Chapter 243: Ignored? Eating Broadcast? Friend? (4K)

"Is anyone there!?"

A muffled voice echoed out from the black-iron coffin, reverberating through the darkness, then fading away…

No one cared.

"Stop pretending you can't see me! I can already smell the scent of fresh blood!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Elisa slammed her head against the coffin lid, grumbling in frustration, legs kicking about wildly.

Somebody save me!

Just one little push — is that too much to ask?

Thud!

Because her emotions ran too hot, on the last try Elisa failed to control her strength and slammed in with a force that could almost have embedded her head inside.

Under the force, she likewise felt a startling rebound.

Duang—

Stars burst before her eyes, her skull buzzed, she looked utterly dazed, and she nearly bit through her own tongue.

She held that pose with vacant eyes for a while, then blinked awake as if from a dream, hissing sharply through her teeth.

"Hiss—ha!!!"

It hurts!

Elisa fell silent.

Not only because of the pain, but also because of what she was feeling right now.

It did hurt.

But, beyond the pain, there was also… a little… pleasant?

"Tch…"

Truth be told, it was a feeling that left Elisa deeply conflicted.

Especially after repeated attempts gradually made her recognize a certain trait of her own — it was downright mortifying.

She, the legendary vampire who had struck fear into countless hearts, the Bloodfeud Princess who had slain her own "Father" with her own hands — she was actually a… masochist?

No!

That absolutely cannot be true.

It's this coffin that's the problem!

It's all its fault for turning me into this, for making me more and more wrong!

"…Right, that's it, that has to be it."

Elisa muttered to herself excuses she couldn't even fully convince herself of, trying to brainwash herself through such repeated suggestion.

Otherwise, did she really have to admit her own peculiarity?

Anything but that—

Elisa refused to admit it!

That absolutely was not true!

The proud-and-stubborn vampire Young Lady could not accept such a reality, and chose to bury her head in the sand, turning herself into a deaf-and-dumb ostrich — burying her head in a coffin can also count as an ostrich.

After agonizing over it for quite a while longer, Elisa finally managed to pull herself together a bit, and continued trying to call out for help.

Still no result.

At this point, Elisa sensed something was off, and narrowed her eyes.

Earlier, that woman would still come over and tease her a couple of times — why wasn't she saying a single word now?

On purpose?

"You guys…"

You guys aren't deliberately ignoring me, are you?

The moment this thought struck her, Elisa's fury flared and she clenched her teeth hard.

Damn them!

Even you have to bully me too!?

"Um, hey, the other one — you, you can come too!"

Elisa tried to strike up a conversation with another unfamiliar fellow, hoping that dangerous one would help her.

But… she had clearly failed.

Valentina: Eating, do not disturb!

Miss Hungry Dragon had her whole mind fixed on the food, with no spare attention left for the outside world.

Eat, eat, eat.

Chew, chew, chew, chew, chew…

And after disappointment upon disappointment, Elisa gradually faced the reality — she was being ignored.

At the same time, Elisa also noticed the one point that left even herself speechless.

After being ignored and left on read, she actually felt a little excited and pleased.

She's gone mad.

She must have gone mad!

This isn't the real me ahhhhh!

"Forget it, I'm tired… anyone will do, come push me open ahhhhh—"

Unfortunately, no one cared about Elisa's wails.

If it had been earlier, Svan妮 would have been happy to lend a hand; she had always been quite interested in this intriguing vampire.

She would have offered help to Elisa while slipping in a few "reasonable" demands, a bit of "mutual assistance."

But unfortunately, the Dark Elf Archmage's attention was now fully diverted by the dragon girl before her.

One must prioritize tasks by urgency and importance; handle high-priority matters first, and never neglect the essential for the trivial.

As for Valentina and Elisa, there was no need to deliberate—the priority was clear: Valentina first, Elisa second.

That vampire could wait for now.

After all, she couldn't run away—she was permanently stuck there, unable to move.

But Valentina before her was different.

As an escapee who had broken in from another prison, her situation was exceptionally rare; this separation might mean she'd never meet Valentina again.

Elisa? Not familiar.

Let her wait for now.

