Chapter 90

Kaiyan’s brow twitched, and Isaac rushed to explain himself. “I had never done this before, so I was unsure how to proceed. My only intention was to learn the method.”

Disbelief clouded the cold gaze directed at him. Kaiyan let out a short, incredulous laugh. “Not only does that fail to convince me, but even if it did, you intended to consume human vitality?” His voice dropped another degree. “Are you suggesting you wanted to act like a witch? Here? In front of me?” Kaiyan narrowed his eyes and laughed again, clearly debating whether Isaac was extraordinarily brave or simply out of his mind.

Isaac shook his head firmly. “I only intended to take enough so that no one would be harmed. If I gathered small amounts of vitality from many people, I could use it to track that witch. If I could replenish myself that way, I would do it every day if necessary.”

Kaiyan remained silent, weighing Isaac’s words with slow, heavy consideration. “Small amounts from many people?”

“Yes. Only as much as each could spare without suffering any harm.”

“Even though doing so would reveal that you are a witch?”

Isaac lowered his gaze, his thoughts drifting to the complexities of his life. He lived as a human within human society, yet he was something else entirely. He remained connected to the life he had always known, and he could not deny that bond. He could already envision the cruelty of living openly among people as a witch. It might even mean he could no longer live among them at all.

Even so… the agony of the young man consumed alive. His terror. The horror of his death. How many more people had suffered the same fate?

“Even if it becomes difficult for me to continue living as a human, I still have to do what must be done.”

Isaac raised his head, but Kaiyan’s eyes narrowed slightly. Something about the answer seemed to displease him.

“So you chose that maid as your first sacrifice and attempted to drain her vitality?”

Isaac flinched, unable to come up with a ready response. The silence stretched, becoming unbearably long. She was actually a dream demon, and I was learning from her, he thought. He could never say that, for if he did, he would witness a person die before his eyes.

“It could have been anyone. She happened to be nearby, and we had already been speaking…”

Kaiyan remained silent, his cold gaze never wavering. Isaac had to exert all his will not to look away, knowing the prince was so perceptive that the slightest hesitation might betray the truth.

“I learned the basic method, so I should now be able to replenish my vitality. If I take only a very little from many people, never enough to harm them…”

Then he could use his sight more freely and gather enough energy to locate the witch. To collect such energy from many people in a short period, Isaac would need their consent, which meant he would inevitably require Kaiyan’s assistance. He did not know whether the prince would agree, but if Kaiyan refused, the technique he had learned would be useless. Still, it gave them another possible course.

“Many people…” Kaiyan murmured, a trace of displeasure coloring the words.

Isaac added defensively, “I couldn’t think of another way. To replenish enough vitality to see the witch without harming anyone…”

“Is that how witches absorb vitality?” Kaiyan interrupted. “I heard they can drain it with nothing but their breath.”

Isaac blinked, his face flushing hot. His eyes slid downward. “It was my first attempt, and I didn’t know the technique. Absorbing it through mucous membranes was the easiest method. Once I become accustomed to it, I believe I may no longer need direct contact…”

“So for the time being, whenever you absorb vitality from these many people, you would feed in that manner.”

“Yes. Probably.”

Isaac lowered his head like a man confessing to a crime. He had never expected to be interrogated over this, and until now, he had not even considered the implications. Viewed from the perspective of the person being fed upon, they might find it repulsive. Isaac did not find the idea particularly refreshing, either.

As he struggled with his discomfort, a faint rush of breath made him look up. Kaiyan had released a laugh of pure disbelief. His face remained expressionless, yet something savage lurked beneath the surface, making Isaac’s shoulders stiffen.

“I never expected to see a witch stand before me and declare so boldly that he wished to drain human vitality.”

“If you forbid it, I will not do it.”

Isaac bowed his head, sensing that Kaiyan would not allow it. That was understandable, of course. Even if Isaac promised not to cause harm, no one could easily accept the idea of a witch feeding upon human vitality. Then what can I do? How can I locate the witch? As Isaac lowered his eyes in thought, Kaiyan suddenly answered from above him.

“Very well. I understand your explanation.”

Isaac looked up in immediate relief, though that relief lasted only a heartbeat.

“What a noble excuse.”

Kaiyan rose with a low scoff. Isaac felt as though an enormous predator had stood before him, the prince’s slow approach heavy and threatening. The back of Isaac’s neck stiffened.

“Witch-child. Did you crave human vitality? Did you want to taste it? Then you have found yourself an excellent excuse.”

“That isn’t what—”

Kaiyan’s large hand clamped down harshly on Isaac’s throat, squeezing tighter as if he intended to crush his windpipe. “Yes, your excuse isn’t entirely weak. If it helps us capture that witch, then maybe it’s necessary.” Kaiyan leaned in closer. “But how many people would you require? How much vitality would you extract from each one before you had enough?”

“How would I know whether you stopped after gathering what was necessary? How would I know whether you continued feeding to satisfy your own appetite and created new victims?”

The prince’s fingers tightened. “You concocted a cunning plan. Under a plausible excuse, you would feast on as many humans as you pleased.”

