Chapter 261: The Reason for Doing So (44K)

In that darkness unknowable to outsiders.

A diligent figure was vigorously sweating, striving to display his artistic attainments.

Using precious pigments, he painted freely upon Bai Xi's canvas.

Daubing and smearing.

Sketching and outlining.

Not sparing a single corner.

Not neglecting a single detail.

The brush tip swept across the canvas, leaving behind stroke after stroke of beautiful lines.

Sometimes with a forceful press, the canvas would tremble and undulate weakly.

The upside was, this canvas's material was quite outstanding and tough — it wouldn't end up pierced through.

The downside was, every now and then a satisfied sigh would interrupt the creator's train of thought.

"Ah…"

*Slap! *

"Shh! Quiet, we're almost at the critical moment!"

Herbert gave the disobedient canvas a slap, and seriously laid down the final stroke.

A pause, lift the brush, call it done.

He raised his own "brush" and gave it a shake, admiring the "artistic creation" before him, nodding in approval.

"Mm~ not bad."

He looked at the "proper characters" in twelve fonts, the two big "惨" characters on the left and right, and shook his head with a sigh.

"What a pity — this art, in this world, no one can appreciate it."

"I'll just give myself eighty-two points, one point per stroke, not asking for more."

Don't ask me why it's not a perfect score.

The remaining eighteen points, I'll tip myself in the form of six-six-six.

One hundred points.

Of course it's one hundred points!

"Good! Good, good, good!"

After savoring the masterpiece for a good while, Herbert, in his emotional excitement, slapped his thigh — except, it wasn't his own thigh.

*Slap! *

"Ah…"

Accompanied by a satisfied sigh, the Young Lady of the canvas, after the lash of art fell, finally welcomed today's final spiritual shock.

*Whoosh—*

Inside Elisha's mind, wave after wave of spiritual tide crashed higher and higher, slamming her hard onto the beach.

Her legs kicked, her eyes closed, and once again she fell into a slumber like an infant.

Her spiritual will had returned to the universe.

The world's hustle and bustle no longer concerned her.

Elisha had fallen asleep again.

And this time, her posture was even more indecent than before.

The legs exposed outside the coffin had their stockings pulled off, and eerie ghost-script talismans using fresh blood as pigment were painted upon them.

"…"

Seeing that Elisha had fallen asleep, Herbert's hands paused, and he slowly stepped back half a pace.

His left hand swiped across his right wrist, wiping away the fresh blood that had not yet dried, revealing the wound that was just about to heal.

Compared to worrying about bleeding out and dying from blood loss, Herbert's greater annoyance just now was actually that the wound healed too fast — it almost left him without blood to use.

Even though he was already doing his best to suppress his regeneration, he still had to deliberately cut the wound open again every few minutes.

The whole point was dedicating himself for art.

Of course, to be fair, no bragging, no hate.

Compared to the painter's effort, the canvas actually gave more.

Look, she's so tired she's fallen asleep now.

Herbert looked at the blood characters he had personally painted on those slender legs, watching them fade at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He knew that before long, this fresh blood would be completely absorbed by Elisha through her skin.

"Truly an astonishing vitality."

Herbert shook his head, picked up a scrap of white silk he had personally torn apart from the ground, and skillfully wiped the bloodstains from his hands and cuffs.

Anyone who often handles corpses understands one principle — if bloodstains aren't dealt with in time, they become much harder to clean later.

Herbert, while wiping his hands with the vampire Young Lady's original stockings, asked in his heart the witness to this artistic endeavor:

"…So, Miss Nie Nasha, having watched enough of the show, could you answer me one small question?"

"Answer me honestly — do we really have to go this far to save Elisha?"

He pointed at the miserable-looking vampire Young Lady before him, as if she had been bullied, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Um, this… uh, is this really appropriate?

"I won't deny that I'm not exactly a typical Holy Knight — my moral bottom line is just a tiny bit… not very high."

"But I like to think that in your eyes, I shouldn't be the sort of guy who enjoys bullying others like this, right?"

Friend, when did I become this kind of character in your heart?

Although Eliza looks very easy to bully and push around, I won't bully her that excessively.

To be fair, Herbert's little performance just now could be dropped into some anime as the eyeless male lead……

But Herbert has something to say!

I was forced into it — really!

Here, Herbert intends to vindicate his own innocence.

That wasn't my intention at all!

