Chapter 705
First Blood Transfusion
“Are you taking Lily with you?” Eiv asked. “She’s reliable and suitable for searching dangerous places. Selene is still a bit unstable.”
“That’s not true!” Selene interjected indignantly. “I’m a good girl!” Lily, however, hugged Selene and whispered in her own voice, “Don’t stir up trouble.”
Miss Alistair ignored Selene, pondered for a moment, and then shook her head. “I’ll take Selene with me.” As their consciousnesses gradually separated, they could no longer hear each other’s thoughts.
At this moment, Miss Alistair presented an opinion completely different from Eiv’s. Eiv was surprised. “Lily would be better, wouldn’t she?”
“Precisely because Lily would be better, I’m having her go with you. Selene is indeed unstable, so I’ll keep her with me. Once you enter the Eternal Dream, you might lose contact with the outside world. Selene, as a creature of pure ‘love,’ could lose control if she’s lonely for too long. If you can’t intervene, then anything she does could become troublesome.” Miss Alistair analyzed calmly. “Conversely, Selene, as the creation force of a Moon Witch, might be more useful to me… And Lily only has feelings for ‘Eiv.’ She probably doesn’t want to go with me either.”
“… But wouldn’t that be a bit unfair to you?” Eiv lowered his eyes, releasing his hand from Miss Alistair’s chin. He knelt down, gently caressed the hair of his avatar, and asked with some worry, “Why don’t you take them both? You have a more dangerous task ahead, yet you’re taking a more unstable teammate… And besides, ‘Yin-Yang Harmony’ is still active. It must have sealed most of your Mana Pool, right?”
Before Eiv or Miss Alistair achieved Ascension, Yin-Yang Harmony became a fetter for Miss Alistair. After Eiv and Miss Alistair split, their abundant mana, formed by their dual Paths, was halved. In the Child of the Moon form, all of the main body’s mana would be converted into wind, earth, and dark attributes. Under the effect of Yin-Yang Harmony, only the wind and earth attributes’ mana pools would be converted into colorless ones. Furthermore, one-third of the dark attribute mana was sealed and could not be mobilized. This meant that Miss Alistair could now only mobilize one-third of the colorless mana that Eiv had in their combined form.
“Ha, I like playing the high-tier game. You know that.” Miss Alistair proudly tilted her head, her black, lifeless, ice-cold long hair swaying side to side like a snake’s tail or a small whip. “Mainstream heroes are never played by me. My specialty is enduring extreme pressure and eating shit! It’s only fun to play against the mainstream—”
“—Alistair is a noble and aloof young lady. Don’t say such vulgar things.” Eiv reached out and patted Miss Alistair’s hair, grasping a strand with his fingers, gently tugging it, and reminding her in a low voice, “Remember your persona.”
“I certainly remember—Let go! I still have some colorless mana, and the Book of Law is with me—” Miss Alistair hugged her hair with some displeasure, struggling to pull it free from Eiv’s grasp and attempting to straighten it. “I can only joke around with you like this… You too, right? Aren’t you lonely?”
“…I can actually chat with the Boss.” Eiv paused and said honestly. The contract for the High-Tier Divine Art had been transferred to his side, and he could now only provide remote divination support for Miss Alistair.
Miss Alistair sighed and became slightly more serious. “All right… it seems the result of the Path separation has begun to take effect. You don’t need to worry too much about me; everything I do is based on feasibility. Rather, you’re the one whose thoughts are too chaotic because you care too much about me. Think carefully, Lily is Eiv Moriarty’s personal maid. If she appears with me in Star Antinomy, it’s highly likely to make the outside world perceive our relationship as closer, perhaps even leading to unexpected situations. And ‘Alistair’ is essentially an identity used for dirty work… it’s best to keep it more distinct from ‘Eiv.’ ”
“—Let’s take a step back, even if Selene loses control, so what?” Miss Alistair’s lips curved slightly, her tone cold. “The Child of the Moon… has never been a good thing. If our plan goes smoothly, we’ll suppress the Demon Scholar; if it fails, we’ll divert the disaster. I won’t lose either way—if he’s caught, he’s caught. Don’t protect me anymore—this identity of mine can be sold. At worst, it’s a dead end. As long as the corpse can eventually be returned to you, we can still become one again.”
