The Freed Slaves Are Obsessed-Chapter 223: For Elise (8)
A pair of radiant scales floated in the air.
Elise, who had been staring at the ground, flinched and lifted her gaze toward them.
Even in a world drenched in blood, the light remained unblemished, scattering its pure white radiance in all directions.
She couldn’t look away.
It was purer than any divine power Elise had ever felt.
Even purer than the artificial scales wielded by Sigrid, the Judge.
Before her was none other than God’s own scales.
And it was Karami who wielded them.
“On this side of the scale, let’s place the believers of the Church, the vampire that clings to you, and the emotions of those who claim to care for you. Shall we include God as well? Though I doubt it would make much of a difference.”
Light began to gather.
A small point of light rapidly expanded, growing until it was as large as the moon.
Boom...!
A massive white sphere, radiating brilliant light, was placed onto the scale. The overwhelming weight made the balance creak and tip heavily to one side.
Karami, unperturbed, continued.
“Now it’s my turn. I will place my feelings for you on the other side.”
In contrast, what appeared on the opposite scale was a small, fist-sized black orb.
The size difference was staggering.
A white moon on one side, and a pitifully small black sphere on the other.
Anyone—hundreds, thousands, even millions of people—would say the outcome was obvious.
The scale would undoubtedly tip toward the white.
Creak...
But only one person—
Only Karami—would say this:
“Naturally, it will tilt toward my side.”
The believers did not truly want Elise.
What they sought was a figure to worship and follow. Anyone could be the Saintess in their eyes.
The same applied to Damian.
What he desired was a successful experiment.
If the experiment had succeeded with someone else, he would have played the role of a ‘father’ to them just the same.
“But I need Elise. The person standing before me must be Elise.”
Karami was different.
He didn’t care whether she was a vampire.
He didn’t care whether she was a saintess.
He didn’t care what she became.
As long as she was Elise.
No matter how many people combined their hollow affections, it was nothing more than an empty shell.
It could never outweigh his feelings for her.
“Why...? How could you go this far?” Elise’s voice trembled. “It doesn’t make sense. I’m a vampire. I’m covered in blood. There’s no reason for you to do all this for me.”
“What doesn’t make sense? This is only natural. After all, that is the role of a master.”
A story’s value is determined by its ending.
If the ending is poor, then everything leading up to it loses its meaning. And in this story, the one who would bring its climax—was none other than Elise.
From the prologue, everything had been set in place for her.
In other words, every step taken until now was leading to this very moment.
Everything—was for Elise.
“......”
Elise stood frozen.
Her mind was a chaotic mess.
She understood, yet at the same time, she didn’t.
Because she had never encountered such a person before.
Someone who stood by her, unwaveringly, without expecting anything in return.
Someone she had believed could not possibly exist.
Her mouth went dry.
She wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what.
Her lips parted and closed repeatedly before she finally managed to speak.
“What... what should I do? How can I hear God’s voice?”
“God’s voice? Why would you even want to hear that?”
“......”
“The only voice you should listen to is mine. The only will you should follow is my command.”
Elise fell silent.
Then, she asked once more.
“Who... am I?”
A bat caught between two sides.
A priest?
A vampire?
“You are my slave, Elise.”
Neither.
Elise was a slave.
And a slave’s place was at her master’s feet.
“Then... how can I be saved?”
“You don’t have to do anything. Just follow me, like a fool, like a doll, without questioning a thing.”
“But I’m already drenched in blood. No matter how much I try to wash it away, it won’t disappear.”
A believer stained in blood could not be saved.
That was the truth Elise had always accepted.
“I don’t care how tainted you are. It is my duty as your master to accept that.”
But Karami denied it effortlessly.
“Ah...”
A shaky breath escaped Elise’s lips.
To be saved without doing anything...
Wasn’t that the very miracle of God?
“But as you are now, you lack the qualifications.”
Then, Karami’s voice turned firm.
“You refused to remain as my slave. I will not force you if you do not wish it.”
“I...”
Before she could finish, Karami gently pressed his index finger against her lips.
“Which is why I will give you a choice.”
He loosened the buttons of his collar, tilting his head slightly.
As he pulled the fabric aside, his neck was exposed.
“Drink my blood. Take it, and make it yours.”
To drink and accept his blood—
“With your own hands, become my slave once more, Elise. Show me your sincerity.”
“...With my own hands.”
The whispered words barely escaped her lips.
Elise’s hands trembled.
Karami’s exposed neck hovered before her, tantalizingly close.
A crimson river pulsing with life.
For some reason, it looked more enticing than even the blood of the girl from before.
If Elise changed her mind, she could kill him right here and now—yet Karami’s gaze held not a trace of doubt.
Instead, his hands softly encircled her waist.
Not forcing her.
Not demanding.
Simply offering.
The choice was entirely hers.
And so—
Elise leaned forward.
“Haa... haa....”
Each breath came out hot and ragged.
She tried to suppress it, but the burning thirst crushed her lungs.
Her lips parted.
Her fangs, sharp and eager, slid into view.
Beneath the thin layer of skin, she could feel the rhythm of his heartbeat.
Everything else blurred from her vision.
Her own heart pounded.
Her tongue burned.
Her lips met his skin.
