The Anomaly Beyond The System

Chapter 116: Devour or Destroy

Lucian tried forcing his body to move despite the overwhelming pain consuming him.

His trembling fingers slowly lifted forward.

Every movement felt unbreathably heavy.

Still—

He forced himself upward.

With visible struggle, Lucian slowly pushed his body upright until he was finally sitting beneath the broken rubble.

Lia remained seated on his lap, completely naked.

Her warm body pressed directly against his bloodied chest.

Lucian’s breathing turned uneven.

Then slowly, he tried to move her away from himself.

But the moment his hands tried pushing her—

Lia’s arms suddenly shot forward.

Her fingers instantly wrapped around both his wrists.

“You are trying to push me away now…?”

The softness in her face disappeared as a dark expression spread across her features.

Her grip tightened sharply around his wrists.

Lucian’s eyes narrowed faintly, making him realise that he couldn’t even move his hand away from her hold.

Then suddenly—

Lia loosened her hold slightly.

But instead of releasing him, she slowly moved even closer.

Closing the remaining distance between them entirely.

“Lia…”

His voice came out weak and hoarse.

“What… what are you doing?”

His throat felt painfully dry as he spoke.

His mind felt chaotic as he looked at Lia.

What exactly had happened to Lia while he was trapped inside the worm?

Why was she behaving like this?

Countless thoughts churned inside his exhausted head, yet no available answer came.

“Did you know…” Lia suddenly spoke softly.

Her arms slowly wrapped around him gently as she brought her face directly before his.

So close that he could feel her hot breath brushing against his skin.

Her skin had become pale, something he just noticed now.

“I loved you for such a long time…”

Lucian’s breathing faintly halted.

He genuinely didn’t know how to react to those words.

“I loved you— no… I love you so much.”

With a soft smile, she brushed aside his damp hair using her blood-stained fingers.

The movement was so affectionate, so gentle that for a second, Lucian almost felt like this was just a dream—something he would wake up from soon.

Even though deep down—

He clearly knew it wasn’t.

“So, so, so, so, so, so, soooooo much,” she repeated the word multiple times, desperately trying to emphasize the depth of her feelings.

Trying to make him understand.

“Lia…”

Lucian muttered weakly.

“Mm?”

She tilted her head slightly.

“What is it, my dear brother?”

The smile on her face remained on her blood-covered lips.

“Let’s… go home…”

The words escaped him almost unconsciously.

His mind wasn’t even functioning properly right now.

She could still hear a faint buzzing noise ringing in his head.

His thoughts felt sluggish, heavy.

And right now—

All he wanted more than anything else was to simply return home.

Along with Lia.

“Brother, I’m hungry,” Lia spoke suddenly, as though his words didn’t even reach her.

“I’ve been hungry for so many days without eating anything.”

Her crimson eyes slowly lowered toward his neck.

Her hand gently brushed against the red, burned skin covering parts of his body.

Her fingers moved tenderly through the damaged flesh.

Then slowly—

She pulled him even closer, her breasts pressing tightly against his chest.

Lucian’s exhausted body stiffened faintly.

Lia lowered her head gradually.

Her lips parted slightly, revealing her unnaturally sharp white teeth.

Her canines slowly lengthened before she brought her mouth to his neck.

Lucian’s eyes widened as she bit into his neck.

“Ugh—!”

A sharp sting pierced through him instantly as her fangs sank effortlessly into his flesh

And immediately after—

A strange sensation flooded his body.

Pleasure coursed through him, along with a faint sense of dizziness.

“Mmmm!~~”

Lia’s crimson eyes widened in ecstasy the moment his blood entered her mouth.

A soft moan escaped her lips instinctively as the taste of his blood flooded into her tongue.

Lucian’s hands trembled violently as he tried pushing her away, but his body barely responded anymore.

Heat rushed through his body, clouding his mind.

“Ughhh…” Another groan escaped his throat.

His eyes gradually became glassy.

Lia tightened her embrace around him further, her body pressing completely against him.

The bite deepened faintly as she continued drinking from him, gulping sounds escaping from her.

Lucian’s vision blurred and even began darkening faintly.

His breathing turned heavier and more uneven.

Meanwhile, Lia’s own body trembled continuously from the overwhelming pleasure and the ecstasy of feeding.

Then suddenly—

[Ding!~]

Several small red screens abruptly flickered before Lucian’s eyes, almost like warnings.

[Unknown blood found within the user’s body!]

[Devouring bloodline under process!]

[Devouring the target!]

Lucian’s hazy eyes lazily shifted toward the screens.

But the moment he read the final line—

His pupils abruptly dilated.

His heartbeat instantly accelerated further as his eyes regained their clarity by a fraction.

‘Devour…?!”

The word rang in his head loudly.

‘What do you mean by devour?!’

His muscles tightened, panic rushing through his exhausted body instantly.

‘What do you mean by that…?!’

He screamed inwardly.

‘Akasha—! Answer me!’

[Just as it looks.]

Akasha’s quiet voice echoed inside his head.

