Heroine-Saving System: Reborn In A Third-Rate Manga As The Protagonist-Chapter 52: Operation: Fuck Up The Damn Queen [II]

The Queen Broodminder tried desperately to move from underneath the massive pile of rubble, struggling with everything she had left.

However, she was completely unable to shift even slightly.

The tons of concrete and steel debris pinned her enormous body down with crushing weight.

The Queen was utterly stuck and helpless, able to do nothing but wait for inevitable death with increasingly weak, pitiful buzzes escaping her damaged throat.

Kōya slowly stood up from his kneeling position, his legs were still steaming slightly but functional... He looked directly at the trapped monster while his sword materialized back into his hand.

He took several slow deliberate steps forward with a small grim smile forming on his face.

"It’s do or die in this world... Either you kill or you get killed," he said as he approached the monster and stopped to stand right in front of its exposed, heavily damaged head. "If I let you live here, then you’ll probably hunt me down relentlessly once you eventually recover. Or you’ll die slowly to another predator. Either way, this ends now."

He gripped the hilt of the blade firmly with both hands, positioning his left hand to support and stabilize the back of the weapon.

He began pouring Fighting Spirit into the blade, the mysterious energy flowing from his core into the metal then he activated Mana Mode once more, layering both power sources together.

The combination of the two distinct energies made the sword vibrate intensely in his hands, humming with barely contained force.

The Queen’s weak buzzing sounds gradually died down to complete silence. It seemed that she had finally accepted her own inevitable fate.

Kōya raised the blade high, then stabbed it forward with all his strength.

The weapon buried itself deep into the Queen Broodminder’s exposed brain, penetrating through cracked armor and soft tissue.

The Queen lost all the light in her distinctive net-like eyes almost immediately.

All that remained was dull gray, and the intricate net patterns within her eyes even began visibly falling apart and dissolving.

He had successfully killed a Silver-class monster.

As Kōya pulled the blade out slowly, blood dripped heavily onto the ground beneath.

An absolutely massive amount of experience mana suddenly escaped from the Queen’s corpse and rushed directly into his own body.

His crests began swallowing it greedily, absorbing as much as possible. He fell over as his entire body locked up once more, his muscles seizing up.

But the mana was still pouring out continuously from the enormous corpse, it was far more than his body could safely process at once.

The experience mana gained from killing a Silver-class monster was simply too much and too concentrated for a three-liner to absorb all at once without severe consequences.

However, Victoria landed gracefully in front of him and immediately began absorbing the excess experience mana directly into her own body, preventing it from going to waste.

Kōya’s body suddenly rippled violently, and he felt genuine, intense pain this time.

It absolutely could not be compared to his previous rank-ups, which had been relatively painless.

This was agony.

He even yelled out loud as it felt like every single bone in his body was being systematically broken down into fragments and then rebuilt from scratch.

Every individual cell in his body, every nerve ending, every single biological component was tingling and burning with transformation.

He was in excruciating pain.

Victoria could clearly hear the horrifying sounds of bones breaking and being reformed inside his body.

She recognized this process immediately.

This was the critical last stage before one’s physical body diverged into either becoming a Blue-liner path or Red-liner path.

For a great majority of people, this would be the absolute last significant physical enhancement and restructuring their bodies would ever undergo.

Blue-liners’ bodies no longer reshaped after this point... instead, their mana reserves and control increased dramatically.

Red-liners continued developing physically but plateaued in mana growth.

However, Victoria couldn’t completely stop herself from drooling slightly even though she tried to hide it by covering her mouth.

His blood’s purity was actively increasing during the transformation, the scent becoming even more intoxicating and appealing to her vampire senses. The painful process stopped shortly after what felt like an eternity.

Kōya lay there breathing hard, staring up at the dark, foggy sky of the Outer Zone.

"Well, that wasn’t so hard," he said with obvious sarcasm, his voice slightly strained.

His entire body felt completely different... it felt stronger than before so he sat up carefully, testing his new physical capabilities. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Victoria stared directly at his face, and her pale cheeks suddenly reddened noticeably.

"Is there something wrong with my face?" Kōya asked with confusion.

