It was a blatant lapse in judgment.
A confidence born from thinking I had full control of the situation.
The assumption that Leisha was completely exhausted and down.
But above all, the heat boiling within me had already clearly consumed a part of my rationality.
The heightened instincts of a male driven into estrus made minor risks seem insignificant.
‘A mistake.’
By the time I realized it, the dagger Leisha had thrown was already in front of my forehead.
I’m going to die.
Even that spine-chilling realization came as a kind of excitement.
This was what “estrus” felt like.
Thus, in the moment I tilted my head, trying to avoid a fatal wound…
…Despite my efforts, I felt the distinct possibility of death.
— Doooonnnngg!
A bell rang out.
Heavy, deep, yet piercing.
The sensation that the entire world was drenched in blood must have been an illusion.
The scenery before my eyes remained unchanged.
Only, everything had come to a halt.
Leisha’s frowning eyebrows.
Her lips pursed to spit out another dagger.
Even the dagger poised to pierce my forehead.
Everything stopped moving.
This was a familiar sensation.
I had felt it once before.
A dark corridor filled with shadows.
Out of instinct, I glanced toward its unseen end.
Just a breath’s time passed.
— Click.
Seductive footsteps echoed.
The sound approached, slicing through the thick darkness.
Hair blacker than the shadows, indistinguishable from the surrounding gloom.
Eyes as red as if they held the blood of all mankind stared down at me.
A gaze akin to that of a supreme being, looking down from an unreachable height.
Yet, even the allure woven into her presence elevated her dignity.
“…Blood Girl.”
For some reason, only my mouth moved.
At my muttering, she smiled.
Brightly, innocently.
And therefore, cruelly.
“Ah, you remembered. I asked you to call me that.”
“…Every moment I spent with you is burned into my mind.”
“Oh my. Are you flirting with me? You’ve become so romantic since I last saw you.”
She smiled slyly and slowly approached me.
To me, she looked like a spider, hunting prey caught in its web.
— Click, Click.
Even the sound of her footsteps threatened to drive me mad, yet I forced myself to speak.
“Can we even call it ‘time’? Blood Girl, you seem to stop time itself. A moment like this can’t truly be called time, can it?”
I grasped at straws, desperate to uncover some hint of her abilities.
Stopping time itself was an impossible feat, beyond any known magic.
It left no room for countermeasures.
If she wanted to kill me while the world was frozen, I would die.
That’s why I had to find something.
Even the slightest clue to unraveling her powers.
“Interesting.”
Instead of answering, the Blood Witch stood before me.
The faintly bitter scent, reminiscent of wood and blood, tickled my nose.
“You think there’s some kind of trick, don’t you?”
She could see through my thoughts, as if reading my mind.
That was what made her terrifying.
“Do you want to escape my powers so badly?”
“…Yes.”
“Hmm. That’s a little upsetting. I don’t understand why you, Ian, would want to get away from me.”
Click.
The Blood Witch stood right in front of me.
Ting—.
With nails painted black, she effortlessly deflected the dagger poised to pierce my forehead.
Then, she reached out with her slender fingers and touched my face.
Slide.
I couldn’t resist her touch.
I couldn’t move.
Neither arms nor hands.
I was nothing more than prey caught in her web.
The overwhelming sense of powerlessness left me despairing.
The Blood Witch murmured wistfully.
“I like you so much, yet why are you so cold to me?”
“Because I don’t know what you want from me.”
“How could you not know?”
Her fingers, which had been stroking my face, pressed slightly harder.
“Your hollow, deep eyes. Your pale skin. Your expressionless face.”
Her hand, caressing my face, began to drift downward.
“Your hardened body. The kind that could satisfy any woman.”
Her fingers, thin, long, and unsettling, trailed over me as though a spider were crawling across my body.
Even as her hand touched my lower body, I felt no excitement—just a chilling sense of dread.
“But above all…”
In an instant, her hand that had traced over me wrapped itself around the back of my head.
Like a spider embracing its prey, the Blood Witch pulled my head close to her.
I could only blankly stare as her face drew nearer, ever so slowly.
“What’s inside your head—those gem-like talents. Your gifts.”
Her crimson eyes gleamed with greed.
Her slightly parted lips and the tongue within moved as if they might pierce into my skull at any moment to devour me whole.
“I want you, Ian.”
I couldn’t find the words to respond.
Perhaps she didn’t expect an answer.
After all, it wasn’t a question—it was a statement.
She possessed the power to claim me whenever she wanted.
The fate of prey caught in a spider’s web is always decided by the spider.
