Her tense shoulders loosened as more and more blood was being pulled out of his body and into her body.
To state that this was the tastiest thing she'd ever drunk or eaten would be an understatement; this was already the case the first time she drank from him, but after he became like her, the taste was enhanced with even more delicious flavors.
The ache inside her didn't fade. It simply went silent, like a scream that was cut off mid-note by a sudden shellshock-worthy surprise.
Her grip on his arm tightened unconsciously and if it was a regular human's arm she was holding, it would've popped, bones shattered, flesh and blood spraying into the air like confetti.
She drank. Drank again. More. More. More!
For a single second. Literally one second. Just one…
There was no hatred on her mind. No resentment of how he ruined her as a person. No memory of the hands that gripped her neck, the blood that trickled between her legs, or the fear she felt as she was helpless to what he was doing.
In the single second, the only thing on her mind was the warmth of the blood. The relief of her hunger and desire for blood being quenched.
The delicious flavors that popped in her mouth were like drugs.
Her eyes c;osed shut.
More.
The thought slipped in smoothly, greedily, and her fangs pressed deeper as a result of that foolish thought.
"Diana," he called out softly. Bell could sense what just happened to her due to their connection. This wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want her to enjoy it. It had to be something disgusting that she had to bear for the sake of her survival.
The sound of her name shattered everything.
Her eyes snapped open.
Reality crashed back in, sharp and merciless.
Bell.
She quickly tore herself away with a strangled gasp, stumbling back as if she'd been burned by his blood. Red stains smeared across lips. Her hands shook violently as she pressed them over her mouth to wipe the liquid
"…No," she whispered. "No…"
She turned away from him, wiping her mouth hard with the back of her sleeve, disgust crawling up her spine. She wiped so hard that it was like she was trying to rub her lips off her face.
Her stomach churned, not with hunger, but shame. Shame at herself. Shame at the emotions she had felt in the brief second.
She had forgotten.
Even for a second. A second too long already.
"I'm done," she said hoarsely, not looking at him. "That's… that's enough." She didn't thank him for the help.
She took a step toward the door that was barely hanging on its hinges after she had thrown him through it a few minutes ago.
Then she saw his neck.
The angle of it. The faint pulse beneath the thin layer of skin.
The thin line of blood that had slid down from his wrist where her fangs had penetrated.
Her breath stopped and the next step toward the door never came.
The hunger roared back into her body all of a sudden. She had just gotten rid of it. Why was it back so soon? Wasn't the whole point of the deal between the two so that she could suppress her hunger and not attack others? What was the point if it returned this often?
All these questions to answer but before she could think, before she could stop herself, she moved.
Bell barely had time to question what she was doing before she grabbed his collar and pulled him down.
Her fangs sank into his neck. The same spot from the first time she had drunk his blood.
The reaction was immediate. His blood hit her tongue, traveled down her throat, began making its way downwards, and her knees nearly gave out.
It was even better here. The flavors were richer.
She drank in short, uncontrolled pulls, her hands trembling as she held him in place as if terrified that any looseness would allow him to run away, even though he had zero plans of doing so.
Her mind screamed at her to stop.
Her body begged her not to.
She forced herself to count.
'One. Two. Three.'
Then she wrenched herself away, gasping, stumbling back again as if the space between them were suddenly dangerous.
Blood stained her lips again. Her chest heaved. If she hadn't counted to three, she was worried that she would have never been able to pull herself away.
It was so delicious. So enticing. So hypnotic.
She wouldn't look at him.
"I—" Her voice broke. She swallowed hard. "I…" She couldn't even complete her sentence.
Bell touched his neck, fingers coming away red, but shortly after, the two holes closed up and it was like nothing had ever happened.
"…I don't need an explanation," he said quietly. "Drink what you need."
She wrapped her arms around herself, shaking.
"I won't say sorry," she said, the words torn from her chest.
"I didn't expect you to."
That didn't make it better. It made it seem like he was the victim here when in reality, it was the other way around.
She backed away again, eyes burning in shame and fury that was tangled so tightly she couldn't tell where one ended and the other began.
"…This doesn't change anything," she said, voice weak. "I still hate you."
"I know," he answered.
But at least her hunger was quiet now.
As she looked at him responding so casually while she was going through a rollercoaster of emotions, another part of her snapped.