Heat surged through her body, spreading like wildfire.
Once she drank, there would be no turning back.
This was different from the shackles of servitude.
The moment his blood became part of her, they would be one.
She would live as his kin—forever.
A curse that would bind her.
A mark of corruption.
And yet, the fate awaiting her was unbearably sweet.
A cacophony of voices rang in her mind, screaming at her to stop—don’t do this!—but none of them could hold her back.
Because deep within Elise’s heart, a new faith had already begun to bloom.
The mere thought of taking his blood into herself filled her with ecstasy.
There had never been a path back—
From the moment she met him, returning was never an option.
Finally, her sharp fangs sank into his tender flesh.
“......!”
A rush of searing liquid burst forth.
A rich, intoxicating scent of blood coated her tongue.
Like biting into the forbidden fruit.
The fruit of Eden, dividing good from evil.
Pandora, opening the box despite the warnings.
Prometheus, stealing fire from the gods.
That irresistible temptation, shared by all who had dared cross the threshold of the forbidden.
If a mortal had ever dared to drink the nectar of the divine, surely—this must be what it felt like.
Hot.
Thick.
Sweet.
She swallowed.
Again, and again, the liquid slid down her throat.
Even the sensation of it flowing through her was sheer rapture.
She knew—
Knew she could never go back.
And yet, the very irreversibility of it only made her drunker on the act.
Her fingers dug in deeper.
As if to never let him go, she clung to him, sinking her fangs in further.
By accepting his blood, she had bound herself completely.
She had stepped onto a path that could never be undone.
A fate that could never be reversed.
It was salvation.
It was damnation.
It was absolute, blinding ecstasy.
****
How much time had passed?
As if making up for all the restraint she had endured, Elise drank greedily, endlessly.
Not once did she stop.
“E-Elise... wait a moment....”
A feeble voice reached her ears.
Like a gumiho tasting spiritual energy for the first time, Elise had been completely enraptured by her first experience of drinking blood.
Only now did reason begin to return to her fogged mind.
She had been so lost in the act that she had completely ignored Karami’s condition.
His face had turned pale and gaunt.
If she kept going any longer, she might actually kill him.
With a start, Elise pulled away.
“S-Sorry! Are you okay?”
“Not... entirely.”
Having a beautiful woman drink his blood might have been enticing under different circumstances, but he had nearly ended up in the afterlife before he could even enjoy the thought.
“If you’re finished, would you mind getting off me? And... maybe wipe your mouth as well.”
“Ah...”
Elise scrambled away, turning her back to compose herself.
Only after fixing her disheveled appearance did she turn back to him.
Karami slowly pushed himself upright.
The bite marks on his neck stood stark against his skin.
He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the stiffness.
“For a moment, I thought you were a succubus, not a vampire. I nearly died from being drained dry.”
“D-Don’t say such things...”
Elise «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» instinctively wanted to correct him.
But... in the end, it wasn’t exactly wrong, was it?
“Did my blood taste that good?”
Embarrassed by how desperately she had devoured him, Elise lowered her head.
She didn’t have the courage to meet his gaze, so she simply nodded.
It was shameful—but undeniably, it had been delicious.
So much so that she wondered why she had ever resisted drinking blood in the first place.
One taste, and there was no turning back.
Now, she understood why vampires were obsessed with human blood.
No—perhaps it wasn’t that blood itself was delicious.
Perhaps it was because it was his.
After drinking something like this, could she ever go back to enduring with milk or substitutes?
Absolutely not.
Never.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. It seems your condition has stabilized as well.”
The feral gleam in her eyes had faded.
Her fangs and claws had retracted to their normal state.
And more than that—
She could feel it.
The bond between them.
Elise was stunned by her own state.
She had never felt this at peace before.
Her entire life had been spent battling the constant urge to drink blood, living in fear of losing control.
But now, that fear was simply... gone.
It was as if the blocked channels of her body had finally opened, as if the tangled paths within her had aligned into a single, clear road.
And at the end of that road stood Karami.
Arms open.
Waiting.
Ready to embrace her whenever she wanted.
This was not some delusion.
It was not the same as imagining a god.
Karami was real.
His blood flowed through her veins.
And this—this connection—gave her a sense of stability far beyond anything she had ever felt in her faith.
For the first time in her life, she truly belonged somewhere.
“Here, take this.”
Karami took her hand and slid a ring onto her finger.
“You... had this with you?”
“Because it belongs to you.”
“......”
Elise stared at the ring, unable to tear her eyes away.
While she was still mesmerized, Karami stood up.
He reached out a hand toward her.
“Let’s get out of this wretched place. It’s exhausting just looking at it.”
Elise simply stared at his outstretched hand.
Once, she had asked him a question—
"Would you fall into ruin with me?"
Back then, Karami had refused without hesitation.
In fact, he had even found the question itself strange.
She had resented him for it.
How could he claim he would do anything for her, yet refuse to fall with her?
Now, at last—
She understood.
Karami would not fall into ruin with her.
He would pull her out of it.
Gently, Elise took his hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
“Yes, Master.”
As if washed clean by the heavens, the crimson-stained world began to fade.
The pools of blood that had covered the ground vanished—
As if they had never existed at all.
And in their place, fields of white lilies bloomed, unstained and pure.
