At that very moment, just as Vivian’s voice fell, a sudden change occurred.
Rhea’s body, which had been lying on the ground, was lifted by an invisible force and suspended in mid-air.
Dense, crimson energy emerged from the void, surging frantically into her body.
Her originally neat, silver short hair grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, quickly draping down to her waist. At the same time, a pair of huge, bat-like black wings violently tore through her clothes from her back, unfolding abruptly. Dark red patterns faintly flowed across the wing membranes.
Her originally cold, silver-gray eyes were completely replaced by a pure, translucent ruby color—just like Vivian’s. However, at this moment, those red eyes were hollow and lifeless, as if they had lost all focus.
“As expected of my daughter!” Vivian floated nearby, her crimson eyes flickering with the light of excitement and pride. “This perfect energy resonance, this awakened form! A noble power from the same source as mine!”
Watching from the side, Ize couldn’t help but complain internally: ‘Give me a break. With Rhea’s tall and slender figure, is there even a half-percent similarity to your undeveloped, pint-sized look?’
Rhea slowly turned her neck, her hollow gaze falling on Vivian.
The connection originating from the depths of her bloodline allowed her to instinctively identify the identity of the person in front of her.
She bowed slightly, her movements carrying a newborn stiffness. Her voice was low and lacked its usual coldness, containing only total submission: “Greetings, Mother.”
Vivian nodded with satisfaction, immediately wanting to display her majesty as a “mother.”
She drifted forward, habitually wanting to reach out and pat Rhea’s head. However, she awkwardly discovered that even though Rhea was bowing her head slightly, with her current loli-sized body, she couldn’t reach at all. “Hmph!”
Vivian’s little face stiffened, and with a faint flash of blood-light around her, her body immediately floated upward a short distance. Only then was she able to place her hand on Rhea’s soft silver hair as she wished, patting it gently.
“My daughter is so well-behaved.”
Immediately after, she remembered her business. Her small hand pointed at Ize, who was standing not far away, her tone carrying a clear sense of lodging a complaint:
“Good daughter, do you see that hateful guy? He bullied Mother just now! Go, give him a harsh lesson for Mother!”
“As you command, Mother,” Rhea responded without hesitation.
In the next second, her figure blurred, leaving a faint afterimage in place. Her speed was so fast that it seemed even a notch higher than Vivian’s previous speed!
Almost in an instant, she appeared in front of Ize. Her fist, wrapped in bloody energy, struck directly at Ize’s face with a whistling wind.
“Rhea! Wake up! It’s me, Ize!” Ize side-stepped to dodge while trying to call her name.
He could see that Rhea’s state was clearly wrong; her eyes were hollow, and her actions were entirely based on instinct and obedience to Vivian’s orders, like a delicate puppet being manipulated.
He was unwilling to fight back and could only rely on his ultra-high agility and defense to continuously block and dodge.
“Hahaha! It’s useless!”
Vivian laughed triumphantly from the side, her hands on her hips.
“She is now my dearest daughter, with my True Blood flowing in her body. She has the highest priority of obedience to my orders! Who do you think you are? Why should she listen to you?”
Hearing this, Ize’s movements faltered slightly. He actually felt the pint-sized brat had a bit of a point.
Strictly speaking, the time he and Rhea had known each other was indeed not long. After that unpleasant first meeting six years ago, they had only truly dealt with each other for the past few days.
Was their favorability rating only forced up by potion side effects and accidental events?
In that moment of distraction, Rhea’s fist had already reached him. Ize hastily raised his hand to block.
“Bang!”
A massive force far exceeding his expectations came from his arm, giving him a shock. “Shorty! Why is your daughter’s strength even greater than yours?!”
He couldn’t help but shout.
“Hmph! This is only the beginning!” Vivian raised her small face, even more proud. “My daughter has only just awakened, and her control over her power is still clumsy. Once she is completely familiar with this newborn body, her strength will continue to grow!”
As if to confirm her words, Rhea’s subsequent attacks indeed grew heavier with every punch, and her speed became faster and faster. Dark red vampiric energy swirled around her, bringing with it streaks of fierce wind. Her offensive was like a violent storm, completely enveloping Ize.
However, although these attacks were fierce, they were still within the range of Ize’s freakish defensive power and constitution.
He just felt it was a bit troublesome; it was far from the level of being a threat.
“Yes! Just like that! Good daughter, beat him! Let him know the consequences of bullying Mother!” Vivian danced with excitement outside the fray, constantly cheering Rhea on.
Ize, however, fought with more and more frustration. Being able only to defend and not strike back was a truly terrible feeling. But he couldn’t really hit her hard; if he broke something, the subsequent trouble would be even greater.
“Stop moving!”
Seizing an opportunity, Ize suddenly lunged forward, risking an entry into a gap in Rhea’s attack.
One of his hands shot out like lightning, accurately pinning Rhea’s wrists. His other hand followed suit, wrapping around her waist. Using his absolute strength advantage, he held her firmly in his arms, restricting her movements.
