The influx of energy from leveling up felt like the container of my body slowly filling up, reinforcing the inner structure of my body and thus stabilizing it.
The appearance of the spell, on the other hand, felt like a new pressure valve appearing in my soul, an outlet for my newfound energy to release.
It wasn't just a boon to my powers, something I would happily use without knowing what it had to do with anything. No.
This skill was just like the qualitative change it brought to my bond with Fay, a new inherent element of my being. Receiving it almost felt like regaining control of a limb I didn't know of my entire life.
In that single instant, the roaring desire for more blood, more levels, and more attribute points greatly decreased. Split between three potential outlets instead of just two, the energy inside of my flesh calmed down, ridding my mind of this unbearable thirst.
It was still there. The call for blood, the desire to slaughter until yet another skill would form... But it was nothing more but a tiny, annoying itch.
For Fay, though, the situation looked entirely different.
For her, each bit of energy that she gained directly translated into her growing desire. And now that my newly gained skill evolved our bond and enriched it with an inherence, the call of the blood that we just split together only served to reinforce her lust.
"Ha... ha... haaa..." Fay chuckled heavily, fully resting her weight on my chest and shoulders while her hot, moist breath tickled the side of my neck.
"Are you okay?" I asked again, even though Fay had already given me the answer a mere moment ago.
"Mhmm..." Fay's hips moved a little as she took a deep breath before closing her mouth and blocking her nose. Starving her heart for fresh air for a few moments, she managed to calm herself down a bit. "It's not even half as bad as it gets when we go at it..."
Rather than speaking a lot, Fay hid her face in the corner between my neck and shoulder.
"Keep going," she whispered, tightening her grasp over my upper body as she tensed up in preparation for even more of the stimuli.
And as much as it pained me to edge her even further, I took a deep breath before turning my eyes back to the camp.
There were several reasons why I didn't want to stop, not yet.
Firstly, I didn't know how long it would take those humans to develop means to defend against my attacks. So, I should keep going while I still could.
Secondly, this was a chance to easily and relatively safely cut down their number and even more importantly, instill fear in those who would survive.
Thirdly, with each shot, I could feel more and more energy fill the pores of my flesh. But in the heat of the moment, I simply didn't want to distract myself by checking how much I'd grown.
Raising my physical attributes would bring no better aim than raising my wisdom or intelligence... With how our reinforced link already started to push my buttons, I dared not to raise the processing power of my brain.
"Let's keep going for just a little bit longer," I muttered, patting Fay's back while already locking my eyes on the next point where the bunched-up auras of humans appeared to be slightly denser.
With Fay in my arms, I lowered my cheek to the body of the gun, taking a quick look through the scope.
Swish!
Bang!
By now, I've perfected the way I had to let the kickback of the neugarand disperse through my flesh, bouncing back and forth whenever the recoil of the magnetic drive would send the back of the gun digging into my shoulder.
Swish.
BANG!
'There,' I thought, pulling the trigger and sending a round in a place where the layers of the barriers appeared to be much thinner.
The battle log updated. And while the list was much longer this time, it only consisted of people too weak for me to happily waste bullets on them.
'Any more and it would be just bullying the weak,' I thought, lowering my gun and resting it on the ground before taking some time to gently embrace Fay.
"Are you done?" Madam asked once she noticed I showed no desire to keep up my carnage.
"Pretty much, yeah," I replied in a low, solemn voice, leaning to the back to let Fay rest on top of me while continuously patting her back. "Going any further would only be a waste of the bullets. Those barriers, as makeshift as they are, do a great job of countering the kind of ammunition that I've brought.
There were all sorts of rounds that I could feed to my neugarand. From the condensation rounds that I packed right now, through deployable sniper rounds, scatter rounds, and even simple, old-style slugs.
Yet, in my naivety, I picked up the condensation rounds only given the enormous cost every piece of this ammunition came with. So, opting to minimize my losses, I only grabbed what I thought to be the best type of ammo to carry around.
"Is this your limit, then?" Madam asked, turning her eyes away from me and looking over at the camp.
Rather than peering into my innate thoughts, she opted to focus on the invasion at hand.
"Yes and no," I shook my head. "I don't think they can keep those barriers up forever. And I can send over a bullet whenever I feel like doing so," I shrugged my arms before tensing up my muscles and raising up, keeping Fay closely pressed against my chest to bring her up as well. "For now though, I need somewhere private to let Fay calm down."
I stole a glance at the golden figure still kneeling just by the side. And even though he clearly couldn't move his eyes...
His eyes followed after my every move, full of such an enormous bloodthirst I instantly started to re-evaluate my plans.
"For the night, they shouldn't be able to attack. Once I'm done with Fay, we can try a quick sortie to buy us a few more days."
I fixed my hold over Fay's waist while feeling her thighs lock around my waist and behind my back.
Clearly, this girl had no desire to hide her affection from any of those who could see us.
"And what then?!" Fay's father finally managed to partially break through Madam's compulsion, freeing his mouth and uttering a low growl. "A few days and what? Let me tell you! After those few days, when more of the armies arrive, they will squash and overwhelm every single one of us!"
I stopped in my tracks, sending the man a short, analytic glance.
"Coming up to some sort of agreement with them was our only shot at keeping this forest safe! And you've buried this chance now!" The golden man shouted, caring not for the presence of other divines and celestials around. "You've doomed us all!"
The desperation in the golden man's voice was real. And the grief in his eyes...
For once, I put my haughty side aside and looked at the situation through this man's eyes.
'He spoke of more armies coming. And with how many there are in just that camp alone...' I thought, turning my eyes back to the chaotic mess that used to be an orderly camp just a few short moments ago.
And then, my expression darkened as a vile, greedy smile appeared on my lips.
'I guess, with how our bond works right now, that means I will have to fuck Fay's brains out in preparation for what's to come,' I thought, openly grinning at the prospect once it appeared in my mind.
"Good," I said out loud, causing the golden man's eyes to turn wide. "The more of them arrive here the better. And it only shows how important tonight's sortie will be," I added before taking a step forward while fixing my grasp over Fay's feeble, meek body.
"For now, though, allow me to excuse myself," I then courtly requested only to bow to the man before closing my eyes and rubbing my cheek against the side of Fay's head.
"For now, I have my mate to satisfy."