Holy Blood 4

Hey Guys! Feel free to tell me what you think of this new project. I know I'm not breaking any new ground, but I hope I'm making it unique enough. 

Chapter 4

Hui POV~~~~~

A loud banging woke me up. I jerked up in the bed and looked around but couldn’t find anything in the immediate area. I stared at the wall that reminded me of a medieval castle for a minute before the events of the previous days flashed through my mind. I blinked a few times then rubbed my face as I got out of the bed. 

I heard another series of banging, but it sounded like it was coming from the front of the church. I quickly equipped my robe and staff then made my way to the entry way. There were quite a few people in various states of injury, but they weren’t the ones causing the noise. Five men wearing the beginning cloths I saw yesterday were surrounding Lucy who looked scared out of her mind. 

“This game blows but at least we can do what we want!” one of the men said with a sick grin on his face. 

“Fucking guards are OP as fuck though. Blew my head off yesterday! The death was instant but I still felt the pain when I came back a few hours later!” another man said rubbing his neck. 

One of the men reached forward and grabbed Lucy’s robe, then pulled hard enough to tear the already feeble fabric. Lucy’s chest was exposed for all the world to see. She tried to cover herself with her arm, but another man reached forward and grabbed her arms. 

My blood had started to boil when I saw the men but now it was as if it was on fire. Lucy had only been pure help to me, and these men think they can waltz in here and do whatever they wanted. I pointed my staff at Lucy and used my newest skill. 

“Sanctuary!” I shouted.

A dome made of red light formed around Lucy. The two men nearest to her were blasted away, both colliding with the wall with a solid thunk. The other three men looked at me with rage in their eyes. I smirked and started making my way over. I didn’t fail to notice the two men that were thrown didn’t receive any damage. 

“Bastard! You think you can take us alone?!” the largest of the men shouted. He pulled a rusty great sword of his back while baring his teeth. He appeared to be some type of beast race. I had a feeling he was the leader of this group.

“Do you really have to make so much noise this early in the morning?” I yawned. 

“We didn’t receive any damage, so you must be some support class. If all five of us attack you at once we could easily kill you before you get a chance to retaliate,” a man that looked slightly smarter than the rest said as he pulled a wand from his belt. 

“Perhaps,” I bit my thumb and let some blood flow, “Prayer of Blood!” the droplets of blood turned to smoke, and I breathed it in. 

I felt strength flow to my limbs, really waking me up. The five men surrounded me. I saw a great sword, a wand, a dual wielder with two short swords, a staff, and an ax which were all pointed at me. I just grinned as I took a laid-back stance. 

“Lucy. Back away. I will take care of this in a few seconds,” I said to the crying girl. She nodded then quickly ran back towards the crowd. 

“I’d like to see you try!” the leader shouted further enraged, “Kill him!” 

The dual wielder rushed in first being the fastest of the group. He aimed to stab me in the gut. I used my staff to deflect one blade then used the palm of my hand to redirect the other blade. A nasty gash formed with blood splattering on the ground. Pain throbbed through my arm, but I was able to ignore it. The man with the staff did some kind of twisting move that amounted to him bringing the staff down on my back. I opened my wings just enough to cushion the blow while still taking some damage, that was going to leave a nasty bruise. My wings throbbed which was an entirely new sensation to process. 

The ax wielder and the leader charged in next, the ax going low while the leader went high. I moved just enough so that the great sword sliced open a gash on my cheek while the ax wielder struck my leg to cut through the robe. I glanced at my LP and saw it had dropped over five hundred points from the combined attacks. 

I was just about to wonder how much damage I had to take before I could attack back when a red aura appeared around the five men. That’s when Sanctuary really kicked it. Lucy was the target, but the spell was stationary. I was right in the middle of it, along with the five idiots. Red sparks flashed before all five men screamed in pain. 

“What the hell!? Why does it hurt so much?!” the leader shouted as he backed out of the transparent dome. 

“The creators were sadistic of course,” I replied. I pointed one hand at the leader then the staff at the smart one, “Holy Light!” 

