Chapter 28: Well Fed and Satisfied

At the same time, Abraham, sitting next to Cain, had a much more elegant posture.

A bone container grew in front of him.
‘Is it a human skull?’

He picked up the bone cup in front of him and scooped up a cupful from the wooden basin full of fresh blood.

He gently swirled the viscous liquid in the cup, his movements carrying an elegant rhythm, as if he were appreciating a vintage wine.

The blood-red liquid clung to the walls of the cup, leaving behind viscous streaks.

Under the horrified gazes of the surrounding nuns, Abraham brought the rim of the cup to his lips and slightly tilted his head back.

“Gulp…”

His Adam’s apple rolled up and down.
The sound of the liquid sliding down his throat was clearly audible.

He drank the full cup of fresh blood in one go, a streak of crimson staining his lips.

He put down the bone cup, a pleasant smile on his face, as if he had just drunk some kind of ambrosia.

Bai Jin stood at the entrance of the refectory, feeling a chill run up to the top of her head.
The intense hunger was completely dispelled by the scene before her.

She subconsciously took a step back, bumping into the doorframe with a muffled thud.

The gazes of Cain and Abraham swept over at almost the same time.

“Oh? Her Holiness the Saintess’s little follower is finally awake?”
Cain grinned, his mouth full of bloody foam, revealing a ferocious smile.

“Come, come, don’t just stand there like a fool! Have a taste of the true grace of the Holy Blood! This flesh, full of life force, is simply a supreme delicacy!”

As he spoke, Cain once again tore off a strip of bloody meat and swallowed it with his head tilted back.

Abraham, on the other hand, elegantly took out a clean white handkerchief, wiped the blood from the corners of his lips, and then also wiped the rim of the bone cup clean.

“Sister Bai Jin, there’s no need to be reserved. The life essence transformed by the power of the Holy Blood is far superior to ordinary food.”

He raised his hand slightly, motioning for Bai Jin to take a seat.
“It can temper your body and strengthen your faith!”

In front of another empty seat at the table, dark-red flesh buds began to writhe, clearly about to grow her share of the holy sacrament.

Bai Jin looked at the writhing, dripping flesh and blood, and only felt her stomach churn, her throat tightening.

A sense of absurdity mixed with strong nausea welled up in her heart.

‘This Abraham, is he a vampire or something…’

‘What kind of good priest drinks blood here!’

‘And Cain, eating raw, living flesh, more barbaric than a ghoul!’

‘Are the elites of the Holy Blood Royal Court all like this?’

Her brain worked rapidly, trying to find a suitable excuse.

“I… I’m willing to try!”
A trembling yet exceptionally firm voice sounded.

Everyone followed the voice and saw Maria standing up from the corner.

She clenched her fists tightly, her body trembling slightly.
Her small, pale face still had a residue of fear, yet for some reason, she had mustered an inexplicable courage, her gaze fixed on the viscous fresh blood on the table.

“Maria!”
A nun who was on good terms with Maria cried out in alarm, wanting to stop her.

But she had already walked quickly to the long table.
She looked at the basin of roiling crimson blood plasma, then at the two adults who were looking at her with approval.

Maria seemed to have received great encouragement.
She took a deep breath, picked up a wooden spoon from the table, and scooped up a spoonful of viscous fresh blood from the basin!

Maria closed her eyes, overcame the fear in her heart, and forcefully put the spoon into her mouth!

“Gulp…”

Her body trembled for a moment, and all the color drained from her face.
A strong urge to vomit made her bend over, but she covered her mouth tightly.

Then, a faint fluctuation of life force emanated from her body.

[Contract about to be signed Detected…]

[「Contract of Fate · Holy Blood」, Reverse?]

The authority in Bai Jin’s mind instantly gave a notification.

‘Is this… the Holy Blood’s method of expanding its believers? No, I must stop Maria from establishing a connection with the Holy Blood!’

However—

[Current Authority priority is lower than 「Contract of Fate · Holy Blood」]

[Reversal Failed…]

‘Damn it, you useless authority, what are you even good for!’

