Chapter 95: A Deal with the True Bloodkin

A small figure gradually rose from the blood pool. Witnessing the eerie scene before her, the black-haired girl was struck with horror, instinctively shrinking further into the corner.

As an Incomplete Bloodkin, artificially created by stealing the power of the Bloodkin, the black-haired girl understood. The petite figure in the blood pool, capable of manipulating blood and shifting forms, was undoubtedly a true Bloodkin.

Only then did she comprehend why Lovelenica had urged her to flee earlier. Lovelenica, being a true Bloodkin herself, must have recognized her as merely an artificially created Incomplete Bloodkin. She likely wished to uncover the forces behind the girl, not wanting her to be instantly slain, which was why she had let her escape.

Nikola swiftly emerged from the blood pool. Her previous Gothic dress had been torn, replaced by a simple pink and white dress. Though it appeared much plainer, it stood out even more strikingly against the crimson blood pool.

“Hey, brat, judging by your expression, you must understand why I spared your life, right?”

“…”

The black-haired girl fell silent, maintaining an absolute vigilance toward Nikola. From Nikola, she sensed an invisible pressure, an undeniable force. In her current state, she knew she couldn’t possibly defeat her opponent. Given that, her only option was to find a way to escape.

‘But… I’m facing a true Bloodkin! Super-high-speed movement is nothing to a real Bloodkin. Any ability I possess, they also have, and they command powers I haven’t managed to steal. Can I truly escape from them?’

Before she acquired the Bloodkin’s power, she had been nothing more than an ordinary human. She wasn’t even a professional of any kind, possessing no magical energy whatsoever.

She had only chosen to enlist in the military, to earn money for her gravely ill mother’s medical treatment. It was for this reason that she had agreed to undergo this experiment, one that defied morality and blasphemed the divine.

From an ordinary person, she had transformed into an Incomplete Bloodkin. Not only did she gain the Bloodkin’s super-high-speed movement, but she also awakened the ability to control bullet trajectories.

With the might of the Bloodkin combined with military-grade weaponry, her combat prowess had clearly reached the Impure-level.

As a successful test subject, her mother had received the best possible treatment.

In truth, she held no opinions regarding the nation’s ambition to rule the continent. She was simply following orders, ensuring her mother received healing.

As long as she remained alive, as long as she could continue to carry out missions as a test subject, her mother would not be abandoned.

Therefore, she absolutely had to escape from her opponent’s grasp.

The black-haired girl did not answer Nikola’s question. Instead, a flash of silver light erupted from her hand, and several oval, purplish-black objects were flung at Nikola’s feet.

Nikola observed the objects, which bore a striking resemblance to grenades from her past life. She immediately understood that these were likely products of Arcane Technology. Her opponent had barely used any magic throughout their encounter, relying solely on the power of the Bloodkin and Arcane Technology in combat. From this, the girl’s origins seemed quite clear.

“Still trying to resist, are we… Heh heh…”

Boom—

Nikola sneered. Before her words even faded, an explosion abruptly ripped through the house. Purplish-black flames engulfed the entire room, collapsing the floor beneath. The black-haired girl, having tossed the grenades, immediately scrambled out the window. Yet, she was still caught in the blast, sent flying backward, and fragments from the impact even gashed her back and shoulders.

The grenades were not filled with ordinary gunpowder, as its power was too negligible to affect professionals or Fantasy Creatures. Instead, they contained compressed fire elements. Each grenade’s explosive force was comparable to a Fourth-tier Fire Burst spell.

What did it matter if Imeline could cast spells beyond her tier? Such feats would only rapidly deplete her magical energy. These Arcane Technology weapons, however, consumed no magic at all, making them usable by anyone.

Even the magic scrolls developed by the Mage Association for the Church Sanctuary required magical energy to activate and unleash. Arcane Technology weapons, by contrast, needed none whatsoever.

“Is it… dealt with?”

The black-haired girl clutched her profusely bleeding shoulder, glancing at the house that had been reduced to ruins. At such close range, a Fourth-tier Fire Burst spell should have obliterated even a Bloodkin, shouldn’t it?

Blood slowly seeped from the crevices of the rubble. Nikola’s body had indeed been torn to shreds, with even mutilated chunks of flesh buried beneath the debris. But… could this truly kill Nikola?

Yet, the flowing blood began to slowly gather on the ground before the black-haired girl, coalescing into a small pool. Observing the irregular movement of the blood, the black-haired girl instantly understood: her opponent was not someone she could kill. She had to escape.

She immediately activated her physical abilities, flashing onto the rooftop. A sudden chill, however, ran down her spine. Nikola’s body, though not yet fully reformed, was already capable of movement. The black-haired girl felt an immense push from behind, a powerful blow that sent her tumbling back to the ground.

“Brat, how about we make a deal?”

After knocking the black-haired girl back to the ground, Nikola landed before her. Her physical form was now completely restored, still adorned in a pink and white dress. This wasn’t the same dress as before; that one had been blasted into fragments.

If Nikola had truly intended to kill the black-haired girl, she could have easily pierced her with her sharp claws in that last attack. But Nikola had not.

From her previous encounters with the Fallen Nun and Rachel, it was clear that threatening her opponents was futile. Moreover, the information those two possessed was notably sparse.

Nikola’s intuition told her that the black-haired girl before her held significantly more information than the previous two. Her fighting style was entirely unlike that of typical professionals. Earlier, when Nikola had mocked her, calling her an Incomplete Bloodkin, the girl hadn’t reacted defensively like Rachel had. Instead, she had merely acknowledged the fact calmly, suggesting she wasn’t as extreme as Rachel and likely possessed some insider knowledge.

Thus, Nikola decided to try a different approach, hoping to extract information from her.

“…You merely want to know the source of my power and the forces behind me, don’t you? A deal? If I tell you, will you let me go?”

The black-haired girl was unwilling to give Nikola any useful information. She believed that even if she revealed everything, Nikola would never let her go. Her opponent was a true Bloodkin; how could such a being tolerate this blasphemous act of stealing Bloodkin power?

Although humans could be transformed into Bloodkin through the First Embrace, those who received it had to be pure. Beings like her, who defied rules and common sense, were a blasphemy to both humans and Bloodkin alike.