Blood 9: Retainer
Suck the blood of Melazophis.
The instinct of a vampire tells me what to do.
A sweetness, unlike anything I've ever tasted, flows down my throat.
Suppressing the urge to consume it all, I channel my power.
Melazophis's body convulses violently, accepting my energy.
Reforming the body anew.
[Proficiency has reached threshold. Skill 'Vampire LV1' upgraded to 'Vampire LV2'.]
[Condition met. Title 'Ancestor' acquired.]
[Title 'Ancestor' effect: Acquired skills 'Familiar Control LV1' and 'Status Effect Resistance LV1'.]
['Sleep Resistance LV4' integrated into 'Status Effect Resistance LV1'.]
[Skill level reached threshold. Skill 'Status Effect Resistance LV1' upgraded to 'Status Effect Resistance LV3'.]
Neutralize.
Simultaneously, Melazofis slowly rises, face pale blue.
The wound on his back has sealed itself, unnoticed.
One of the men notices his movement and rushes forward.
A short knife descends.
Melazofis catches it with his own arm.
The blade pierces flesh, shatters bone, and passes through his arm.
Unaffected, Melazofis strikes the man’s face.
His fist seizes the man’s face and slams it into the wall.
The man’s head, hooded, is crushed between fist and wall.
At the same time, Melazofis’s fist fractures under his own force.
Melazofis lifts the dying man with his shattered hand.
Bites into the neck.
From my position, the back is turned—unseen—but the attackers saw Melazofis swallowing blood down his throat.
Motion halts as if submerged in unnatural air.
Only Melazofis moves.
The body is discarded, as if full.
Then he roars.
A scream beyond human—hair-raising, unnatural.
The men clearly show fear on their faces.
Melazofis charges forward, roaring, at the men frozen in place.
The closest man snaps back to awareness and blocks.
The sword slices through Melazofis’s abdomen.
But he does not stop.
Even as his belly is torn open, he strikes the man’s face with a blow that sends him flying.
The man’s body was blown apart, colliding violently with another man.
His neck bent at an impossible angle. The struck area was grotesquely mangled.
But that was all.
Even as his abdomen was torn open, his fists crushed, Melazofis still attempted to face the men.
"How long will you play?"
Melazofis’s body was lifted into the air.
The force of the impact indicated wind magic.
The new figure, wearing a hood identical to the men in the alley’s depths, was responsible.
Melazofis’s body, struck with immense force, crashed into the ground and rolled to a stop just beside me.
Even with vampiric transformation, Melazofis possessed only average physical capacity.
He had moderate strength as a servant, but remained inherently inferior to a human trained in combat.
Daily practice and training could not overcome the difference in inherent capacity.
The capacity defined by level.
Melazofis, as a servant, had fewer opportunities to fight monsters compared to adventurers or soldiers.
Consequently, his level remained low.
No amount of training could close the gap in level, nor could it compensate for the lack of实战 experience.
Above all, Melazofis’s primary role was as a servant—combat was outside his specialization.
Even at the same level, he could not defeat someone whose profession was combat.
Even after vampiric transformation and a reckless charge with no regard for self-preservation, the outcome remained unchanged.
Melazofis’s eyes met mine as he fell.
His eyes were vacant.
In that emptiness, my reflection appeared.
My own face, twisted in fear, distorted by terror.
Melazofis’s expression sharpened.
Gradually, life returned to his eyes.
He stood, using only willpower, despite his battered body.
The newly arrived woman knocked out half the men who had been standing there, and the men positioned just before the alleyway.
"Vampire. Still new, status relatively low, but troublesome if allowed to grow."
Her voice was emotionless, dry.
"Ancestor... is that child over there?"
"What shall we do?"
"Kill it."
[Skill upgraded. Fear Resistance LV1 has been upgraded to Fear Resistance LV2.]
A shiver ran through the air at the casual words.
"Are you certain?"
"Tell the others we were too late to intervene in the conflict. Leaving a vampire alive could cause problems later."
"I understand."
The men approached Melazofis.
Melazofis should have been at his limit, merely standing.
"Madam, you shall not touch him."
Yet this man stood in their way.
If you behave quietly, I’ll let you die easily. Why go to such lengths for that girl? She’s a vampire, a harbinger of calamity in the world.
The woman asks.
“It doesn’t matter. I promised to protect her. Yes, I was entrusted with that duty.”
Melazofis answers without hesitation.
“Nonsense.”
“No, no. Quite the sturdy fellow, isn’t he?”
A voice indifferent, as if utterly dismissive, devoid of feeling.
Followed by an unseasonable cheerfulness, incongruous in this grim atmosphere.
“Hello hello. The Demon Princess Ariel-chan, arriving in dazzling fashion to save the beautiful young girl and her loyal attendant!”
The sudden appearance of such an outlandish, absurd woman froze the air.