Svan妮 ignored the sounds coming from the black iron coffin and focused all her attention on what lay before her.

"..."

She watched Valentina devour her meal for a long while, gazing at the blissful smile on her face, momentarily lost in thought.

Gulp.

Hearing that soft sound, Svan妮 instinctively touched her lower abdomen, momentarily unable to recall what this sensation meant.

Hm?

Her intestines were moving abnormally—was there a problem with this body's digestive organs?

Was this blood flesh avatar in need of nourishment? Or... no, that wasn't it.

Svan妮 blinked, quickly recognizing the feeling.

This strange yet familiar sensation—was hunger.

After centuries, she had felt hunger again.

Since her youth, Svan妮 had never had much of an appetite.

Even when eating, it was merely to sustain life's basic functions; she had no preferences for food.

After advancing to Legend, when she no longer needed food and could survive solely on magic, she had eliminated that time-consuming, laborious step entirely.

After transforming her flesh into a treehouse, she constantly consumed vast amounts of energy—only sufficient energy could maintain this form.

Svan妮 had long abandoned "eating," an inefficient way to obtain energy, and chosen a far more efficient method.

Her treehouse had been modified into the optimal structure for absorbing ambient magic, forming a self-sustaining cycle—sometimes even secretly siphoning extra magic from the Sealing Technique array.

Had Herbert not appeared, her "power theft" would have continued indefinitely.

Strictly speaking, Svan妮 did not need to eat to operate this avatar.

As her most prized flesh creation, it resembled the treehouse in structure—requiring only minimal nourishment and magic to sustain operation.

But now, Svan妮 was hungry.

Not just this flesh avatar—her true body and all her avatars felt hunger.

Gulp.

She swallowed saliva, licked her lips, and stared intently at the chunks of meat Valentina was tearing apart.

The once ordinary meat had become extraordinarily enticing in Valentina's hands, looking delicious.

"Miss Valentina."

"Mm?"

Valentina, mouth full, didn't stop eating; she tilted her head slightly, puzzled, toward Svan妮.

What?

Aren't you letting me keep eating?

Worried, she slightly quickened her movements, trying to cram in two more bites before it was too late.

Who says Valentina isn't clever?

When it came to eating, her petty cunning was always abundant.

Swish-swish-swish!

As Valentina devoured her food, Svan妮 hesitated, then decided to confront her true self.

She looked at Valentina and said seriously: "Could you give me some of that meat?"

"Hm!?"

Valentina froze completely, tilting her head oddly, then swallowed her bite.

Gulp.

"Burp... Why are you asking me? Isn't this your lair?"

Valentina was confused.

Isn't this your territory? Why ask me?

If you want to eat, just eat!

But Svan妮 shook her head, eyes locked on the chunk of meat in Valentina's hand, and said with a strange expression: "No—I want exactly the piece in your hand."

You want *my* piece?

Hm?

Valentina was even more baffled; something felt off.

Why is this happening?

'Give it to her.'

The "Sage" ignored Valentina's question and gave a response strategy.

Don't ask too much, just give it to her directly.

"Alright."

Crack.

After successfully finding food through the "Sage," Valentina's trust in the other self in her mind skyrocketed.

Without any doubt at this moment, she directly tore the piece of meat in her hand into two halves and handed the slightly smaller one to Sifani.

"Here."

Of course, even the slightly smaller piece weighed several kilograms, and it was placed heavily into Sifani's palm.

Sifani looked at that piece of meat that had just been freshly torn, hesitated for a moment, and unaccustomedly opened her mouth to bite into it.

Using her teeth clumsily, she gnawed off a mouthful with effort, slowly chewing it in her mouth.

This feeling was very strange.

She actually produced a special sensation, as if it were the first time in her life she had ever chewed.

Feeling the muscle fibers being bitten through in her mouth, sensing her taste buds gradually awakening...

Gradually, after repeated attempts, Sifani gradually recalled how to chew, how to more easily break food apart with her teeth.

Is it good?

It probably wasn't all that delicious.

But, at this moment, she felt the long-lost reality of being alive.

Those feelings that her previous self had nearly forgotten gradually welled up in her heart.

