After hanging the silver pendant back around her neck and tucking it into her collar.
Sevitis crouched down again, reaching out with both hands to cup a handful of clear water from the river, then lowered her head and gently splashed the cool stream water onto her face.
“Hoo…”
Not sure if it was because she had just woken up or due to the racial traits of the Blood Clan, at this moment Sevitis felt exceptionally energetic.
But out of habit, she still chose to use the cold water to fully wake herself up.
The summer night’s stream water carried a refreshing coolness, but for this cold body, it was just right.
Looking at the beautiful face reflected on the water’s surface, Sevitis extended her right hand and gently pulled the corner of her mouth with her index finger, instantly revealing a sharp fang fully in the air.
Then, she raised her other hand, lightly touching the fang with her fingertip, slowly rubbing it.
“Ah.”
The sharp fang tip cut her finger almost effortlessly, and scarlet blood beads slowly seeped out.
But for Sevitis, this bit of pain could no longer stir any ripple.
A sweet, rusty smell of iron gradually spread through the air, and Sevitis gently twitched her nose.
“Gur~”
This strange sound was particularly clear in the quiet summer night.
Sevitis instinctively lowered her head and touched her protesting little stomach, and her gaze involuntarily fell on the drop of blood on her fingertip.
‘My own blood doesn’t seem to fill my stomach, but it feels a bit wasteful to just let it go to waste without doing anything.’
Sevitis lightly licked her lips, then slowly raised her finger and brought it toward her mouth.
But just as the movement was halfway through, a slight itching sensation came from her fingertip.
The drop of blood disappeared in an instant, and within a few seconds, the wound had completely healed.
“…”
Sevitis silently stared at her finger, which was still suspended in midair.
‘Damn it, does the Blood Clan’s self-healing ability have to be this ridiculous?’
‘She had already gotten her appetite up; at least she should have been allowed to taste it before it healed.’
Seviticus pouted, but the next second.
Thump.
Her heart suddenly leaped, and that urge for blood surged up from the depths of her body again.
Sevitis took a deep breath, cupped another handful of cold water and splashed it on her face, forcibly suppressing the agitation.
She did not cut herself a second wound.
Because she knew very well that her own blood could not truly suppress this desire.
Even if she drank it, it would only treat the symptoms, not the root cause, and might even make the blood thirst worse.
It seemed that the Old Monster hadn’t completely eliminated this impulse for her, but only temporarily suppressed it.
Now she could clearly feel that desire gradually growing.
If she didn’t think of a way soon, she would eventually fall back into that mad state from before.
‘I have to get some blood. In these wild mountains, human blood is definitely out of the question… I wonder if monster blood will do.’
Sevitis slowly stood up and then looked around.
The forest, which had been torn apart by her earlier rampage, was now eerily quiet.
Normally, at this time of night, there should be constant insect chirping, but now it was deathly silent all around, not even a single insect sound could be heard.
“…”
Sevitis pinched the bridge of her nose in slight frustration.
‘In this situation, where am I supposed to find monsters? The nearby creatures were probably scared off by the commotion I made.’
‘Do you have to be this timid? It was just a little bit of noise—what about your dignity as ferocious monsters?’
‘What to do…’
‘Do I have to go look for them myself? But in such a big forest, I probably won’t find any prey anytime soon.’
Although she could also spread her wings and fly into the sky to search, this idea had just popped up when she ruthlessly extinguished it.
‘Landing face-first is something I’ve experienced once, and that’s enough.’
‘Although I don’t want to admit it, using this exquisitely beautiful face to do something like that is really a waste of nature’s gifts.’
‘No matter how tough this body is, it’s not meant to be tossed around like this. No matter how strong the recovery ability, it still hurts when it hurts.’
‘More importantly—it’s too embarrassing.’
‘I don’t want to be seen as one of those dumb dogs that get too excited and run too fast, only to face-plant because the body can’t keep up with the brain.’
‘But luckily no one saw. If I had been seen, I would really have to consider doing what a demon monster should do.’
Rustle rustle.
Sevitis’s pointed ears twitched slightly. She clearly heard a faint rustling sound coming from the forest behind her.
Only after truly experiencing it would one understand how much stronger the Blood Clan’s senses were compared to humans.
Normally, rustling sounds in the forest at night were not strange, after all, the wind would stop and then start again.
But the alertness from her body’s instincts kept reminding her—things were not that simple.
‘Something’s wrong. Something is approaching. And… it’s definitely not something friendly.’
Sevitis turned around alertly, her originally somewhat lazy expression instantly tensing.
Her right hand quietly reached toward her pocket while she slightly twitched her nose.
Sniff sniff.
The air after the rain was fresh and moist, the scent of soil and grass still very prominent.
But mixed in that fresh smell was a faint hint of fishy stench.
‘It’s not the smell of blood. Rather…’
‘The musky stench unique to wild beasts.’
Sevitis’s scarlet eyes continuously scanned the depths of the forest.
There was nothing abnormal in her sight, but she knew very well that in this eerie atmosphere, no abnormality was itself the biggest abnormality.
“Come out!”
Sevitis shouted coldly, and a sharp steel longsword instantly appeared in her hand.
She skillfully assumed a battle stance, lowering her body slightly.
The existence in the shadows clearly hadn’t expected to be discovered.
