LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 24 - True Ancestor Virus 3
Chapter 24: True Ancestor Virus 3
With a single gesture, the True Ancestor created a vortex of blood and thought it was over.
The wide attack range of the blood vortex devoured this small world in an instant, including Alice’s body, which had been relentlessly evading pursuit.
“Ah, did I get a bit too heated…”
The True Ancestor thought its hand was heavy, irritated by the adorable child who had been dodging so fervently.
With this, not even a corpse would remain.
‘Still, I had considered turning her into my servant in exchange for summoning me…’
Though regretful, the True Ancestor smacked its lips but didn’t dwell on it.
Outside, there would be mountains of prey to devour, and even now, the faint human presences felt above were enough to stir the newborn True Ancestor’s appetite.
“Shall I head out then? It’d be nice to eat at least ten thousand~”
If everything flowed well and survived long enough, it might evolve from a mere fragment into a being with its own intellect and self-awareness.
-Shaaah!
The moment the True Ancestor turned its gaze to the ceiling, where human presences were sensed, the blood vortex collapsed.
“…!”
How did that happen?
The True Ancestor was puzzled.
There was no way to physically dismantle the blood vortex.
It was a massive maw that dissolved everything it touched, capable of even consuming mana barriers, and it absorbed the energy of all life within its core.
Even a powerful Overseer or Hunter trapped inside would be doomed.
The only possible response would have been to avoid it, yet the True Ancestor had clearly seen Alice being swallowed by the vortex.
-Kiiiing!
“Breath…?”
Then the True Ancestor saw it.
At the vortex’s center, a rapidly spinning, ash-gray sphere.
The sphere was gathering in Alice’s mouth and absorbing the surrounding blood to amplify its power.
“Ha, imitating a dragon’s breath?”
If it was the dragon’s breath that consumed all life and energy to exhale as a destructive force, it might indeed have been able to neutralize the vortex.
However, for a mere human, this was arrogance.
“Did you really think I’d fall for such a lizard trick?”
Mastery over life and energy was also the domain of the True Ancestor.
A massive sphere of blood formed in the True Ancestor’s hand.
The energy and life force awakened by the True Ancestor Virus began to compress, much like the dragon’s breath.
“If you can block even this, then I’ll really make you my servant.”
“Hah…”
Hearing the True Ancestor’s words, Alice chuckled.
“Go to hell.”
【Liquefied Breath】
-Kwaaaa!!!
And then, with a scream-like shout, Alice unleashed a massive breath of molten metal.
Amidst the molten metal that pulverized everything, the True Ancestor’s lips curled upward.
Right.
Used your head, huh?
In a simple mana contest, a human could never match the True Ancestor.
However, with that molten metal and rust-infused breath, she could compensate for the lack of mana through sheer physical mass.
‘I don’t intend to hold back.’
The True Ancestor pointed a finger, showing no mercy.
A blood breath was launched toward Alice.
-Kwoooom!
The waves of searing blood and molten metal clashed and intertwined, creating an eerie and horrifying sound.
“Ahaha, child. You’re quite the talent, aren’t you?”
Even in its newborn stage, the True Ancestor laughed genuinely.
Normally, a human should simply be trampled and crushed, begging for mercy.
Yet here was one who showed no fear and demonstrated remarkable skill.
And to think, she was nothing more than a young girl.
The True Ancestor liked her appearance but noted there was more to her on the inside.
Her mouth might be insolent, but that could be corrected.
At that moment, the intense clash of the waves of blood and molten metal began to tilt to one side.
【Severe energy depletion. Remaining: 76…74…72…68…】
Alice’s energy was being consumed at an alarming rate.
Unlike the True Ancestor, who seemed to have an overwhelming surplus, Alice was clearly limited by her energy reserves.
She realized that in a war of attrition, the odds were against her.
Though she didn’t know how much energy the True Ancestor had left, a decisive move was needed.
In that case, the solution was…
‘Theresa, what do you think?’
【…It’s close to a gamble. However, given the current situation, it appears viable.】
Alright.
Having made her decision, Alice closed her mouth, halting the Liquefied Breath.
The incoming blood breath, now having absorbed the molten metal, grew even larger, and Alice leaped toward it.
“Oh my?”
When Alice suddenly stopped her breath, the True Ancestor also ceased the wave of blood.
It could feel Alice rapidly approaching from within the wave.
‘Did she coat her body with mana and dive into the wave? At least her arms and legs will melt…’
It was a move that caught the True Ancestor off guard.
With the Liquefied Breath and the blood wave intermingling, the scene was engulfed in destruction, both in sound and sight. If it had been any other monster, Alice’s movements might have gone unnoticed.
‘But all this blood belongs to me.’
The vortex, the pools, and even the blood breath fired earlier—every drop of blood here was essentially an extension of the True Ancestor’s domain and sight.
