Chapter130

Elara had spent five hundred days of her life and five hundred kingdom fate points on this single flower. She didn't need to do anything else. That bloody, fleshy heart that the insect monster had been holding suddenly shrank a little in his palm, then, ignoring his shock and control, flew straight toward Elara.

She reached out and caught the heart despite her disgust. It was sticky and reeked of blood, like something from a horror film, making goosebumps rise all over her arms.

Elara forced the feeling down and was about to ask System 92 what to do next when the heart in her palm twitched again. The twitch seemed almost... pitiful, like it could feel her disgust. Somehow, that lump of flesh managed to show emotion.

Before she could react more, her disgust triggered something. The heart that had been beating a moment ago began to wither.

The thick, slimy outer layer of flesh sagged and peeled away like dead skin. About three centimeters of rotted tissue fell off. Then from the center, faint blood-colored light began to leak.

When all the rotten flesh had fallen away, only a thumb-sized translucent red pearl remained in her palm. If one looked closely, it appeared to be breathing, gently expanding and contracting like it was alive.

"Ah!!!"

The monster screamed the moment the heart began to rot.

He stared in disbelief as the heart flew from his control straight into Elara's hand. It instantly obeyed her, as if it had become her loyal pet. He had no idea why things had changed so suddenly.

But he didn't get a chance to find out. As the heart completely withered, the monster collapsed into a heap of rotting flesh. The pile was filled with countless tiny insect corpses, just one glance could make someone throw up their last meal.

The swarm of snake-rat-insect beasts that had been rushing out from all directions also began to thrash in pain.

Elara held Uno in her arms, feeling his body still trembling. She gripped the pulsing red pearl in her palm and demanded from System 92, "What now? He's still shaking!"

[Master, please eat the blood pearl.]

Elara froze. She stared at the thing in her palm, which seemed alive. Thinking of how disgusting it had been before, dug out from the monster's chest, her face twisted.

She took a deep breath and asked one last question before forcing herself to swallow it. "This isn't some living queen insect, right? It won't parasitize me, will it?"

[No, Master. You spent five hundred days of your life on this. This product is from the main system. Though it is alive, it's now in its cocoon stage. It's just a cluster of living cells. Once you eat it, your body will absorb and break it down. You'll gain full control of its parasite and blood abilities. It will also greatly benefit your health and give you many advantages later.]

Hearing this, Elara finally closed her eyes, shoved aside the memory of its previous form, and tilted her head back to swallow it whole.

She didn't let her tongue or teeth touch it, afraid of tasting something disgusting.

Once it slid down her throat, her senses buzzed like a special effect. Sounds from all around poured in, chaotic and constant.

She realized she could now hear the tiniest movements of snakes, rats, and insects. She could easily control them to do anything, even end their lives.

She could hear the thoughts of the puppet people. She sensed their desperate desire to please her. They would do anything for her, as long as she got close and gave them one drop of what they craved from her body...

She could also clearly "see" the weaknesses of the controlling parasites inside every puppet. If she wanted, they would be her playthings. She could toy with and command them at will, making them fulfill any of her desires.

It really was an evil cult. Elara felt like she had unwillingly inherited it.

Once the dizziness faded, she didn't bother to explore what other abilities the pearl had given her. She just looked at Uno, who was still lightly trembling.

She then saw that two streams of blood-colored energy were clashing inside him. One was pure and clean, the other dark and bloody.

[Master, both forces are yours. The pure one can only be controlled once your holy spirit blood awakens. For now, control the murky one or Uno's body will be torn apart.]

Elara immediately focused on the murky force, reaching out with her senses. Just as she tried to stabilize it, Uno groaned softly and his body trembled again.

After she soothed the murky force and stopped it from fighting the pure one, his trembling finally stopped. But blood still dripped from his lips, and he could barely stand. He was half-conscious.

Elara looked at his body again. Although the energies had calmed, his body looked like a battlefield, wrecked and injured all over.

[Master, give him some of your blood. A large amount. His insides are torn up. Even if Oswyn treats him later, recovery will be tough and he might have lasting damage.]

Elara half-supported Uno and pulled out a small blade from her pocket. But when she saw her already-slashed fingertips, she looked at her arm.

Blood from her fingers wouldn't be enough. But cutting her arm wasn't a good idea either. She needed to write and issue orders later.

After a moment's thought, Elara looked at Uno's face resting on her shoulder. She simply pulled down the fabric of her left shoulder to expose the skin and gently patted his cheek.

"Uno, bite my shoulder." Her shoulder wasn't needed for writing. A cut there wouldn't be a big issue.

In his half-unconscious state, Uno looked dazed. Her light pats didn't seem to wake his mind. He stared at her blankly, then tightened his arm around her waist and pulled her even closer. He buried his face deeper into her neck and held her tightly. His rough voice murmured against her skin, "Master…"

Elara could barely breathe from his grip. Even dazed, he was strong and instinctively protective, always trying to shield her.

She struggled for a while, finally managing to free part of her head. Uno's face was still pressed tightly to her neck. She reached up and tilted his face toward her shoulder, pressing his lips to her bare skin. "Uno, bite me. Understand?"