The faint fluctuation of life force on Maria’s body stabilized and took on an aura of the same origin as the Holy Blood!

A dim crimson crest flashed on her forehead and then disappeared.

The contract… was made!

“Haha, good! Very good!”
Cain let out a loud laugh and slapped Maria’s shoulder heavily with his large hand.

“This is a good seedling of the Holy Blood! Guts! Faith! Our Lord will surely bless you!”

He looked at Maria with admiration, as if looking at a brand-new tool.

Abraham also nodded slightly, a hint of satisfaction on his stern face.
“Pure faith, fearless courage, you are very good…”

His gaze turned back to Bai Jin at the door.
“See, someone has already made a pious demonstration. Now it’s your turn, Sister Bai Jin?”

All the attention once again focused on Bai Jin.
The pressure, as if it were tangible, pressed down on Bai Jin’s nerves.

‘Refuse? I’m afraid I’ll be branded with impure faith or even heresy.’

‘Just eat this disgusting flesh and blood, and then become a believer of the Holy Blood? I’d rather die!’

She frowned, thinking about what else she could do…

‘Although I’m an unregistered household, I can use the Blood Contract normally with the life force absorbed from Lilith, but I don’t have a good impression of the Holy Blood at all.’

‘The Merchant’s Contract? What can I do with a balance of zero…’

‘Then the only thing left is my unreliable authority, but I don’t have any death energy to activate it…’

‘No, before, when I had no death energy, I couldn’t activate reversal at all.’

‘But this time, it gave a notification. Although it still failed, it means my body does have the power to drive the authority.’

‘Then that makes things easier…’

Bai Jin suppressed the disgust in her heart and forced a relaxed smile on her face.

She took a step forward and walked straight to the long table that was like an altar of flesh and blood.

“Of course, how can I not appreciate the grace of the Holy Blood?”
Bai Jin put on a tone of praising the Holy Blood.
No one knew what she was thinking in her heart.

Her gaze swept over the huge piece of writhing meat on the table, and the basin full of viscous fresh blood.
She tilted her head slightly, and her silver hair, mixed with a strand of black, fell to one side.

“But… this doesn’t seem to be enough for me to eat…”

An obscure light flashed in Bai Jin’s eyes.
The 『Reversal』 deep within her soul was quietly activated by her.

[Reversal Target: The flesh and blood tissue before you]

[Reverse its state of existence, return to the origin of life force!]

A subversive power of rules descended!
The flesh and blood began to writhe and disintegrate!

The bright red color faded, turning ashen, and transformed into pure, crimson life force, continuously pouring into Bai Jin’s palm.

Bai Jin directly used this life force as the price for the Blood Contract 「Recovery」, and it gradually disappeared in her hand.

The feeling of fatigue was swept away.
Her skin seemed to glow with a moist luster.
Her hunger was also dispelled, and her entire state was restored!

Bai Jin rubbed her stomach, let out a burp, and was satisfied.

Cain’s mouth, covered in bloody foam, was agape, his ferocious smile frozen on his face.

Abraham stared fixedly at Bai Jin’s hand absorbing the life force, a storm raging in the depths of his pupils.

He could clearly sense that it was by no means an ordinary application of a Blood Contract!

There was no chanting, no ritual, no price of life force paid, and not even the slightest fluctuation of the Holy Blood’s divine power!

You must know, to be able to freely retract materialized life force was something only the Holy Blood could do!

This was definitely not a power that an ordinary contractor could master, not even something that Royal Court elites of their level could understand!

This was a power that could only be displayed by a Blood Contract that had at least mastered a very high-level Blood Contract, or even touched upon the core mysteries of the Holy Blood’s origin!

This was just a nun by Her Holiness the Saintess’s side, yet she could reclaim life force that even they couldn’t.

Could it be… Her Holiness the Saintess…

Their gazes collided in mid-air, and both saw the deep shock in the other’s eyes.

Their disdain for Lilith was also buried in their hearts, replaced by a reverence for an unknown, powerful existence.