The white-haired old man, who possessed a [Demon Hunting Seal], clearly knew the dangers of demons—especially the malevolent spirits of the Third Epoch. Thus, he wisely chose to refuse the demon's blood wine. The two young girls seemed somewhat inclined to try, but they were stopped by the middle-aged witch
"Girls, even if you decide not to become my students in the future, I must teach you a piece of common knowledge: never entangle yourself with anything related to demons."
Seeing her serious expression, the two girls nodded and fell silent.
"The sixth and seventh types shall be introduced together: Sun Wine and Moon Wine. I extracted the blood of ancient Sun Insects and mixed it with sunlight; then, in the depths of the earth, using the solar essence held by the ancient Sun Forefathers, I brewed the Sun Wine. I extracted the blood of ancient Moon Butterflies, mixed it with the coldest lunar radiance, and infused it with the power of the Red Moon that I command to obtain this bottle of Moon Wine."
When the Saint mentioned the "Red Moon," He glanced up at Shade
"These two bottles must be stored together to balance their unstable powers. Accordingly, if you do not wish to die a miserable death, these two wines must be consumed together. Otherwise, the physical body will be turned into light in an instant, and the soul will be drawn toward that great celestial body, falling into eternal madness. Is anyone willing to try?"
The witch, the old man, and the twin girls all shook their heads; it was obvious that this was not a power mortals should experiment with. However, Shade frowned slightly, for a voice was whispering in his ear
【Perhaps you could give it a small try.】
"Which one?"
【What do you think?】
"Can I have only the Moon Wine?"
Shade looked up and spoke to the Saint, who seemed not at all surprised by this result
"Of course you can, but that will ruin the flavor of the combined solar and lunar essences. It would be like a mortal eating a breakfast roll without sweet jam."
Fortunately, Shade never used jam on his bread.
Two stoppers popped out simultaneously. First, they poured two crimson liquids with strange lustres into the Saint's goblet. Then, one of the bottles flew before Shade and poured the wine into his cup; within the crimson liquid, there was a cold, clear radiance.
Shade picked up the goblet with one hand. He felt a powerful attraction, urging him to drink the liquid before him
"The original moon of antiquity was silver moonlight," he said softly. The Evil God did not lift His goblet, but instead looked at him with a smile
"Yes."
"Later, for unknown reasons, the ancient moon split into three: the Yellow Moon, symbolizing guidance and chaos; the Silver Moon, symbolizing purity and frenzy; and the Red Moon—or Blood Moon—symbolizing flesh and reproduction."
"Yes," the Evil God nodded again. "I am the protector of all vampiric races. They worship the Blood Moon, so naturally, I command a portion of the Red Moon's power."
Shade nodded: "Actually, I have always believed that I am illuminated by the Silver Moon, though I do not know why."
"If you are willing to be converted into my kin, I could give you a small hint," the Saint proposed very cautiously. Shade shook his head gently
"Sorry, at least for now, I have no such intention."
The other four people at the table kept their heads down, pretending not to hear the conversation.
"It matters not. You may consider it further. After all... I am always here, am I not?"
He meant that until the Sixth Epoch, where Shade truly belonged, this deity still existed.
Shade looked at the wine, raising it to eye level. Through the translucent red liquid, he looked at the Saint across the table. First, he saw the red full moon within the liquid, and then, through that red moon, he saw the deity sitting at the other end of the table.
It was not the image of the middle-aged man in the red cloak, but a giant, humanoid mass of flesh and blood that he could not describe in any language, as if it occupied the entire space.
Shade took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Under the astonished gaze of the others, he tilted his head back and drained the blood brew in one gulp. The cold yet somewhat soft liquid slid down his throat into his stomach. Then, red light radiated from the cracks on the surface of his body, but it subsided in a mere second.
Shade opened his eyes. Red light beamed from his pupils, but it gradually returned to peace and eventually vanished completely. A laugh echoed in his ear, a very soft laugh
【Having tasted the blood wine of a god, Outlander, you have gained an insight into the profane 'Red Moon'.】
It was more than just an insight; Shade felt that his control over moonlight had strengthened significantly because of this single cup of wine. He had no chance to test it yet, but he believed he could now develop more diverse ways to use [Moonlight Slash].
"The taste is quite good," Shade praised softly, placing the goblet back on the table. The Saint facing him shook His head gently, as if lamenting something, and then drank the mixture of the two blood brews in His own cup.
