Shwinnggg!!

Subaru had finally recovered his footing, deflecting the energy nobody could see towards the ceiling. The ceiling area that was hit… instantly vanished, leaving behind a fifty-meter-wide hole.

Alya's knees weakened as she fell on my back. That attack, if it had it her, would've managed to kill both of us and even all the people behind us.

Tears streamed down her face as she hugged me tighter, "…Is it over?"

I wanted to reassure her, but it burned. Hot. Really hot. Every inch of my face.

My vision blurred. With the abilities I had, death was completely out of mind.

I moved my hand towards her on my chest. It moved incredibly slowly, both because of the injury and whatever Alyndra did, intensifying.

But after a few seconds, I managed to place it over hers, clenching my fingers tighter than they should've managed.

It wasn't a matter of if Subaru and Kael managed to protect Alya, if I died, she will too. That feeling was suffocating.

I didn't even have the freedom to die without being filled with unbearable regrets.

[Danger to host life detected! Maximum regeneration mode activated! Emergency!]

[Vitality: 80—>40—>5—>3—>2—>1…]

[Vitality unable to regenerate! Failure! Emergency! Emergency!]

I blinked away the screaming system screen, leaning my cheek against Alya's soft, wet with tears, kissing it with my bloody, half-left lips.

Her eyes flooded as she turned her face, kissing my bloody, fleshy, and gooey mess of lips, inserting her tongue in my mouth as her sweet, honey-like flavor filled my senses, as she obsessively sucked my blood-covered tongue, her warm breath sending shock waves that overwhelmed the burning pain.

It is over for me, I guess? At least she was also able to drink my blood. This should make us a couple. Dying like this… It was much better than before. Much better.

Alya's tongue stopped moving over my tongue as her shaking whisper rang in my ear, "You aren't Lucien Bloodborne… M–Mark."

My pupils dilated as I met Alya's deep red eyes; they were filled with pure shock.

Memories… How could I miss something that important?! I was able to see her memories when I drank her blood…. Why wouldn't she be?

A hollow feeling in my heart and a gut-wrenching chest pain replaced my acceptance completely. My eyes were watering up with a strange fear.

Was I about to get hated and killed and thought of as a monster by the first woman who had shown me what love felt like?

I had no mouth to even scream in defense.

But even if I could, it wouldn't have changed anything. Imagine a person you'd known for all your living years suddenly being replaced by someone you never knew and pretending to be the person you're so familiar with.

It's scary, repulsive, demonic, betraying, and heart-shattering.

Her lips had distanced a centimeter, her shaky breath telling me more about how fucked up she was at this moment.

Huh?!

My eyes widened as soft, springy, plump, tasting like cherry and Alya, wet, and warm, pressed desperately against me. Alya's lips. They soon parted, kissing and sucking me even more lovingly than before.

"I was so incredibly confused," Alya began, her voice having no doubt in it, as she had never been so certain of something.

"I felt nothing around Lucien, ever. I just did whatever he said I should. When the Empire fell, I had believed I was free…

Carrying that, I tried to kill him more than seventy times in the first week." Her voice weakened as she kissed me harder, her salty tears getting in my mouth as she pressed her face closer to me.

"I couldn't. And when you died, I had realised how utterly helpless I am. It was more suffocating than when I was tied by all limbs with a glass filled in my mouth and a woolen cloth wrapped over it.

But then suddenly, it wasn't. I was so confused... Why is the source of all my problems filling me with warmth?"

"Alya…" I was hugging her body as tightly as I could. Even with all my silver tongue, there wasn't a single word I could think of at this moment besides her name.

"This… This isn't servitude… It's l-love. I love you. Thank you for becoming him. Thank you."

"…You're crazy, Alya." I couldn't help but mutter. Forgiving a lie, and even being happy about it, I didn't know any other woman who could do that besides her. My lips were uncontrollably smiling for some reason.

She just smiled proudly, "We both are."

"Everything you said, about thanking me for becoming Lucien, I think I feel it ten times worse. I really fucking lucked out to have you say this to me… I–I think I am hopelessly in love with you."

"Impressive. I had no idea there was an ability that could work without Arcana. Bloodright Resonance at this age is just impressive." Alyndra's surprised voice broke the moment.

"Luci… Your lips…" Alya and I finally noticed. She wasn't kissing a bloody mess anymore. But red lips. Touching my face, I could feel skin.

[Vitality: 75—>79—>80]

Right! Drinking my blood healed Alya's minor injuries, but because of [Reverse Connection], which could share all effects with the bonded partner, I was fully healed…

"So, that artifact removed all Arcana from my body, huh?" I patted Alya's head before we finally broke the kiss.

"It started and drained most of yours first, but it is slowly lessening everyone's, too." A short, old man rubbed his long, white beard.

I nodded. My smirk returned as I turned back to Alyndra, "You're so underestimating Subaru's raw physical strength and our fists, buddy."

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