Chapter 173: The blood from his wrist dripping slowly... sexily!
Leo froze as his eyes fell on the coffin. Ophis was lying inside it... curled up against her mother.
When Leo had left Ophis on the bed earlier, he was certain the coffin had remained shut. Could it be... her mother had woken up?
His eyes lowered, catching the faint lines of tears on Ophis’s face. "Ophis?" he called gently.
Ophis flinched. She lifted her head and saw him standing there. "L-Leo?" Her voice cracked, disbelieving.
Before Leo could even process her expression, Ophis launched herself into his arms. "I-I thought I lost you there... why did you do that?!" she cried, her voice trembling between fury and unbearable pain.
Leo bit his lips, holding back his own storm of words. Instead, he simply patted her back, his gaze drifting toward her mother lying still inside the coffin—skin pale as snow, wrinkled and dried like parchment.
Ophis pushed him away slightly, her red eyes shimmering as she looked at him. "Are you... alright?"
Leo gave a short nod. "Of course I am."
But Ophis frowned.
He looked fine... way too fine that was!! as if untouched by weapons, even though she had seen his body torn apart before. She couldn’t understand... but in that moment, nothing else mattered.
He was alive.
And yet, her voice wavered as she lowered her head. "I... I am sorry."
Leo blinked. "For what?"
Ophis bit down on her lips before answering. "That I didn’t... fight with my father."
Leo’s expression darkened, though he kept it steady. A part of him still felt anger about it, but he also understood. Ophis carried the weight of fear carved into her bones. Deep inside, she still trembled before her father’s shadow.
It was obvious why. All her siblings had been sacrificed. All this time, she believed her other mothers had locked her real mother away... but now she realised it had been to save her.
She was trapped in an emotional turmoil... just like him.
And so, Leo said nothing to wound her further. He wasn’t going to shoot her down or point it out... because emotions always got in the way.
"It’s fine..." he muttered softly, ruffling her hair with a gentle hand.
But Ophis shook her head, tears flooding again. "No, it’s not! I almost... I almost died. And I put you in danger too... I... I... weak... I... I..." Her voice shattered into fragments.
Her body trembled violently, legs barely holding her weight as the words of her father echoed mercilessly in her mind.
Leo stepped forward and caught her, steadying her with his arms before she collapsed. He carefully guided her to the bed and sat down beside her, wrapping her trembling shoulder in a quiet, protective embrace.
"W-What about Raphael?" she asked with a worried tone. She wasn’t sure how to react if something had happened to her, too.
"Raphael is fine," Leo said softly.
Ophis felt a heavy burden lift from her chest, but then her lips parted again. "Valra?"
"...."
Leo didn’t answer for a moment... Finally, he muttered, "She will be fine." His tone was flat, almost emotionless, as though forcing himself to believe it.
Ophis bit her lips. She wanted to ask more, to press for the truth, but when she saw the lost, indifferent look in Leo’s eyes, her courage failed. She simply hugged him tighter instead, burying herself in his warmth.
For a long moment, he said nothing... Neither did she.
They just stayed there, quietly, the silence heavy but oddly comforting. Until—
Ophis swallowed, her throat dry, her eyes drifting unconsciously toward Leo’s neck. She quickly shook her head and tried to push the thought away.
But Leo noticed. His brows furrowed. ’Vampires drink blood... but I haven’t seen her drink since she came back home,’ he thought.
After bringing Ophis back, she had been eating food like a normal person. Cooked meals, fruits, and even bread. He had completely forgotten... she wasn’t normal.
She was a vampire. Vampires needed blood, not just food from the table.
"Come to think of it... I haven’t seen you drink blood. Are you alright?"
Ophis flinched at his words before forcing a crooked, awkward smile. "Well..." She scratched the back of her head, avoiding his eyes. "I’ve been drinking... animals."
"Oh? Okay... was that not enough?"
Ophis sighed again, her shoulders sagging. "Well... that’s not enough. I mean, it keeps me alive, but it isn’t good enough. Only human blood can truly suppress the hunger for us vampires."
Leo hummed, frowning slightly. "Then why not ask me?"
Ophis froze, hesitation flooding her eyes. After a long pause, she whispered, "Last time... you shouted, and kind of... you know." Her voice trailed off awkwardly.
Even though it was food to her, she knew to Leo it would feel monstrous—like she was a beast feeding on him. She didn’t want him to look at her like that again.
Leo sighed, shaking his head slowly. Then, without another word, he loosened his collar and tilted his head, baring his neck to her. "Go on..."
Ophis’s eyes widened, glowing faintly as hunger stirred inside her. The sight of his bare neck made her body ache, but she clenched her fists. Her voice trembled with reluctant resistance. "No... I... I’m fine." She tried to tear her gaze away, but her eyes locked on him like a predator fighting against instinct, her lips quivering with need.
Leo smiled gently and reached out, pulling her closer. "It’s fine... you worked hard today. Take this as a reward."
Ophis still hesitated, trembling, her breath hot against his skin.
"If you don’t," Leo murmured with a sly tone, "then I’ll just give it to someone else." He closed his collar slightly as if threatening her, the same way one might tease a child by saying they’d give away their food.
He thought it would push her into action.
Bastard. Did he really think she was a child—
"W-Wait!" Ophis blurted hurriedly, her voice frantic and trembling.
’Yup, she really is a child,’ Leo thought with faint amusement as he tilted his head again, exposing his neck.
Ophis’s throat worked as she swallowed hard, her lips parting slowly. Her fangs descended—sharp, glinting in the dim light.
Leo’s own throat tightened. He gulped. If those teeth pierced too deeply into his neck, he might not survive it.