It felt insulting.
"..."
"..."
Silence bounced between the two for a moment before she finally said, "You apologised earlier for not being able to kill yourself."
"..."
"Then what if I kill you instead? Is that not an option?" she asked.
"You can try," he responded. "I won't stop you, but I also won't just let you."
"...Hah. Okay. I see. I see..."
She suddenly lunged at him, sharp ice coating her fingernails. He dodged it and caught her wrist.
"Did you forget that I can read you now because of this thread?" he asked.
"I know," she said as her other hand formed a dagger that she aimed at his heart.
Activating Unbound Step, the blade passed through him, and she was repelled shortly after.
"I get it now, Bell."
"What?" he asked.
"My purpose in this world. It is to kill you. To free the world from your evil," she nodded, a twisted smile growing on her face.
She then stomped her foot and a wave of ice erupted towards him.
* * *
The manor was quiet during the weekend in a way that Bell preferred. There was still the faintest sound of the guards training off in the distance but that was nothing compared to the cluster of chatters that came from his teachers, classmates, and people in general.
Sunlight filtered through the tall windows of the study he was in, illuminating the shelves of books, research papers, journals, and scattered texts that decorated the room.
Barely any dust was drifting through the air as House Agnus employed many maids and butlers.
It would be a shame for the place to be a mess after spending all that money.
Hanging upside down from a reinforced metal bar that was bolted into the ceiling, Bell had his legs hooked securely around it. His body was perfectly straight as he held a book in his hands.
Then he slowly raised his torso so that his vision became identical to someone who was standing straight on their feet.
He held the position effortlessly as he flipped a page.
His breathing never changed. Ever since Diana turned him into a vampire, training became easier which was both a good and bad thing.
He couldn't get complacent just because of the boost.
Coming back down, his vision was flipped when he saw the door creak open. It wasn't one of the workers since they would've asked for permission first.
He didn't drop off the bar as he looked at the person who entered.
"How does blood not rush to your head hanging like that?" Sarakit asked, amused and in awe.
He ignored her question. Instead, he replied with a question, "What's up? Why are you here?"
Stepping closer inside, she closed the door behind her with her heel. She was wearing her usual long white coat that was befitting of a doctor, although she used it for her alchemy.
Her sleeves were rolled up and along the cuffs, he could see faint scorch marks and stains of various colors.
In her hands was a vial no larger than his thumb.
The liquid inside glowed faintly. A muted gold color.
"Is that what I think it is?" he asked.
"Yep," she smiled, extending her arm forward with her chest puffed out in pride. "I finished it a few minutes ago and had to come show you as soon as possible."
Pausing mid-sit-up, he smoothly lowered himself then dropped to the floor in a silent motion.
"Already? Wasn't that fast?" he asked. He had given her the task but wasn't sure that she would even succeed to be honest. He was confident that there was a chance since her talents were described in the novel, but the novel is the novel.
This was reality.
"Yep. I've been wanting to complete the task not only for you but because of my interest in understanding how the God elixirs work," she replied, a large grin on her face. "Whenever I'm not at school or at the Alchemy club, I've been working on this."
Even late into the night when she should've been sleeping.
"I reverse-engineered the original as cleanly as possible. The structure of the molecules, the way each dangerous aspect of the elixir works together to create a stable drink that benefits the user rather than harms them."
She lifted the vial slightly, looking closely at the beauty in her hand.
"It's weaker than the original. Much weaker," she sighed.
Wiping the few beads of sweat from his brow, Bell walked over and said, "That's fine. I didn't expect you to replicate the original. How much weaker is it?"
Sarakit hesitated, then responded, "Once you drink it, the growth rate of your star energy will only permanently increase by .25 percent. .5 if you're lucky. And I mean very very lucky."
Bell's eyes flicked to the vial, to Sarakit, back to the vial, back to Sarakit.
"Why are you disappointed? That's amazing. Forget being acceptable, that's far better than I imagined."
Sarakit stared at him like he'd just insulted her entire bloodline.
"Amazing? Acceptable?" she echoed. "Bell, I can create something better than this. I know I can."
He nodded, believing her. "Don't worry. You can keep working on it. In the meantime, can you begin producing these?"
Sarakit answered, "Yes. They'll be expensive but—"
"How much would it be to make one?"
