knee.

Still, I kept deflecting and parrying the incoming arrows however I could.

“Gideon, your leg…”

“I’m fine…”

Finally, the rain of arrows stopped, giving me a brief moment of respite.

Taking advantage of it, I struck the arrow embedded in my leg with my sword, snapping it in half.

It hurt like hell, but I gritted my teeth and endured it.

If I couldn’t handle this, both Lisa and I might die here.

“I’m fine now, and I’ll be fine later too. So, Lady Lisa…”

I paused for a moment.

What I was about to say wasn’t meant for the Lisa I’d known through the game,

but for the Lisa I’d come to know here—as a real human being.

“You don’t have to worry too much about me. No matter what happens, I’ll stay by your side, Lady Lisa. Whatever comes, we’ll face it together.”

“…You’ll stay by my side no matter what?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“……”

Lisa fell silent.

Meanwhile, Rhaineus’ subordinates were already preparing to shoot another volley.

My left leg still throbbed painfully, but I tried to stand back up anyway—

“Don’t ever forget those words.”

“Pardon?”

“Gideon Kyrgram. From now on… you have to stay by my side.”

With those words, Lisa pulled me into her arms from behind.

And before I could even react—she bit into my neck.

A sharp pain spread from my neck, but despite it, I couldn’t help but chuckle faintly.

“Drink as much as you like.”

I then reached up and gently stroked her head.

Normally, it would’ve been an unforgivable act of rudeness.

But right now, neither of us cared about such things.

Instead, Lisa accepted my touch as if she were pleased.

“Fire! Don’t let that Lady drink blood! Fire, now—!”

“Haaah.”

As Rhaineus’ men began to pull their bowstrings again, Lisa lifted her lips from my neck.

At that moment, her Blood Energy erupted around her.

It flared brighter red than ever before.

“Thank you, Gideon. That was delicious. Really… delicious.”

With those words, Lisa lifted her greatsword and slammed it down onto the ground.

The entire cave shook violently.

The earth quaked as if struck by an earthquake, and everyone except Lisa fell over.

“Gah?!”

“W-what the hell?!”

Rhaineus’ subordinates, who had been ready to shoot, all toppled over.

I almost fell too—

if Lisa hadn’t caught me by the waist.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, thank you.”

“Your leg’s hurt—sit down and rest. I’ll handle things from here.”

“Will you be alright alone?”

“No problem.”

Lisa gave me a small, confident smile before swinging her greatsword again.

The Blood Energy surrounding her sword flew toward the enemies.

“Aaaargh!?”

“M-my leg!”

“Gaaaah!”

The red aura slashed through them, cutting them down in an instant.

Within a single strike, the cave was filled with screams of pain.

“It was a technique I was still practicing… but it worked on the first try. Guess drinking your blood really helped.”

Lisa muttered to herself, then cast a brief glance my way.

“If you’re worried about me, then guard my back.”

“Understood.”

“I’m counting on you. Anyway… I just need to destroy that egg, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Got it. Let’s finish this quickly.”

Lisa raised her greatsword again, glancing at me.

“Let’s finish up—then you and I can have a little talk.”

“A talk?”

“Yeah, a talk.”

Lisa spoke in her usual expressionless tone.

But somehow, her eyes looked as if she were… genuinely looking forward to something.

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