章 20: Chapter 20 - Bloodline infusion

Erik was standing inside the gloomy study of the Ashcroft estate while Elora was floating before him.

He looked at her with surprise and a little apprehension, "Really? I, uh, I thought it would be a little longer still."

Elora giggled at Erik's anxiousness, "Oh? Are you scared of a little pain, my beloved protector?"

Shaking himself out of his apprehension, he rolled his eyes, "You're not the one who actually has to suffer."

Surprisingly, that seemed to strike a chord with Elora, as she looked a little uncomfortable, "I, uh, guess that's true. But is it really that bad?"

Erik shuddered a little, "It feels like getting turned inside out while my organs go through a blender."

He shook his head, "But never mind that. I can handle it."

Elora looked a little concerned at Erik as she suddenly remembered the first time they had done this.

* * *

A slightly younger-looking Erik sat cross-legged on the ground in a luxurious-looking room. He and Elora had left the Obsidian Enclave just a few days ago and were now in an expensive inn in a human city.

He looked at the beautiful fairy he had recently gotten bonded to with surprise, "Infusing a bloodline? What does that mean?"

Elora looked far too excited for her own good as she began to explain, "It's my special talent! You didn't actually get to meet my father before we were kicked out of the Enclave, but he is my mother's enslaved protector and a blood dragon."

Erik was surprised that, despite her casually mentioning his status as a slave, her face did show love when she talked about her father. He supposed it was just a culture thing, but he still couldn't imagine his own daughter talking about him like that, assuming he would ever have children.

He shook himself free from his thoughts as Elora continued explaining, "As you probably know, my mother likes experimenting and loves her family. She wanted me to be as strong as possible, so even though fairy genes are generally dominant in mixed children like myself, she ensured that I got as much from my father as possible since blood dragons are an exceedingly powerful face."

She shrugged, "Well, it didn't end up making my body or magic more powerful, but it did mutate my seidr magic a little by giving me the ability to combine bloodlines!"

Her face suddenly twisted with annoyance, "It seemed to be a pretty useless ability, however. I could affect various weaker animals with it, but anything more powerful than that would just ignore my efforts."

But her face quickly lit up again in a mixture of excitement and obsession, "But then you appeared! You are the first species I encountered whose entire existence seems to be created for the express purpose of blending with other bloodlines!"

Erik got the impression that Elora had been obsessed with her ability for a long time, knowing she was unique but unable to find a way to make use of her uniqueness.

Unable, that is, until she met Erik. Their meeting caused her desire for an equal partner to blend with her obsession to find a use for her ability, making her jump into this partnership without much forethought.

Erik didn't mind, of course. It saved his life, after all. But he still wasn't sure how he thought about being little more than this woman's obsession. He would have to work hard if he wanted her feelings to change into something more.

A little overwhelmed by her speech and with his mind still half drowned in the events back on earth, he was a little unsure how he was supposed to respond to her, so he just shrugged, "Okay, so now what?"

Disappointed with his lack of enthusiasm, Elora sighed, "I suppose I expected too much from you at this point."

She shook her hands with a hint of frustration, "Regardless, infusing your bloodline can't wait! After all, you can't casually reveal your racial status, and since your species seems to have a strange method of advancing in power, you can't form a mystic sigil! I mean, you don't even have an affinity!"

She pointed an index finger at him, almost accusingly, "Which means that, even with my interference, you still can't cast magic and pretend to be a human, despite what I told you when we met!"

She suddenly produced a vial filled with red liquid from somewhere, "So, we need to get you a regular bloodline that will allow you to gain a real affinity and form a mystic sigil!"

Her green eyes shone with obsession, "Can you see it now?! You and I were made to find each other!"

Despite being a little unsure about all this, Erik was still a little timid and felt somewhat intimidated by the woman's intensity. He could even feel Elora's powerful emotions through their bond, making him feel like he didn't have the option of refusing this infusion.

Elora naturally felt his apprehension, but her desire to try her ability on Erik was overpowering, causing her to ignore everything else.

She continued, "What I have here is the blood of a powerful Raijū. The Raijū is a wolf-type species with a strong affinity for lightning. Since your species also seems to be derived from wolves, it should make things easier this first time." [1]

As she took the blood from the vial and made it float in front of Erik, she adorned a crazed smile that one might assume was very much like the one Frankenstein must have had when he created his own monster, "So, are you ready?"

Erik gulped but nodded in the end.

A few minutes later, he was squirming and screaming on the floor in pain while Elora looked on with disappointment, thinking the person she had taken as her partner really should be more resistant to pain.

Her disappointment was only interrupted by a thought about how she was glad this room was properly isolated so no one would come to check in on them to question them about the screaming.

* * *

Back on Earth, Elora was feeling guilty as she thought of that day. Sure, she didn't enslave Erik, but she still could have treated him better.

Despite her conviction to become true partners with Erik, it ultimately took her a while before she eventually warmed up to and fell in love with him.

She suddenly wondered how their relationship had even reached this point despite her initial behaviour. Did she even deserve his feelings?

Confused by the sudden feelings of guilt and sadness he felt through their bond, Erik asked with his brows furrowed in concern, "What's wrong?"

Elora smiled sadly and shook her head, "it's nothing. But are you sure you want to do this? I know I was… enthusiastic in the past, but there are plenty of ways to grow stronger, and you already have the Raijū bloodline."

Erik smiled at her with love and confidence, "Thank you for your concern, Elora, but I'll be fine. I am much tougher now compared to back then."

While she outwardly nodded, Elora still wanted to do more, which suddenly caused her to have an idea. But first, she had to get this infusion started.

Erik only got more confused by the expression on Elora's face he had never seen before, but decided to talk to her about it later. He had to take a moment and prepare himself mentally for the infusion.

Elora seemed to have shaken off her sadness as she produced two vials of red liquid with an excited smile, "Anyway, since the Raijū bloodline has now been thoroughly combined with your own, it's time to add a second. And this time, you have choices!"

She pursed her lips, "Unfortunately, you're still not ready for the truly powerful bloodlines like those of dragons, but we'll get to those eventually."

She had stored up quite a number of bloodlines, most of which had been given to her by her parents, and some of those bloodlines were quite powerful, but that also made it much more complex to combine with Erik's bloodline.

She held up one vial, "This has the bloodline of a powerful Winter Wolf. Since it is also a creature of the wolf type, it will be easy to combine with yours. It will boost all aspects of your body while also giving you an affinity with ice, eventually allowing you to fuse it with your lightning affinity to create something more powerful than either."

She held up the other vial but looked a little more concerned this time, "This has the bloodline of an old Bakaneko. Rather than a wolf, this creature is feline in origin. The incompatibility with your wolf type will make things more painful for you."

She sighed reluctantly, "On the other hand, it will give you a boost in agility and speed, which you are lacking right now when compared to your strength and vitality. Furthermore… the Bakaneko have a close affinity with shadow, which gets more powerful with age, and this comes from a particularly old Bakaneko."