“That… isn’t…”

Kaiyan stared into Isaac’s face from inches away, his eyes sunken into an abyss of darkness. Only then did Isaac comprehend the prince’s fury. He forced himself to meet his gaze. It is not true. I have no such intention. Why wouldn’t Kaiyan understand? Why wouldn’t he believe him? The injustice and pain surpassed even his fear.

Kaiyan stared at him, his eyes suddenly seeming to gleam black. Then he said, “I will give you mine.”

Isaac’s brows twitched. With his throat constricted, he struggled to comprehend the words. Yours? What do you mean?

“Take it from me.”

Kaiyan’s lips moved so close to his own that they nearly touched. “Let us see how much vitality you can extract from me, and how long it will allow you to watch that witch.”

The low words resembled an animal’s growl, and their meaning reached Isaac only a moment later. Before another thought could form in his suddenly blank mind, Kaiyan bit into his lips.

He descended upon Isaac as though he intended to devour him, crushing and chewing at his mouth with all the violence of a man venting a rage he had nowhere else to direct.

The contact was so abrupt that it overshadowed even the pain of split lips and a bitten tongue. Isaac could only blink in shock. At such close range, he should not have been able to see the prince’s eyes clearly, yet they seemed to stare at him as though preparing to swallow him whole.

Kaiyan’s tongue forced its way between Isaac’s lips and found his own. At first, it moved almost slowly, as though cautiously testing the flavor of caramel. Then, without warning, he greedily sucked Isaac’s tongue as though consuming the entire sweetness at once.

Isaac could not breathe.

A storm seemed to rage inside his mouth, traveling down his throat and spreading through his body. An instinctive sense of danger he could not name seized him. Without thinking, Isaac tightened his hands against Kaiyan’s shoulders and pushed, but those shoulders felt as immovable as solid stone. After a brief pause, however, the prince withdrew.

Their lips separated, and Kaiyan’s face remained directly before him. Is this truly the man I knew? The features were familiar, yet his expression was not. Isaac had never seen such a violent and unmistakable emotion on Kaiyan’s face, and he couldn’t identify the savage, ferocious thing burning there.

Kaiyan stared at him with blackened eyes. Then his lips parted, and a low, hoarse growl emerged. “What are you doing, witch? Was your claim about absorbing vitality through oral contact just an excuse? Did you invent it merely to hide the fact that you wanted to toy with a human?”

“No.” Isaac’s heart dropped. It wasn’t a lie. He had to dispel Kaiyan’s suspicion.

“Then do it properly.”

Kaiyan gave the low command. He seized Isaac’s hair, dragged him forward, and pressed their mouths together again.

I have to drain vitality. Now. From this man.

He anxiously accepted the tongue forcing between his lips and entwined it with his own. How had I done it earlier? What was the sensation? It resembled satisfying a hunger, a hunger that wasn’t physical, one he had never consciously noticed. Something flowed from the other person that could soothe that starvation. Isaac had sensed it and swallowed. Yes, that was the feeling.

He focused all his awareness on his tongue and explored Kaiyan’s. He stroked it carefully, searching for what it contained. He didn’t notice himself wrapping his arms around the prince’s neck.

Then… he found it.

The instant Isaac detected something faintly leaking like air, he clung to it and began to draw it in. At that exact moment, every thought vanished from his head. He had never known anything could taste this sweet. This dense. This intoxicating.

Consciousness itself seemed to vanish, leaving only the sensation of that flavor. Isaac clung to Kaiyan as if his witch instincts had awakened. The emptiness deep within him gradually filled, and he could vividly feel energy rising from the very bottom of his body.

Lost in his own world, Isaac tasted Kaiyan’s tongue. He licked, sucked, and swallowed. At some point, the vitality that had entered drop by drop began flowing like water.

Grr.

A low sound escaped Kaiyan’s throat. It resembled the warning growl of an animal that had restrained itself for too long. Then, the prince, who had remained motionless until that moment, began to devour Isaac in return.

Kaiyan sucked and chewed upon Isaac’s tongue with terrifying force. He seemed intent on consuming Isaac’s lips, tongue, and entire mouth. The violence immediately returned Isaac’s clouded awareness. He instinctively tried to pull away, but the hand gripping his head did not move. When Kaiyan sensed him retreating, he dragged Isaac closer with even greater strength, trapping him utterly within his arms. A cold sensation ran down Isaac’s spine.

What is this immense, terrifying thing? Is it because my witch’s senses have awakened? The man before him appeared larger and more overwhelming than a mountain. The sheer, terrifying absoluteness of his presence… And yet, the vitality flowing into Isaac’s body remained so exquisitely sweet that abandoning it felt unbearable. His mind began to go numb.

“So this is what it feels like to have one’s vitality drained.” The whisper vibrated against Isaac’s lips. Kaiyan greedily sucked his tongue once more. “Yes… Yes. I see. This is not unpleasant.”

“I now comprehend why humans succumb to a witch’s enchantment.” His voice grew gruff. “Let us witness the extent of your bewitchment and the amount of vitality you can drain from me.” Kaiyan’s voice lowered further, his tone turning dangerous. “Did they mention that the most straightforward and potent method for a witch to consume human vitality is through intercourse?”