The Fledgling’s Feast

“Enjoy?”

Seraphina gazed at the colossal cocoon before her, then turned to Iqiyah, whose face was alight with anticipation.

“M-mistress, are you saying… you want me to eat this thing?”

“Mhm,” Iqiyah nodded. “Of course, you’ll consume it the vampire way.”

“V-vampire way?”

“What’s wrong?” Seeing Seraphina’s dumbfounded expression, Iqiyah’s brow furrowed slightly. “You’re a vampire now, surely… you know what to do, don’t you?”

‘What to do? Of course I don’t know!’

Judging by Iqiyah’s words, a vampire seeing something like this should probably get as excited as a human male seeing a desired woman, practically ‘raising a flag.’ But…

Seraphina looked at the pale arm extending from the cocoon, its movements growing increasingly feeble. Far from feeling any stirrings, she only wanted to get as far away from it as possible.

‘How am I supposed to be interested in this thing?! I’m not the director of a blood bank! Am I supposed to kiss it?’

“Seraphina?”

“Yes!”

A shadow fell over Seraphina’s body. She quickly spun around, narrowly avoiding a collision with Iqiyah’s delicate, adorable nose.

“Are you… displeased with my gift?”

Facing Seraphina, who was now closer than arm’s length, Iqiyah made no move to retreat. She allowed her slightly damp, warm breath to gently caress her fledgling’s face.

“N-no, it’s not that. I just… truly don’t know how to enjoy it…”

“Hmm? How peculiar.” Iqiyah’s confusion deepened. “By my kin’s traditions, bestowing a newborn cocoon upon a fledgling is the highest honor. A fledgling should, by all rights, be overwhelmed with gratitude, pouncing on it without hesitation and biting into it ravenously…”

“So why is it that you, of all people, lack even a shred of vampire instinct?”

“Ugh…” Seraphina found herself at a loss for words.

Watching Seraphina’s foolish, drooling expression, Iqiyah clutched her head. She began to wonder if she had ‘sired’ a simpleton, a child whose intellect seemed stuck at the level of a four or five-year-old, utterly unresponsive to any form of guidance.

“Sigh. Watch carefully, and be grateful. I’ll only demonstrate once.”

Iqiyah stepped forward. Facing the withered arm that protruded from the cocoon, she lifted it and pressed a soft kiss to its pallid hand.

‘Seriously, is this for real?’

Iqiyah tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing as she cast a sidelong glance at Seraphina, who remained frozen in place.

Then, to Seraphina’s utter shock, Iqiyah gently parted her soft, rosy cherry lips. She drew out a shimmering, translucent thread, revealing her silver-white fangs, and bit into the crimson cocoon.

‘Huh?’

‘Aren’t vampires supposed to drink blood? Why is she gnawing on silk threads?’

“Wh-when th-the cocoon ripens,” Iqiyah mumbled, her mouth full, “the prey will be expelled, and then we’ll s-sip from the crevices…”

Iqiyah extended her slightly pink tongue, hooking a thread that emerged from the arm’s fissure. She then slurped it up with a “gurgle,” much like one would slurp noodles.

“Alright, I won’t hog all the food.”

After only a few slurps, Iqiyah straightened, wiping away a drop of crystalline nectar that had escaped the corner of her lips.

“Your turn.”

She patted Seraphina’s back, gently nudging her towards the cocoon.

‘When the boat reaches the bridge, there’s no reason not to cross.’ Faced with Iqiyah, Seraphina had no room to resist. She could only mimic her mistress, bending down and using her tongue to hook a silk thread.

The overwhelming stench of blood…

A metallic, rusty aroma enveloped Seraphina’s nostrils, assaulting her brain and leaving her feeling utterly dizzy.

She tried to slurp smoothly, just like her mistress, but as a newborn vampire, she was terribly unpracticed. In the end, she could only scoop up chunks of cocoon silk with her tongue, biting them off piece by piece.

Watching Seraphina’s awkward, messy consumption, Iqiyah delicately raised an eyebrow.

