315 Bloodlust

-----Yui's POV

Luna: "Why's Mell acting like this?"

Yui: "I-I don't-"

For a while now, Fleur and Faye have been restraining Mell from attacking Leon. We looked over Leon's body, but there was no wounds to be healed, so I'm unsure of why he's still unconscious, especially with how violent Mell is behaving. And after looking back over to Mell, I feel a strong sense to try and put a stop to this.

After taking a deep breath, I make my way over to Mell who's arms are still being held by Fleur and Faye. Thinking that words might not cut it, I lunge forth, wrapping my arms around Mell, hoping that with her smelling Kaede's scent on me calms her down.

Mell: "Y-Yui... Move."

Yui: "I cannot do that."

Her voice was a bit softer than her previous outburst, but I can still sense her hatred towards Leon. I still have no idea why she wants to kill him, but I can't let that happen.

Mell: "Why not?! He's the one that nearly killed mom!"

Yui: "What?"

Everyone else beside Fleur and Faye were shocked at Mell's statement. I would've thought it to be a joke if it weren't for Fleur's and Faye's reaction. But even with that said, I remain firm and tighten my embrace around Mell's body.

Mell: "Why?!"

Yui: "Kaede wouldn't want to see you like this."

Mell: "I don't!-"

Yui: "Do you want to risk what Kaede has built here? If you kill Leon, then that'll ruin everything Kaede's trying to do."

Mell: "...But."

I bring her head tighter up against my chest, trying everything I can to calm her down.

Yui: "Kaede isn't hurt now, right? You can feel her pain."

Mell: "Y-yes... But that still doesn't change what he did to mom."

Yui: "Well if Kaede wanted him dead, then why would Kaede send Mai to drop him off here?"

Mell: "..."

Seems like I'm finally getting through to her as even Fleur and Faye seemed to have sensed Mell calming down, even loosening their grasp on Mell's arms.

Yui: "So let's just wait till Kaede comes back, okay?"

Mell: "..."

She didn't say anything, but I could feel her head nod against my chest, as I feel the corners of my mouth slowly rise, knowing that this little outburst is finally over. I move Mell's head away from me as I look her in her eyes. Her bright, scarlet red eyes were no longer filled with bloodlust, but there's still clearly some discomfort in there. With a smile still on my face, I place both my hands on either side of Mell's face before pinching the corners of her mouth into a smile.

Yui: "Perfect."

And when I let go, her smile does disappear, but there's still some subtle amount of happiness tucked away in there.

Luna: "You handled that well."

Fleur: "Mhmm. I would've thought we'd be holding Mell back all day."

Yui: "Thanks, haha."

I can't say that it was all because of me. I know that Kaede also helped me in calming down Mell to an extent with her scent on me.

Mell: "Sorry..."

Faye: "It's okay. When I saw Leon suddenly show up, I felt the same way."

Fleur: "But like what Yui said. Now isn't the time to make any rash decisions."

Sicily: "So then, what did this Leon person try to do to Kaede?"

Fleur: "When our bodies were burning up, and also the pain at the back of our heads."

Lillian: "What about the coldness?"

Faye: "That was someone else."

It's crazy to hear all of this from them. It really sounds like they're connected with Kaede, which honestly makes me a tad bit jealous. A part of me wishes that I could've experience those pains as well, although it does look quite scary at times. I can only imagine their pain.

And so with Mell now calmed down, we make our way back over to Leon who's still unconscious. He's breathing so at least he's alive, so I wonder why he's still asleep?

Lillian: "Strange."

Yui: "Hmm?"

Lillian: "Looking over him, he barely seems to have any mana. Honestly reminds me of a child."

Luna: "What? But Leon is a light magic user. He should have a large amount of mana inside him."

Lillian: "Well right now, I doubt he could even cast anything."

Hearing that almost reminds me of my own situation. Except I was granted some mana from Kaede's blood, whereas Leon has apparently lost his. It might be a bit cruel to think about, but I feel happy knowing that there's someone who's in a similar situation as me.

Luna: "Did Kaede somehow take away his mana?"

Sicily: "Pfft. I don't think that's possible."

Lillian: "Sure, you can drain one's mana, but their mana will still regenerate. But in Leon's case, his mana capacity is also close to nothing."