「Host has now reached a maximum height of 6’5" (196 cm). Any further changes made to your physical body will not include additional height increases」

’Six foot five? What am I, a freaking giant?’ Kōya thought with disbelief.

That was a whole four inches taller than he had been after first awakening in this world as a one-liner.

He’d started at 6’1".

"You’re absolutely right... thanks to your brilliant tactical plan, we succeeded." Victoria said as she moved closer to him and sat directly on his lap without any hesitation.

After expending all that blood energy during the extended fight, she was genuinely hungry now.

Her two front canine teeth had even transformed into prominent fangs, clearly visible proof of how desperately hungry she was.

"We were able to minimize any serious drawbacks or injuries... and I guess we now have enough money from this kill to last us quite a while to—"

Kōya suddenly buried his face directly into her breasts, interrupting her. Her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red.

"Uh... Kōya?"

He had never actually told her his personal name directly.

She had simply heard all of his various visitors calling him that while he was unconscious in the infirmary, so she’d started calling him by it as well.

Though she genuinely didn’t know where these strange honorifics of "kun" and "chan" and similar suffixes had come from in this era.

They certainly didn’t exist during her original time period.

"Thank you, Victoria. I really genuinely thought I would die today," Kōya said, and she could hear him perfectly clearly even though his face was buried between her generous breasts. "You’re an absolute lifesaver."

Her heart suddenly thumped once in her chest... then twice.

As the youngest born child in Vampire royalty, she had multiple older sisters and brothers who possessed objectively better magical talent.

They had been born during the times when the Apocalypse was still actively raging, while she was born much later in a period of relative peace and stability.

She hadn’t even been strong enough to attract any potential Blood Partners from the Human territories, Beast-kin lands, or even the Elven Citadel and then when she had finally grown powerful enough through training and dedication, her Father had sealed her away in magical stasis without explanation.

She was genuinely glad that she could be useful to someone.

「ⓘ Princess Victoria Reine Bloodworth’s affection has increased to 25」

「ⓘ Princess Victoria Reine Bloodworth has gained a new Trait: Blood Obsession」

’Huh?’ Kōya thought as he pulled his face back from her chest. ’What does Blood Obsession mean exactly?’

However, before he could ask the System for clarification, Victoria leaned her beautiful face close to his exposed neck.

"Kōya..." Her voice sounded incredibly seductive and almost hypnotic. "Can I please drink your blood right now?"

"Sure, I definitely owe you one after everything yo—"

She didn’t even wait for him to finish his sentence.

She immediately repositioned her arms below his back for support and bit down into his neck without any hesitation.

What followed was that initial excruciating sharp pain then that same overwhelming pleasure washed over him again, making his entire body tingle.

It made his legs feel weak and strange.

She dug her fangs even deeper this time than before, pressing his body forward against hers as if she wanted to completely swallow him whole.

They stayed locked in that intimate position for several long minutes.

She just continuously drank his blood as much as she possibly could, drawing it out in steady pulls.

「ⓘ Princess Victoria Reine Bloodworth is initiating the second phase of the Blood Contract」

Large bat wings suddenly spread out dramatically from Victoria’s back, unfolding and wrapping around Kōya completely.

They covered him entirely like a protective cocoon, making him feel genuine warmth despite the cool air.

He didn’t even bother trying to look at the System notification screen. His eyes had turned very hazy and unfocused and his consciousness was rapidly fading.

He passed out completely, going unconscious in her arms.

Victoria finally let go of his neck, her elongated fangs trailing out slowly as he collapsed limply into her supportive embrace.

Then her fangs gradually returned to their normal size.

She carefully licked the blood from the bite wound on his neck to seal it, then licked her own lips to savor every last drop.

"I’ve finalized the contract..." she said with a genuine, happy smile spreading across her pale face. "I truly belong to you completely now."

A distinctive magical mark formed visibly on her back between her shoulder blades... the permanent symbol of their completed bond.

She gently laid Kōya down on the ground carefully, making sure his head was supported.

"I’ll make absolutely sure to serve you so well that you won’t ever need those other women constantly hovering by your side," Victoria muttered to herself as she looked over toward the Queen Broodminder’s massive corpse then she raised her hand and concentrated.

