2 Chapter 2

Author Note: I'm busy with school so this chapter is shorter than the previous one. I'll try and get another chapter out soon…No promises.

==========

-[Liam]-

As night came, the undeniable feeling of strength in his body grew. Vampires were creatures of the night and being part vampire, so was he.

Standing under the moonlight, he let out a calming sigh. He felt arms wrap around him from behind.

"Liam, what are you doing?" Esdeath asked curiously.

They had taken a stroll a short distance away from the camp of soldiers.

"The moon. It soothes me." Liam answered.

"We can do this all the time if you want. I find it quite nice to look at." She said, pulling him closer, which he didn't mind.

They stood there for a while, letting him bathe in the moonlight before making their way back to the camp.

This time, rather than privately having dinner in her tent, she decided that they should have it outside with the rest of the soldiers.

Other than the three beasts, none of the soldiers had the guts to sit near the two while they ate.

"Liam, these three are my strongest soldiers." Esdeath said, gesturing to each of them as she called their names. "Liver, Nyau and Daidara. They are known as the three beasts of my army."

Liver gave a short bow. "It is an honor to meet Lady Esdeath's lover." He said in a polite manner.

"Hi!" The blond midget who looked deceptively like an innocent child said. "How did you meet General Esdeath?"

The question garnered the interest of Liver as well as Daidara who hadn't yet spoken. Esdeath looked curious about what his answer was going to be.

"I can't say it was anything fancy. She found me." Liam said.

They waited for further explanation but that was all as Liam's attention was on his food. As much as they wanted to know the details, they weren't so tired of life that they'd turn the question to Esdeath.

Liam could see the annoyance that Nyau tried so hard to hide as clear as day. He also noticed Daidara who seemed to be doing his best to restrain himself.

"You have something on your mind. Speak." Liam said to the brutish member of the three.

"How about we have a spar? Someone who gained General Esdeath's love must surely be strong!" Daidara said, letting out his thoughts without filter.

Esdeath turned to Liam who stared back at her questioningly. "You're free to do what you want." She said to him.

At this point, Liver and Nyau were also very invested in what would happen.

Liam hummed in thought, considering the situation. He could use Daidara as a gauge to know how he compared to the power levels of this world.

He couldn't do that with Esdeath seeing as how she was probably the most powerful individual, the power gap between them leaving much to assumption.

"Sure. Let's take this elsewhere." He said, lowering his food before turning to Esdeath. "Are you coming?"

"Of course."

-[Later]-

Esdeath, Liam and the three beasts moved away from the army camp. There was no telling how the fight would be so it was best to keep it some distance away to avoid any unfortunate incidents.

Liam and Daidara stood opposite each other while Esdeath, Nyau and Liver stood to the side, watching.

"Who do you think is going to win?" Nyau asked Liver.

"We have yet to see his capabilities so it is impossible to give predictions." Liver said, referring to Liam.

Just as Liam was sizing Daidara up, his opponent was doing the same to him.

At that moment, Esdeath announced. "Don't kill him."

"It looks like this is Daidara's win." Nyau said with a tone of finality in regards to Esdeath's warning for Daidara not to kill her lover.

"Wrong." Esdeath said, causing Nyau and Liver to turn to her in confusion. "I was talking to Liam."

Daidara brandished his axe teigu; Belvaac, showing a feral grin. "You're not going to use a weapon? I want to fight strong people to gain experience!"

"I'll be okay without one." Liam said, his nails sharpening to claws.

After a moment of thought, he retracted them. 'I don't want to kill him even by mistake.' He thought.

Barely a moment later, Daidara rushed towards Liam. "Here I come!" He announced, swinging Belvaac dangerously.

Liam's eyebrows furrowed as he leaned away from a swing that would have taken off his head had he not dodged.

Daidara suddenly swung Belvaac downwards but he dodged once again, causing it to smash into the ground, shattering it explosively.

Liam had quickly noticed that while Daidara had a good deal of his physical strength, speed wasn't his strong suit, not to say he was very slow either.

Liam was now standing a short distance away from Daidara who still held an animalistic grin. "If you won't attack, how's this?!" He yelled as he separated the double-edged axe into two axes.

