’It felt easier than when I normally do it. Is this...one of the perks of being a Crimson Knight?’
Standing outside the Council Chambers alone, Cherry was left with nothing but her thoughts with her memory recalling what she had just performed a few minutes ago. the Crimson Knight, staring at her palms with ruby-red eyes, was left amazed, shocked, and mesmerized by the newly given strength granted to her by her brother.
’It felt so effortless. I didn’t even break a sweat or struggle at all. Is this how Ace feels? Is this how it’s supposed to feel?’
Having drained the elk-like beast a little too easily than usual didn’t rub Cherry correctly. Given her previous strength, she’d have to work and heavily involve her body when it came to doing a task such as draining blood from a given subject.
The thing with the Blood Drain Skill was its complete dependency on the user’s strength. The more strength they applied, the more blood they could drain at a much faster rate.
This time, however, none of the above were involved whatsoever. It was all just flawless, as simple as blinking, an action that didn’t need or take any much effort from the individual.
"Amazing," the voice of a familiar Cyclitharan echoed in the young woman’s ear which prompted her to turn her attention toward the individual who was speaking to her. Behold, the Cyclitharan, Atris, who came to receive the Granians when they arrived approached the Crimson Knight with a somewhat large number of other Cyclitharan officials who, like he, were curious to know more about her. "The way you were able to do that...terrifying and unique in its own way. May I know your name?"
"Allow me to assist all of you," descending from the Granian lead ship was none other than Lily who surprisingly spoke to the Cyclitharans in her Granian form. "She cannot speak our language and we cannot speak hers so we use these...."
The female Granian handed Atris and a few other Cyclitharans tiny chip-like orbs that they placed in their ears. Once inserted, an automated voice saying [Translation: Complete] rang in their ears, prepared and ready to translate from English to whatever the one-eyed human-like things spoke.
"...as you’ve heard," Lily announced while signaling for Cherry to speak shortly after, "it’s ready to translate her words into our diverse dialects."
"Please, tell us," Atris, taking a step closer to the Crimson Knight but with great caution, stuck his face closer to Cherry and asked, "What is your name? And what species are you?"
The Crimson Knight, confused and feeling like her space was invaded, scrunched her eyebrows before stepping back.
The Cyclitharans, unaware of Human cultures and personal space boundaries, inched closer but with caution.
"Please step back," Cherry pointed her palms at them, causing some to shriek in fear while others hoped away, thinking she was about to drain their blood the same way she did to the beast. "You’re getting too close for comfort."
"I apologize," Atris bowed while grinning from ear to ear. He then looked at Lily and said, "Its voice is spectacular. So calm, soft, light, high, and soothing. It must be a wonder hearing these things talk, right?"
The Granian smiled awkwardly and then faced Cherry, signaling her once again to speak.
"I’m a Human, not a thing," she spoke and those with translators paid close attention, their eyes fixated on her which became uncomfortable again. "My name is Cherry Underwood. I’m a Human from the Planet Earth, somewhere extremely far from here." Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦•𝘯𝘦𝘵
"Did you say Earth?" one of the few officials asked, having had a familiarity with the name.
"And did you also say human?"
Their faces, once beaming with curiosity and intrigue toward the Human, turned to fear, anger, and irritation. Some went as far as covering the bottom half of their faces with the clothing on their bodies while taking a few steps away from her.
"Human." Atris cursed, his eye angled weirdly to show his anger. "We’ve heard of what you did with the Ethisians. How did...."
He turned his attention to Lily and continued, "How did you retrieve your lost Humans back? And why did you bring them here? Do you plan on..."
"Relax," Cherry raised her hands again, this time as a way to mess around with the one-eyed creatures since it frightened them the first time. "I am not one of "them". Besides if I were, I would have killed the Granians for attempting to "take me back" from the Ethisians."
"Is that Human humor?" another official asked, this time showing disgust. "Is shedding blood a form of humor for you?"
Lily and Cherry sighed, both hanging their heads while Cherry grinned.
"I’m what you call a Crimson Knight, one of the high ranking Blood Mutnats," she began to brag while crafting a ball of blood in her palms. "What you saw was a demonstration of what I can do."
"Blood Mutant?" Atris questioned. In confusion, the Cyclitharan thought too long and asked, "Is that a mutation of your body’s fluids? Is it some kind of disease like the Ethisian Blood Mutants?"
It was at that moment that Lily and Cherry realized just how out of tune the Cyclitharans were with the War. Almost every species in Akrina knew about the Ethisians, Granians, and the first and second waves of Blood Mutants that were deployed.
The name Blood Mutant itself brought horrible memories for those who experienced their true power firsthand so the Human and Granian were surprised that the Cyclitharans, though aware of the Ethisian Humans, weren’t so aware of the concept of what Blood Mutants were.
"Let me ask you this, Atris," Cherry, this time turning the tables on the Cyclitharan, inched too close for his comfort, mainly because she was a being that could drain blood just by stretching her hand. "Do you know what a Blood Mutant is?"
"Would you like for her to show you what she can do?"