Legacy World 4.18 Oogling

Vlad quietly did what he could to try and make it more comfortable for Vanora. The angels were only good for one other thing besides being food. Nothing could beat the soft and silky texture of their feathers. He mercilessly harvested the feathers at top speed and gathered them beside Vanora. He then took off his blazer and shirt to lay them over the feathers, so that the bloodied ones would not dirty Vanora further. Without checking with her nor asking her, he gently picked her up then laid her down on the makeshift bed.

Vanora was still awake but she did not feel like responding. She felt completely drained inside and out, yet restless at the same time. It was a torture to be in the limbo like this. She very subtly rubbed her fingertips against Vlad's blazer, trying to focus on how it felt and empty her mind of everything else. Otherwise, she would not be able to fall asleep. However, it was a lot harder than normal. This was what she feared about being honest with her feelings.

[Vanora... You're really not as bad as you think you are...] BaoBao could no longer take it, so he tried to help. [You're stronger and better than you think you are. See? You smoothly dealt with the angels that the others struggled with.]

/I know it's supposed to help me feel better but it feels kind of pathetic that I have to compare myself to lesser hell beings to feel better./

[Lesser hell beings?]

/It's just a term I came up with for them. Don't you think they're far more basic than the other hell beings we've met in the underground cave? That's probably why they struggled so much with the angels./

[Ah... But, but, you do have something the original soul did not have! Your hellfire! You're not back at square one!]

As she was sleeping in a fetal position, she easily hid her face under her good arm and smiled faintly. /Thanks for the reminder, BaoBao. I can only hope the hellfire really helps.../

After a short silence, Vanora spoke again. /BaoBao, do you know what would really help me?/

BaoBao perked up upon hearing Vanora's question. [What? What can I do?]

/Please don't think you're of no help. Please don't feel bad because of me. That itself would be a big help./

There was another pause as BaoBao did not know how to answer. He did not know how to describe what he felt. He only knew it was complicated. Not exactly bad, but not entirely good either. He wanted to help but found that this was a weird way to help her. Nonetheless, he had no other idea on how he could help her. [Mm!]

/That's my reliable BaoBao./

By the time Vanora suppressed her thoughts and emotions enough for her to sleep, half the night had passed.

Vlad had taken Vanora's spot by the tree with his back against it. An arm rested on a bent leg while the other was stretched out. He rested his head against the trunk without taking his eyes off of Vanora. It was obvious to him when she was still awake. He had checked in with her emotions again and found it a little different this time. The colours were still intense, but it reflected less rage and more despair. An ache grew in his heart, which made him frown. He could not understand his feelings. He did not know why he felt this way either. However, there was one desire that burned within him. /Will you ever let me share your burden?/

When she finally fell asleep, he smiled but it did not reach his eyes. His heart still felt heavy. He had been monitoring her emotions the whole time, so he found out that she only fell asleep after her aura dimmed. He leaned forward and wanted to caress her cheek with the back of his four fingers, but his hand hovered above her face. Not wanting to wake her up after she fell asleep with much difficulty, he very gently brushed her hair out of her face instead, then looked at her arm that was already halfway done growing back. He took a deep breath then grabbed the hem of her shirt as usual before going to sleep.

When Vanora woke up the next morning, her arm had completely grown back. It worked perfectly fine as well. BaoBao diligently reported how long she slept.

/Another 8 hours huh... It's amazing how we could sleep for 8 hours this peacefully. Isn't there a holy war going on?/

She sluggishly sat up and finally realised that Vlad was nowhere around her.

[He's above. He's been awake and up there since the wee hours of the morning. He didn't get much rest.]

She looked up and found him sitting on the branch with a leg up. His posture looked slack, but his gaze was sharp and alert, like he was studying something far in the distance. Seeing him shirtless in broad daylight highlighted his well defined muscles. The state he was in, coupled with his serious expression and devilishly good looks, enraptured even someone like Vanora. Unbeknownst to Vanora, BaoBao had done his fair share of ogling while she was still asleep. Suddenly, Vlad looked down as if he felt her stare and their eyes met. 

Vanora immediately looked away and could not stop the heat that was creeping up her face. /I guess that explains how I could sleep so soundly./

He jumped down and squatted to look squarely at her, giving her no chance to hide her face. 

/She looks a little better than yesterday./ "Ready to eat?" He asked with a warm smile.

"Mm... I don't really have an appetite..." She admitted after thinking for awhile. "So let's just go." /I've wasted too much time sleeping anyway./

"But you didn't eat yesterday either." He gently persuaded.

As if on cue, the group of self-declared followers announced their arrival by presenting their catch for the day. "Boss! We've caught all the animals you asked for!"