As he winded his arm to throw it, he suddenly felt air leaving his lungs and pain as Liam had already closed the distance, his fist digging into his stomach.

"What?!" He managed to say as he fell, gasping a bit.

The next punch came quickly, sending him flying back a few feet.

'The first punch was to gauge how much he could take. I could have hit harder the second time but who knows how much damage that would cause.' Liam thought, looking at Daidara who pushed himself to his feet.

Daidara was probably still useful in the army so injuring him would do him no good.

"That's enough." Esdeath announced with a smile on her face.

Whether or not she had the same thought was lost on him.

While Esdeath looked like she expected the outcome, Liver and Nyau on the other hand had looks of shock.

"Nyau, Liver, take Daidara back to the camp. We'll join you soon." Esdeath ordered.

The two quickly did as they were told, muttering between each other in shock. It was mostly Nyau who did the muttering.

As soon as they were gone Liam turned to Esdeath but suddenly found the woman in front of him, her lips locked with his own.

Not being one to shy away, he pulled her by the hip, feeling her shake slightly as he reciprocated the kiss.

By the time they separated, Esdeath had a healthy blush on her face. "This feeling…I like it." She said as she dragged him back to the camp and into her tent.

They were now seated on the bed. Rather, he was seated on the bed while Esdeath straddled his hip.

Neither said anything as they were locked in a heated battle of passion. Esdeath pressed against his groin as his hands squeezed her soft and creamy flesh.

They continued until they had to stop for breath, which was a long time, Esdeath staring at him with a loving look. "So what now?" She asked.

Liam only smirked. "Whatever we want."

-[The Next Day]-

Despite how physical they got, they still had some restraint, stopping themselves before they could go all the way.

Liam wouldn't deny that it felt good and he had no doubt that she felt the same.

Groaning, he felt another body wrapped around his body. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Esdeath was using him as a body pillow.

He shifted a bit to face her, brows rising in surprise as he noticed that she was awake and staring at him with a smile.

"We have to get up." He said, giving her a brief kiss on the corner of her lips to temporarily sate her. "You have a meeting with your troops today."

His reminder caused her to frown in irritation that he knew wasn't directed at him.

"That can wait." She countered, not wanting to let go of him.

He eventually managed to convince her to let go of him.

Finally pulling themselves away from each other, Esdeath slipped into her uniform which had found its way off her earlier.

Liam quickly wore his own uniform as well before they exited the tent. As they left, they found a familiar face waiting for them, more specifically, waiting for Liam.

"Fight me!" Daidara screamed, brandishing Belvaac.

Liam gave him an odd stare. "Can I kill him?" He asked Esdeath.

"No." Esdeath immediately refuted before turning to Daidara. "Where are Nyau and Liver? I have a mission for you three."

•••

"That was fast." Liam said, honestly impressed.

He and Esdeath stood in a newly erected tent. In front of them sat five men who were gagged and bound on the floor and beside them was a table filled with various dangerous and painful looking tools.

"Of course, it was a request from my beloved." Esdeath said, sounding proud of herself.

During their activities the previous night, he had asked for a specimen for him to practice the skill he had gotten from the Tome.

+++++

[Heal](Novice)

You can heal minor injuries.

+++++

After hours of studying the Tome, he had finally gotten a skill to show for it. It wasn't anything too impressive but in the world he was currently in, it might as well be.

The bound men in front of them were soldiers on patrol at the border of the northern city Esdeath's army was supposed to conquer.

"You still haven't told me what you wanted them for." Esdeath said curiously.

Liam walked closer to the bound men who were watching them with wide scared eyes. "My kind draws strength from our intake of blood. In essence, they're merely blood banks."

Esdeath's eyes widened before narrowing in confusion rather than disgust. "Interesting. This is the first I've heard of this. Can you show me?"

Liam was already squatting beside one of them, his jaw snapping forward as his fangs dug into the man's neck.

"Mmmpphhhhh!!!" The bound man struggled as a thin roll of blood leaked from the point of contact, the rest pouring into Liam's mouth.

Esdeath watched in fascination as color slowly drained from the man's face. The struggles slowly ceased as the man fell unconscious from blood loss.

By the one minute mark, Liam released the man, letting him drop like a sack of potatoes beside the other men who watched in fear.

