"No!"
Vale screeched as Xina’s blood stained his body.
Salo chuckled.
"Pitiful, pitiful, pitiful."
Her hand dug deeper into Xina’s flesh as her face began to grow pale.
"Oh how pitiful a woman I am."
Vale’s eyes widened.
"H-huh?"
Vitality Drain...
When activated, Salo should be resistant to Xina’s ability, but her arm was freezing. And, it wasn’t a minor inconvenience.
Salo’s entire right arm was rock solid and began to chip like ice.
"I’ve been waiting for this day for so long."
Salo grit her teeth and grunted as she fell to her knees.
"But now that it’s co, I don’t see much satisfaction in this end."
’Wait...’
"Salo! What are you doing?!"
Xina tried to say sothing, but coughed up another gush of blood.
Salo weakly smiled.
"Like hell I’m going to kill you when you’re smiling. I want to see you beg for life."
’S-stop!’
Vale shook his head.
He couldn’t say it.
If Salo stopped, Xina would die. But, if she continued...
’W-why. Why has it co down to this?!’
Where did Vale go wrong?
Had he been too reliant on his Champions? Not desperate enough for strength?
He wanted soone to bla.
No, he needed soone to bla.
And it felt like it could only be his fault.
If it wasn’t him, it was the fucking oracle.
A glint appeared in the corner of Vale’s eye as Salo lost the strength to even speak. Her arm began to tear apart from the rest of her body.
But Xina...
Xina had so color return to her face. And, Vale couldn’t see it, but he could most definitely sense less Aether leaking from her body.
Greed sighed.
"This, Valentin, is another reason why you should treat them like property. You’ll co to lose them quite often. Dwell on each and it will build up."
Vale’s eyes found Greed.
Greed paused for a mont, then added:
"But, I guess today’s your lucky day."
Out of the corner of his eye, Vale saw the stone giant teeter. A mont later, a river of pebbles fell from his hands and started covering Salo.
The pebbles fed Salo Aether she could heal from while Salo repaired Xina’s core and transferred that Aether to her.
"T-thank you."
Greed shrugged.
"It was part of the deal. I expect my due compensation for my Champion’s and my help."
’Of course...’
Vale looked at Salo who furiously held onto consciousness. Then, he looked at Xina who’d breaths grew more and more purposeful.
The owl asked:
"W-why?"
Salo growled:
"I already told you. Live to die another day. Now, shut up, I’m focusing."
Xina closed her eyes.
"I see."
A few more terrifying minutes passed until Vale sensed Aether had stopped leaking from Xina’s core altogether.
Salo stumbled and Mias swooped in, pulling her away before Xina’s ability killed her. But in doing so, her entire arm was ripped off at the shoulder.
Much too numb to feel the pain, the succubus collapsed as Runcal continued to heal her.
Vale’s gaze flipped from Xina to Salo and back again.
’Alive...’
They were both alive.
***
Vale found himself sitting in Mias’ bed with Xina lying by his side, still wincing in pain.
Salo was asleep in the main room, but alive. But also missing her right arm now.
The other mbers of his Legion had returned to their tasks or were on break lounging around, like Awilix.
Greed was introducing her entourage to Mias and Toy, whom she’d taken a liking to.
Leaving Vale alone with Xina.
"I’m sorry."
Xina let out a pained laugh.
"It was my choice."
Vale looked down into her eyes which had returned to their ruby state.
’A choice you shouldn’t have had to make.’
Vale was a Vice. Why was he having to be saved by an Anathema, soone two classes below him?
Why was he ever weaker than her?
So, when it boiled down to the crux of fault, it was easy for him to bla his weakness. Weakness when he should’ve had strength.
The crystal owl smiled.
"I could hear you, you know."
Vale scratched her arm as he said:
"I’m glad."
Xina wryly laughed, then sighed and said:
"I could also ’hear’ you... we are in a cave, you know. That didn’t exactly help"
Vale shrugged.
"Well, this is the Dungeon of Lust."
But despite the tasteless joke, a part of him felt terrible knowing that...
Xina winced.
"That it is."
After a montary silence, Vale asked:
"Are you not bothered by it? Knowing the man you..."
Xina looked away. She was in too much pain to be bashful.
"Love."
"Love. Knowing the man you love is lying with other won?"
Xina rolled her eyes.
"You really don’t know when to let a girl rest."
’Did Greed’s personality rub off on her?!’
Then she looked away.
"At first, I didn’t mind because I thought she had Chard you. Now, I’m well aware that isn’t the case. So, now I am quite upset."
Xina winced again.
"Perhaps I’ll have more fire in to be angry tomorrow. Try to sway you from polygamy. But right now, I just don’t care."
Vale looked off toward the room’s exit.
"How bold of you. I didn’t take you to be the brazen type."
Xina scoured.
"Maybe Awilix has a point..."
Vale looked down at Xina who held a smug look on her face.
"Huh? What point would that be?!"
The crystal princess shrugged.
Then, she turned away and closed her eyes and muttered.
"Gods I miss being able to sleep."
Vale looked at the remaining splatters of blood on her face.
"We never did finish our conversation."
With a look that spoke volus of her suffering, Xina turned her gaze to Vale.
"Seriously, Master Vale. Learn to take a break."
’Huh?’
’But I take plenty of breaks? In fact, I’m quite lazy.’
Seeing that Vale hadn’t exactly gathered what she ant, Xina rolled over and hugged the comforter.
"We can talk later, after I heal."
Vale smiled as his hand trailed up to her shoulder.
A faint, quiet smile settled upon his lips.
"Alright."
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