Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 146 - Compatability

The girl, Evangeline, sat down in front on Vahn with a relieved expression on her face as she said, "Indeed. Since this is primarily my fault, I'll begin, unless you'd like to say anything first?" She stared toward Vahn with her clear blue eyes and he could see the coldness she had in their previous meetings had largely faded. Vahn thought for a moment with his eyes closed before asking, "Which form is the real you?"

Hearing his question, Evangeline released a sad sigh as she explained, "This is my true form. My a.d.u.l.t form requires mana to sustain." Vahn nodded his head because he noticed that, while she was in her child form, her aura had become more stable. He continued in a questioning tone, "You said you were a vampire, is that why you tried to suck my blood?"

Evangeline heard him mention his blood, and she was somewhat surprised with how casually he brought up the subject that seemed to have set him off previously. She furrowed her brows a bit and explained, "Yes, ever since I was turned into a vampire I had developed the ability to absorb the energy contained within people's blood. I don't need it to sustain myself, as I'm what is called a Shinso, or a True Vampire. However, in my current form, I don't have a way to easily restore my magical power. I was hoping to use your blood as a substitute while you slowly develop your combat skills against me."

Vahn thought about her words, and it made a bit of sense if that was really the case. Since she didn't have a real physical body, there was no way for her to regenerate her mana. There was also nothing within the space, so there was little chance she would be able to find food or resources to replenish her energy. While he was thinking, Evangeline asked in a low tone, "Can I ask why you were so angry after I sucked your blood? You said something about not being the tool of others..."

Seeing the sorry expression on her small face, Vahn released a heavy sigh and began explaining the matters about his past. He couldn't tell her the whole truth, but he told her a very close version. As he narrated his story, she continued to listen quietly and he could see various emotions like sadness, melancholy, and painful reminiscence. Vahn remembered her earlier words when she talked about how she was 'turned into a vampire', and noticed she had a similarly sad expression.

After he finished his story, Evangeline looked at him with a sad expression on her face as she said in a soft tone, "We are very similar, you know that? Much like the people that experimented on you and your blood, I was also the victim of a madman that wanted to conduct research on immortality. On the eve of my 10th birthday, that evil man used a powerful magic to turn my body into that of a Shinso Vampire. In the bout of madness I suffered after 'awakening', I ended up killing one of the servants in the castle and fled in fear."

Vahn could see a hint of tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she continued her story, "I didn't even know who had turned me into a vampire for a long time, but later discovered it was a man known as 'The Mage of the Beginning'. He was a fiercely intelligent and powerful mage and pursued the secrets of Immortality until he eventually became a 'ceaseless' entity. I was just one of his experiments, and the only reason he had chosen me was that I looked like a doll..."

She rested her head on her knees and hugged her legs tightly as she said with a slight crying voice, "Just because such a stupid reason, my entire life was ruined. I had to flee my home and spent hundreds of years being treated like a monster. If I hadn't been immortal, I would have died countless times. Even then, that would have been better than the suffering I had to experience as people hunted me down. It wasn't until I increased my magic to a frightening extent that I was finally freed from their pursuit. But, no matter how long I researched and increased my strength, I could never break free from this curse."

After her words, she peeked up over her knees and stared at Vahn with moist eyes, "I'm sorry if you felt like I was treating you like the type of people we both hate. I have spent so much time in this space with only my memories and regrets, focused entirely on the purpose of why I was left behind by the original in this orb. I'm not very good at dealing with people, and I needed blood to sustain my magic for future battles..."

Vahn felt very bad for the young girl after she recounted her long history. Compared to the fourteen years he suffered, her hundreds of years made his short period of suffering seem almost inconsequential by comparison. Though he couldn't distance himself well from his own past, he could at least empathize with her situation to a certain extent. Vahn tried to show her a gentle smile, but he couldn't help but cramp up at the attempt.

Seeing Vahn's expression falter, Evangeline realized that he still couldn't easily forgive her. Though his forgiveness wasn't that important to her, the thought that he saw her in the same vein as the monsters that tormented them saddened her. She hung her head to her knees and focused on trying to calm her own emotions. After a minute or so, she suddenly heard him ask, "If I give you my blood, will you help me train properly from now on?"

Evangeline was surprised, and she raised her head and could see the concern in Vahn's eyes. Even though he was obviously still afraid of her, he still showed her concern when she was sad. Evangeline felt a sour feeling in her heart as she said in a low voice, "I can try, but I still know almost nothing about your magic system. The two energies seem to be fundamentally different, and you seem to have no understanding of magic spells or how to create magic circles. Just where did you come from before you obtained my orb?"