At first, Rhea struggled violently, her body twisting as she tried to break free from the restraint.
But for some reason, the strength of her struggle gradually lessened.
Not only that, Ize clearly felt that the originally tense body in his arms seemed to be slowly relaxing, even… subconsciously burrowing into his chest?
He immediately noticed something was wrong.
Looking down, he saw Rhea’s cheeks, which had been pale due to the transformation, were now flushed with an abnormal crimson, like ripe apples.
Her body temperature was also rising rapidly; he could feel the scorching heat even through their clothes. Her breathing became rapid and hot, blowing against the side of his neck.
This familiar symptom… could it be…
“Good daughter? Why did you stop?” Vivian also noticed Rhea’s abnormality and tilted her head in confusion. “Use your strength! Break free from him!”
However, Rhea seemed deaf to Vivian’s command.
Instead of struggling, she was like a kitten seeking warmth, unconsciously rubbing her burning cheek against Ize’s chest, letting out a small, sticky whimper from her throat.
“…So hot…” Rhea murmured unclearly. Her restrained hands couldn’t move, but her body pressed even closer, the scorching temperature transferring through their clothes.
Her movements became completely disorganized; it was no longer an attack, but rather more like a certain type of… solicitation.
“There… don’t touch randomly!” Ize tried frantically to stop her restless hands, his voice shifting in pitch.
“Calm down! Rhea! Look at me!”
“Don’t… don’t kiss! Sister! I’m begging you!”
At this moment, Rhea seemed to have completely lost her mind. she was entirely stuck to Ize’s body. Relying on the great strength and flexibility brought by her vampire rebirth, she clung to him like an octopus, leaving Ize with no hands free to take out his medicine-making tools from his storage ring.
Ize’s face turned red from being teased, and an unnamable fire surged from his lower abdomen.
He told himself he wasn’t some saint who could remain unmoved; if this continued, the situation was really going to spin out of control!
He suddenly looked up at Vivian, who was still dazed on the side, and almost roared out:
“Hey, you! Aren’t you her mother? Quick! Come pull your daughter away!!”
Vivian was in a state of massive bewilderment and shock:
“You… what exactly did you do to my daughter? Why won’t she listen to me?”
This was completely beyond her understanding.
Vampires value bloodlines above all else. A superior has nearly absolute control over a subordinate, especially between a Sire and the Fledgling they turned.
This bond, originating from the source of life, was the foundation of vampire society.
But now, her “daughter” who had just finished her First Embrace was actually ignoring her orders and showing such an… abnormal posture toward another person?!
Ize was now frantic. Feeling Rhea getting hotter and hotter in his arms, her actions becoming more and more over the line, he urged anxiously:
“Isn’t she your daughter?! Doesn’t she have your blood?! Hurry up and come over here to stabilize her first!!!”
He was about to reach his limit! Both in terms of reason and his body!
Looking at this incredible scene, Vivian’s mind was a mess, but she still tried to use words to wake Rhea: “Good… good daughter? Wake up! Look at Mother!”
Why did she always feel this scene looked a bit familiar?
Ize felt speechless and choked internally: “What’s the use of just shouting! Use your hands! Do something!”
“Oh! Oh!” Vivian finally seemed to react. she quickly floated forward, reaching out her small hands to grab Rhea’s shoulders, trying to “peel” her off Ize.
However, Rhea seemed to have taken root on Ize. Vivian pulled hard several times, but she actually couldn’t pull her away!
“Use more strength!” Ize felt his defensive line collapsing and couldn’t help but use reverse psychology. “Aren’t you the self-proclaimed noble Vampire Queen? How can you not even handle the daughter you just converted?”
“You…!” Stung by Ize’s words, Vivian’s little face flushed red.
The red glow in her eyes intensified. Although the power belonging to the Vampire Queen was less than one-tenth of its original state due to exhaustion and sealing, it was forcibly mobilized at this moment. A stronger force acted on Rhea.
“Ugh…” Vivian groaned. Clearly, doing this was no small burden for her.
But the effect was significant. The strength with which Rhea was clinging to Ize was forcibly peeled away bit by bit.
Ize noticed that while fully exerting her power, Vivian’s body seemed to undergo a subtle change. Her originally petite loli physique seemed to sprout slightly, like a plant growing, vaguely taking on the silhouette of a young teenage girl?
However, he had no time to look into it now.
“Hurry up! I… I can’t hold on much longer!” Vivian urged through gritted teeth, an expression of strain appearing on her small face.
The First Embrace had consumed a large amount of her source essence blood, and combined with her own seal being unbroken, releasing even this much power now required her to grit her teeth.
Ize didn’t dare to delay. Once he broke free, he immediately took out his portable medicine-making tools and materials from his storage ring at maximum speed.
His movements were so fast that afterimages appeared. Grinding, extraction, mixing… His concentration was highly focused, ignoring the increasingly rapid panting from Vivian behind him and the noise brought by Rhea’s intensified struggling.