The red blood colored light of Otris was in full show this time as the stream of Astral energy slammed into the two men. As I was injured the skill did even more damage, plus I felt I was higher level than them by quite a few points. The skill threw them both back against the wall as they struggled against the pain. 

“Get… Him!” the leader gasped. 

The wizard launched a fireball at me, but it collided with Sanctuary and exploded nearly a meter away from me. I felt a good chunk of astral energy leave me from the exchange though. The leader and the other man started coughing up large amounts of blood. The extremely graphic display of suffering caused the ax wielder to break and run. 

The wizard only lasted a moment longer before he was right behind him. The staff wielder wanted to follow them, but Sanctuary was keeping him from doing so. I gave him my best smile, but it caused him to blanch for some reason. I felt the target of one of my Holy Lights disappear as the smart looking man suddenly fell to the floor, blood coming out of several orifices. 

I redirected my hand towards the staff wielder and recast the skill. He screamed in pain. The leader died a few seconds later, he slid from the wall and landed in a puddle of his own blood. The staff wielder struggled to move towards the door, but unfortunately, he went right into Sanctuary. He only lasted ten seconds from there.

“Otris! I offer you my enemies’ blood!” I shouted.

“Accepted,” I heard as if on the wind then a swirl of red appeared above me. 

The three pools of blood turned into streams as they flew towards the whirlpool. When all the blood was absorbed, the bodies vanished leaving behind a few items. The offering restored my LP and AP to full which I was grateful for. I strode forward and picked them up, but it looked like they were trash items they most likely got from mugging the city dwellers. 

I heard cheering behind me and turned to see the crowd clapping for my victory. I waved them off then made my way over to Lucy. I took the robe I just got from the three idiots and wrapped her in it. I hated men like them the most. They all deserved to die in my opinion. 

“Thank you, Abaddon,” Lucy said tearfully. 

“We need to see to getting some city guards stationed here,” I said but Lucy only shook her head. 

“Without a priest this is basically a very large house. Only with a resident priest would they protect the building,” Lucy explained, “We could also enlist people as Templars.” 

“I don’t know. I never planned to stay in the city,” I said honestly. 

“You can’t leave! Outside the barrier is hell!” Lucy cried desperately. 

“Still… I’ll think it over,” I said flatly. I wanted to leave the city. That was my plan from the start, to get as far away from the majority of other players as possible. This incident already showed how the players were going to react, and I really didn’t want to be around when it reached a peak. I felt for Lucy’s situation, but I’ve only known her for a few hours. 

I turned away from her towards the crowd that was doing its best to wait for me to be done. I saw several injuries that were nasty, and more along the lines of someone torturing than a legitimate reason to attack the person. I figured it must be the players testing out their new skills on the weaker city dwellers. 

“All those that need healing, please form an orderly line and I will start healing you in the other room,” I called to the gathered people. There was another cheer then the crowd formed a line similar to yesterday with the most injured at the front. 

Lucy excused herself for a few minutes while she got composed and corrected her attire. Today it felt like I was healing people faster than I was yesterday. I acknowledged the fact that my level went up and thought that was part of it. However, I felt it was as if I knew the skill better. This new world just has too many factors that I don’t understand. 

“Abaddon. That is the last of them for now,” Lucy said after maybe five hours. 

I leaned back and cracked my neck. Glancing at my hand I saw the thin white line was getting thicker but could only sigh. If I didn’t offer Otris blood I would have to wait nearly half an hour before my AP would fully recover. I could have used the people coming to get healed, but I felt that added insult to injury. 

“Thanks Lucy. Why don’t you get some rest?” I suggested. She looked alright but I could see that the shadow of this morning still lingered on her. She nodded and excused herself as she backed out of the room. 

I had been cooped up in this room for the last several hours and wanted to go on a stroll. I stood up and stretched before making my way out of the room myself. There were still a few people in the church. They were helping to clean and repair it if they had the knowledge. I saw there was almost no currency being exchanged. Even with this being a closed society, there should be some monetary representation. Considering I got some copper coins for my quest reward meant it could still be used somewhere in the city. 

