Chapter 24: Blood Pact

"Wait until she comes back, and you can ask her yourself. Actually, she wasn't hypnotized by me at all. She just pretended to be under hypnosis, but she knew everything in her heart. It seems like she's an esper, just like you," Benjamin explained.

It turned out that Olivia was the one who had been helping with the aftermath and healing all along. After spending so much time with her, Emily hadn't realized her secret. Despite her seemingly gentle and fragile appearance, she was actually quite formidable. It seemed that Olivia had been observing Emily's every move, including the sealed windows in the dorm, which were probably her doing.

But why did their scents differ?

"She had a seal on her before, which made her appear like an ordinary person. Once the seal was lifted, her scent changed," Benjamin continued to explain. "So what we saw that day was indeed her."

Emily nodded. But why was the seal released at this particular time? Could it be related to herself?

The question that Emily had been unable to figure out all along became even more puzzling now. Olivia had never had a reason to treat her as a friend. They were two completely unrelated individuals, yet Olivia had treated her with sincerity from the beginning and even risked her life to save her. Why?

The two of them engaged in a conversation with sporadic words, while Sophia curled up next to Emily and fell asleep. After a night of tension, she must have been exhausted. They couldn't hear anything that was being said.

In the evening, Olivia returned, dragging two large boxes behind her. She already had injuries on her body, and being a human and a woman, it must have been quite a challenge for her to drag those heavy boxes. The wounds that had started to heal reopened, leaving traces of blood.

Emily had been receiving blood transfusions for the whole night and day, and her condition had improved significantly. When she saw Olivia, she hurried over to help.

There were two boxes, one filled with blood bags and the other containing food, water, and medicine.

From the day she was first hypnotized by Boris until now, Emily had lost track of how many days had passed. She hadn't ingested a drop of water during all those days, yet she was still alive. It seemed unbelievable even to herself. But after seeing the box of food, Emily felt an immediate surge of hunger, and her stomach growled loudly.

"Have some porridge first. You haven't eaten for three days, so you can't eat too much at once," Olivia said, taking out a sealed lunchbox that contained lean meat and preserved egg porridge. It wasn't some packaged fast food. Olivia had thought of everything, and Emily couldn't help but tear up at her thoughtfulness.

"What about you? What will you eat?" Emily took the porridge and glanced at the other box, which contained bread, ham, and biscuits—things Olivia would normally never look at.

Olivia nonchalantly picked up a piece of bread and started munching on it. "I'll eat this!" She then grinned at Emily, reassuring her.

"Olivia, who are you really?" Emily finally voiced the doubts in her heart.

With a mouthful of bread, Olivia calmly replied, "Your servant!"

Everyone was stunned. A servant?

As Olivia continued to nibble on her bread, she began to recount the history of her family.

Her ancestors were humans with esper abilities. Centuries ago, during a purge against heretics, the vampires ruthlessly hunted down those with abilities, and her family suffered greatly. Only Olivia's ancestor survived, and he was saved by a mysterious and powerful vampire who sealed his abilities, allowing him to live as a normal human on the condition that his descendants would be enslaved for generations.

Olivia's family made a blood pact with that mysterious vampire, their last ancestor. It was an unbreakable covenant, sealed in blood. However, once the pact was made, the vampire disappeared and was never seen again. It wasn't until Olivia's generation that the mysterious vampire reappeared, commanding her family's descendants to protect Emily.

As Emily's powers awakened, Olivia's seal gradually began to unravel.

"Who is this mysterious vampire?" Emily asked, feeling even more perplexed after hearing the story.

Olivia shook her head. "Even our ancestor who made the pact didn't know who he was, so I have no clue either!"

Emily looked at Olivia, feeling a twinge of sadness. Was Olivia only being kind to her because of this pact? Sensing Emily's emotions, Olivia suddenly spoke earnestly, "Emily, I swear, at the very beginning, I didn't know you were the one I was meant to protect. It wasn't until your powers first awakened that I realized you were the person I needed to safeguard."

Emily felt relieved hearing Olivia's explanation. At least their friendship was genuine, and that was enough for her. She believed that even if it wasn't Olivia's duty to protect her, she would still come to her rescue when she was in danger.

"Have some," Emily offered, handing the porridge to Olivia.

Olivia chuckled and shook her head, continuing to nibble on her bread.

Once they finished eating, the Wolf King returned with the wolves. One of the wolves held a chimpanzee or monkey in its mouth and placed them in front of Benjamin.

"Their blood is most similar to human blood, so they brought you these. Give it a try," Sophia explained, relaying the Wolf King's message.

Benjamin grabbed a monkey and swiftly bit through its throat, clearly famished. Regardless of whether the blood resembled human blood or not, the taste of blood couldn't be compared to that of humans. However, it was a gesture of goodwill from the Wolf King, and Emily wondered how they managed to catch such a nimble monkey in the first place.