"Take your pick. Anything whets your appetite?" Vlad continued to speak to Vanora without acknowledging the ghoul that spoke.

Vanora glanced across the crowd and noted the variety of fowls and venison. Nothing interested her, but she knew that even if she did not need to eat, the others may need to, and they could only move on after eating. /Is it really good to travel with them...? I need all the time I can get./

Seeing no response from her, Vlad proactively picked out a mixture of fowls and venison then began cooking it himself. Everyone stared at him weirdly while they dug into their catch as it is. 

It did not take long to cook only the surface of the meat. Vlad presented to Vanora the different meat one by one. "At least eat a little before we go. We don't have to follow their pace if you don't want to." 

Vanora stared at the meat, then nodded. However she took no more than a few bites of each then returned it to Vlad. 

"Is it the taste?" Vlad smiled wryly. 

Vanora understood what he was referring to. These tasted nowhere near as good as the usual meals he had provided her with. In fact, it tasted the same as her first meal since becoming a demon. "No. I just don't have an appetite."

"You really want to leave now, don't you?" 

Vanora nodded. 

He sighed helplessly and gave in. He ordered the rest to head west after they were done eating. "Group up with the others that also strayed from the main battle area. Prepare for a big battle in the near future." 

He then turned to Vanora and his tone turned a lot gentler, "Let's go." He extended a hand out.

Vanora handed his shirt to him instead, then got up without his help. "Thanks, but I really don't need that bed next time."

Vlad was just done putting his arms through the sleeves. He raised his eyebrows then grinned. He pushed the front of his shirt aside while putting his hands on his hips. "What, are you affected by this?" He teased and cocked his head slightly.

Vanora frowned then took off first. Catching how red her ears were before she escaped, his heart fluttered and he could not stop grinning. He quickly grabbed his blazer, then caught up with her in no time.

At the back of her mind, Vanora wondered why Vlad chose to progress Westward instead of heading deeper into the forest. As the days passed, she got a hunch of his motive.

Like the previous day, they encountered and won several small fights. Their pool of minions also grew each time. She even met another warrior angel for her final fight for the day. The angel used a hammer that could shrink and grow in size as and when the angel desired. Despite her increased caution and experience, she could not escape unscathed. This time, her suffered from shattered bones. This confirmed her suspicion that there was a different class of angels that was adapted to fighting.

Feeling drained, Vanora retired without washing up again. Although it was only the second day, Vanora was almost dressed in dried up blood. Vlad frowned with displeasure. He worried about the little regard she held for her well-being. Keeping his worries to himself, he created another pile of feathers. However, it was only large enough for him to make a pillow. While Vanora tried to go to sleep, Vlad silently and gently used his shirt to clean her face, but it was ineffective. He sighed inwardly as he watched her struggle to go to sleep again.

In the subsequent days, Vlad led everyone SouthWest. Similar fights took place. Everyday, more warrior angels died, more minions joined their following, and Vanora got dirtier and smellier. Her appetite did not recover. Instead, she grew increasingly listless and battle-crazed. She moved with only one intention on her mind. /Kill them all./

Finally, Vanora met an opponent that made her hesitate. The angel held one long sword in each hand. He eyed Vanora warily. His guard was up. There was no opening at all. Somehow, she knew that this angel would be difficult. However, that was the end of her hesitation. Words echoed in her mind like there was another voice inside her, telling her the answers to a test. /Bait. Strike back. Straightforward./

In that short moment, the angel had asked Vanora, "What's a demon like you doing here?" When he saw no change in Vanora's blank expression, he got the impression that she did not hear him. He intuitively tightened his grip on his swords, just in time to move the moment Vanora did.

/They must be reinforcements! They're trying to flank us!/

The angel bravely faced her attack directly. He swung his swords like he was dancing, but each swing was actually lethal. Vanora dodged every swing but not without some injuries. He easily kept her on the defensive, giving her no chance to attack. As he expected, she eventually turned to run away. 

He knew that there was another demon lying in wait nearby, but he did not care about it. That demon did not seem interested in helping, which the angel found unsurprising. One of the hell beings' major weakness was their poor coordination and teamwork, especially when they were of different kinds. Nonetheless, he aimed to keep this fight with Vanora as short as possible to reserve his energy to deal with the next one. /It was with much difficulty that we managed to purge this much of the land of their evil! I shall not let some reinforcement upset it all!/

He bore down on Vanora and raised his sword, ready to decapitate her from behind. Just then, Vanora rebounded off the tree she had been running towards to shoot straight back at the angel. 

/I'll die!/ The angel widened in fear as Vanora got within a feet of him. 

/No! I can't!/ As long as he was alive, he will fight. It was all or nothing now. He roared and swung his swords at a speed that he had never reached before.