The Blood Witch’s hand, which had been tracing my nape like a predator savoring its catch, came to a halt.
Her blood-red predator’s eyes bore into me.
“I like that your mating season isn’t as intense as I thought it would be.”
“…It was you, wasn’t it?”
“Hmm. Who knows?”
Hehe-
She laughed playfully, a mischievous smile on her face as her hand moved toward my left eye.
Her black-painted nails stood out starkly against her pale skin.
I instinctively shut my left eye, feeling the cold touch of her fingers on my eyelid.
“If it were you, could you stand watching what belongs to you lusting after someone else?”
For a brief moment, fury flickered in her eyes.
The fingers gripping my eyelid tightened.
Would she take my eye?
As that thought crossed my mind, she released my face and turned toward the frozen Leisha.
— Tap.
The sound was soft, almost insignificant.
Leisha disappeared.
She crumbled into dust and dissipated.
In this frozen world, she likely hadn’t even realized her own death.
It was an overwhelming, hollow sight.
“I don’t let anyone touch my prey.”
The Blood Witch murmured.
‘…Wait.’
Could she have done the same to the others…?
“You…!”
My voice cracked involuntarily.
The Blood Witch smirked.
“What’s precious to my prey is precious to me. Don’t worry.”
“…”
That was a relief.
Or was it? Could I even call it relief?
“In return.”
She shed her outer coat, revealing a black dress that clung tightly to her body.
“A prey that seeks another master can’t be ignored.”
“I’ve never acknowledged you as my master.”
“Not now or ever?”
“Never.”
She gently brought her hand to my head, mimicking the gesture she’d made before dismantling Leisha.
“Do you want to die as well?”
Silence.
As our breaths exchanged three times, I finally spoke.
“You can’t kill me.”
“What makes you think that?”
“If you were going to, you’d have done it already.”
“Oh my. Confidence.”
She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand, and I asked her.
“Why are you doing this? Whether or not you’re responsible for it, there has to be a connection.”
“You mean your mating season?”
“Yes.”
She swayed her body playfully, side to side, as if amused.
“It’s true that it’s an ancient spell that amplifies lust.”
With one hand forming a circle and the other moving in and out through it, she smirked, illustrating her point in a provocative manner.
“But. The more you act on that lust with someone you don’t love, the more your body and mind would have deteriorated.”
…Wait a moment.
“Deteriorated? As in losing reason?”
“Exactly.”
“Falling into corruption or turning into something like a Bloodbound?”
“Oh my, you know quite a bit.”
If that’s the case… could it be?
Is this that main episode?
The one where Pongpong loses control and destroys the Academy?
A chill ran down my spine.
If I hadn’t managed to control my lust—
No, if I hadn’t genuinely cared for the women I was with…
‘So you’re saying I could have turned into a Blackened version of Pongpong?’
The Blood Witch chuckled gleefully, clearly entertained.
“You’re quite the romantic, aren’t you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“To love so many women like that.”
“Ah…”
I couldn’t finish my sentence.
The Blood Witch brought her lips close to my ear.
Her body was suddenly near, the scent of blood bitter yet intoxicatingly sweet.
I realized then how seductive the smell of blood could be.
Snap.
A brief sting in my ear.
A fleeting heat, as though blood was being drawn.
Squelch, Squelch—
The sound of her tongue echoed in my ear as she sucked the blood from it.
Puhah—
She pulled back, gazing at me with a glistening mouth.
Traces of my blood were faintly visible in her saliva.
“You taste delicious, as expected.”
Her eyes curved, filled with a heat that mirrored my own.
… I couldn’t deny I was likely no different.
With a voice that was both sweet and commanding, she gave her next order.
“Open. Your mouth.”
Instinctively, I obeyed her.
Her lips pressed against mine.
Her saliva, mixed with my blood, flowed into my mouth.
It was a kiss that tasted of blood—bitter, decadent, and sweet in its depravity.
Time, already halted, seemed to stretch endlessly.
By the time our shared fluids had soaked through the front of our clothes, she finally pulled away.
“This will quell your lust.”
“…”
“So for today, if there are still people afflicted by this lust, take care of them. I’ll overlook it this time, as a special favor.”
I struggled to pull my foggy thoughts back together.
…Who could be left?
My master came to mind, and I couldn’t shake the worry.
I’d met her around the start of my estrus period.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
As she turned away, the Blood Witch whispered, her voice barely audible.
“When we meet a third time, I’m taking you with me.”
— Click.
“Be ready for it.”
Her footsteps echoed as she disappeared into the shadows.
