…

Caius sat up with vials that used to contain potions Delia had fed him discarded all around him. Empty.

He had prepared quite a bit of potions for today. From Trait Acquisition Potions to Vampiric Mending Potions to Blood Amplification Potions. And now he had used them all.

Because of the difficulty of Blood Alchemy, he never had an abundance of all those types. To refine one successfully could take hours. Sometimes even an entire day of trials and errors. Plus he had other things to worry about. Specifically his magic. Which at the moment was useless against a Demon.

In any case, besides Trait Acquisition Potions—which he had used up already—Caius had now downed every bit of Mending and Blood Amplification Potions he had.

The Blood Amplification Potions work similarly to Mana-Augmentation Potions for humans/humanoids. Only it targets the blood and not the Mana since the Blood of a Vampire is the source of its strength.

At Caius's current level, he could amplify his blood and thus his magic and physical strength up to the Fifth Circle. And if it were possible to compound their effects, he might have used it along with the Trait Acquisition Potions but it just doesn't work like that.

Blood Amplification replaces the effect of Trait Acquisition Potions. This can make it a detriment depending on the strength it promises and what it replaces. In this case, it wouldn't be worth it.

Not only did Trait Acquisition get Caius's magical and physical strength up to the Fifth Circle, but it also granted him Dark Magic he was not yet privy to at his current level of advancement by virtue of the Umbral Fox's affinity.

By contrast, Blood Amplification was just not good enough.

Also, Caius didn't think it would have mattered anyway. The potion would have been a waste because he never had a chance of defeating Belron. All he was doing was buying time.

Being at the Fourth Circle, only through harnessing Divine Energy could Caius hurt Belron. Hell, even if he were at the Fifth Circle, he'd still need Divine Energy. He would have to really outclass the Fiend to contend with it using only Mana. And the point to outclass the Fiend was the Seventh Circle.

So if there was no hope of winning, why had Caius asked Delia to feed him Blood Amplification Potions?

Well, for one, it works well with Mending Potions. It speeds up the healing Process. Or at least mask the pain so the Vampire can go on even if their body is breaking apart. And Caius felt like his body was.

"Caius?" Delia called then.

Since he had drunk the last of the potions, Caius had just sat up and stared off into nothing.

He looked to the side at her and smiled.

"You should drink more Mending Potions," he said, retrieving a one for her to drink.

He had brought it for her sake after all.

Delia took it and drank it while still eyeing him with a mixture of concern and barely hidden anger. When the vial left her lips, she let a few seconds pass before she said.

"We're going to have to talk about it, you know," she said.

"I know," Caius answered. Well aware of what 'it' was referring to.

"If we survive this, we should talk about it," he added with a gesture at the battle above.

Caius picked up his canister then, sending it into his Storage Ring. He could leave the empty potion vials behind. But not a Blood canister.

"What do you mean by 'if'?" Delia asked, "Aurelius has it handled."

"He doesn't," Caius said, "He's going to need help."

Caius could tell. It wasn't just about what he knew from the story of Aurelius's current level or Belron's supposed level. It was that once in a while, drops of blood hit the ground. But never did they sizzle with Demonic heat. Meaning Belron hadn't bled yet but Aurelius definitely had.

"Well, let's help him then," Delia said retrieving her Warhammer from her storage ring.

"Unfortunately, we can't," Caius said reaching out to grab her arm before she got to her feet.

"What? Why?" Delia asked with wide eyes.

Even as she asked though, she felt she knew the answer. The fight above was outclassing her very sight. How was she to offer support if she couldn't even follow the battling duo?

"Because someone's being unhelpful," Caius answered her question with a heavy sigh. He also said 'someone' with emphasis because he was so sure she was listening.

"Who—?" Delia began to ask but Caius didn't hear the rest because he was already gone.

His consciousness was pulled into a dark oppressive mental space. On all corners, he felt like he was being squished. But not his body—or whatever kind of body one has in a mental space—but his very soul. Like something— someone had it in the palm of their hands and was clenching. Hard.

Caius could feel a pair of eyes on him from the darkness. He couldn't see the eyes but he knew they were there. This was not the first time he had been glared at by those eyes just like this.

"Hello," he said with a little smile, "I knew you were listening."

Silence…

"Still not speaking? Fine," Caius said, a little upset now,

"I doubt you pulled me here for nothing. Get on with it. Will you smite me? 'Cause it seems a little extra to do that only after you've stared me down.

Being the almighty goddess that you are."

Silence…

And then,

"~You talk too much.~"

The voice sent chills across Caius's spine. It caused his body to tingle as he was swarmed with a feeling of reverence. He felt it for certain then. What every Vampire knows but may not truly comprehend;

Their— His life/existence truly was in this goddess's hands. And it was hers to do with as she saw fit.

Something urged him to bow and he didn't resist.

"You finally deem me worthy to hear your voice?" he said, his body at a ninety-degree angle, "I'm honored."

Silence…

This time, Caius let the silence continue. The minutes passed and he itched to yell but held it in. It felt like he was choking but he endured. When it got really bad, he shut his eyes as though that would help.

Strangely, it did.

He didn't consider himself a talkative person but this was really not the time for quiet and silence games. Still, it would be stupid to think of rushing a Goddess. Especially one whose most predominant Domain besides Darkness, was Death.

Caius was sure Fifteen minutes had passed with him still bowed.

And then, Nyx spoke again.

"~Stand and Look.~"

Caius stood straight and opened his eyes but he wasn't looking at the dark space. He was looking outside of it. He was looking at the battle between Belron and Aurelius. What had been too quick to see before was now slowed down.

Aurelius's vest had been sliced up and hung off his body in tatters. The same with his uniform. He was marked with injuries that all bled profusely but he gritted his teeth and fought on.

Still, it was clearly a losing battle.

But that was not what Nyx directed Caius's observation toward. She directed him to the glow that revolved around Aurelius's attacks. Or rather to the presence within that glow.

"~Aether… you bitch…~"

With narrowed eyes, Caius realized what Nyx was doing. She was reducing this life and death situation into another part of her rivalry with her sister.

Sure enough, Nyx continued, definitely not speaking to Caius.

"~You have an Apostle? Well, I'll have two.~"

Caius felt slyness from the eyes within the Darkness and as his sight was wrenched away from the battle between Belron and Aurelius, he found he was back in his body and instantly stood to his feet, staring at his hands.

He felt whole. Like every wound had been healed. His Divine seed felt strangely buoyant, churning Divine Energy with enough quantity to match his Mana reserves. And coursing through his body just as easily.

The light within the Sealing Cube dimmed and it suddenly felt as though it were nighttime. With the flashes of golden light from Aurelius being the only source of light and always getting snuffed whenever they got too close to Caius.

"Delia," he called looking to the side, and paused.

"Caius—?" Delia called out with wide eyes.

She had one hand holding her Warhammer and the other raised as she observed the phenomenon within and around her. A phenomenon that matched what was happening to Caius as well.

"We got our backing…" Caius said.

What was it that Nyx had said about having two Apostles?

'Thank you,' he said in his mind and cast his eyes at the battle above.

With this, they just might make it.

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