Vahn thought for a minute or so before he explained, "I have always lived on the continent of Eden, and I'm not sure where that is located in the grand scheme of things. I obtained your orb after overcoming a trial and obtaining its rewards. The description mentioned a skill called 'Magia Erebea', and it should be compatible with my energy system, even if the magical structure is different."

As the entity that had been entrusted to teach 'Magia Erebea', Evangeline knew that was why he came here. However, his story didn't clear up any of the questions she had. Even when he transformed and used his magical domain, they were completely different than the system from her world. She began to suspect that Vahn came from a divergent timeline or an alternate dimension that had overlapped with Mundus Magicus at some point.

After thinking for a moment, Evangeline made a decision that would fundamentally change how Vahn would fight in the future. She looked at him and asked in a serious tone, "Do you want to become my disciple? If you agree, I will teach you the basics of my magic system and try to increase your qualifications to learn my 'Magia Erebea'. Even if your body is compatible with the spell, it won't matter if you aren't able to stabilize the magic due to incompatibilities."

Vahn smiled a bit and was grateful for her change in mentality. He had always wanted to learn how to cast magic at some point, and Evangeline seemed to be a mage that transcended the peak of Tier 4. He couldn't understand the extent of her power but knew that, if he accepted her proposal, he would experience a vast improvement in his strength in the future. Just as he was about to agree, Vahn remembered her words from earlier, so he asked, "That would require you to drain my blood, right?"

Evangeline flinched a bit at his words, but seeing that his expression hadn't changed, she nodded her head and said, "That is correct. In exchange for teaching you, I'll need to drain a bit of your blood every day to sustain my magical power. Fortunately, the purity and energy contained within your blood is ridiculous, and it shouldn't take too much to recover all of my mana..."

Though the idea of having his blood drawn made Vahn very uncomfortable, it wasn't that bad if he allowed it to be drawn willingly. He remembered the warm feeling that had spread through his body at the time and asked, "Earlier, when you sucked my blood, I felt a strange feeling. What was that?" Vahn asked the words because he was genuinely curious, but he never expected the reaction that Evangeline had when he asked.

Contrary to all of his impressions of her, she blushed with a red face as she stuttered, "T-that was just a side-effect of when a vampire draws blood. To keep the other person calm, our fangs secrete a magical fluid that makes people feel good. Some people call it a vampire's charm..." The reason Evangeline had attacked Vahn from behind was that she never liked feeding on people from the front if she could help it. Seeing the enamored expression that some of her victims had, she always felt very unnerved.

Compared to her a.d.u.l.t form, Vahn found the current Evangeline to be very cute, especially after watching her stutter and blush as she answered his question. Though he wouldn't say it himself, especially after hearing about the 'Mage of the Beginning', Vahn also thought that she looked very much like a doll. The gothic-style dress with ribbons and frills enhanced the platinum blonde hair and crystalline blue eyes of her well-featured face.

As someone that has lived for hundreds of years, Vahn's look couldn't escape her eyes and she couldn't tolerate that he was 'teasing' her, even if it was in his mind. With a smile on her face, she asked again, "So, will you become my disciple, or do you want me to send you out of this space?"

Now that Vahn knew there wasn't anything strange about the warmth he had felt earlier, he didn't think the downsides outweighed the benefits he would gain by accepting her offer. With his regeneration, he could probably generate blood faster than she would be able to suck, so it wouldn't affect him that much. After thinking about the matter for a few seconds, he uttered the words that would lead to his future suffering without hesitation, "Yes, I'll become your disciple, Evangeline."

Evangeline lifted herself off the ground and 'dusted' off her dress before walking closer to Vahn and saying, "From now on, you will call me Master Evangeline, or Evangeline-sama. Any other form of address, without my consent, will end up with you being punished." Though Vahn hadn't ever referred to anyone as 'Master', he understood it was the appropriate form of address given the situation so he responded, "Yes, Master Evangeline."

Hearing Vahn called her as she ordered him, her brows furrowed a bit but fixed her expression a moment later. Vahn was currently sitting on the floor while leaning back on both of his hands with his legs crossed. Evangeline stood over him, and while he looked at her with a bit of curiosity, she sat down in his lap. Vahn was a bit surprised by her actions, but he didn't have to ask before she explained, "It's easier if I suck your blood like this. Just relax if you can, or hug my body if you can't."