Hmm… at least most of it wasn't.

"I did everything exactly as you said, so please don't mess with my head."

【"Ahahaha~ How could I~"】

Not long ago, when Herbert was about to act and help Eliza suppress it, it was Nie Nasha who held him back, not letting him directly help the little vampire Young Lady at the cost of massive blood loss.

She only said one sentence, and it left Herbert frozen on the spot.

【"If you only want to help her suppress it for the moment, then you can go ahead now."】

Because of the implication behind those words — She has another method!?

"You mean…"

After Herbert's movements paused, Nie Nasha continued to speak leisurely: 【"If you want it to last a long time, or even one day truly rescue her from that abyss… then I suggest you not be in such a hurry."】

【"Wait a little longer."】

The deity quietly laid the multiple-choice question before her ally.

There — you choose.

Help her now, and grant her soul a momentary peace?

Or watch her endure a little more pain and torment, and then help her obtain lasting release?

Which would you choose?

Faced with this simple choice, Herbert did not hesitate.

How to choose?

Does that even need saying!

It's not him who's trapped by the bloodthirsty desire anyway — whichever of these two options he picks makes no difference to him.

And since there's no distinction between better and worse, why would he pick a losing option?

"You said 'rescue'? What exactly am I supposed to do?"

When all's said and done, this should never have been a multiple-choice question from the start.

Herbert is a Warden of the Third Commandment Office, not an interrogator or some executioner.

His duties have never included abuse and torture.

How to rehabilitate and reform these dangerous monster girls — that is Herbert's true work.

If Nie Nasha truly has a way to suppress Eliza's bloodthirst symptoms long-term, then that really is an astonishing ability.

Herbert could use this ability to properly keep Eliza in check, make her obediently follow his words, and honestly accept his loving reformation.

So, it's foreseeable that — once Herbert finishes reforming Eliza, his authority can be raised a little more.

But Herbert's happiness didn't last long, because Nie Nasha's instructions differed greatly from his imagination.

She didn't point out a specific time, only telling Herbert to wait a while longer.

Wait.

Until when?

Nie Nasha pretended to be profound and didn't explain, only telling Herbert one sentence.

【"Wait a little more — wait until her will reaches the brink of collapse. That is the moment to act."】

Herbert fell silent for a moment then, a slight wavering in his heart, but in the end he still decided to trust.

"Alright then, what exactly am I supposed to do?"

【"Don't worry, I'll tell you when the time comes~"】

【"Simply put, it's smearing your blood on her body — yes! Smear it carefully and thoroughly——"】

……

……

【"How could I possibly deliberately harm you~"】

Listening to Nie Nasha's cheerful laughter by his ear, Herbert also ended the previous recollection.

Right.

Exactly.

Officer, it's this one.

She's the one who made me do it — She's the real culprit!

And after laughing heartily for a while, Nie Nasha finally stopped and asked: 【"Oh right, weren't you having a great time just now! Why the rush all of a sudden?"】

Is Herbert anxious?

A little, yes.

But compared to Eliza's safety, Herbert actually cares more about whether he's been tricked.

Damn it — could I have been played by this one?

After sensing Herbert's mood, Nie Nasha stopped playing coy and giggled: 【"Really~ Of course it's real, just trust me! How could I possibly trick you?"】

"…Alright, I'll take your word for it this once." Herbert pursed his lips and decided to temporarily trust this not-so-reliable ally.

I hope She doesn't trick me.

【"By the way, I'm curious—why are you suddenly so concerned about her?"】

Where did this sudden concern of yours come from?

"Well, uh, cough cough."

Herbert coughed once, his face earnest: "You know I've always been kind-hearted—I've never harmed anyone. If you hadn't forced me, I'd never have laid a hand on her."

【"Pfft!"】

Nie Nasha scoffed and retorted:

【"Liar—you were clearly enjoying yourself! Wasn't it you who just had your fun?"】

【"I only told you to smear her with blood—you could've just poured it on! Why did you have to painstakingly rub it in bit by bit?"】

And with your fingers… drawing little patterns… hmph!

Who doesn't know your sneaky little tricks?

Despicable!

I've never met anyone so shameless!

"Tsk."

After his disguise was ruthlessly exposed, Herbert openly clicked his tongue.

Seriously, did you need to say all that? Can't you just chat properly? Can't you understand enough to just go along with me?

Can we still have any fun together?

