Damon let out a low whistle, genuinely impressed. "Wow. You figured that out just from a glance?" He tilted his head, orange-haired grin widening. "Color surprised."
Viola shot him an irritated look. "Don't patronize ." Her gaze drifted back to the gemstone, this ti sharper, almost hungry. "This thing doesn't follow standard elental rules. It stabilizes conflicting energy signatures instead of amplifying them. Shadow, void, demonic essence… it doesn't reject any of them."
She clenched her fingers slowly. "If I had this from the beginning, I could've cut the backlash by at least half. Maybe more."
That was all Damon needed to hear.
So you're already paying a price, he thought. And a heavy one.
Outwardly, he scoffed. "Sounds like a skill issue." He leaned closer, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Aren't you trying a bit too hard to compete with that Blood God?"
Viola's jaw tightened. "Soone has to." She didn't look at him as she spoke, eyes fixed on the ritual circle where the villagers trembled violently. "If he keeps snowballing like this, then everything will quickly get out of hand. He cannot be allowed to have an upper hand in this event. This is our last chance to prove ourselves. So yes, I am desperate. The question is, why are you not?"
Damon chuckled. "Relax. Relax. I am working on it." Viola sighed in exasperation as she turned towards the ritual circle again, examining everything to make sure nothing was out of place. "So the gemstone.. What do you want for it?" She slowly asked.
Damon paused for a mont and then smiled like a big old gentleman. "Oh, you want this shiny thing? Sure, you can have it." He casually extended his palm with the item on top of it.
Viola's eyes snapped to his hand. She didn't reach for the gemstone right away. Instead, she studied Damon's face, searching for the punchline, the hidden hook, the inevitable condition.
"You're giving it to ," she said flatly. "Just like that?"
"Of course." Damon winked. "You know what I want in return…" He then added with a gentlemanly smile
Viola stared at him for another second before a vein twitched faintly at her temple. "…Finish that sentence," she said slowly.
Damon laughed, raising both hands in surrender. "Hey, you know it's not . It's the family pushing for it. Just an engagent for now… how about it? Or maybe a few dates?"
Viola remained silent for a mont. She then lowered her hand, passing up on the gemstone. "I don't need the gemstone that badly. Besides, the backlash won't last long. Just for a few hours."
"…Wow," Damon chuckled. "You really do hate that much, huh?"
Viola didn't rise to the bait. She turned her attention back to the ritual circle, fingers moving in sharp, practiced motions as she adjusted several runes. Sweat beaded at her temple, her breathing just a little heavier than before, but her posture remained rigid.
"Suit yourself." Damon shrugged. He then silently watched the ritual unwind. It was pretty barbaric and brutal, exactly what he imagined it to be. Players did need to have so stomach to beco wizards or witches or demons, for that matter. Not every class was the sa. Most of the dark classes required one to do so morally questionable things. Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a big distinction and rift between the light faction and the dark faction.
And it looked like this woman was ruthless enough to have the stomach for it.
Damon continued watching as a new plan ford in his head. While he did learn so things from this conversation with Viola, it was not nearly enough. The woman definitely knew more he could take advantage of.
And there was the backlash…
Maybe he could push his luck again, just one more ti, and try out another skill on the unsuspecting woman. Damon waited and waited patiently. He didn't rush it. He didn't interrupt. He simply stood there, leaning against a cracked pillar like an uninterested bystander, eyes half-lidded as the ritual ground forward.
The chanting rose and fell in waves. The villagers' bodies trembled, then went still, then trembled again as the formation drew deeper. Soon they were all wailing and clawing their eyes out, blood flowing like tears.
Fingers raked at their own faces, nails tearing flesh as the ritual crossed the point of no return. The chains of darkness tightened, digging into skin and bone, and the runes beneath them burned brighter.
Viola's jaw clenched. Her chanting never faltered, but the price ca anyway. A pulse rippled outward from the circle, violent, and unstable.
As one by one all the villagers dropped dead, their faces gaunt and eyes hollow, Viola staggered half a step.
It was barely noticeable. She caught herself instantly, staff striking the stone floor with a sharp clang as she redirected the excess energy. Still, a thin line of blood slipped from her nose, dripping onto the engraved runes below.
Damon's eyes narrowed. There it was. He waited. He waited as her breathing grew heavier. He waited as her mana flow beca erratic, fraying at the edges. He waited until the ritual reached its peak.
And then he made his move.
Without anyone noticing, Damon silently slipped so of his own blood into Viola's body without the intent to turn her into a vampire. At the sa ti, he activated [ntal Corruption] and [Blood Thrall].
Now that he thought about it, he realized he should have practised this skill a little before using it directly on such a high-level target. Even if he did not plan to use it in the first place, he should have foreseen that things would eventually co to this and prepared a little.
Damon acknowledged his error and made a ntal note to do better in the future. Thankfully, Viola was not lying about the backlash. Without any hint of resistance, her eyes slightly blanked out a little before they returned to their formal chilling self.
[Ding! You have successfully created a Blood Thrall]
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