The people bowed and said words of thanks as I passed which I answered with a nod. This church or really this cathedral was huge. The entrance area could fit a few hundred people alone. The Pantheon also could hold close to a hundred people as well. Not to mention the dorms for the staff and priests. I was amazed that such a well-off place could be in such dire straits. 

I made my way to the Pantheon as it was empty, letting me be alone. I appreciated the people that thanked me for healing them, but it made it harder for me to make my decision. I sighed then moved over to Otris. I stood there for a moment not sure if I should kneel or what. I shrugged then arched my neck to look up at the Goddess’s face. 

“I really wish this game came with a tutorial,” I murmured to myself. 

“There’s no tutorial for life,” a voice entered my mind. A hazy image of the Goddess formed with her arms wrapped around my neck. Like a lover would on a lazy afternoon. My heart beat faster as her breath tickled my ear, “You really are cute. I think I like you even more,” Otris said with a giggle. 

“That doesn’t help my current situation,” I retorted. I did my best to keep my voice flat but was pretty sure I failed. 

“Don’t give up so easily,” the Goddess purred into my ear. 

“I don’t want to just leave this place to the Displaced. They’ll chew it up and spit it out faster than I could say Lady Otris. Especially with such a cute girl like Lucy attending the halls,” I said, considering my options. 

“Oh, does the little girl interest you so?” Otris said. I thought there might be a little jealousy but wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to sound full of myself.

“Well. Other than you she has only helped me so far. I make it a goal to return all favors in full,” I smirked, “Good or bad.” 

“My Priest, I’m so glad you choose me as your deity!” Otris smiled rubbing her cheek against mine, “For my dear Priest, I have some information that could help you. It will cost you however,” Otris said. Her image floated in front of me, her hands on my face. 

“And what would that be?” I asked carefully. 

“Nothing you haven’t already given me,” she grinned impishly. 

“Alright. Deal then,” I gave in. I was finding I was weak to this Goddess for some reason. 

Before I could react, she shot forward her lips crushing mine, her face becoming much more solid. I thought the first kiss had been deep, I was wrong. This one would have made my knees go weak if I wasn’t held by the Goddess. Her tongue entered my mouth and I fully got a taste of her. It was amazing, so amazing that I couldn’t put it into words even if I tried. Again, I felt the flood of emotion, but couldn’t grasp any of it before it was gone. Just as I was worried I was going to suffocate, Otris pulled away, licking her lips. 

“Mm~, you really do taste good,” Otris purred. 

“Damn! Are you sure you’re not the Goddess of Lust?!” I asked, shaking my head to clear the fuzzy feeling.

“A lot of passion goes into warfare, blood, and life. I’m just following my nature,” Otris said, running a finger along my jaw line. This is what I get from not socializing when I was younger. A shiver went up my back at her touch. To be fair, she was a Goddess so most men would probably be weak to her charms. I frowned at the thought of her being this ‘nice’ to someone else but shook my head. It’s just a game. 

“I see. Don’t overdo it and get some poor guy in trouble with his wife,” I joked. 

“Ah, I wouldn’t do that my Priest. Unlike the other deities I’m only allowed two Priests at a time and they have to be different genders. While women are nice to look at, I much prefer to touch a man’s body,” Otris giggled, running her hands over my chest. Not that I could blame the developers. I had offered three people’s life points to Otris earlier and she had recovered my status completely. I could only imagine what would happen if several of her priests were on a battlefield at a single time. It would be like fighting zombies.

“Alright! Before I lose my mind. Tell me your tip,” I said, grabbing her hands in mine. I was surprised at how small they were even though I could feel her massive power even in this half form. They were addictingly soft as well, and I caressed the top of her hands with my thumb until I realized what I was doing. 

“Spoilsport,” Otris frowned before floating up into the air a bit, “The inhabitants can change class when someone of the same class reaches level ten. They must also trust that person, quite a tall order with the current state of the world,” Otris explained, “Oh, it looks like my time is up.” Her form broke into red particles of light. 

“Until next time,” I murmured, almost sad to see her go. 

“I’m always watching,” a whispered giggled reached my ears before her form completely vanished. 

“Pervert,” I joked out loud but didn’t hear anything back.