She... was still alive, truly alive.

Able to breathe, able to chew, not a silent great tree.

After swallowing this mouthful of meat she had chewed for quite a while, Sifani let out a long breath.

"Haa..."

And just as Sifani was closing her eyes in contemplation, Valentina stopped as well, curiously observing her, and at this moment asked aloud:

"Is it good?"

"... It's good."

Sifani opened her eyes, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly, smiling somewhat stiffly as she nodded: "Very delicious."

Not only was the food delicious, but this feeling of still being alive was truly wonderful.

Valentina looked at the expression on Sifani's face and smiled as well, nodding in great understanding.

Got it.

I get it!

Being able to eat one's fill is truly very blissful!

Valentina had wanted to continue eating, but she paused, and asked out of nowhere: "By the way, Sifani, do you want to be my friend?"

"Friend?"

Sifani was stunned for a moment, somewhat not understanding.

And the Hungry Dragon Young Lady carefully observed the other's reaction, secretly thinking in her heart—if we become friends, she should be able to give me a bit more food, right?

"Um... is that not okay?"

"Sorry, it's not that it's not okay, I'm just a bit... surprised."

The corners of Sifani's mouth twitched, not quite knowing what to say, and she said softly: "For all these many years, no one has ever wanted to become friends with me."

"Eh?"

Regarding this, Valentina appeared quite surprised, and asked curiously: "Not even Herbert? I feel like he would really like to be friends with you."

He?

Sifani thought about her interactions with Herbert, gently shook her head, and did not explain further.

The relationship between the two of them was somewhat special—seemingly united but inwardly estranged, each with their own calculations.

Friends? It couldn't really be called that yet.

"Strange, you clearly look quite pretty, and your personality isn't bad either, he shouldn't dislike you."

Valentina, not giving up, circled around Sifani once, muttering: "Could it be that my intuition is off?"

"... Heh, perhaps that's how it is."

Sifani didn't want to linger on this topic any longer, and instead said: "Speaking of which, you still haven't told me about the relationship between you and him."

"Are you willing to tell me about it?"

!!!

Valentina blinked, twisted her body a little uncomfortably, and said bashfully: "Uh, him and me, ah, this..."

Oh no.

How did it end up being asked about me?

'If you don't want to answer, you may leave.'

Leave?

Valentina looked at the piece of meat in her hand, then looked at the remaining small half of the food, and fell into deep hesitation.

Leave?

But all this food...

The Hungry Dragon Young Lady hesitated for a moment, and finally, closing her eyes and steeling her heart, decided to sell her own shame for the sake of food!

"Wh-what do you want to ask?"

Sifani watched Valentina's state and raised an eyebrow slightly, chuckling softly: "Hehe, don't be nervous. Just tell me first how the two of you became acquainted."

You ask how we became acquainted?

Valentina hesitated for a moment, then said slowly: "Uh, he said at first that he wanted to become friends with me…"

……

……

Outside the Elda Territory.

Herbert had already made up his mind to return to the monastery, to go back and check whether the Hakki Dragon he raised had gotten any thinner from hunger.

However, before leaving, he still had one last thing to do — to give a very friendly greeting to that friend who had been spying on his territory all along.

To show his sincerity, he did not bring along the two legendary combatants, but chose to go alone, taking only a few Ghost Wolves into the mist.

After walking quietly at a slow pace for half a day, his footsteps finally came to a stop before an unusually thick great tree.

Herbert looked at the giant tree before him and slowly spoke: "So, even at this moment, after I've shown such sincerity, you really still don't intend to show yourself?"

"If you're willing to communicate with me now, we might still have a chance to become friends."

"But if you keep hiding like this, then we might only be able to become enemies."

He narrowed his eyes, silently sensing the patch of empty ground before the giant tree that seemed to hold nothing yet seemed to be occupied by some kind of presence, the corner of his mouth curving up slightly.

"If you continue to stay silent, then don't blame me if my methods turn rough."

"I'll give you ten seconds to think it over. Ten…"

Just as Herbert was about to count down, a faint rustle came from that patch of empty ground.

Crack.

(End of this chapter)