Wherever blood existed, no matter how swift Alice moved, it could observe her as if through surveillance cameras.
Watching Alice charge in, the True Ancestor merely smiled.
It had no idea what she intended to do by approaching, but against a True Ancestor, moving closer was practically a death sentence.
It was akin to willingly offering up her blood.
Feigning ignorance, the True Ancestor deliberately left an opening, and Alice, seizing the chance, lunged toward it.
-Chomp!
“…!”
The result?
As though a child embracing its mother, the True Ancestor opened its arms wide and caught Alice precisely, enveloping her in a firm hold.
“Ah, a delicious child has willingly come into my embrace.”
The joy of descending.
The joy of discovering a lovely girl.
The joy of encountering a talented girl.
These various joys made the True Ancestor smile.
Alice struggled, as if trying to escape, but the True Ancestor only held her tighter, as if to say it was impossible.
Their skin met as the True Ancestor pressed Alice closer against its decadent chest, locking eyes with her from just a breath away.
“I can’t rest easy until I claim what I desire.”
Fangs were revealed.
“Now, it’s time for you to become my child.”
Slowly, seductively, the True Ancestor’s lips touched Alice’s neck.
As if kissing a lover, yet also biting down like a beast, the True Ancestor’s fangs pierced Alice’s skin.
-Kaang!
“!?”
At the unfamiliar scraping sound, the True Ancestor’s gaze twisted.
What was that?
Why was there a metallic clang coming from the girl’s body?
“Oh, me too. I can’t rest easy until I claim what I want.”
Before the startled True Ancestor could respond, Alice sank her teeth into the True Ancestor’s neck.
-Kwajik!
“Kyahk!?”
At the same time, numerous mechanical tendrils sprouted from Alice’s body, stabbing into the True Ancestor.
【Drain. Initiating.】
“Ugh, hyah. Hyaaaa!?”
-Puhpuhpuk!
It wasn’t just Alice’s mouth.
The mechanical tendrils were also siphoning blood from the True Ancestor at close range.
And it wasn’t only blood.
Energy, vitality, essence—everything that made up the True Ancestor began to be drained.
What was this?
The True Ancestor was a taker by nature.
It existed by stealing the blood, life force, and energy of others.
It was used to taking, but having its own essence stolen was an unprecedented experience.
“Let go, let this go…!”
Yet the tendrils were embedded all over the True Ancestor’s body—its arms, neck, thighs, back—and relentlessly drained its blood.
Unfamiliar with the sensation of being drained, the True Ancestor found itself unable to exert even 1% of its usual power.
With that minuscule strength, it tried to push away Alice, the small girl, but its efforts amounted to little more than feeble flailing.
“Slurp, slurp…!”
The more the True Ancestor struggled, the more fiercely Alice sucked its blood.
Though it was blood, it contained immense energy and vitality, providing Alice with a substantial recharge of high-density nutrients and energy.
“St—stop, stop it…!”
In the end, the True Ancestor hung limp, powerless, as Alice drained its blood.
Eventually, even the essence of its life.
The True Ancestor’s body, entirely absorbed by Alice, began to slowly vanish.
“…Ah, aah….”
It was over.
Even the bare minimum of magic and energy needed to sustain its existence had been devoured.
This insolent girl…
How dare she drain the blood of a True Ancestor…?
“Ah, ahhh…”
As the True Ancestor disappeared along with the pool of blood, Alice wiped her bloodstained lips.
“Phew, you taste amazing.”
“Why is this happening?”
Oriana tilted her head at the AI hologram that had suddenly started to crack.
The difficulty and scaling of the virtual dungeon were beyond the Overseer Oriana’s control.
However, there was nothing to worry about.
If the participant’s body detected damage exceeding a certain threshold, the entire environment and all monsters within the virtual dungeon would automatically disintegrate.
The difficulty of the Barrier Agency’s virtual dungeon ranged up to 100.
Clearing difficulty level 100 typically meant an A-rank for Hunters and a grade of 3rd or 4th class for Overseers.
This level of risk was something Oriana could handle regardless of any unforeseen circumstances.
‘Besides, Alice took down both the Scrap Dragon and the Contact Unit on her own. There’s no way she’s struggling with this.’
Of course, she understood that the process could be a bit tedious and annoying.
But the Barrier Agency’s AI deliberately designed the virtual monster waves from difficulty levels 1 to 100 to thoroughly assess a participant’s abilities, including potential, stamina, endurance, and reflexes.
‘Even if it’s boring, Overseers and Hunters are fundamentally tasked with protecting lives and preserving them.’
While the test process for the virtual dungeon could feel cumbersome, its thoroughness was universally valued.
Thanks to Oriana’s authority, Alice had already passed the basic intelligence and personality defect tests.