"Wait!" Leo said suddenly in a hurried tone. He grabbed Ophis by the shoulders, guiding her back onto the bed. Her eyes widened in confusion as he turned away, walking toward the small table drawer.
From it, he pulled a sharp knife.
He returned, blade gleaming faintly. "You only need blood, right?"
Ophis blinked before nodding slowly.
Leo exhaled, then pressed the blade carefully across his wrist. A thin line split open, and blood welled up quickly, dripping down his skin. He held it out toward her. "Now... drink this."
Ophis’s lips twitched. She stared at him, her expression flattening into a deadpan glare.
"What?" Leo asked, blinking.
"Tsk. Nothing," she clicked her tongue in irritation.
Honestly... neck blood always tasted better. That was the place closest to the heart, where the warmth lingered strongest. Hot, rich, intoxicating... it was the perfect spot for a vampire.
But still... she sighed, swallowing her disappointment.
She reached for his hand, lifting it gently.
Her tongue brushed his skin, lapping at the crimson trail dripping from his wrist. The moment his blood touched her tongue, her body trembled violently. A hiss escaped her lips as if she had been starving all this time.
"Hmm~"
Her voice deepened, almost a purr, as she leaned in further. Slowly, she pressed her mouth against his wrist, sucking firmly as more blood welled forth. She licked, drank, savoured—her saliva glistened against his skin, mixing with the dripping blood.
Her lips sealed over the wound as she suckled, her throat working rhythmically. Her tongue traced the edges of the cut, licking up every drop as though it were nectar spilled from the gods themselves.
"~Hmmm... aaah~"
Her eyes rolled back, dazed with bliss, as she licked along the crack. The more she sucked... the more it came out.
The sweet, hot taste overwhelmed her senses... richer, sharper, more intoxicating than any wine-
Slap!
The sudden sound broke her trance. Ophis flinched, blinking quickly. Her eyes focused to see Leo, face burning red, turning his head away in visible embarrassment.
She tilted her head, confused at first... But then realisation struck, and a sly, dangerous smirk curled across her lips.
"Oh~ did you get horny~?"
Leo jerked as if stung. "You idiot! Don’t say it—"
Before he could finish, Ophis shoved him backwards onto the bed, climbing on top of him in one smooth, fluid motion. She straddled his waist, her glowing eyes fixed on him like a predator cornering prey.
"Little boy is naughty~" she whispered hotly against his ear. His earlobes turned crimson, his body stiffening in embarrassed panic.
"If you’ve had enough, then leave me!" Leo snapped, trying to push her off. But her strength had returned... greater than his!
She pinned him down easily, her hands pressing against his chest.
"To be honest..." she whispered, her lips grazing his ear, her breath warm and heavy, "...I like it from the neck~."
Her tone was dangerous, predatory, and it sent a chill racing down Leo’s spine.
His face tightened... He didn’t know why, but after she had licked his blood, something in her aura had shifted.
To his eyes, Ophis no longer looked like the little girl who seemed like an innocent child.
No... she looked different.
Older... More mature. Like a grown woman, her beauty sharpened into something deadly.
Her face looked different in his eyes.
Was it because of the blood she had just drunk?
Or... was it something else?
Seeing Leo blushing and trembling under her gaze, the blood from his wrist dripping slowly, sexily... almost seductively... something inside Ophis suddenly snapped!
"I’ll take it from the neck!" she announced, her voice trembling with hunger as her eyes glowed and her fangs flared out.
"W-Wait!—"
Chuck!
"Argh!"
Ophis’s fangs sank into his neck, piercing flesh as blood welled up hot and rich. She drank greedily, swallowing it like the finest wine she had ever tasted.
Leo gasped, his whole body trembling as he tried to move, but the strength in his limbs was slipping away, draining with every pull of her mouth. His one free hand clenched tightly against Ophis’s body, pulling her closer almost instinctively.
A strange heat spread through him, rising deep in his chest, searing his veins.
Ophis’s cheeks flushed pink as she continued drinking, her lips pressed tight around the wound. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him firmly as she suckled his blood.
Between gulps, her lips grazed his skin in small, almost tender kisses, though she tried to make sure he didn’t notice.
Leo shuddered beneath her, his body yielding under her hungry sucking power. It was something draining away from him, leaving him weaker... yet, strangely, the sensation felt too good, too intoxicating to resist.
Meanwhile...
Leo’s cut wrist had gone quiet. The bleeding stopped completely except for a few drops that clung to the wound. One final drop gathered at the edge, heavy and slow, before it slid down and dripped—
Plip!
It landed against the pale, cracked lips of Ophis’s mother inside the coffin.
Thuck!
Like water striking dry stone, the drop soaked into her mouth.
For a moment, nothing happened. Silence.
Then—
Slurp!
The lips twitched, and something moved. The drop of blood was swallowed in an instant, slurped away by the seemingly lifeless corpse.
Meanwhile, Leo’s body finally gave in. His eyes grew heavy as exhaustion washed over him. Ophis, too, had drunk more than she should have.
Her head swam, her body heavy with satisfaction.
At last, Leo collapsed into sleep, his breathing shallow but steady. Ophis licked her lips, then glanced quickly at his wrist and neck. The cuts no longer bled, sealed by her saliva’s natural healing.
Two small puncture marks remained on his neck, glowing faintly before fading into tiny scars.
She let out a small burp, her face flushed with satisfaction. Then, smiling weakly, she nestled against him and closed her eyes, falling asleep on his chest.
But just as her body relaxed, she flinched. Something hard... dangerous... was poking against her from below. She froze, then peeked down before quickly averting her eyes.
Her face heated, but a sly, amused smile spread across her lips. "Hehe~" she giggled softly with an amused expression. "Pervert~"