She gave a number that was impossible for even most noble families.
"That's fine. Don't worry about the cost."
Sarakit shook her head. She had forgotten who it was that she was talking to. This was Bell Agnus. A member of the House Agnus. That cost was nothing.
"Every week, I should be able create one of these. I could get two done but I also want to spend some time working on improving it. Creating a second version."
"One is fine," he said as his gaze lingered on the golden glow. It wasn't as powerful or as captivating as the original elixir his brother gave him but it was still jaw-dropping.
She stepped closer and handed the vial out to him.
He took the vial from her fingers without ceremony.
"How many of these can I drink before it no longer works?" he asked.
"I'm not sure of the exact number, but I think around ten. Each one is less effective than before."
"What's the minimum amount of growth I'll see then? And what's the maximum?" he asked
She pondered for a second, doing the calculations in her head. Then she answered, "About 1.5 percent at minimum. 2.5 percent at best."
That meant he was guaranteed to get more than the minimum increase of the original.
"But that's only for this one. Once the second version is complete, you can also continue drinking that as well."
"Hmm? Why wouldn't I also be capped out there?"
"Because each elixir has some sort of fundamental limit that is determined by the universe itself. I can see natural runes inside the structure of the drink when I finished it. But each new elixir, even if it's only slightly different, I think the universe will consider it a different entity."
"Meaning that it won't affect the limit of the first."
"Exactly."
"... Interesting."
"It would be nice if I could just change a little bit, then present to you a "new" potion…" she even did airquotes to emphasize it, "...but the elixir is very dangerous and just a little change can ruin it. Everything needs to be perfect, so it'll take time to create the second version."
"That's fine," he told her.
She watched his face closely before asking him, "What do you want to call it?"
Bell turned the vial slowly between his fingers, watching the light refract.
"The Godless elixir. A 9th-tier Godless elixir. The first version," he smirked.
Sarakit blinked. She could tell it was based on the original name, but why would he change it from God to Godless?
"That's the name you're going with?" she asked. It was a genuine question. No hint of mockery behind her words.
"Yes."
"Why?" she asked. "Why call it—"
Bell uncorked the vial and drank it in one smooth motion.
The liquid was extremely smooth as it went down his throat, but the further down it went, the hotter and sharper it became.
His heart felt like it was burning up. The star energy in his body began to flare and threads of gold expanded from his chest outward like lightning bolts or veins.
There was no reaction from Bell. He didn't gasp or feel a tremor. Just a faint exhale as the gold slowly disappeared on his body.
Bell handed the empty vial back to her.
Sarakit stared at him. "…That's it?" she asked. "No dramatic reaction? Nothing painful?"
He tilted his head slightly. "Were you hoping for one?"
She shook her head immediately. She realised that her question came off like she was hoping for it.
"No," she answered. "But I was nervous that maybe I was wrong."
She took the vial, fingers tightening around it like it was something precious even though it was now empty.
"Don't worry. It was perfect. I can already feel the effects," he said. Which was a lie. However much his star energy growth had been raised, he wouldn't be able to tell immediately. It would have to be observed over time. Especially if the maximum growth he could get was only .5 percent.
"That's good to hear," she smiled. "I already have some ideas on how to improve it," she said, already half-lost in thought. Refine the binding of those two. Maybe switch out this material for that one. I can also reduce loss of energy by…"
"Take your time," Bell said. "I'm in no rush."
Sarakit paused at the door, glancing back at him.
"…You know," she said quietly, "I'm happy you gave me this task. Once I perfect this, I can start paying back my debt to you."
"You already are," Bell replied as he returned to the bar, reaching up and hooking his legs around it again.
Sarakit smiled to herself as she left. He was wrong. There was still so much in her debt that she had to pay off. She didn't say anything though and was about to leave the room when Bell asked her, "By the way, did you get that blood sample I sent your way?"
Upside down, Bell turned another page.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah! I wanted to ask you, where did you get that? It oddly reminds me of… a vampire's blood but something else is off about it."
"It's a secret. But I wanted to know if it'll be useful in your research on regrowing limbs."
"Yes! It's allowed me to make two breakthroughs so far. It's still a long way away from being finished, but I think the sample has shortened the time it'll take by at least two years."