Elemental Severance

Blood Control

Two firm, commanding words slipped from her crimson lips. Instantly, the glowing elemental magic bullets hovering in the air dissolved into nothingness. They’d been mere centimeters from her—yet couldn’t advance another inch.

My body froze mid-motion, utterly beyond my control.

“What…?” I stared at my own limbs in disbelief.

Why wouldn’t my body obey me? I struggled desperately, but all sensation vanished. I couldn’t even turn my head.

“What’s happening?!” I shot a terrified glance at her. A chilling dread crept up my spine, as if I stood trapped in an arctic ice cave, stripped of every shred of warmth.

“I told you, Wu,” she murmured, “if you’d just behaved, I wouldn’t have used this.”

A hollow emptiness flooded my chest—a sense of losing part of myself. I barely noticed her stepping closer.

Her right hand rose slowly, then settled firmly against my cheek. She traced every contour of my face, tender as if admiring a priceless sculpture.

Compared to the single finger that had brushed my lips earlier, her palm felt terrifyingly real. That faint, teasing numbness had deepened into an addictive softness. My entire face now craved her touch—not from pain-numbness, but from a primal hunger. As if my very cells sought to fill a missing piece of existence.

This was instinct. Raw, biological instinct.

She watched my panic with amused eyes, leaning in closer.

Her breath warmed my neck, sweet and intimate.

I stood helpless as a lamb awaiting slaughter.

I could already imagine her fangs sinking gently into my skin. My blood—life and magic intertwined—would flow into her, merging us into something new. I’d vanish as just another forgotten Demon Hunter, leaving no ripple in history’s river.

But to be devoured so easily…

*Absolutely not…*

*…Actually, maybe it’s fine.*

My vision blurred, yet my senses sharpened. I could count every strand of her hair clinging to my skin.

“…No… stop…” My voice slurred, half-conscious. My neck instinctively twisted away—a Demon Hunter’s last reflex. Futile.

She chuckled softly, ignoring my resistance. Her head dipped toward my throat.

Bloodline predators secrete an unknown substance when feeding. It numbs the prey’s nerves, transforming all sensation into euphoric pleasure. Blood tastes sweeter from joyful victims, they say.

Thus, every Bloodline victim meets the same end: blooming once in a lifetime within a hell of ecstasy, then withering away.

I’d be no exception. Bloodlines and Demon Hunters have only ever known one path: kill or be killed.

Unless… when encountering exceptionally delectable prey, Bloodlines sometimes turn them into puppets—mind and body enslaved for eternal feasting.

*Please,* I prayed silently, *don’t let that be my fate…*

I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for her fangs on my kitten-soft, defenseless neck.

“Mmh… mmh…” Despite trying to stay calm, whimpers escaped my throat—soft, trembling sounds.

She paused at my sobs, then pressed closer.

Thirty centimeters. Twenty. Ten. Five.

Her lips neared my skin. Death tapped softly at my door.

I couldn’t bear to watch.

*Pop.*

Huh?

No wave of pleasure drowned my mind—the kind textbooks claimed could shatter even the strongest Demon Hunter’s will. Just as I wondered if the toxin needed time to work, her voice turned tender, soothing my panic:

“My fault, Wu. I shouldn’t have frightened you like this. Let’s go inside.”

I blinked open my eyes. Her face hovered inches from mine—my cheeks flushed crimson. One careless tilt, and our lips would meet.

I tentatively turned my neck (⋟﹏⋞). No wound. But my skin felt… damp? *What happened?* ∑(´△｀)？！

Confused, I looked back at her. Her smile held a flicker of joy—and something else. Something… hungry.

*Hungry?!* Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉ

I touched my damp cheek. Then stared at her.

Slowly, deliberately, she dragged her tongue across her lower lip—savoring every lingering trace.

*No. It can’t be.*

My brain crashed. Heat flooded my face.

*S-she… the Bloodline Guild President just kissed me!*

*And licked my cheek?!* ((유∀유|||))

*Where’s the bloodsucking?! Where’s the eternal puppetry?!*

*I’ve been scammed!* (つд⊂)