Crack.
A faint but crisp breaking sound suddenly rang out. Although the sound was not loud, for the current Sevitis, it was enough.
‘There!’
Her gaze instantly locked onto the target, and her body suddenly exerted force.
With a whoosh, the sword in her hand shot out like an arrow from the string, straight toward the distant shadow.
The feel was very light. Although her rank was still Third Rank, this body’s strength far exceeded her original body.
‘After being tricked by that Blood Demon once, I’ve learned my lesson: when I haven’t fully grasped the situation, I absolutely must not recklessly approach the enemy. I need to probe the depths with ranged attacks first.’
‘As for why I threw the sword… I had no choice, who told me I don’t know any ranged attacks at all?’
‘My magical talent can only be described as pathetic. Not to mention high-level spells, even if I used up all my mana, I couldn’t even conjure a small fireball. I can only make do with this crude physical attack for now.’
‘Actually, it feels quite good, and I’m getting a bit addicted, what’s up with that?’
The longsword precisely plunged into the shadow, as if it had struck something.
At first, the darkness just wriggled slightly, then slowly swelled up, as if something was slowly seeping out of the void, its outline gradually breaking free from the darkness’s embrace.
A strong, pungent fishy stench spread along the ground, and then a pair of dim green beast eyes slowly lit up.
Crack…
A huge claw reached out from the shadow, scraping against a broken log, making a fine, harsh scraping sound.
That massive and deformed body finally revealed itself completely under the moonlight.
‘It’s a monster.’
And this thing, Sevitis recognized it at a glance.
During her years at the Duke’s residence, she hadn’t just buried herself in training.
She spent most of her free time buried in books, learning all sorts of knowledge.
After all, Kantaier Academy never tested only combat ability.
‘Knowledge, too, is part of strength.’
‘This thing is called a Dark Demon Tiger. It has a natural affinity for the Dark Element and loves to hide in shadows and ambush.’
‘Tsk, the situation is bad. Judging from the dangerous aura it’s emitting, this guy is at least Fourth Rank. No wonder I only noticed it now.’
Sevitis’s face gradually darkened.
‘How did a Fourth Rank monster get here? Logically, this forest should only have monsters of Third Rank and below at most.’
‘The only place nearby where Fourth Rank monsters can appear is the edge of the Blood Burial Forest. But those monsters have a strong sense of territory; they wouldn’t just wander out.’
‘But now is clearly not the time to dwell on this.’
Sevitis reached behind and took out another longsword from her storage space, lowered her body slightly, and assumed the throwing posture again.
If an ordinary person saw this scene, they would probably bleed from heartache.
Because whether it was the one she threw earlier or the one in her hand now, they were not ordinary iron swords, but genuine steel longswords.
This kind of weapon was quite expensive; even some minor nobles couldn’t afford to squander them as throwing weapons.
But Sevitis was not pained at all. In her storage space, aside from the pile of gold coins, the most abundant items were these swords.
‘When you’re out on your own, you can’t be fully prepared enough.’
‘I originally brought them as backup weapons, but now it seems there’s a better use for them.’
‘I’ll name this move [Longsword Unsheathed].’
However, in the end, she did not throw the second sword.
‘It’s not that I’m reluctant. It’s just that I know very well that this level of physical attack can’t truly threaten the Dark Demon Tiger, and even hitting it is a question.’
Under the night sky, scarlet and dim green eyes stared at each other across the distance.
Despite Sevitis’s calm exterior, she had already been panicking inside.
‘I must stay calm, absolutely cannot show fear. This guy took a sword hit but didn’t pounce directly, which means it’s also wary of me and plans to gauge my strength before acting.’
But even though she understood the logic, her body simply wouldn’t obey.
Thump, thump.
“Ha… Ha…”
Sevitis’s heartbeat was getting faster, and her breathing also quickened.
This body’s instincts seemed to be constantly sending her danger warnings.
‘What to do? Should I run? After all, there’s no need to fight this guy to the death. I haven’t fully adapted to this body yet; going head-to-head with a monster a rank stronger than me is pure insanity.’
‘Moreover, Sevitis knows very well that the Dark Demon Tiger doesn’t have the ability to fly. As long as I want to escape, the other party won’t even see my tail.’
‘Even though Blood Clan don’t have tails.’
As if sensing the girl’s retreating intent, the Dark Demon Tiger gradually grew bolder.
Thud.
That heavy giant claw slowly took a step forward. A low sound also came from its throat.
“Uoo… Ho…”
The demon tiger lowered its body slightly, slowly pulled back its lips, revealing a pair of ferocious huge fangs.
Thick, disgusting saliva continuously dripped from the tips of the fangs.
Drip.
Obviously, this monster had already regarded her as prey about to be eaten.
The face of that Blood Demon appeared in her mind, its mocking expression seeming to re-emerge in the depths of her consciousness at this moment.
‘Because of that previous impulsive adventure, I’ve already experienced the feeling of death once. How could I make the same mistake twice? Not to mention that I won’t be lucky enough to survive every time.’
‘But fleeing in panic before that woman could be called a strategic retreat. This thing in front of me is just a beast. Do I really have to run away?’
But before she could think further, her body’s reactions grew stronger, to the point that in this dangerous situation, Sevitis slightly hunched her waist, exposing a weakness.