Kōya had specifically told her the important do’s and don’ts of monster hunting before they had first come to the Outer Zone together.

To get the absolute full market price for a monster corpse, the body needed to be kept in relatively good condition.

Everything could be damaged from combat, but the valuable parts still needed to be recoverable and intact.

A concentrated burst of blood energy tore through the air.

It penetrated into the back of the dead monster’s exposed brain with precision, carefully retrieving the intact mana core.

The core floated back through the air and landed gently in Victoria’s outstretched palm.

"I have access to most of my original spells again now, even my Origin Spell has returned." she said with satisfaction, examining the valuable core. "Kōya’s blood truly is absolutely heavenly."

She smacked her lips together, savoring the lingering taste.

"I better find us somewhere safe and comfortable to stay for now while he recovers."

...

Kōya gradually came to consciousness, his mind slowly clearing.

The gray sky above seemed noticeably darker than before... either more time had passed or night was approaching.

His back was resting against something solid, and he realized it was a partially intact building... something resembling a small abandoned house structure.

In front of his position was a large lake.

He knew from the map that it was marked as a contaminated dirty lake filled with toxic runoff.

However, the lake stretched out in front of him was absolutely not dirty at all. It had perfectly clear, crystal blue water that looked almost drinkable.

He slowly patted his hair, which had grown even longer during the rank-up... now hanging well past his shoulders.

"How long was I unconscious...?"

「Host has been out for approximately three hours」

"I think I fainted while Victoria was taking my blood... There was also some kind of notification, but I couldn’t read it before passing out."

「Don’t worry, Host. A series of notifications have built up and been stored during your time being knocked out. Would you like to review them now?」

"Sure, go ahead. You’re not usually this accommodating and nice," Kōya muttered under his breath.

「ⓘ Amagi Victoria has initiated the second stage of the Blood Contract. According to ancient Vampire Laws and customs, she is now your lawfully wedded wife under magical binding. If there was an event where you died, Victoria would die as well due to the completed soul bond」

’What the hell...?’ Kōya thought with genuine shock. First, they had somehow become actual husband and wife through magical contract?

She had mentioned the Blood Contract was similar to an engagement, but she’d actually adopted his family name too, becoming Amagi Victoria?

’But if I die, she automatically dies as well... there’s really no practical gain in that arrangement for her at all.’

A rapid flurry of notification tabs suddenly appeared in front of his eyes in quick succession.

「ⓘ Amagi Victoria’s affection has increased to 30」

「ⓘ Amagi Victoria is wondering what you would like to have for dinner tonight」

「ⓘ Amagi Victoria’s affection has increased to 45」

「ⓘ Amagi Victoria wonders if you will be angry at her for doing this so impulsively without asking your explicit permission first」

「ⓘ Amagi Victoria’s affection has increased to 50」

There were quite a lot of other tabs continuing to scroll past.

Her affection had apparently stopped increasing at 66 right now, which was by far the highest affection rating he’d achieved with anyone.

Unlike with the other girls he’d interacted with, Victoria’s affection didn’t seem to randomly drop or fluctuate.

It just kept steadily climbing, which made him genuinely wonder why. Had he somehow said something specific that she particularly liked?

Or was her profound loneliness after potentially hundreds of years of magical sealing finally catching up with her?

Was she desperately throwing herself at the first man who had genuinely smiled at her and treated her with basic kindness?

Once again, Kōya realized he absolutely could not understand women at all.

"Kōya, you’re finally awake!"

Victoria’s excited voice called out as she suddenly ran toward him from the side. He had to turn his head to the right to see her approaching and what he saw made him immediately snap his gaze back to facing front.

She was currently running completely naked with lake water still dripping from her pale skin and soaking her long silver hair.

He determinedly turned back to face directly forward.

She arrived at his side while bouncing slightly with each step, then sat down next to him.

"I’ve been patiently waiting for you to wake up... so I should probably tell you that I may have done something to make you ma—"

"I already know about the Blood Contract completion." Kōya interjected with a resigned sigh. "I’m not against it happening. It’s honestly more beneficial for me anyway, you know."