【"Nope, nope~ You're just hungry for her body~"】

Herbert replied with a stern face: "Don't put it so absolutely—I worked hard too."

His words weren't entirely false or evasive.

When Herbert followed Nie Nasha's instructions to "abuse" her, he'd been extremely cautious, his mind sharply focused!

By the way, Herbert strongly suspected that Elisa had already started enjoying it from halfway through.

She said nothing—because she was freeloading off my free labor.

This masochistic vampire always puts on a face of annoyance and humiliation, but deep down she's already ecstatic.

Herbert isn't slandering her—he has concrete evidence.

Hand rises. Hand falls.

Slap!

After the crisp sound came a long, heartfelt sigh of pleasure.

"Mmm! Ah—"

Elisa remained unconscious, eyes tightly shut, yet unconsciously let out a soft nasal hum in her dream.

Herbert looked at her and couldn't help sneering, shaking his head in wonder.

See? She's been enjoying it all along!

So, after tormenting her this long, who's really getting the better end of the deal isn't clear yet.

He shook his head, letting go of that line of thought, steering the conversation back to the original question.

"Enough sidetracking. You haven't answered my earlier question."

Returning to the matter at hand, Herbert's gaze turned serious, his voice soft:

"Whether Elisa feels pleasure or secretly enjoys it, what I did still feels like demanding repayment for a favor…"

"You told me to do it—was it truly necessary?"

【"It was necessary."】

The Harmonic God responded decisively, abandoning all distractions to explain seriously:

【"The essence of Bloodlust Syndrome is nothing but the struggle between the vampire's will and her instincts."】

【"When will overpowers instinct, she maintains her stability and becomes her own true master."】

【"But if instinct overpowers will, she will be consumed, losing herself and becoming a puppet of instinct."】

Yes, the truth is this simple.

The principle of Bloodlust Syndrome is this plain and unadorned.

【"So here's the question—can you guess when will is strongest?"】

Without waiting for Herbert to think, Nie Nasha gave the answer herself.

【"It's the brink of death~"】

【"Only when plunged into true despair does will unleash its greatest power."】

The brink of death.

When one is dying but not yet dead.

When only a single breath remains.

No need for other examples—Elisa just now was the living proof.

She showed Herbert plainly—will overpowered instinct, restoring brief clarity.

That moment was life's most fragile, yet will's most powerful!

【"What I did was preserve the brilliant light of her will at that moment, to dispel the darkness that forever clings to her."】

"I see."

Herbert finally understood Nie Nasha's intent completely.

Break, then rebuild.

Pushed to death, then reborn.

This is a battle others cannot interfere with much—Elisa must fight her bloodlust instinct with her own will alone.

All they could do was push Elisha's will to its absolute limit — the rest was up to her.

【"Right, don't get too excited. This time I only suppressed it briefly. If you want to completely pin down her instincts, one time is definitely not enough."】

Nie Nasha said in a languid voice:

【"Your blood is the key. Only by using your fresh blood as a medium can I exert even a tiny bit of power."】

【"If you truly want to help her, you'll need to repeat the operation just now many times, until your blood merges into every corner of her body. You'll have to work hard quite a few more times… hmm?"】

Halfway through, Nie Nasha suddenly caught herself and said, speechless: 【"Wait, where's the 'hard work' in that? This is clearly a reward for you!"】

That guy would be thrilled, not complaining!

"Cough, cough! I'm warning you, you can't just say things like that!"

Herbert covered his mouth and coughed twice, then said seriously: "I put in a lot of effort, and drained quite a bit of heart's blood too."

"Besides, I've always kept my distance from women."

"You know what a Vow of Purity means, right? I'm a Pure-Bodied Holy Knight! Don't you dare project your filthy thoughts onto me."

Because I…

Am definitely more "pure" than you imagine!

……

……

"……"

Elisha's eyelids twitched slightly, then slowly opened.

Before she could think through what had happened, she saw a pair of smiling eyes right in front of her.

"Yo, you're awake? The surgery was a success — you're a girl now!"

Elisha:?

"……Eh?"

What is this thing?

Her newly-awakened mind was slowly turning over, and she suddenly felt a faint chill.

She lowered her head and saw, on her two smooth, Bai Xi legs, the blood-colored symbols that had not yet fully faded — a row of big "正" characters.

Hmm?

What is this thing!!?

(End of this chapter)