Ascendant Path of a Lustful Vampire

Chapter 265: A message of self-sacrifice

”Good morning,” Arlette greeted.

”Morning,” Caius answered as his eyes glanced down at the box and then back up to her face, ”When did you get back?”

”Last night,” Arlette answered and she wasn’t even done when Caius had crossed the room and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her off the desk and against his body as he pressed his lips to hers.

”Mmm,” Arlette let out in a long moan as she took one hand off the box so she could wrap both her arms around Caius’s neck, pulling his head hard against her as she thrust her chest—and thus her boobs—against his chest.

When they separated, Arlette was short of breath and tried to speak but could only manage gasps until she just smiled. Caius smiled along with her, one of his hands stretching down to her ass to cup a feel and pull her lower half against him.

”Ngh!” Arlette groaned and bit her lip lightly but she was finally able to speak words again and said,

”Is that excitement to see me or to finally have your treasure within reach?”

”Are those two different questions?” Caius asked.

Arlette opened her mouth at first, confused and then she decoded Caius’s words and her heart skipped a beat even though she kept her expression cool and teasing as she said,

”How sappy of you.”

”I see it more as romantic,” Caius said, ”Don’t you?”

”By Anyxyl, you are whipped,” Arlette said, her tone becoming a low breathy one of longing towards the end. She had one hand at the base of Caius’s hair now, rubbing against his scalp.

She took her forehead off his but it was just so she could tilt her face up and claim his lips again in another hard kiss that they continued for a good couple of minutes before Arlette remembered an important matter not yet addressed and she pulled away.

”You should take a look at it,” she said, ”You’ve been waiting weeks, after all.”

Caius pulled away from her body then so there was enough space for Arlette to place her hand between them and raise the box she held up to his face.

Arlette touched her finger to the top of the box and it sizzled with Magical energy that spread all over it, causing a noticeable sound of latches being pulled free until the top popped open to reveal a ring.

”It needed to be secured by more than one layer of defense,” Arlette said.

”Understandable,” Caius said as he pulled out the ring.

”Hold on,” Arlette said then she pricked her finger to let a drop of her blood fall on the ring which absorbed it and unlocked so it could be perused by anyone other than her.

Caius was a bit intent on the drop of blood and then his eyes were on the puncture still on her finger. Her blood smelled tinged with the delicious bit of excitement she already felt from his touch but he managed to rip his eyes away for something more pressing.

He let his consciousness flood into the ring.

”They took all there was to take,” Arlette told him.

”I see that,” Caius said gently.

The storage ring was a far, far better quality than the one Caius was wearing so it had at least ten times the space his did and the space had all been filled up with so many resources. There were mounds—hills—of Gold and so much wealth to make even a wealthy noble salivate. But, more than that, there were so many manuscripts on various fields of interest;

Alchemy, Enchantments, Forging, and even Arcane studies such as her research into tinkering with the Arcane Codex.

All of it was important but there were things Caius could sift through later or not even by himself so he focused on the ’real score’ of the entire legacy.

He found them soon enough and retrieved a scroll and what looked like a circular dial.

Arlette didn’t have all that much of a reaction to the scroll but she did look surprised at the dial though Caius didn’t catch these changes in her expression.

He unfurled the scroll first and looked through it with a smile. Being a Vampire, his mind couldn’t be affected by the Arcane symbols like a normal human/humanoid but he could still tell what made this set different from the one everyone else got to use.

These Arcane Symbols were not meant to be used to create spells, just to cheat the amount of Evolutionary charge within a person so there were only about 27 of them but they were enough.

Caius touched the page with his index and middle fingers, flooding it with his Mana so that he didn’t just read the symbols, he got them ingrained into his very mind.

He then flexed his hand and cast a small Arcane symbol that read in the common tongue as ~Blaze~ and unleashed a small ball of fire to consume the Manuscript and reduce it to ashes.

Arlette’s mouth gaped in surprise at that.

”Why would you do that?” She asked.

”It’s fine,” Caius said gently with a smile, ”I have a copy in my head now. And it’s only a foundational piece anyway. I’ll need to complete it before I start to dispense it.”

”Wait, it’s incomplete?” Arlette asked.

Caius was about to start observing the dial when he heard something in Arlette’s tone that caused him to look over at her, observing the look in her grey eyes as he asked,

”What is it?”

”Well,” Arlette said, the corner of her lips twitching, ”I meant for it to be a surprise but...”

”... You used it already, didn’t you?” Caius completed for her.

”Surprise...” Arlette said and did some jazz hands while looking sheepish.

Caius just furrowed his brows with his expression a bit hard to read. He couldn’t have been silent for more than five seconds but Arlette couldn’t take it and set off to explain herself,

”I mean, I had it with me during the travel and couldn’t stop thinking about the tale you told weeks ago... about Allegra’s quest for her Vampire Lover’s commitment to her.

To want something so much that you create a means to do something that should be impossible was just... Well, I had to see it. I had to see the result of her love. Or obsession.

So I took out the scroll, looked through the symbols and I swear, it looked fine. No more mind-bending than the average Arcane Symbol. In fact, it didn’t affect the mind at all. It targeted something else... The Blood, I guess.

And that’s when it hit me, these symbols have no benefit to the user. They don’t increase one’s magical enlightenment because they don’t target the mind. They only improve the Evolution charge within the user.

Essentially, they only fatten the user up to be harvested by a Vampire.”

Caius still said nothing. All Arlette had said so far was exactly how it was. The Manuscript indeed had no benefits for the user. It was all for the Vampire that would feed on said user.

Arlette trailed off now and seemed to be having a moment of introspection. Or more accurately, she was reminiscing on a past moment of introspection because then she said,

”There was a message there. A message of self-sacrifice. Allegra didn’t seek to further her own strength, only to be able to satisfy her lover’s craving. Only to be enough for him.

I may not agree with her desire to monopolize it—especially how she reacted when she realized it wasn’t possible—but I do relate to her desire to offer satisfaction. I relate to her wanting to be enough.”

”So you used the Manuscript for me?” Caius asked.

”Well, for whom else would I have used it?” Arlette answered and there was a deep adoration in her eyes and then it cleared up a bit as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts,

”To think it was incomplete,” she said and shook her head, ”I mean, you should have told me. I thought it was good to go.”

”It is good to go,” Caius said.

”What?” Arlette said and looked up at him.

”It’s good to go,” Caius said again.

”You... asshole,” Arlette said then and looked relieved as she tried to glare at Caius but it was marred by the smile she couldn’t keep off her face but she did manage to say in an accusatory tone,

”Why did you make a big deal about it being incomplete then?”

”I didn’t make a big deal of it,” Caius said with a smile and a light roll of his eyes, ”Allegra only intended it to be used as it is so it being incomplete is more like a technicality.”

Arlette just looked at him now, feeling a tad confused so Caius clarified.

”Allegra only made the manuscript to cheat Evolutionary charge but I consider that as an incomplete state because there are no benefits for the user. I’m all for self-sacrifice but if something can be improved for your benefit, it’s only right that I do it.

The Manuscript is safe to use as it is but once it’s ’completed’, it’ll be a stepping stone to something truly Great.”