Chance Encounter

Besides that, these Vassals had not inherited any other traits.

Even the "toxin" that prevented wounds from healing and caused blood to flow without stopping was merely an insignificant aspect of vampires.

"Was it because I used too little blood?"

One drop of blood had been diluted into a bowl of water, and then an insignificant drop of that bloodied water had been used to transform these big fellows.

Although the transformation had succeeded, the only things enhanced were what they already possessed—their size, muscles, claws, and fangs.

"How about injecting the remaining bloodied water into them?"

After completing their transformation, Lilith had stored the remaining bloodied water in a waterskin.

She had originally intended to separate the blood from the water and recover it.

But seeing that the changes in these dogs were not particularly obvious, Lilith decided to strengthen them again.

No sooner thought than done. Lilith took out the waterskin, divided the bloodied water inside into five portions, and injected them into Big Wolf and the others.

"Awooo~"

When the bloodied water entered their bodies, Big Wolf and the others cried out in pain, only to soon let out comfortable-sounding howls.

After receiving more blood, their bodies grew larger once again.

If they had previously been only a size smaller than horses, they were now each a size larger than horses.

"Mm, their fur is softer too."

Lilith stroked their fur. The dog she was petting lay prone on the ground, pushing its head close to her.

Lilith's little hand stroked its head.

It felt very nice.

After another round of strengthening, the dogs' auras became even more powerful.

Their strength had undergone a complete transformation. If they had previously been comparable to Level 1 Dangerous Species, they were now comparable to Special Class Dangerous Species.

Combined with their ability to move through shadows and prevent wounds from healing, they were far more troublesome than ordinary Special Class Dangerous Species!

Still, rather than warriors suited for direct combat, they were perhaps more like assassins who came and went without a trace!

Lilith raised her head to look at the moon in the sky, then roughly estimated how long night had fallen.

"It's getting late. Let's go back."

Lilith swung herself onto the back of the nearest dog. This one was not Big Wolf, whom she had ridden on the way here, but Fourth Wolf.

"Woof~"

Fourth Wolf answered, then sprinted toward the way back.

The forest outside the Imperial Capital had existed for who knew how long. Within it stood countless immensely thick, towering trees.

At that moment, Tatsumi stood on the branch of a tall tree, scanning the surroundings.

It had already been several days since they returned to their original base.

Over the past few days, Lubbock had set up traps around the base again, though most of them were warning traps.

However, no matter how exquisite Lubbock's Imperial Arm, Cross Tail, was, its threads were not unlimited, and the area its traps could cover was not large.

Moreover, wild beasts often appeared around the base and damaged the traps.

This left Lubbock both furious and helpless.

To prevent anyone from secretly approaching the base, Lubbock could not afford to ignore any signal that might indicate an enemy intrusion.

At first, it had nearly driven Lubbock insane.

Then, in order to ease Lubbock's burden, Night Raid began regularly clearing out the wild beasts around the base.

"There shouldn't be any other living creatures around the base, right?"

Tatsumi carried two prey animals he had killed in his hands. They would be just right for dinner... no, at this hour, they should count as a midnight snack.

But thinking of Akame's appetite, he felt that not much of those two animals would actually make it into his own mouth.

Remembering the way Akame drooled over prey, a smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of Tatsumi's lips.

"Oh my~ I never expected to find such an unexpected prize when I came out this time. My luck really is incredible."

Just then, a voice tinged with delight sounded beside Tatsumi's ear.

Tatsumi abruptly turned his head, nearly wrenching his neck, but he had no time to care about that now.

That voice... that voice, he would never forget it!

"Lilith!"

After his big brother had been killed, he often dreamed of him—and often dreamed of the woman who had killed him!

When Tatsumi turned around, he saw Lilith looking at him with the faintest smile on her face.

Lilith rarely smiled, and when she did, she appeared especially captivating.

But in Tatsumi's eyes, it was nothing less than a demon's smile.

"Incursio!"

Tatsumi threw aside the prey in his hand and shouted. In an instant, he summoned Incursio onto his body.

At the same time, Incursio's auxiliary weapon, Red-backed Shrike, appeared in his hand.

The spear tip with its enormous spearhead thrust toward Lilith.

But before he could strike Lilith, Tatsumi felt an extremely unnatural gust of wind blowing in from his left.

Tatsumi instantly raised Red-backed Shrike to block at his side. Almost in the next moment, an immense force slammed into him from the side, sending him flying.

The tremendous force sent Tatsumi crashing into a large tree before knocking him to the ground.

Clad in Incursio, Tatsumi left a shallow human-shaped imprint in the ground.

"This is..."

Thanks to Incursio's formidable defenses, Tatsumi had not suffered any serious injuries.

Only then did he notice the massive wolf Lilith was riding!

"A Dangerous Species?"

No ordinary wolf could possibly grow that large. Only a Dangerous Species could possess such tremendous strength.

"This is troublesome..."

Lilith herself was already incredibly powerful, and with a powerful Dangerous Species assisting her, she was even harder to deal with.

"Am I going to have to run away again?"

Tatsumi hesitated.

Tatsumi...

Faintly, Tatsumi seemed to hear his big brother's voice by his ear.

Tatsumi, a momentary defeat doesn't prove anything. As a man, you should remember this defeat, then surpass it next time! If you can't do it next time, then do it the time after that! And if that still doesn't work, then try again after that!

Never give up, Tatsumi.

Then Tatsumi turned and ran without hesitation.

"Trying to run? It won't be that easy! Fourth Wolf, chase him!"

Seeing Tatsumi again, Lilith was very dissatisfied with how slowly he had grown.

It had been over a month already, yet Incursio had barely changed at all. Just how had he been training?

She had heard that when people faced a life-and-death crisis, they could uncover the potential hidden within their bodies.

Lilith decided to give Tatsumi a hand.