With this, between the Turin Venom-Insect Wine, the Elemental Wine, and the Moon Wine, Shade had completed the requirement of drinking with a god three times. For any mortal living in the Fifth or Sixth Epoch, such an achievement was something one could brag about for a lifetime.
The God spoke again
"The eighth blood brew: Warrior's Wine. While seasoned veterans are not very useful outside the battlefield, the blood and souls tempered by war are quite interesting. Every so often, I have my servants offer the blood of warriors. After countless years, I finally obtained a bottle of Warrior's Wine worthy of collection."
He paused
"An interesting point about this wine is that when a man drinks it, his physical attributes are greatly enhanced. However, when a woman drinks it, there is a high probability she will grow... additional organs. After all, only by combining the concepts of 'warrior' and 'male' can one brew this most rugged, yet flavorfully interesting, beverage."
Having finished, He looked directly at the white-haired old man in armor. Shade was unwilling to drink human blood, and the witch and the twin girls were clearly unwilling to face those "additional organs that would likely grow."
The old man hesitated. This was already the eighth blood brew, and he still needed to drink with the god at least once more. While the Warrior's Wine certainly wouldn't be as simple as the god claimed, it was at least relatively safe compared to the previous brews.
"Very well, O God, I am willing to drink with you."
The blood wine was poured for the Saint and the old man. The former drained his cup and looked at the latter with great interest. The white-haired armored old man held his cup indecisively; he had no other magic potions.
"Don't worry, I can detoxify it," Shade said. But the witch reminded him
"Your detoxification technique seems to come from the elves; it only works on potent toxins that damage the body. That wine might not be poisonous, but it may have other effects."
"Do you have a way?" Shade asked the witch. The middle-aged witch originally had little interest in rescuing the old man—after all, he was a man. But after a glance from Shade, she subconsciously thought about it, though she still shook her head
"My methods only work on witches."
Many potions that Ring-Wielders could drink were lethal poisons to ordinary people, so Shade understood her meaning.
"It is fine. To have made it this far has already exceeded my expectations," the old man said to Shade with a smile. After a moment of hesitation, he raised the cup to drink, but he was stopped by the others
"Please wait."
The speaker was actually the younger of the twin girls, the one in the black dress. Seeing everyone look at her, the girl shrank back. Her sister, the girl in the white dress, clearly wanted to stop her sister from speaking, but seeing that everyone was already looking, she sighed and said nothing more.
"We have... medicine here," the girl in the black dress whispered. Both she and her sister had blue eyes and black hair, a hair color that Shade found quite appealing.
As she spoke, the elder sister in the white dress took a small, oblong, copper-colored box from a side pocket of her dress.
"A relic?"
Because of the Saint's presence, Shade's perception had been greatly suppressed. It wasn't until he saw this relic being produced that he realized these girls, who were temporarily ordinary humans, were actually carrying a relic.
"Is this... the [Addict's Medicine Box]? You actually prepared this in advance?" the witch beside the girls recognized the item.
"We took it secretly when we ran away from home," the little girl in black whispered.
"Your family... couldn't it be that one from the Southern Continent..." The witch was very surprised. Seeing Shade's confusion, she explained to him
"The [Addict's Medicine Box] is a Demon-grade relic. It can be used three times every 12 hours to obtain any medicine one desires. Although the supernatural properties of the medicine won't be very strong, it will definitely be the specific type requested. The negative effect is its addictiveness, but if used only once or twice, that terrible addiction can be overcome with willpower."
The grading system for relics differed across epochs, so Shade wasn't entirely sure which level "Demon-grade" corresponded to, but based on its characteristics, it should be Poet-grade or Scribe-grade.
"You can borrow this once," the girl in the white dress said to the old man. She handed the copper metal box to the witch, who passed it to Shade, who then passed it to the old man.
The white-haired old man didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth, looked at the four people on this side of the table, and then drained the blood wine in one gulp.
Terrifying red veins spread from both sides of his esophagus throughout his entire body. Blood-qi seeped from every pore of his skin; this wasn't the body "leaking blood," but rather as if the body could not contain so much blood. Simultaneously, the old man's body expanded outward like an inflating balloon. With his already bloated hand, he quickly opened the medicine box, took out a plain white pill, and tossed it into his mouth.
PS: To prevent myself from forgetting, I'll emphasize here: the white dress is the elder sister, Grace, and the black dress is the younger sister, Helen.
(End of Chapter)