BLOOD MUTANT SYSTEM.

[Planet Grania]

[Lord Grania’s Palace]

[Human Quarters]

[Ding]

[You have lost your Blood Mutant Subordinates] 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

[You no longer have control over them]

’What’s the meaning of this?’

Confused, weak, angry, and worst of all, hungry for blood, Ace stared at his system notification with a blank, lost stare as his feeble hands supported his feeble body on a column.

The Blood Prince, having found himself in the large, empty halls of Grania’s Palace, stumbled upon a group of Granian servants playfully chatting in the distance.

On instinct, his body was drawn to them, but not for reasons one would expect. The Blood Prince, overridden by a blood-lustful force, subconsciously made his way to the servants to do one thing.

’Consume their blood!!!’

This wasn’t something Ace would normally do. Despite his abilities, the Blood Prince wasn’t the type to kill innocent beings just to consume their blood.

He mainly got his sustenance from war or the blood reserves the Granians prepared for him and the others. So what he was doing was completely out of character for him.

But he didn’t have a choice.

As much as he fought to regain control, the Blood Prince’s body neglected his commands and instead listened to the voice urging him to kill and drink the blood of the servants.

Even in its weakened state, his body still defied him, that was until he read the system notification that shocked him out of his bloodlust state.

’What happened to Jim and Anya?’

Eventually, Ace’s weak body couldn’t hold itself up anymore, sending him stumbling to the ground. He was too weak to do anything, and before he could make sense of his predicament, his body started to lose consciousness once again.

Until...

[Your Energy is being replenished]

[Your health points are being replenished]

"You’re awake."

A familiar voice, one that brought comfort whenever he heard it, resounded as room temperature blood dissolved into his body through his skin.

Cherry, the Crimson Knight, accompanied by Glissk, the oldest Granian the two humans encountered, rushed to Ace’s side with a cauldron of blood.

As the blood was consumed, Ace’s strength slowly returned to him, and his body reverted from the bloodlustful frenzy he was about to embark on.

But something still bothered him, something he needed answers to immediately.

"Cherry....Glissk...how long have I been out for?" he asked, hoping to gauge how much damage his body had taken after harnessing the power he used to kill the Ethisians.

"I’d say about two months, if we’re basing off Earth’s time scale," Cherry answered while lifting Ace on his feet. "You almost died again cause of that....showcase of strength you performed."

’I see,’ he remained quiet momentarily, ’my body’s not equipped for all that power...yet.’

With that out of the way, the Blood Prince asked the most important question, one that concerned his Blood Acolytes.

"Where are Jim and Anya?"

Just as Cherry was about to answer, Glissk interrupted and tried to take Ace’s attention elsewhere, but he wasn’t having it.

"That’s not important right now," she deflected, "right now, we need to talk about all the negative energy your body spewed during your..."

Ignoring the Granian, Ace looked at Cherry, who avoided having eye contact with her brother, unsure of how to answer his question.

"Cherry." He called out. "Where are Jim and Anya?"

"Are you listening to me?"

Glissk raised her staff and swung for Ace’s head in hopes of trying to get his mind off that matter. However...

[Blood Drain Skill: Activated]

The Blood Prince grabbed Glissk’s staff before it hit him and stared at her violently with sharp, blood-red eyes. The red glow he’d usually have was replaced by his eyes turning completely blood red with sharp, crimson pupils piercing Glissk’s gaze.

The same negative energy he exhibited recently was present yet again, and what was worse, it caused him to drain blood from the elderly Granian, even though she had no cuts.

"Ace, that’s enough."

In an act of "bravery", Cherry stretched her hand and attempted to release Ace’s grip from Glissk’s staff. As soon as she got close enough, her body froze, almost as if something held her in place.

Angrily, Ace slowly turned his gaze and met hers with bloody eyes, piercing into hers. The Crimson Knight’s body didn’t dare to move, almost as if it dared not to defy him.

"I’ll ask both of you again," Ace demanded, "what happened to Jim and Anya?"

"What’re you talking about?" Glissk deflected. Instead of engaging in a constant back and forth, Ace raised his hand and lifted the old Granian by manipulating the blood in her body.

Glissk began to groan in pain, her body falling into painful tremors the longer she remained elevated. It remained that way until she finally decided to speak.

"The Ethisians," she grunted, "they...they ambushed Grim and his fleet, overwhelmed them and drove them out of their....territory but not before they...captured Jim, Anya, and Grim’s mate...H-Helda."

Hearing that, Ace dropped Glissk immediately and controlled the little blood he drained from her back into her bloodstream.

At the same time, Cherry was able to move again, allowing her to rush to the old Granian’s side immediately in a desperate, panicking state.

"Where’s Grania and Gravax?" Ace asked again, this time with his back facing the two. "I need to know how they let such a sloppy mistake happen.

"Outside," Cherry answered, "in the same place they made us fight beasts long ago. That’s where you’ll find Gravax."

"And Grania?"

"I don’t know where he is." She angrily replied, exchanging a fierce look with her brother whose eyes reverted to their normal state.

"I’m sorry," Ace half-heartedly apologized as he prepared to leave, "I’ll...I’ll be back."

The next thing Ace did completely shocked his sister and the old Granian. Slowly, his feet left the ground as a red glow encompassed his body.

The Blood Prince started to levitate, and he did so flawlessly, too, almost as if he had done it before. As soon as he grasped control over his body, he sped out of the palace in search of Gravax and Lord Grania, leaving Cherry and Glissk alone.

"You were right..." Glissk grasped for air as she coughed blood, "...I sensed it...there’s a dark energy in your brother. I’ve never felt something so heinous before."

"Do you think you can drain it out of him? The way the Ethisian High Grade drained it out of him?"

Glissk remained silent, only looking at Cherry with a heavy expression on her face. That alone let Cherry understand the Granian’s limitations.

’What are you becoming, Ace?’