After draining one monkey, Benjamin discarded the body to the side, and the wolves immediately pounced on it, tearing it apart. It seemed that the pack of wolves was also starving. If it weren't for their duty to protect Emily and the others, they probably would have gone out to find a satisfying meal already.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, Emily helped Olivia bandage her wounds. Her own spirits had improved significantly, but her body seemed to crave more blood, as if there was no end to it.

"How about you rest for a while, and I'll keep watch," Sophia suggested, looking at their weary expressions and how they vigilantly stared outside. She felt a pang of sympathy.

The Wolf King let out a low growl, and Sophia added, "Tiger will send people to take turns guarding. Take a short break; otherwise, even if they do come, you won't be able to handle it in this state."

Sophia's words made sense. They had been on high alert for so long without a proper rest or sleep. Benjamin found a relatively clean spot and lay down, saying, "I'll take a nap."

Emily and Olivia squeezed onto a stone bed together and drifted into a deep sleep. Surprisingly, the night passed without incident. They slept through until morning, and Emily's recovery speed was astonishingly fast. When she woke up, she appeared completely fine, as if nothing had happened. The bruises on her legs from the previous day were gone, but she had been sweating excessively for the past few days, making her feel dirty.

Emily removed the needle inserted in her arm, realizing that there was still half a box of blood bags left.

Alexander didn't come that night. Perhaps when he regained his senses, he would realize that they might still be here. Tonight might be a fierce battle. Olivia was still asleep, so Emily carefully unwrapped one of the bandages on her hand and bit her own finger, smearing a small amount of her blood onto Olivia's wound. Miraculously, the wound began to heal.

However, Emily's blood was toxic, so she needed to observe Olivia's reaction before using more.

The saliva of the vampires had a healing effect on human wounds, but Benjamin had already tried it on Olivia, and it had no effect whatsoever. It was probably related to Olivia's unique abilities. However, they didn't expect Emily's toxic blood to become a potent remedy for Olivia.

Olivia felt an itching sensation on her hand and opened her eyes to see Emily holding her hand, deep in thought.

"What's wrong?" Olivia sat up and glanced at her hand, which was miraculously smooth again.

"How did you do that?" Olivia looked at her in astonishment.

"Is there anything uncomfortable?" Emily carefully examined Olivia, trying to see if there was anything amiss. But Olivia seemed perfectly normal, which delighted Emily.

Emily's finger had already healed, so she unwrapped another bandage, bit her finger again, and smeared the blood onto Olivia's wound. Olivia widened her eyes as she watched the wound slowly heal, her mouth opening wide enough to fit an egg inside.

Both of them were filled with joy and quickly treated all of Olivia's wounds. As the day broke, they followed Sophia's instructions and headed to the hot springs for a bath, instantly feeling refreshed and revitalized. Emily had recovered so well that she seemed as if she had never been ill.

"We can't keep hiding in the wolf den forever," Olivia said, soaking in the hot springs with her head resting on a large stone.

Emily lazily leaned against the stone as well. Yes, they couldn't keep hiding in the wolf den indefinitely. But where else could they go? They didn't even know how many members the Demon Clan had. As long as Alexander wanted to find them, no matter where they hid, they would be found.

"We can't fight back either. We don't even know the enemy's strength," Emily sighed. After all, the three of them were incredibly weak in comparison. If they didn't hide, would they just be courting disaster?

Emily felt trapped for the first time in her life. The world was so vast, yet she couldn't find a place to call her own. She considered going back to her hometown, but she didn't want to bring the misfortune to that peaceful village or to her mother.

After finishing their bath, Benjamin was still sleeping. He seemed oblivious to the passing of time, always half-asleep during the day. Emily and Olivia were in a good mood, so they went to the city, had a nice meal, packed some food, and leisurely strolled around, buying a few clothes before returning.

When they arrived at the wolf den with their bags full of purchases, Benjamin looked at them as if he had seen monsters. Despite the dire situation they were in, the two of them still had the mindset to go shopping and buy clothes. Benjamin couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

After changing into their new clothes, Emily and Olivia seemed to be in high spirits. They both bought a set of leather vests and shorts, which made them look cool and professional. Most importantly, the outfits were suitable for combat, providing flexibility and durability. They didn't want to worry about their clothes getting torn or accidentally exposing themselves during a fight.

The sky quickly darkened as the sun set. As the tension rose, their spirits were as taut as a tight string. On the surface, they appeared calm and relaxed, but they were all alert, listening carefully to any sounds outside.

"They're here!" Emily whispered in a low voice.

Though Benjamin and Olivia hadn't detected any signs or clues, they knew that Emily had already picked up their scent. Olivia strapped her scabbard to her back and gripped a silver sword in her hand, while Benjamin held a wooden stake. Emily stared at the entrance, and the wolf king and his pack positioned themselves to block the passage...

A fierce battle was about to begin.