Erika's steps suddenly faltered. A wave of weakness washed over her, and her legs gave way slightly. She struggled to stay upright, her vision blurring. Her balance slipped, and she began to fall forward.
But luckily, Akira noticed immediately and caught her before she hit the ground.
"Erika!" Akira called out her name in surprise. This came out of nowhere. But he calmed himself immediately, knowing panicking would only make things worse.
But he could feel her body growing colder, her skin turning pale. Even though she was part vampire, he had never seen her like this before. Something is seriously wrong here.
"Sister," he called silently.
"Already on it," Selena's voice replied in his mind.
Akira removed his glasses, revealing his Mystic Eyes, to see if this was the work of a curse or some external influence. But all he could see was Erika's energy steadily decreasing, draining away, second by second.
"Brother, teleport back to the house," Selena's voice came again, more urgent this time. "We need to get her somewhere safe first."
Without hesitation, Akira picked her up in a princess carry. He glanced around to ensure no one was nearby and that there were no cameras. Once he confirmed they were alone, he teleported.
They reappeared at his house, but before he could react, a second teleportation pulled him instantly into the Castle Nexus, where Selena was waiting.
He now stood in a massive, luxurious bedroom. Selena was near a huge bed, worry clear on her face.
"Put her down quickly!" she instructed.
Akira gently laid Erika on the bed. Selena waved her hand, and a floating holographic screen appeared. She began operating it, sending a soft scanning light over Erika's body.
"What is this?" Akira asked.
"This," Selena said, still focused on the screen, "is the imperial… well, now royal bedchamber. It's where the previous rulers of the Asterisia slept. The bed itself is more than just furniture; it's also a highly advanced piece of medical equipment. Think of it like a medbay. Though right now, it's only functioning as a scanner."
"Why would they use a bed as a medbay?" Akira asked, raising an eyebrow.
Selena gave a small shrug. "Because one of the emperors who ruled over multiple realities was too lazy to go to the infirmary."
Akira nodded slowly. "Makes sense, I guess…" He turned his attention back to Erika. "What happened to her? Is she alright?"
Selena's face grew serious. "The scan says she is suffering from blood deprivation."
"Blood deprivation?" Akira repeated, startled. Then a thought struck him. "Wait… is it…"
"Yes," Selena said, completing his sentence, "it's because of what you're thinking. The Eclipse Clarity magic you taught her the other day is most likely the reason this happened. Erika-chan is the type who only drinks blood when she absolutely needs to. If she didn't feel the thirst, she probably forgot to drink it at all."
Akira frowned deeply. "Why would she do that? I told her she needs to drink blood regularly, even if she doesn't feel the thirst."
Selena gave him a knowing look. "Some people are like that, Brother. Even you are like that, right? Remember, in your previous life, you often forgot to eat if you weren't hungry. And you wouldn't feel hungry until a week later."
Akira let out a sigh. "True…" He looked at Erika again. "So… she's alright, right? Nothing too serious?"
Selena shook her head. "No. It's actually quite serious. If she doesn't drink blood within a few minutes, she might fall into a coma. We need to get blood fast."
Akira's eyes widened. "Wait, what? I thought blood deprivation wasn't that serious!"
"Usually, yes," Selena explained, "but her body is behaving as if she hasn't had blood for an entire month. That's extremely dangerous."
"What?!" Akira's shock deepened. "I only taught her that spell yesterday. There's no way it's been a month."
Selena hesitated for a moment, looking conflicted. Then she said, "It might be because of you, Brother."
Akira stared at her. "What did I do? Is it the Eclipse Clarity? Did it have some kind of side effect on her?"
"No," Selena replied, "it's not the spell. It's the Sacred Gear that's acting as your heart Lunar Vows. That's what's causing this."
Akira's voice was quiet now. "What do you mean?"
"The Sacred Gear inside you is accelerating her blood deprivation," Selena explained. "It's making her crave blood sooner… and making her need more of it. That's why this is happening."
Silence fell for a moment. Akira lowered his gaze. "…So she needs blood right now, right? Do we have any stored blood here? If not, I can try to get some."
Selena shook her head. "We don't have any, and we don't have the time to get it either. Even if we did, I don't think it would be effective."
Akira's eyes narrowed. "Hey… Sister. Did you plan this?"
Selena blinked innocently. "What do you mean, Brother?"
Akira exhaled slowly. "Both of us know where you're going with this. You're going to say the only way to save her now is with my blood, aren't you? And there's no way you don't know the effects of the Sacred Gear; you created it."
Akira might not be that good at reading emotions, but he watched too much anime to know where the plot is going, so he easily realised the current emergency is planned.
Selena's lips curled into a bright smile. "Well, you caught on. Yes, it's true. The only way to save her now is by giving her your blood. Otherwise, she'll fall into a coma."
Akira looked at her seriously. "Why did you do this, sister? Erika is innocent."
Selena met his gaze with a calm, sincere smile. "Brother… you should know this. You're important to me. And after you, Erika-chan is important to me too. I would never hurt either of you. Everything I'm doing is for both of your sakes. I promise you that."
Akira looked into her eyes. He had a feeling she was telling the truth. He sighed. "…Alright. I need the whole truth."
"I am sorry, brother, I can't tell you everything," Selena said softly. "Some things must remain secret, at least for now. But I promise, one day, I'll tell you everything."
Akira sighed again, he knew this new sister is extremely sus, but for some reason he always felt like he could trust her. He didn't know why, but he decided to trust those feelings for now, so he asked. "Then what should I do now?"
Selena's eyes turned serious. "Cancel the Eclipse Clarity. Once it's canceled… Erika Chan's bloodlust will return, and she will attack you and drink your blood."