Chapter 487: 487: Bloodlust VII

Natasha dropped to one knee. Her hand hit the ground.

“What…”

Another cracking sound came from inside her body. This time it was her ribs. Natasha gasped.

Sofia immediately moved toward her.

“Natasha!”

She never reached her. Several bones inside Sofia’s body fractured almost at the same time. Her shoulders jerked backward.

A deep crack came from her spine. Then another from one leg.

Sofia screamed. Blood burst from her mouth. Tiny red lines appeared under the skin of both arms before several blood vessels ruptured at once. Blood sprayed through small openings across her skin.

Elena moved instantly. She caught Sofia before she could hit the ground.

Natasha tried to stand. Her left arm broke under her own weight. She collapsed again.

More blood came from her nose.

“What is happening to you?” Elena asked.

Natasha tried to answer. She coughed first. Blood covered her lips.

“The power…”

Another crack came from her lower leg. She gritted her teeth.

“The power he gave us is ending.”

Sofia understood at the same time. Her Low-Rank God pressure began falling.

Natasha followed. Neither decline was smooth.

Their temporary power seemed to collapse back into their bodies all at once, and their Half-God bodies were being forced to pay for every moment they had spent beyond their natural limit.

Sekhmet saw them fall.

A System notification appeared.

[Blood Corruption aftereffect activated.

Targets: Sofia and Natasha.

Blood Exhaustion has begun.

Temporary God-level enhancement is collapsing.

Bones, muscles, blood vessels, and Chaos pathways are suffering accumulated backlash.

Target regeneration has been severely reduced.

Target movement capability has been temporarily compromised.

Estimated recovery time cannot currently be determined.]

Sofia tried to straighten one leg. The bone began healing. Slowly. Far too slowly for a True Vampire.

Natasha moved her broken arm and immediately stopped when another wave of pain crossed her face.

Their regeneration had not disappeared. It had simply become a small fraction of what it had been. Almost like a human.

Sofia looked toward Sekhmet. Frustration appeared in her eyes.

“We cannot do it.”

Natasha leaned back against a piece of broken stone.

“That was excellent timing.”

Sofia looked at her.

“You are making jokes now?”

“I am in pain.”

“That does not explain it.”

“It explains many things.”

Elena carefully lowered Sofia onto the ground.

The two ancient vampires could still speak. They could still defend themselves if absolutely necessary.

But neither was capable of walking normally, much less handling Sekhmet while his control was collapsing.

Elena turned.

There were still Lily, Mira, Vera, and Vela.

Lily was the strongest among them at Chaos Rank Four. Under normal circumstances, that would have made her the obvious next option. But the circumstances were not normal.

Sekhmet had just advanced to Chaos Rank Four after drinking Stephen’s blood.

Yet Elena had personally watched him defeat a Mid-Rank God only moments earlier while he was still Rank Three.

That had not come from normal physical power. It had come from the terrifying authority his blood gained when Bloodlust and his Blood God powers combined.

Now that same force was still active inside him. Worse, he had advanced afterward.

Mira looked toward Sekhmet’s clenched fists.

Small cracks had formed beneath his feet. He was not attacking anything. He was simply standing there. Yet his body was releasing enough uncontrolled strength to damage the stone.

Mira spoke quietly.

“Lily cannot do it.”

Lily looked at her.

“I am Rank Four.”

“I know.”

“So is he now.”

“That number is not the problem.”

Mira pointed toward Stephen’s corpse.

“He defeated that man while he was Rank Three.”

Lily looked at the corpse.

Mira continued, “He was controlling a God’s blood inside his body. He broke his arm and leg. We do not know how much of that strength is still moving through Sekhmet now.”

Vera looked toward her sister.

Vela had already understood.

“If he loses control completely, he might use too much strength without realizing it.”

Mira nodded.

“He could break bones without meaning to. Even kill us. That… that will be more painful for him, when regain his normal self.”

Lily became quiet.

Vera and Vela were both Rank Three.

There was no need to discuss them.

Mira was Rank Three too.

None of them possessed a God-level body.

Sofia and Natasha normally did, but Blood Exhaustion had removed them from consideration.

That left only one person.

Elena noticed everyone looking toward her.

She slowly straightened. Her Blood Corruption had not ended yet. The Mid-Rank God power remained inside her. Even after the enhancement disappeared, her real body was that of a Low-Rank God. She got more time than Sofia and Natasha.

Sekhmet could lose control of his current strength and still have little chance of seriously damaging her.

At least compared with everyone else.

Lily looked at Elena.

“You do not have to.”

Elena did not answer immediately. She looked at Sekhmet. She had seen him many ways throughout his life.

As a child.

As a young man.

Angry.

Arrogant.

Injured.

Secretive.

Trying to act more capable than he really was.

Trying to hide things from her with the exact same expression his father used whenever Eyra was about to make a questionable decision.

She had never seen him like this.

His body was standing there. His mind was still inside it. But something ancient and violent was slowly pushing him away from the controls.

Elena had been called his aunt for most of his life. The title was convenient. It was natural.

After enough years, nobody questioned it. But Elena had never been Sekhmet’s real aunt. There was no blood relationship between them.

She was not Eyra’s sister. She was not related to Sekhmet’s mother.

Long ago, Elena had served Eyra Dawn as one of his most trusted maids. Over time she had become far more than an ordinary servant. She handled matters for him, fought beside him, protected his home, and looked after Sekhmet whenever Eyra was away.

Eventually, the young Sekhmet had started treating her like family.

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