“Be a little careful not to harm the innocent,” Eiv reminded her. “If possible, save more people.”
“… I can only say I’ll try my best.” Miss Alistair curled her lips. “The Fallen Heavenly Envoy isn’t that easy to deal with. If I expose too much information, it might attract unnecessary attention—Are you so sure we can defeat the Fallen Heavenly Envoy in May? Don’t be a soft-hearted fool, brother.”
This is the Pure Devotion Eiv… Miss Alistair couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Beings who had transcended Paths seemed to be a burden to him. With a touch of subtle jealousy, Miss Alistair clicked her tongue and warned, “Be a little careful, Eiv! Don’t really see yourself as a pure devotee—do it for me, okay? Take it easy when you’re offering yourself—Lily, watch him too! The Eiv of today can truly sell himself for others!”
“Yes.” Lily’s expression immediately turned serious, and she lowered her head to respond, “I understand… Miss?” She was unsure how to address Miss Alistair.
“You don’t need to come up with a new title for me.” Miss Alistair said with some helplessness. “I’m just an illusion that has existed for less than six months. Anyway, I’m just a part of Eiv; you can just call me Eiv.”
“That won’t do.” Eiv said sternly. “The Oracle of the Hourglass says—remember this, you are a person. Not some thing, nor a commodity or goods. You are me, and I am you. But besides that, you are also an independent individual.”
Miss Alistair was momentarily dazed. She pursed her lips, her expression intentionally turning fierce. “You be careful, I’m a Transcendent individual. Maybe I’ll become like the Silver Crown Dragon… become ambitious after Ascension and devour the main body.”
“… The main body? Oh?” Eiv chuckled at her words. “Do you see yourself as an avatar? Didn’t I tell you… I am you, and you are me. If you want to eat… then eat.” He said softly, pulling Miss Alistair into his embrace and slightly tilting his head to expose his unguarded neck. In Miss Alistair’s eyes, Eiv’s dark green pupils shimmered with a pure golden-red radiance like a sunset, resembling a flawless ruby.
“This is the Holy Communion… I am Grace.” Playfully, Eiv softly chanted the secret incantation of the Shepherd’s Method. Of course, this was invalid. Eiv didn’t possess the Power of Transcendence, let alone Path balance. However, the Path Trait of the Flesh and Blood Ded Path was still in effect—Miss Alistair didn’t hesitate, her eyes turning scarlet as she bit down.
Hot, sweet blood gushed into her mouth in large gulps, flowing past the void where her teeth should have been. It felt like entering a house on a cold winter day and downing a large mug of hot cocoa mixed with milk. Miss Alistair almost cried out in that moment.
“…This is the first time I’ve been blood-transfused.”
“And it’s the first time I’ve been blood-transfused,” Eiv said calmly, narrowing his eyes. “What I said wasn’t a joke. If you want it—you can take this body.”
“…Is this the resolve of a devotee?” Miss Alistair whispered after a period of silent drinking. In a trance, she felt a trace of divinity in Eiv at this moment…
“So, you should also bring out the resolve of a Transcendent.” Eiv said softly, gently stroking Miss Alistair’s hair. “If it’s not enough, you can drink more. I have Fire Worship Magic, it won’t harm me. —Remember, when you get to Star Antinomy, don’t drink the blood of the innocent. If you want to drink, tell me… I’ll find a way to mail it to you.”
“…I’m not a foolish vampire who needs to be brought food when I go out.” Miss Alistair was somewhat unable to maintain her composure.
(End of Chapter)
