Chapter 27: Out Of Juice
Gooby swept the next hall, but there were no traps this time, so we all headed to the next room where two big green orcs were waiting. I looked at Gobby, but he shook his head.
"It's not that I can't or don't want to, but if I eat them, I eat them all, blood and everything. Well, except for the other things, like that pretty gem I gave you!" Gobby told me.
That made sense, so I looked at the girls and they both nodded, so I pulled for the strawberry lemon liquid silk. I rushed into the room and rammed the first ogre, and I noticed that Gobby had run with me and jumped at the other ogre, but got batted into the wall. An upward strike from the ogre I had knocked down pushed me back, and I was lucky that I had my shield still up.
Then, Lesha was beside me and slashing into the monster's arm as it tried to get me again with a backswing. I looked over just in time to push Lesha out of the way, and then get batted back with a direct hit to my shield. Something was missing, and I looked over to Mei and she had her hand forward, but nothing was happening.
'She is out of mana, you must use the Services, call to the blood within you!' -Drania
The ogres were coming for me, and ignoring the other two, but that was good. I concentrated and called to the blood that was stored in my body. Power, advantage, come to me!
[Red Blood] Activated!
[Eosinophil] Activated!
All fatigue and pain disappeared in an instant, and power flooded into me and red patches started to pop up around the neck, and groins area. If I wouldn't have been so wired on power, I would have laughed out loud, but that was not the right time.
I blitzed forward and pulled from only the strawberry, and used my shield to knock the first one at Lesha, who took the head off with a spinning slash. Then I punched up into the throat of the ogre and rolled between its legs, kicking up with a flat-footed straight leg. The wheezing noise coming from the ogre was cut off along with its head as Lesha made the final stroke.
"K! It wouldn't work! I'm sorry!!" Mie said, running over to me, bawling her eyes out.
I caught her up in my arms as the blood started to form two bubbles of red and two smaller ones of clear, but I had a crying little woman to deal with first. I scooped her up and gave her a hug, not really knowing what else to do, and patted her hair. She was hugging me fiercely, but I split my attention to drawing in the blood, I wasn't sure how long it would last.
'It's better to do it sooner than later, the blood slowly leaks away, and the longer you wait the less blood you will have to absorb.' -Drania.
"K, I'm so sorry! I didn't know what to do, and those big things were trying to hurt you, but you're so strong! And Miss Lesha too! I wish I could be strong like you two!" Mei complained into my shoulder, the tears had stopped now, but I think it was time to get going back anyway.
It would be too dangerous to continue like this, so it was best just to call it a day. Plus, there were two more purple crystals with the ogre corpses. I retrieved them, and then we walked back to the previous room, and I gave the exit command.
"Return!" I called out once we were in the center of the previous room.
One of the nice things that had come with the dungeon was the exit phrase. It wasn't like it was written anywhere or where we were told it, but when you entered a dungeon, you just knew how to leave, Backtrack on room and then say return. Easy enough, unless you were just entering and you couldn't get past the first room, then you were in trouble, but as a rule that rarely happened, but that didn't make it impossible.
Once back outside, I carried Mei back with us. She was tucked into me, using my breasts to rest her face one, but she was already fast asleep by the time we got back to the city. The walk was about fifteen to twenty minutes long, but we were in no hurry, we just needed to walk home.
"She is really getting attached, isn't she, but where did your pet puddle of blood go?"
"I'm down here! I can change sizes and stick to things cause normies think I'm gross. I mean, they aren't wrong, but I got a feeling too!" Gobby said from the bottom of my shoe.
"Well, that was one thing we don't have to worry about, but you are right, she is starting to grow on me."
"I thought the two of you looked adorable when she ran over to you crying, and then you scooped her up like she was your little girl!" Lesha said, leaning in and kissing my cheek.
That brought a warm sensation creeping through my body from my head to my toes. Today was good, but tomorrow sounded like it was going to be a bit of a drag, but maybe I could see if Leana would talk the day of the time with Mei. Leana would love this...woman...frick, she was just a child, and maybe in the morning, Lesha and I would talk to her and see if she would open up to us.
The walk home was short, and Lesha opened the door for me, and then asked, what she should make, but I told her just to get the fire on and I would help her figure it out when I got back from putting mei to bed. I walked up to the top floor and put Mei into bed, but then I went over to the closet and pulled out a box of matches and lit a candle to find Mei naked again, standing, but barely awake.
I made her side done, and I rubbed lotion on her, and for most of it, she just leaned against me unless I needed to do the side she was leaning on. After she was done, I grabbed a second brown shirt that I had brought up yesterday that was a bit smaller than the first, I wasn't sure what it was doing with my dad's stuff, but it came to just above her knees making a cute nighty for her. I tucked her into bed and then was about to leave, but I turned back on an impulse and kissed the top of her forehead, before heading back down to help Lesha.