Chapter 115: Brother, why are you running…?

From amidst the drifting debris and dust, a woman shakily rose to her feet beside the Giant Maw Worm’s charred head.

Her body swayed unsteadily as she took a few steps forward, before her legs suddenly gave out, causing her to slip and crash into the broken street below.

Lucian’s eyes narrowed faintly.

His steps were slow, his muscles aching with each movement, his breathing ragged and uneven.

His burned skin still stung beneath the morning sunlight, the outer layers reddened from the acidic fluids inside the monster’s stomach.

Slowly, he began walking toward her, carefully, quietly—as he noticed the woman shakily pushing herself up once again.

As soon as the drifting dust around her gradually cleared up, and revealed her full figure—

Lucian’s eyes widened in horror.

The woman’s entire body was covered in dust and blood.

Large gashes were spread across her skin in multiple places.

And even from this distance, he could see blood slowly trickling down her body.

But that wasn’t what shook him the most.

On her stomach—

There was a massive hole pierced directly through her torso—large enough to clearly see through.

Dark blood poured out of it continuously—almost flooding out.

“Akhhh…”

A weak, hoarse sound escaped the woman’s lips as she stumbled while taking another step ahead.

Lucian immediately increased his pace while still being cautious.

He felt something was wrong with the woman.

Her face remained hidden, covered by her long, jet-black hair, with crimson red strands mixed with it.

And in the next moment, to his absolute disbelief—

The giant hole through her stomach began healing.

Bone slowly reconstructed itself, muscles twisted and reformed again.

Flesh regenerated with a visible speed, rapidly filling the empty space completely.

Now, Lucian was even more alert.

A metal baseball bat appeared in Lucian’s hand, its heavy edge dragging against the broken ground as he continued approaching.

As soon as he was about to dash forward—

The woman suddenly raised one hand, then brushed her hair away from her face.

And the moment Lucian finally saw her clearly—

“W-What…?”

An instinctive mutter came out in a low voice.

The weapon in his hand loosened faintly.

“Lia…?” A small, uncertain mumble escaped his lips.

Then instantly, Lucian rushed toward her, abandoning all his previous caution.

The baseball bat disappeared from his trembling fingers.

His bare feet scraped harshly against the rough, shattered road as he sprinted forward.

His footsteps echoed through the ruined street.

As he got closer and closer—

Lia’s head snapped sharply toward him, making him instinctively stop a few meters from her.

“Lia…?” he called out once again, trying to keep his voice soft despite his uneven and heavy breathing.

His trembling eyes remained fixed on her.

There were no clothes on her body, revealing her naked figure beneath the sunlight.

There were a few patches of blood and dust particles over her skin.

Her long black hair, now mixed with crimson strands, fell all the way down to her waist.

Her height had increased slightly, only by a few centimeters.

Her body itself looked different, too, maybe more mature.

The rise and fall of her breasts remained uneven from exhaustion as her body swayed faintly as she stood in place.

Lucian’s head lowered faintly for a brief moment before immediately lifting up again.

His expression slightly stiffened.

He had never seen her like this, without any clothes covering her body.

But ignoring her glistening naked body for now—

His eyes sharpened again.

Because there was something about her that made him feel uneasy.

Something that made his skin crawl with caution.

“Brother…?”

Lia’s hoarse voice came out, instinctively pulling his gaze toward her face.

And the moment he properly looked into her eyes—

Lucian’s expression stilled.

Her eyes were red—irises glowing in a crimson hue that faintly shimmered beneath the warm sunlight.

And her face looked subtly different now—her facial features sharpened, more refined.

“Brother…?” Lia muttered again softly, her voice low and trembling.

She slowly tilted her head sideways.

The crimson glow within her eyes intensified slightly before they widened as soon as she noticed him.

Her expression lit up in recognition.

But before Lucian could even answer—

She suddenly moved.

Whoosh!

Lucian’s eyes widened.

His muscles immediately tensed on instinct.

With a sharp movement, he stepped aside instantly.

Lia’s body shot past the exact spot he had been standing on moments prior.

The force behind her movement cracked the broken ground, and she faintly stumbled forward.

Seeing him avoid her, Lia stopped abruptly.

Then slowly turned her head toward him.

“Brother…?” Her voice came out broken, confused.

“Why are you running?”

A sad, hurt expression appeared on her face.

Her sharp teeth gritted together as her fists clenched tightly.

“What…?”

Lucian mumbled, with confusion filling his expression.

Because none of it made sense.

Her speed.

The unnatural regeneration.

Her eyes, and even the terrifying pressure that was subtly radiating from her body.

‘What exactly happened to her while I was trapped inside that monster…?’

The moment the question surfaced, Lucian immediately activated his analysis.

[Analysing…]

[Analysis Complete]

[Status Window]

Name – Amelia Scarlett

Race – Vampire

Rank – D

Titles – Hidden Heir

Bloodline – Scarlett Bloodline

Affinity – Fire

Talent – S

— — —

Lucian’s eyes narrowed as they rapidly moved across the translucent blue screen before him, immediately reading through her status window despite the exhaustion.

Aside from her first name, Amelia—

Everything else had changed completely.