None of that was on his mind, the feeling of more strength occupying his mind and body. The blood wasn't of high quality but it was satisfactory, if only just barely.

"I still have use for him so I left him alive…for now." Liam said, wiping his lips.

He turned to Esdeath, seeing a fascinated look on her face. "That is truly amazing. I can certainly feel a difference." She said, briefly appraising him. "How much did it increase your strength?"

"Nothing special. Higher quality blood is more effective but I doubt any of these guys measure up to that." Liam said a bit sadly.

Though he enjoyed the strength increase, it didn't turn him into a maniac who enjoyed drinking blood. Biological cravings aside, it was simply a means to an end.

"I see." Esdeath said, raising her hand as a sharp piece of ice appeared in her hand.

Before Liam could react, she made a cut on her hand, causing his eyes to widen as a thin trail of blood leaked out.

"This should be high quality enough. It should give you a more than decent effect." She said, extending her hand to him. "I have an extensive mastery of the human anatomy, I know which areas to cut to safely release a decent amount of blood."

He gave the woman a strange look, idly wondering what was wrong with her. Not rejecting her offer, he brought the hand to his lips, quickly sucking up the blood that escaped the wound.

His eyes briefly glanced at Esdeath who was blushing heavily at this point as he took in her blood, a low moan leaving her.

Before he could even question it, he froze as he felt his mind being assaulted by an unknown force.

'Kill them!' A voice screamed in his head, causing his eyes to widen as he grit his teeth.

At that moment, Esdeath's eyes widened as she remembered something. "Liam! It can't be!" She muttered in shock.

'Kill them all!'

'Wreak havoc!'

'Tear it all to pieces!'

'Kill!'

The voices persisted even as Esdeath grabbed him by his shoulders. The voices grew even worse as Liam realized what was going on.

"So this is what it feels like." He managed to say through gritted teeth.

+++++

[Skill Gained]

[Mental Resistance](Novice)

+++++

He barely looked at the description as he forced himself to stay awake and stay sane despite his slowly slipping grip.

The pressure just barely reduced in intensity but it still persisted. He didn't know how long had passed but he forced himself to hang on.

+++++

[Mental Resistance has leveled up!]

+++++

He felt the intensity slightly reduce once again as he felt himself being hugged into something soft. The last thing he saw was another notification before his vision went blank.

•••

His eyes opened lazily as he let out a groan. The memories of what had happened flooded his mind as he immediately noted the absence of the voices in his head as well as the soft pillow he was lying on.

Raising his head, he realized 'who' the 'pillow' was as his eyes met Esdeath's. They were currently lying in her tent with the blue haired woman using her sizable chest as a pillow for him to rest on.

"You're awake." Esdeath said, gently running her fingers through his hair.

"How long was I out?" Liam asked.

"Only a few hours." She answered, pulling him into a quick kiss. "Congratulations."

A notification immediately popped up in front of his eyes.

+++++

[Mental Resistance](Expert)

The user is extremely resistant to mental illnesses or alterations, being nearly invulnerable to direct and indirect effects.

[Demon's Extract]

The lifeblood of a super-class beast that lived in the Northern parts of the Empire.

An Elemental-type Teigu that gives its users the ability to instantly freeze anything by reducing the kinetic energy of atoms, meaning they effectively make things colder, ranging from slightly chilly levels to absolute zero. You can also generate and manipulate ice.

+++++

He just barely stopped his eyes from widening in shock. 'How could I forget?! Esdeath has danger beast blood running through her after getting her Teigu.' He thought as he looked down to his bare torso.

On his left pectoral, he saw a tattoo identical to the one visible on Esdeath's chest.

"This just proves that we are meant for each other." Esdeath said, a gentle look on her face.

Liam grabbed her hand where she had made the cut, seeing the small injury which had stopped bleeding.

With a smirk on his face, a green light coated his palm as he held it over the injury, watching as it quickly closed up, disappearing without a scar.

He felt pride as Esdeath's eyes widened in shock. Moments later, a cruel smirk appeared on her face. "Liam, how would you like to assist me in torturing our 'guests'?' Esdeath asked.

====

Discord Link: https://discord.gg/8ctauEKMRq