[Since she is trying to drink your blood, your bloodline itself is devouring her,] she said in a grim tone.

Lucian’s expression immediately darkened.

His exhausted body reacted in an instant.

Immediately, he tried to push Lia away from him despite his trembling arms barely having any strength left.

But before he could—

[Don’t.]

Akasha’s sharp voice cut through his mind instantly.

[Don’t move her away while she’s feeding.]

Lucian’s hands froze halfway, his fingers trembling over her shoulders.

‘What do you… mean by that…?’ he asked unsteadily while taking deep, uneven breaths.

‘Why…?’

Even though his entire body burned in pain, feeling as though countless needles were piercing through his skin again and again—

He strained himself to think, to remain conscious despite the pleasure and exhaustion dulling his mind.

[Since this is her first feeding, her body is currently evolving through the process. If you stop her midway, the evolution itself will be interrupted.]

Lucian’s eyes narrowed weakly.

[And that interruption will cripple her talent, and it might even damage her soul to a certain extent.]

Lucian completely stilled as her words slowly registered inside his mind.

“But… bu—Cough—!” Just as his lips parted to talk, a violent cough tore through his throat.

Blood splattered from his mouth, making his body tremble heavily from the force of it.

But she never stopped feeding.

Her body remained pressed against his as she trembled softly, her throat bobbing up and down while she continuously drank his blood almost desperately.

Almost as though she had completely fallen into a trance.

‘So… what should I do…?’ he asked inwardly.

Slowly, Lucian raised his burnt and partially charred hands, resting his fingers shakily against Lia’s bare back.

Her smooth skin felt warm, slightly hot, and he could feel the softness of it beneath his rough, damaged palms—though the burns covering his hands dulled most of the sensation.

Unconsciously, his trembling fingers slowly began moving across her back in a gentle soothing motion—as though trying to comfort her despite everything happening.

Several seconds passed, with only the sound of her quiet feeding filling the ruined silence around them.

Then Akasha answered again.

[You currently have two options.]

Lucian’s fingers momentarily stilled for a split moment before moving once again.

Lia’s body trembled faintly beneath him.

He could hear the soft gulping sounds coming from her, and occasionally, the pressure of her bite deepened slightly against his neck.

“Agh…” Lucian groaned, his fingers twitching and tightening on her back.

[Either you choose the first option. Stop her from feeding, which will cripple her talent and even her soul to a certain extent.]

Lucian weakly nodded, a bitter heaviness settling in his chest.

[And the other option… is that you let her continue feeding, and let her be devoured completely.]

His fingers abruptly stopped moving.

Even his breathing halted for a second.

‘W–Wait, w-what do you mean? Isn’t there any other way?’ he asked desperately as panic surged in.

‘A way to save her without hurting her and—and to even get out of this situation?’

[…]

Silence.

Several seconds passed without any response.

Then finally—

[You have to decide between one of them.]

After a brief pause, she added.

[You will also gain many benefits if you devour her.]

For a brief second, Lucian genuinely didn’t process what she said.

His mind blanked faintly

Then suddenly—

“What are you talking abou—akgh—!!”

Just as he was about to shout, a harsh cough violently interrupted him again.

Blood spilled from his lips, dripping down his chin to Lia’s back.

[I’m just telling you the benefits, don’t get so angry about just that.]

Despite his outburst, her voice remained infuriatingly calm.

And that only grated against his mind even more.

‘And the benefits you are talking about are from devouring my own sister! By killing her!’

His scream violently echoed in his mind.

‘And you’re saying that while knowing she was the only reason I even wanted to live…!’

His teeth clenched until his jaw flexed outward.

‘The only reason I wanted to regress… the only reason I wanted to start everything over… all of it was because of her!’

Faint veins popped over his forehead as his vision burned.

A heavy silence lingered.

It took a few seconds before her words entered his mind again—

[Well… sorry about that,] her voice lowered slightly, and he would’ve felt the sadness through his connection if he were in the correct mind, which he clearly wasn’t.

It took him several long seconds before Lucian finally calmed himself—though not too much.

[It’s for you to decide. Not me.]

Lucian slowly lowered his gaze toward Lia again.

She remained nestled to him completely, a blissful expression covering her face.

Soft moans occasionally escaped her lips as blood slowly dripped from the corner of her mouth, sliding down along her pale throat.

He tried desperately, thinking of a solution, anything—even though Akasha had only given him two choices.

And one of them was something he would never take.

Never.

So the only remaining option was—

To push her away.

To stop the feeding and destroy the ongoing evolution to save her life.

‘So the only way to save her… is to cripple, huh?’ he thought bitterly.

Lucian slowly raised his head, seeing the rising morning sun through his blurred vision.

He let out a quiet exhale and closed his eyes, letting the warm sunlight bathe over his exhausted and faintly burnt face.

His breathing was still heavy and uneven despite his trying to steady it.

Then slowly, he lowered his gaze once again.

Only to notice dark black tendrils seeping out from his hands, as the darkness slowly crawled across Lia’s body.

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.