Finally, a moment before Vivian’s strength was exhausted and she was about to give out, the liquid in the test tube in Ize’s hand stabilized into a familiar light blue.
He turned around instantly and, with quick hands and eyes, poured the freshly prepared sedative potion entirely into Rhea’s mouth. The medicine’s effect took hold quickly.
The delirious red light in Rhea’s eyes gradually faded, and the heat and struggling of her body also quickly subsided.
She let out a faint whimper, her body went soft, and she fell into a deep sleep once more, though this time her breathing was much steadier.
“Phew—”
“Haa—”
Ize and Vivian exhaled deeply almost at the same time, sitting down on the ground as if they had lost all strength. They leaned their backs against the cold, broken wall, panting heavily.
After a brief silence, Vivian spoke first. She looked Ize up and down with a mixture of shock, scrutiny, and uncertainty, asking hesitatingly: “You… your true identity, could it be a ‘Demon’?”
Ize frowned. While calming his breath, he asked back: “Why would you think that?”
“In ancient times, the powerful races that could stand alongside us noble Vampires and the Dragons could be counted on one hand.”
Vivian tried hard to put on a knowledgeable look. “Demons were one of them. They are best at disguising themselves as humans, lurking in the world and toying with people’s hearts and desires.”
She pointed at the sleeping Rhea, her tone becoming a bit more certain: “I think you are likely a ‘Succubus’ among demons, and a very high-ranking one at that! Otherwise, how could my daughter, under the suppression of my bloodline, still… do those kinds of things to you!”
Ize’s mouth twitched as he heard this.
A Succubus?
Was this vampire loli’s imagination a bit too rich? “Think whatever you want.” He was too tired to argue and waved his hand dismissively.
Vivian, however, fell into her own thoughts, her little face full of confusion: “That’s not right… according to racial characteristics, I am a pure-blooded vampire. The bond with a Fledgling originates from the source of life and should be impossible to shake by external forces. Even if you were a high-ranking Succubus, the essence of the ‘Charm’ ability is a type of mental interference. Logically, it should be very difficult to override the absolute obedience of the vampire bloodline…”
Ize didn’t respond.
He couldn’t explain it.
Was he supposed to tell Vivian that what broke their mother-daughter bond wasn’t some Succubus power, but the side effect of the “Obedience Potion” he personally brewed? Would she even believe it?
Seeing Ize remain silent, Vivian took it as his tacit admission.
She struggled to stand up, patted the dust off her small dress, and said with feigned composure: “Fine, this place is not suitable to stay for long. I have consumed too much and need to return to my place of slumber to recover immediately. Once I have recovered my strength, I will come back for you to… set… uh, spar!”
As she spoke, she moved forward to pick up the sleeping Rhea and leave.
“Hmm?” Ize raised an eyebrow, letting out a nasal sound of unknown meaning, and looked at Vivian with a calm gaze.
Vivian’s reaching hand suddenly froze in mid-air. Feeling the invisible pressure in Ize’s gaze, her small hand trembled almost imperceptibly.
The memory of being held across his lap and getting her butt smacked instantly resurfaced, and her aura immediately shrank by half.
“I… can’t I even take my own daughter away?” She tried to argue her case, but her voice clearly lacked confidence.
“What do you think?” Ize’s tone didn’t fluctuate much, but it carried an unquestionable meaning.
Vivian looked at Ize, then at the sleeping Rhea. Her little face crumpled, and finally, as if accepting her fate, she let out a sigh: “Forget it… then you… you better be good to my daughter!”
Anyway, the bloodline connection was still there. Once she recovered her strength and broke part of the seal, she could sense Rhea’s location at any time. It wouldn’t be too late to come back and pick her up then.
Right now… a smart loli doesn’t pick a fight she can’t win!
Thinking of this, she added another sentence, her tone carrying a bit of seriousness:
“I am warning you, my daughter has only just finished her First Embrace. Her power is extremely unstable. Vampires need to regularly consume blood to maintain their vitality and sanity. If she stays in a ‘hungry’ state for a long time, she is very likely to lose control instinctively and go berserk.”
“If she wants to disguise her identity and continue to act as a human, then she must also eat well normally and supplement enough ordinary energy. This can alleviate the craving for blood to a certain extent.”
“I know, I know.” Ize waved his hand somewhat impatiently. “Go back and rest already.”
Although he saw that this vampire loli’s nature didn’t seem bad and she didn’t have deep schemes, she was the one who had forcibly turned Rhea into a vampire after all, bringing him massive trouble.
Sigh, but since things had reached this point, there was no use overthinking it.
The system had also clearly prompted that Rhea’s transformation into a vampire was a necessary node in the original plot that couldn’t be reversed.
What he could do now was find a way to deal with this situation and try to take good care of Rhea, preventing this poor child from heading down the abyss of total darkening.
Vivian gave Ize and Rhea one last complicated look. With a flash of blood-light around her, her figure gradually faded, finally vanishing as if merging into the night. She left behind only a faint, lingering scent of the vampire race in the air and a battlefield in total disarray.