For a moment, he even felt that the person before him might not be his sister.

But the thought immediately disappeared as soon as it came.

He would never confuse his sister with anyone else.𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

And even though the woman before him looked and behaved a bit differently, she was his sister.

He was sure of that.

Before he could properly finish—

“Why… why… why did you run away…?”

Lia’s broken mumbling suddenly reached his ears again.

The strange softness and the flickering madness in her tone caught his attention away from the screen.

With a mental command, the blue panel flickered faintly out before vanishing entirely.

“Lia… what happened?” Lucian asked softly—or at least tried to as he slowly stepped toward her.

His movement was uneven, almost limping, because of the deep wound in his thigh that was slowly going numb.

“Do you not love me anymore?!” Her voice abruptly rose as she screamed.

At the same moment, her body blurred before him.

Without even thinking, Lucian shakily moved sideways.

A gush of air brushed past him.

“Again… again!! You are running away from me, right?!”

Her voice tore through the destroyed street as she abruptly snapped her head toward him before charging again.

“I’m not!”

Lucian shouted back immediately.

His breathing turned heavier.

Her movements were far too much for a human, especially for someone who had only awakened a few days ago.

Even Lucian himself could barely react to her movements despite everything he had gone through.

The air sharply brushed against his body as Lia rushed past him again.

Something about her behaviour was very, very wrong, and without even realising it—

He was stepping away from her.

“Then why are you running away from me?!!” Lia’s voice trembled violently, her shoulders shaking in anger and pain—pain of seeing him getting away from her.

Lucian’s lips twitched faintly.

‘Because you have a sharp claw in your hand…!’ he screamed inside his mind.

Her fingers had changed, lengthening unnaturally, and the nails looked sharp enough to tear through flesh.

More like claws than human fingers.

‘Vampire…’

The word came to his mind as he noticed these things.

Sharp Claws.

Blood-red eyes.

Regeneration.

And the fact that she was almost faster than him.

The realisation made him feel both uneasy and confused.

Suddenly—

Lia moved again.

This time, Lucian barely even saw her move before she was already before him.

He instinctively tried stepping backward.

But his exhausted body finally betrayed him.

His balance slipped, and his injured, numb leg faintly gave out.

And his body collapsed sideways onto the rubble-covered ground, hitting his shoulder.

Lia had already been standing before him, abruptly stopping and revealing her back.

Her long black and crimson hair swayed faintly by the movement as she slowly turned toward him.

At the same time, a sharp burning pain suddenly spread across Lucian’s stomach.

His expression tightened as his trembling hand lowered toward his abdomen.

The moment his fingers touched the flesh there—

He instantly felt the thick wetness covering his fingertips.

Lowering his eyes slowly, he sluggishly lifted his torn hoodie upward.

And there was a deep gash stretched across his stomach, and fresh blood began leaking from the wound.

Lucian silently stared at it for a moment.

Oddly enough, he didn’t even feel surprised by looking at the injury despite how life-threatening it was.

His vision darkened subtly for a second.

Slowly, he lifted his head again.

Lia was walking toward him with unsteady, almost unstable steps.

On her left hand, which was still partially transformed into a claw, crimson blood slowly dripped downward onto the broken road beneath her.

It took her a few seconds before she finally reached him, kneeling just before him, revealing her breasts that were just before his vision.

Lucian’s half-lidded gaze lifted toward her face.

“Brother… why did you run…?” she asked softly as her crimson eyes stared directly into his.

“Don’t you love me?” Her expression twisted faintly.

“And why do you always vanish every time?”

Lucian didn’t say anything in response to her words.

He genuinely didn’t have the strength left to answer her properly anymore.

His entire body felt unbearably heavy.

“Lia…”

His voice barely came out as a whisper.

“What?” Lia asked softly as she tilted her head.

The gesture would’ve been cute if not for the place they were currently, and if he wasn’t in the position he was in right now, with wounds that were gradually killing him.

Slowly, Lia’s gaze lowered toward the wound on his stomach.

The glowing red in her eyes flickered faintly.

Her transformed hand changed back, and the sharp claws retracted as fingers became normal once again.

Gently, she lowered her hand toward his wound.

Her pale fingers brushed across the torn flesh, then slid into the blood flowing from the injury.

Lucian hissed faintly as his muscles instinctively tightened.

Lia silently lifted her blood-covered fingers upward.

For a brief moment, she just stared at the glistening blood dripping slowly—as if in a daze.

Then brought them toward her lips.

Her mouth opened, revealing rows of white teeth, along with unnaturally sharp canines.

Then gently—

She licked the blood from her fingers.

The moment the taste reached her tongue—

Her crimson eyes widened instantly, and a deep shiver visibly ran through her body.

The glow in her pupils intensified.

“Brother…” Her soft, dreamy voice reached his ears

“Your blood is so delicious…”

A wide smile spread across her face.

And through all of it—

Lucian could only sit silently.

Half-burned.

Covered in wounds and completely exhausted.

Watching everything unfold before him while the morning sunlight quietly illuminated the ruined world around them.

100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter

50 Golden Tickets = 1 extra chapter

This is the most I can do by now. Might increase the number of releases if you support me more.