Though Evangeline would normally never suck someone's blood from the front, she had taken a slight interest in Vahn due to their similarities and his good-natured character. She had been in this place for countless years, and would probably be spending a lot of time with him in the future. Since he had teased her earlier, she wanted to see him in a fl.u.s.tered state when she sucked his blood. Unexpectedly, Vahn didn't seem to be fl.u.s.tered at all when she sat in his lap, so she asked, "Aren't you very composed? With how young you are, I can't imagine you have much experience with women."

Vahn tilted his head after hearing her words and said plainly, "Experience with women? Do you mean like s.e.x and stuff? Right now, I already have two lovers and a future mate with several others potential lovers for the future." Though it wasn't his intention, Vahn's words seemed to deal critical damage to Evangeline as she looked at him with an incredulous expression and asked, "How old are you?"

Though he was a bit confused by her question, Vahn answered, "I'm currently fourteen, but I'll be turning 15 in a few months." Vahn's words matched with how old Evangeline thought he was, but she couldn't help but wonder what kind of society he lived in if he was able to casually mention having multiple lovers and future lovers. Right now, she was sitting on his lap while trying to tease him, but she was the one becoming fl.u.s.tered. Although she had lived for hundreds of years, she was still inexperienced in such matters due to various reasons.

Releasing a somewhat 'sad' sigh, Evangeline leaned forward so she could suck Vahn's blood. Though she wasn't able to get a rise out of him by sitting in his lap, she still believed that he would act like a fool when she started drawing his blood. She moved his collar aside and bit into the side of his neck with her small fangs and started sucking his blood.

Vahn felt the sharp pain from the insertion of the fangs, but it faded away almost instantly as the warm feeling started to spread in his body. It was a very pleasant sensation, so Vahn just closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth as it continued to spread. He could feel Evangeline breathing through her nose, and the airflow tickled his neck a bit, but he just tried to ignore it and allow her to continue.

Evangeline had noticed that, though he had a very slight blush, Vahn seemed unaffected by the 'charm' effect in her fangs. She began to suspect that his body prevented him from suffering any serious effects, and he likely just felt magical energy spreading in his body. Though it would undoubtedly feel pleasant, it wouldn't get her the reaction she wanted out of him. With a bit of frustration on her face, she leaned her non-existent b.r.e.a.s.ts against his body and prodded his neck a bit with her tongue.

When she leaned forward, Vahn's position had become a bit awkward, so he corrected his balance and put his hands around her waist as she had instructed earlier. The moment he did so, he felt her body twitch and she stopped sucking his blood for a few seconds before continuing. Vahn remarked how soft her body was, but also felt that she was very small in his embrace. Right now, she was around the same height as Nanu, at 130cm, but she felt several pounds lighter and hade much fairer skin.

Evangeline became increasingly fl.u.s.tered by Vahn's failure to react, even after she pressed her b.r.e.a.s.ts against him. Even when he put his arms around her back, she was the one to flinch while he just continued to sit with a mildly pleased expression on his face. Her urge to make him panic continued to increase, and she started sucking more and more blood from his body. If she could make him light-headed, at the very least she could get him to ask her to stop.

Unfortunately, no matter how long she sucked his blood, it seemed to never run out and even the density of the energy remained unchanged. Evangeline had long reached her magical capacity, and now she was trying to diffuse some of her mana into the air while continuing to absorb his blood. Eventually, her jaw actually started getting tired and she couldn't resist the overflowing magical energy in her body any longer. Releasing a long and hot sigh against Vahn's neck, she slowly separated from his body and turned her back to him.

Vahn was surprised at how long she had sucked his blood since she previously said it wouldn't take much. Against his expectations, she had continued sucking his blood for nearly half an hour before she finally reached capacity. Vahn suspected that her magical energy was much higher than he expected and she had been misleading him a bit earlier. She probably realized that his blood was regenerating, so she continued to drain more and more until she finally became full.

Now that she had turned her back to him, Vahn started to stand up while asking, "Are you satisfied, Master Evangeline?" The moment he asked the question, Vahn's instincts signaled danger to his mind as a large block of ice slammed into him from the front. His body hurled through the sky until he slammed hard into the ground. As he hadn't made any effort to defend himself, Vahn immediately suffered critical damage as his body began to dissolve into particles. The last thing he saw before he was ejected from the black and white world was the fair, snow-white face of Evangeline having turned beet red.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Loli Baba Rages','Empathy','Dark Magician Vahn')