He didn't understand. But as his lips touched her soft skin, he paused. Then, to her shock, instead of biting, he started licking her shoulder with a warm, wet tongue.

Elara's breath hitched.

Realizing he truly couldn't understand, she forced one arm free and grabbed the knife again. Looking into his dazed eyes, she directly cut into her own shoulder.

Damn. That cut might've been too deep.

Fragrant blood oozed out slowly. Uno's blank gaze sharpened slightly as he stared at the blood running down her skin.

Then the inner force within him, which had just calmed, flared again. It surged with aggression, triggered by her injury.

After eating the blood pearl, Elara could sense not only the puppets' thoughts but also Uno's vague emotions. She knew he was reacting to her pain and blood.

She dropped the knife and, before he could destroy everything with his power, wrapped her arm around his neck and pressed his face back to her shoulder, right to the fresh wound.

"I already cut myself and offered it to your mouth. Drink, Uno."

She patted his neck gently to calm him. The surging energy stalled once more.

His pale lips touched the wound, staining with her vivid blood.

Maybe it was the allure of the blood of the Blood Spirit master. Maybe it was…

So he didn't do anything else. When Elara's blood flowed into his mouth, Uno slowly opened his lips and covered the entire wound. Then he gently started to suck.

"Hiss…"

The sound of suppressed swallowing, along with a soft breath, echoed near Elara's ear.

Elara let out a low hiss from the suction and felt the arms around her tighten again, like he wanted to merge her into his body. The two of them were pressed tightly together without any space in between.

She didn't know how much time had passed. Just when Elara thought she might faint from blood loss, Uno suddenly trembled and let go of her.

His dazed face quickly returned to normal. The chaotic state inside his body was completely healed. His lips were still stained with Elara's blood, dyed bright red, and slightly parted. With his stiff, shocked, and pained expression, he looked completely confused and conflicted.

"I…" He stared at Elara's shoulder, which had turned pale from his sucking. After pausing for two seconds, he realized what had happened. He suddenly dropped to his knees in front of her and raised his hand toward himself.

Elara could sense his emotions, especially the intense turmoil in his mind.

So when he lifted his hand, she grabbed it. She held it in one hand and grabbed his chin with the other, forcing the overwhelmed Uno to look at her.

"Uno, this wasn't your fault. I made the cut myself. I wanted to save you, and I forced you to drink the blood. You didn't do anything wrong. Understand?"

Uno was a good man, but sometimes he got stuck in his own thoughts too deeply.

Whenever she got injured, no matter how it happened, he always blamed himself. Then he would follow the Wei clan rules and punish himself without mercy.

That wouldn't do at all.

"I just saved you. It cost me a lot of blood, and you're not allowed to let that go to waste. You're not allowed to hurt yourself. Got it?"

Uno's chaotic and painful emotions slowly calmed down under Elara's firm voice.

His eyes lowered. Almost mechanically and instinctively, he nodded. He obeyed her command and looked at her without blinking. Though his emotions still flickered in his eyes, he gently lowered the hand he had raised.

"Good boy," Elara said as she reached up to touch the back of his neck. She could tell his emotions had settled. Though something deep inside him still stirred with feelings she couldn't clearly sense, at least he wouldn't hurt himself anymore.

She had successfully saved and calmed Uno, and Elara let out a breath of relief.

She turned to glance at her pale shoulder. Then she took out the healing medicine Oswyn had given her and sprinkled it on the wound.

The effect was immediate. The bleeding stopped, and the skin that had been sore from the sucking was now cool and soothed. Even the pain faded.

Elara moved her shoulder a little. After confirming there was no issue, she leaned on Uno's hand to stand up.

She had spent quite some time feeding him. A lot of blood was gone. She thought her weak body might faint or collapse, but after standing up, she didn't feel dizzy or faint at all. In fact, her body even felt warm.

[That's the blood pearl working, Master. It can't heal you directly, but it will slowly nourish your body from inside.]

Fine. Since it was clearly a treasure, she wouldn't hold a grudge over how disgusting it had been earlier.

Elara supported herself on Uno and took a few steps forward. Once she was sure she was completely fine, she let go of him and got ready to leave the cave to deal with the aftermath.

But as soon as she took two steps, her body suddenly became light. Uno had picked her up again.

"Uno?"

He held her tightly. Elara wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but his hands seemed to be trembling slightly.

"Master… you're tired… let me carry you out…"

Uno was carrying her with his back toward her. She couldn't see his expression. She guessed he was still affected by what had just happened.

That was fine. When he brought her in earlier, this little stone tunnel was long and hard to walk through. Now that he was carrying her out, it would save time and energy.

Just as Elara was about to nod, she suddenly felt warm breath against her neck. Maybe because she had paused too long, Uno was afraid she'd say no. He tried to suppress the strong emotions still surging inside him, but he couldn't help himself. He gently pressed his face to her ear and spoke in a low, hoarse, trembling voice.

"Please… Master…"

To be honest, Elara's ears tingled for a moment.

She instinctively turned her face slightly away. Right now, Uno seemed a bit too… seductive? Clingy?

It looked like the Wei clan's teachings and the blood bond really had a strong effect. Elara sighed softly inside and turned her face away again. Then she nodded and agreed, "Alright. Take me out of here."