“What a disgraceful way to eat. It seems I’ll have to teach you some vampire etiquette later.”

Though Iqiyah openly disliked Seraphina’s table manners, she didn’t stop her. After all, by tradition, this was a moment exclusive to the fledgling.

Simultaneously, a hint of doubt began to sprout in her mind.

‘How could this child lack vampire instincts?’

‘Could it be… she hasn’t fully transformed into a vampire?’

A powerful wave of shame surged through Iqiyah’s mind.

After all, it was she, the esteemed young lady of the Scarlett family, who had bestowed the [Initial Embrace] upon Seraphina!

‘There’s no problem… I must be fine…’

Just as Iqiyah was consumed by her profound confusion—

“Burp!”

Seraphina’s body suddenly jolted, and a soft, childlike burp escaped her lips.

‘Huh?’

Iqiyah’s spirits instantly lifted.

‘Could it be… she’s finally getting into it?’

Just as Iqiyah suspected, Seraphina was now completely engrossed in the pleasure of gnawing.

Initially, confronted by the overwhelming scent of blood, her body had only responded with instinctive revulsion.

Yet, as she continued to devour, Seraphina’s mind grew increasingly hazy, and the sanguinary aroma filling her nostrils began to smell sweeter and sweeter.

‘So hungry…’

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten anything all morning.’

Enveloped by the crimson feast, Seraphina gradually succumbed to the profound hunger within. She accelerated her consumption, even using both hands to pull at the dense threads surrounding her, alternately bringing them to her mouth.

“Don’t rush, don’t rush, eat slower, slower, hehehe~”

As Seraphina’s devouring grew increasingly frantic, the disdain vanished from Iqiyah’s face, replaced by an indescribable excitement.

“Oh dear, your table manners are truly dreadful; you have absolutely no vampiric grace~”

“Eat slowly, my little Seraphina~”

Iqiyah’s excitement mounted, and her complexion grew increasingly flushed.

‘You’ve finally become a vampire, my dear Seraphina.’

‘The Scarlett bloodline truly has no flaws!’

However, Seraphina, who was still ravenously eating, remained utterly oblivious to the transformation occurring within her body and mind.

At this moment, only one thought occupied her mind: ‘Eat!’

She gnawed from one side to the other, from bottom to top, until she had torn the entire cocoon along the arm’s fissure, splitting it into two halves. Immediately, she pounced on the portion of the crimson cocoon that had fallen to the ground.

Munch munch munch munch munch munch…

Eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat eat…

As she feasted with gusto, thoughts of teammates, humans, or even vampires were completely cast aside by Seraphina.

‘Life is meant for eating.’

‘I’ll just eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat, eat!’

****

Seraphina lost track of how long she had been eating. Her mind seemed to have skipped the entire pleasurable process, her consciousness catapulting directly to the uncomfortably full aftermath of the meal.

“Burp!”

Watching Seraphina lie on the ground, emitting continuous soft burps, Iqiyah couldn’t resist a surge of tender affection. She stepped over the three withered, faintly breathing bodies strewn across the floor and embraced Seraphina from behind.

“Aww, little Seraphina is so full~ Let me rub your tummy~”

Through her light clothing, Iqiyah gently massaged Seraphina’s soft belly.

“Wah ah…”

Under Iqiyah’s gentle ministrations, Seraphina slowly regained her senses.

“W-what am I…?”

“Seraphina finished eating, you did so well~” Iqiyah said, beaming at Seraphina.

“Now then, let me check your stats…”

Iqiyah blinked, her eyes glowing faintly red.

Then she froze in disbelief.

“Still Level 1!?”

Indeed.

Seraphina Scarlett, [Race: Vampire], [Level: 1], [Strength: 1], [Endurance: 10], [Life: 20], [Magic: 1].

Her stats were precisely the same as before.

“You clearly devoured three cocoons, yet you’re still…!”

“Uh, um…”

Facing her mistress’s shocked expression, Seraphina felt cold sweat trickle down her back.

This was going to be difficult to explain.