"Yes, I’m fully aware of that... This new completed contract will ensure that if you die, I die alongside you immediately," Victoria said.

She would definitely not tell him about the hidden curse component she had carefully planted deep in the bond. It would detonate his heart if she died first.

If they were going to die, they were absolutely going to die together with no exceptions.

"It really isn’t beneficial for you at all though..." Kōya said with concern.

"But it genuinely is beneficial to me," Victoria said happily, smiling brightly. "Now I’m bound to you forever. Nothing can separate us."

"You make it sound like that’s a good thing," Kōya said with another sigh. "Besides, where are your clothes? Aren’t you aware that your breasts are bouncing quite noticeably right now?"

"Apparently carrying your unconscious body, the entire massive Queen corpse, and the valuable core wasn’t exactly easy," she explained. "And I got attacked by various monsters a bunch of times during transport. My dress got completely destroyed."

This made Kōya turn to look at her with sudden alarm. He had completely forgotten about the Queen’s corpse in his concern for Victoria.

"Is it okay?"

"Me? I’m perfectly fi—"

"You’re a vampire princess with advanced regeneration capabilities. I’m obviously talking about the Queen Broodminder corpse," Kōya said bluntly.

Victoria visibly puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

"Look to the left," she said with a slight pout.

Kōya looked and saw the enormous whole corpse positioned carefully on the shore.

The parts that had been submerged under crushing rocks were definitely very beat up and damaged but they would still sell for substantial money regardless, and the intact mana core was positioned next to the body.

"Thank you so much, Victoria," Kōya said genuinely as he reached out and patted her head affectionately without looking directly at her naked body. "You’re an absolute lifesaver."

Victoria blushed deeply and brought her head down shyly.

"It’s only natural as your wife, but Kōya... what exactly are you planning to do with the corpse?"

Kōya stood up and walked over to the corpse.

He found one of the specific spots where there was a deep hole punctured in the creature’s thick skin.

He pressed his hand firmly against the wound, positioning his palm to form a cup that would catch the blood flowing out without letting it spill onto the ground.

"When we were captured by those traffickers... We were completely helpless and powerless," he said seriously. "I absolutely don’t want to feel like that ever again."

He looked back at Victoria.

"Since you’re my wife now through this bond... I want to get strong enough to properly protect both of us from any threat."

Victoria’s face heated up noticeably, and she even had to avert her eyes from the intensity of his gaze then Kōya smirked slightly.

’Mission accomplished with the romantic line... System, are you absolutely sure about this plan?’ he thought.

「I am 100% certain that swallowing the Queen Broodminder’s blood and deliberately delaying your Heal skill’s automatic effect for exactly one hour will cause both Poison Resistance and Pain Tolerance to rank up to C-Rank simultaneously」

’The absolutely insane things I do for power...’ Kōya thought as he lifted his cupped palm to his mouth.

He swallowed the Queen’s blood immediately in one gulp. It tasted genuinely weird and had an unusual texture, but it surprisingly wasn’t bitter at all.

’Hey, this really isn’t that painfu—’

His thought process abruptly paused as he suddenly collapsed backward and hit the ground hard.

「Host has been heavily poisoned by Silver-class monster blood and is experiencing extreme pain」

He was in absolutely serious, intense pain throughout his entire body. It wasn’t quite as overwhelmingly bad as when his body had been completely rebuilding itself during rank-up but it still hurt tremendously.

Victoria immediately rushed over to him with genuine concern visible in her eyes and knelt beside his convulsing form.

"Kōya, are you okay? I’ll heal you with my saliva right now..." she said urgently.

However, he grabbed her hand firmly and looked directly into her worried eyes.

"For power." he said through gritted teeth, then deliberately turned his face the other way.

Victoria shook his chest in frustration.

"You’re literally dying from poison right now," she complained.

...

In the distance, partially hidden behind rubble, a man with distinctive long black hair and three prominent crests visible under his eyes lowered his binoculars.

He carefully adjusted the ornate sword hanging at his waist.

"I like that girl..." he said to himself with a dangerous smile. "I’m taking her for myself."