Ordinarily, Returnees or Awakened Ones who pledged allegiance to Ark would need to undergo various tests and verifications over a week. However, Alice’s capabilities had significantly expedited this process.
At her pace, she’d likely clear difficulty 100 in less than half a day.
Although tedious, completing the Barrier Agency’s virtual dungeon test was a necessary step.
But then, something strange happened.
The smoothly progressing monster waves came to a halt, and everything in the virtual dungeon turned blood-red.
“Alice?”
Moments ago, Alice and the virtual dungeon’s environment had been perfectly visible, but now neither could be seen at all.
AI malfunctions in the Barrier Agency were rare, but as machines and program codes, they weren’t completely immune to errors.
Still, Oriana didn’t think it was a big deal.
The AI overseeing the facility would perform a self-check and repairs, restoring all systems to normal within a minute.
After a minute had passed, Oriana sensed that something unusual was happening.
“…Blood?”
Blood began flowing from the transparent wall.
Even though there was nothing that could bleed, blood was flowing.
“Set.”
Sensing the anomaly, Oriana immediately summoned an Artificial Spirit and deployed her magnetic field.
The metals in the waiting room reacted to Oriana’s magnetic field and began to levitate.
The levitating metals disassembled and reassembled into blades for Oriana.
Though this damaged the facility’s equipment, it was nothing that couldn’t be deducted from an Overseer’s paycheck.
“Alice!”
Bursting through the door, Oriana realized the hologram hadn’t simply malfunctioned.
At first, she thought the monster wave in the virtual dungeon had glitched.
She worried that an error might have caused a dangerous monster, even more perilous than the Scrap Dragon, to appear, potentially putting Alice in grave danger.
But what greeted Oriana when she stepped into the waiting room was a crimson wall.
“A blood veil…?”
This wasn’t a glitch, nor was it a problem with the hologram or the virtual dungeon.
Once she stepped out of the waiting room, the crimson barrier came into view. It was no illusion.
A genuine, physical manifestation of a blood veil was enveloping the entire space where the virtual dungeon should have been running. Sticky blood obstructed and sealed off everything in the air.
“Could it be… a vampiric entity?!”
The blood veil was a massive barrier and prison manifested by the True Ancestor to trap people inside, setting the stage for a gruesome feast.
It barred external interference and drained the blood of every human within.
And only one kind of being could create a blood veil.
A vampiric entity.
And not just an ordinary vampire.
‘Could it really be… a True Ancestor?’
As that thought crossed her mind, Oriana’s expression twisted.
How dare it.
How dare it show itself before me again.
“This damned mosquito bastard…!”
-Clack!
“Set!”
The arrangement of blades formed a magic array.
Each blade under Oriana’s control bore a formula inscribed in iron dust, and the blades, imbued with different magical attributes, began to spin with a thunderous noise.
Why was there a vampiric entity?
And why would a True Ancestor appear in the Barrier Agency’s virtual dungeon?
Could the AI’s error have created the vampiric entity?
These questions flashed through her mind, but the blood veil she could feel with her own fingertips was undeniably real.
It had to be breached immediately.
-Thud!
With the strength of a first-class Overseer like Oriana, the barrier was pierced with ease.
Inside, the dense smell of blood wafted out, and Oriana caught sight of a familiar figure from behind.
“Alice…?”
“Yes?”
As Alice sat barefoot on the ground, casually wiping the blood from her lips, her innocent gaze met Oriana’s.
In that instant, Oriana felt a sharp, pounding headache.
“C-Could it be… Alice… h-have you become… a vampiric entity?”
“Huh?”
Nope, not at all.
■
■
■
“Hmm, it’s dead?”
A girl muttered.
Watching the rain fall through the window, she closed her eyes briefly.
“Oh my, oh my…”
Sensing something, the corners of her lips curled upward.
“Ha, haa… This is… unexpected…”
Sight.
Sensation.
Pain.
A melting body.
Drained blood.
The feeling of being drained.
Mechanical tendrils.
A cold body.
Cold eyes.
Taken.
Taken.
What was mine was taken.
Bitten and drained.
Fiercely…
“Uh, ah…!”
For the first time, she felt these things.
The girl trembled slightly, placing a hand on her lower abdomen.
A dull ache radiated through her lower body.
This was her first time experiencing such sensations…
Ah, how marvelous.
“Ha, ahh… That child. She devoured me and discarded me like this….”
Sitting on her chair, she reveled in the lingering sensations, her expression one of ecstasy.
“Are you just going to leave me behind?”
She had always been the one to take.
Never before had someone taken from her.
“Ahh, I’ll come to you…”
The flood of sensations and experiences connected to the fragments reached the girl, intoxicating and electrifying.
“I’ll come directly to the one who devoured me and left.”
With an ecstatic smile, the True Ancestor grinned.