Chapter 486: Bloodlust VI

Elena stared at her.

Natasha lifted one hand.

"I am only saying what we know."

Sofia continued before Elena became more irritated.

"In some versions, they kept killing until the Bloodlust burned itself out. In others, they drank until their bodies could no longer absorb more blood. But there was another method mentioned often enough that I do not think it was completely invented."

Elena noticed the brief pause.

"What method?"

Sofia glanced at Natasha.

Natasha glanced back.

Neither spoke.

Elena’s voice became colder.

"Why are both of you suddenly quiet?"

Sofia cleared her throat.

"Because the other method is somewhat different."

"Different how?"

"Lust."

Elena stared at her.

Sofia remained silent.

Elena waited another second.

"What does that mean?"

Natasha decided there was no point trying to make it sound elegant.

"Mating."

Silence followed.

Even with the distant sounds of wounded people, battle maids moving prisoners, and vampires checking the estate, the space around the women suddenly felt very quiet.

Mira slowly turned her head.

Lily had also heard.

Vera blinked.

Vela looked at her twin, then back at Natasha.

Raka, who stood farther away with blood covering both hands, suddenly became extremely interested in checking whether one of the captured fighters was properly tied.

Elena looked between Sofia and Natasha.

"You are telling me that the solution to this is either for him to kill someone or sleep with someone?"

Sofia nodded.

"That is what the stories say."

"That sounds ridiculous."

"It probably does."

Natasha pointed toward Sekhmet.

"But he is standing there with Bloodlust, after drinking a God. At this point, I am willing to consider ridiculous stories."

Elena could not argue with that.

She looked toward Sekhmet again.

He could hear every word.

His Blood Eye remained active. His hearing was sharper than normal, and the Bloodlust had somehow made his awareness of everything living around him even stronger.

He understood Sofia. He understood Natasha. He understood what they were suggesting.

The problem was that understanding anything had become increasingly difficult to turn into action.

Stephen was dead.

That had removed the strongest enemy from the courtyard, but it had also removed the target the System had been using to keep his murderous desire focused.

Now his attention jumped constantly.

A wounded member of Mihos’s group.

A surviving Iron House fighter.

Another man farther outside.

Then someone closer.

Every heartbeat reached him.

Every injured person smelled like an open container of blood.

His own body kept trying to move before he consciously gave it permission.

The System appeared again.

[Host Bloodlust: 122%.

Blood God’s power remains unstable.

Host mental control continues to decline.

Unknown Blood God instinct is attempting to override voluntary movement.

System intervention remains active but insufficient.]

Sekhmet stared at the notification.

Unknown Blood God instinct.

That was the part that bothered him most. The Bloodlust was no longer just making him angry. It was no longer merely increasing his hunger. It was interfering with control of his body.

Sekhmet looked down at his right hand. He decided to close it. His fingers moved. But there was a delay. It was small.

Perhaps less than a second. That was enough to make his expression change. He opened his hand again.

Another delay.

His own body was beginning to react to something before it reacted to him.

"System, explain."

The response came immediately.

[Blood God power is attempting to assume instinctive control of the Host body.

Cause: Bloodlust has exceeded Host’s current mental and physical tolerance.

Host consciousness remains active.

Host perception remains active.

Voluntary control is deteriorating.

If the current condition continues, blood god may permanently become the primary controller of Host actions.]

Sekhmet’s eyes narrowed. That was worse than simply passing out. If he lost consciousness, at least he would not know what happened afterward.

This was different.

He could remain awake. He could hear people. He could understand what his body was doing. And still be unable to stop it.

His head suddenly turned toward one of Mihos’s wounded fighters.

The man had been captured by two battle maids. One side of his armor had been removed because of a deep wound across his ribs. Fresh blood ran down his skin.

Sekhmet felt his own feet move.

One step.

The System reacted.

[Warning: Uncontrolled target selection detected.

Hostile target confirmed.

System correction active.]

Sekhmet stopped. He forced his gaze away. The large blood sphere above him shook.

Several thin streams pulled themselves away from its surface and began stretching toward the wounded man.

Sekhmet clenched his fist. The streams froze. Then returned to the sphere. He had stopped them. But he had never ordered them to move in the first place.

Sekhmet finally understood how close he was to the edge.

Across the courtyard, Sofia took one step toward him.

"If those old stories are right, Natasha and I can do it."

Natasha looked at her. Then she nodded without hesitation.

Elena turned sharply.

"You mean both of you are volunteering?"

Sofia looked at her.

"Yes."

Natasha gave a small shrug.

"We were already prepared to serve him."

Elena’s eyes narrowed.

"That does not mean this."

"No," Sofia replied. "But this is an emergency. There is a difference."

Natasha looked toward Sekhmet again.

"And we are the best choices here."

Sofia nodded.

"We are ancient True Vampires. Even without the temporary increase, our bodies are Half-God level. If his current condition makes him rough or unable to control his strength properly, we can survive it."

Mira’s expression changed slightly at that.

Lily stayed silent.

Sofia continued, "More importantly, his blood power already interacts with ours easily. If physical lust can really replace some of the Bloodlust, then there is no reason to risk anyone weaker."

Natasha smiled faintly.

"You can stop looking at us like that, Elena. We are not sacrificing ourselves."

"I was not looking at you like anything."

"You were."

Elena ignored her.

"If you are certain. Then do it..."

A sharp cracking sound interrupted her.

Natasha’s expression changed. For one moment, she seemed confused. Then pain struck. Her right leg suddenly gave way beneath her.

Crack!