Yui: "Is that why he hasn't woken up?"

Lillian: "I believe so. Mana is one's lifeforce, so having this little mana would definitely cause one to look like this."

So then would that mean that Leon would never wake up? If his mana is permanently stuck at such a low level, then how would he wake up? I guess Kaede could turn him into a vampire, giving him mana in the process like what happened with those three, but that might be too dangerous. Leon was already powerful enough at school, so seeing him be a vampire on top of that sounds far too extreme.

Fleur: "Let's just look after him here until Kaede gets back."

Lillian: "Agreed."

-----Kaede's POV

After flying over to where the battle is taking place with Ilfa, it's now time to call off this whole thing. It was then that all the monsters, ranging from the tall beings such as minotaur, giants, and dragons to the small like the kobolds beings suddenly stop before looking up towards Ilfa. I was about to question what happened, but then I remembered that Ilfa's voice echoed through my head back when I initially fought her. She's probably doing the thing right now.

And after seeing Ilfa taking control, I quickly fly down between the monsters and the humans, stretching my arms and wings wide as if to signal for them to stop.

Kaede: "Stop! We're calling off the attack!"

I shout out the order as many of the humans from Yarene quickly stop casting spells and direct their attention to me. Their faces were perplexed, however they all seemed to understand and listen to my words... However.

Leris Soldier1: "I knew it!

Leris Soldier2: "We never should've trusted that bloodsucker."

The Leris soldiers seems to have had a different response to my words as I notice a small group of them begin to channel some magic, seeming to be getting ready to cast it towards me. A part of me wants to just fly over there in a blink of an eye and kill them, but I need to play this smart. I'd hate for Yarene and Leris to be on bad terms after this. So I opt to just take this head on. I've seen what their commander can do and they don't seem all that strong to begin with. And so, I erect a light barrier around my body in preparation for their attack.

And after 5 more seconds, the group of Leris soldiers fire off a massive fireball my way. I continue to remain where I am, spreading my arms wide to get them to stop, but of course that wouldn't happen. However, I might've underestimated their magic as I feel my barrier cracking from the initial blast, even pushing me back over to the monster's side. And if that wasn't enough, the fireball exploded into several smaller fireballs as they all home in on me, coming from all different directions. And before I could repair my barrier, they all made contact with me as I end up being shot down to the ground, landing at the feet of giant that is wielding a massive lump of metal. Thankfully I don't seem to have any wounds, but to think that a group of Leris soldiers could break through my barrier...

Leris Soldiers: "Kill them all!"

Hearing that shout, I stand back up as the monsters around me look my way, most of them looking confused as they quickly look back up at Ilfa. I had a feeling that this wouldn't go down easy, but thankfully the Yarene soldiers haven't joined the Leris soldiers in their attack. But in the next moment, all the monsters resumed their battle with the humans, running past me in the process. However, it doesn't look like the monsters are attacking the Yarene soldiers, which was relieving to see.

Neri: "Kaede!"

Suddenly, Neri popped up next to me as we end up moving away from the battle. It's scary how stealthy she is. That mask and cloak really does a great job at concealing her mana.

Neri: "Are you sure about this?"

Kaede: "Yes. I don't think Ilfa is our enemy."

Neri: "It took some convincing, but the captain agreed to it. Although he isn't happy."

Kaede: "I'm sorry."

It was a selfish thing for me to do, but I just can't bring myself to kill Ilfa. She looked to be genuinely caring towards Fabian and even during our brief talk, she didn't feel like the demon queen that she was made out to be. She even helped me take down Leon who I didn't really want to harm, even agreeing to let him live at the end of it. It told me everything I needed to know that she isn't something evil that needs to be exterminated.

Neri: "I'm not sure what you have planned, but this'll surely cause even more problems down the line."

Kaede: "I know."

Neri: "Yet you still want to pardon these monsters?"

Kaede: "Yes."

Neri: "Hahh~ Alright. But since you've taking the initiative, the rest falls under you."

Kaede: "Got it."

And so, Neri went off to notify all the Yarene soldiers that have now halted their attack. And since I'm now a target of the Leris soldiers, I choose to stay back with the monsters. Maybe if I had a disguise like Neri's I could maybe wipe out all the Leris soldiers without problems. But I guess for now I should just hang back and let the monsters deal with them.