章節 488: Accepting The Gifts

"Astra..?"

I stared at the violet haired woman in shock as I saw those dark and bloody threads float around beneath her skin, and after a moment of staring at me with a confused look in her eyes, she smiled wryly as she raised her arm and stared at it.

"Mm... I forget that this is something people could see, so long as they have the ability to view the Weave... All of my family knows about it, so I guess it slipped my mind... I suppose you'll want an explanation then? Something to... soothe your mind, I guess..?"

Shelur had finally come off of my tit, the Orc licking her lips but staring at us with a furrowed brow as she tried to follow along with what was being said, only to become just as shocked as I was when Astra told her "I can give people the ability to see and interact with the Weave. All of my family is able to... hence why I was quite determined for there to be an oath from each of you."

"And that isn't even the most surprising part, believe it or not Shelur... You've read about the Weave before - I know you have since I made you study it - and so you should know that each type of mana has unique qualities to them. Fire is fickle and powerful; liable to aid or harm on a whim, hot to the touch and one of the most common and most deadly types of mana around. Or how Nature is gentle and soothing, a force of the world itself and giver of life and sustenance. You can tell a little about people by their mana types; it shapes them somewhat, after all. So..."

Astra just continued to smile at me, her eyes filled with acceptance and brimming with calmness as she waited for me to continue, letting me be the one to say it, and letting me be the one to question her.

Was it because she was confident in herself, or was it because she wanted to figure out what I was going to do now that I knew about her mana types?

Was this a test of sorts for me, or was she simply going to allow me to form my own opinions no matter what; did she feel there was no need to defend herself since she had committed no crime?

"You are also aware that some people can confidently claim they possess two or three separate mana types inside their Cores, correct? Meaning that they can expertly wield said mana types?"

Shelur nodded again, her prior lust draining away as she stared at Astra, waiting for me to tell her what I had discovered and what was more important then being able to just give the ability to interact with the Weave to someone.

Even though I was standing beside her with my chest completely out, and her cock was still entirely erect, the Orc was on high alert as she stared at the woman in front of us, and the longer I took in those threads of sinister beauty coiling around Astra's body, I briefly wondered... if Shelur could even make a move before becoming severely injured, should it come to that.

"Well... Astra here has two types of mana inside her Core. Blood Mana, and Dark Mana."

She nodded at that, her lips still curled into a small smile as she looked between Shelur and I, the implications of such a thing weighing on the Orc as her frown deepened, while I stared straight at the woman in front of me.

Two types of mana that only awakened in certain types of people... two types of mana that would only awaken in certain scenarios... and she had both.

"Who... Who did you kill, Astra..?"

Her smile lessened for a moment, and those crimson eyes darkened as she took a deep breath, only for her to return to normal a moment later as she answered "Months ago, before winter, I was in Geard Forest, right? My children, my wife... they are Deerkin. Perhaps we just got unlucky, but they got sick. Deathly sick. The only cure we could manage to think of so deep inside of the Forest was to utilize Vetusberries. So, I went out to find them. Had to walk all day long to locate the berries, but I eventually found them.

On my way back to our home though, I... was captured. A Dark Elf and a few Goblins were hiding in the Forest too, and I was unlucky there as well. They captured me, and while my family was suffering back at our home, I was being raped over and over again. The Dark Elf impregnated me while the Goblins used me to slake their thirsts... it took a few hours to do so though."

Shelur and I stared at the woman in shock once more, and she smiled at us again, though this time, instead of the familiar warmth or gentleness that we had come to associate with her, her smile was cold and mirthless.

"They grew tired after pouring their sperm into my belly, but I managed to convince one to come over and fuck me again... all because I felt my anger, rage, shame boiling up inside my Core. I needed them to be closer, and so I got them closer. I convinced them to untie my hands, and then I strangled them, before using their rusty knife to slit their throat. Quick and clean, compared to the hours I had suffered. I went and found the next, and then the next... I killed each of them quickly, despite wanting to draw it out for as long as they drew out my suffering. It was after that first kill that my Core filled itself with my anger and my need for revenge, and it was when I awoke to Blood Mana."

Reaching up, she tapped her heart and nodded, before tilting her head and adding "When I went home that night with the Dark Elf in tow, I decided that I would accept the power I had been given, and a short time later, as I was lost inside the memories, I was blessed with Dark Mana as well. Does that answer your question, Renna? Yes, I've killed a few people. Yes, I have Blood AND Dark Mana... Yes, I am proud of it. Yes, I am willing to do so again. Is that a problem?"

Silence descended around the kitchen as she stared at me and only me, her crimson eyes brimming with power and darkened with her emotions, whilst the mana inside her grew agitated, corroding everything else around her and placing her on an 'island' where no threads were able to reach, for fear of being drenched in blood and withered away by the dark mist.

But, her eyes brightened slightly as I stepped forwards - ignoring the slight tingling on my skin as her threads tried to push me away - and pulled her into a hug, making my choice now with the things I knew; I wasn't one to trust quickly, let alone with as little information as I had available now, but...

Everything I learned about this woman only opened up a dozen new questions, and each one seemed more incredulous and more impossible than the prior question; if she had been able to make Demetra of all Goddesses respond, then she can't be a terrible person.

So... I embraced her and whispered "No, no it isn't... it seems neither of us had it that easy, did we? But... that just means we should know how to support the other, right?"

Squeezing her curvaceous body, I gently kissed her neck and smiled when I felt her arms hesitantly wrap around me, before she kissed me back and whispered "I guess so... thank you, Renna..."

"No, thank you, Astra..."