Surprisingly, it was Alicia that pushed and pinned her down onto a bed, Claire thought with a hint of disbelief. Wasn't this story supposed to be PG13? The knee of the girl rested between the cloth of her skirt. Between her thighs. Any higher and it would be dangerous; not to mention the fact that Claire found her arms above her head, held down in place by Alicia's.

'If the tension in the air wasn't the wrong one, I'd have thought she wanted to gobble me up.' It would be a lie to say her heart hadn't skipped a beat.

Claire was strong enough to break from the vampire's grasp and flip the situation on its head, but she didn't. One reason was because she didn't mind, and the other was because she wasn't dumb. Naturally, she could tell why the girl wanted her blood so badly. Just a few moments prior, they had lost their track of the little girl who smelled like Albert, and Alicia thought it partly her fault.

And now, back within the Glacial Tower and atop their bed, Alicia wanted a fulfilling meal. She wanted a lot of blood at once, something Claire couldn't give while they stood on the streets of Felcius.

"Claire," Alicia murmured as her crimson eyes glazed over. Her expression one of seriousness and feverish hunger. "Let me drink your blood."

She had yet to outright pierce her fangs into the ice queen because she required permission.

Claire sighed.

"How much blood?" She asked.

"Enough to reach the next stage of my abilities."

"So an unknown amount. . ." Claire muttered tersely.

Previously, Alicia had unlocked the ability to extend her nails and make them as sharp as blades of iron, and then later she became capable of creating explosions from her blood based on the quantity and mana. Those two minor-skills were acquired through several days to weeks of drinking Claire's blood. Now, essentially, Alicia wanted to shorten the duration before her next 'evolution', the duration before more of her powers returned. She wanted to devour a lot of Claire's blood at once, and she seemed unwilling to take no for an answer.

"You want to be stronger, right?" Claire asked.

Alicia nodded. "Mhmm."

"Because you were unable to track the girl?"

The vampire shook her head.

"I want to remain by your side without being a burden."

It was a deeper fear than her initial excuse. It wasn't simply the tracking of the girl alone that had triggered Alicia's desire for more strength. It was also the mere fact that Claire was becoming stronger by the day, and she feared a time when standing by her side would be more of a burden than anything else. The vampire couldn't allow that reality.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you are weaker than me," Claire replied. "You being there by my side has worth in itself alone."

"I know." Alicia nodded. "I still want your blood."

". . ."

In the end, Claire could only shrug—or about as much of one she could manage while being pinned down—and allowed fangs to pierce into her the nape of her neck once more. There was no point wasting time resisting at that point.

Her blood flowed out of her and into Alicia like a faucet. As she felt her figure beginning to drain, the vampire wielded her healing arts and healed her.

'Did I just become a blood fountain?' Claire thought somewhat absentmindedly. It didn't matter, however. Since they planned to break away from this little game of gods, this was nothing more than the same thing as power-leveling her.

Unlike before, it took what felt like several minutes before Alicia parted from her, swallowing a last gulp of blood.

"Satisfied?" Claire asked.

The girl scrunched her face as her head wobbled, as if a headache had set upon her. She rubbed her head before realizing there was still a mask there. Claire frowned, clearly, she wasn't thinking straight.

"Hello?"

"I. . ." Alicia muttered as her eyes began to close and her body descended back down. "I have to sleep."

"Sleep? What?"

No reply came back.

As she felt soft breaths land on her cheeks, Claire realized Alicia had already fallen asleep. She was speechless. Yet, in the end, she merely looked warmly at the girl and caressed her golden hair as she smiled.

"Honestly. . ." She gently muttered, "So troublesome."

Though, it was rather odd. Alicia did not need sleep to survive. So why did she fall asleep at this instant? After drinking her blood, no less? That had never happened before. Though Alicia liked to sleep, she didn't outright simply fall asleep anytime she wanted. Usually, she slept at night and Claire dragged her awake in the morning.

'It can only be the result of the next power-up,' Claire surmised.

As she thought that, however, she reclined on their bed and allowed Alicia to sleep next to her. Her eyes looked through the spotless room that always reminded her of an overly luxurious, overly large, New York apartment, past the open kitchen, and through the glass windows.

"Hmm."

She realized it then and there that something felt wrong. Outside her Glacial Tower, her Elemental Realm was displayed differently from usual. Though snow still fell endlessly onto a world of clear water, she saw a golden light rip through the sky of her realm, she sensed it then. Something was moving in her world.

Her figure disappeared.

The soles of her boots touched the ocean's surface as her white hair blew, the wind rustling her clothing. Claire glanced up at the golden light that had invaded her world, then she returned her gaze back down to its source.

"So, it's you," She spoke as her brows scrunched.

In front of her, the powers she had stripped from Lara De. Frag, the book titled 'Record of the Dragon Slayer' floated, bathed in light.

LotsChrono

Not a long chapter, I know.

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