Khan spent the following days getting accustomed to the [Blood Shield], but it turned out that it didn't need much work. The technique already existed inside him. He only had to move it in the intended spots to make it manifest its effects.
The branches of the Niqols' old ways carried drawbacks, gory rituals, and steep requirements, but they felt terrific once mastered. Khan had basically obtained a spell that didn't require concentration, practice, or unique movements. Committing mistakes was even impossible since the ability technically was already active.
Khan could understand that Ambassador Yeza had given him the chance to activate the [Blood Shield] right away on purpose. She seemed to care about his performance in the crisis, which only revealed how scary that event could be.
Khan could also guess why Yeza had decided to increase his power before the crisis. He knew how strong he was, and she was aware of his Niqols girlfriend. She couldn't possibly imagine her true identity, but the determination that Khan had shown during the meeting proved how deeply he cared about her and the aliens as a whole.
His decision to betray the Global Army was another proof of his lax attachment to his species. Khan could become a valuable asset during the crisis. His actions could save Niqols' lives, and Yeza didn't hesitate to invest in him.
Khan never brought the books back to the academy, and he never tested his limits with the [Blood Shield] there either. His collaboration with Ambassador Yeza had to remain a secret that only Liiza could know. Azni and Doku would probably remain silent if they learnt about it, but Khan didn't want to leave loose ends.
The cave in the marsh was the perfect hiding spot for the books. Moreover, Liiza and Khan could use their time there to memorize their contents and prepare for the [Blood Vortex]. As for the [Blood Shield], Khan didn't need practice, but he wanted to understand how strong the technique actually was before using it in battle. Also, he had to see how much his skin could handle in that reinforced state.
The tests led to surprisingly good outcomes. The [Blood Shield] was slightly stronger than human spells, so it could defend Khan from powerful impacts and sharp objects. He struggled to dig his knife past that tough array of blood vessels even when he relied on the Divine Reaper's teachings.
The gap between the [Blood Shield] and the Divine Reaper shrunk when Khan tried to hurt himself seriously, but he linked that feature to the uniqueness of his martial art. The Divine Reaper's piercing power was near the peak of the human fighting styles. It would be surprising if it couldn't do anything to the dense blood vessels.
Khan started to consider perfect executions the times when the Divine Reaper managed to pierce the [Blood Shield]. The flexibility of the Niqols' technique allowed him to test the sharpness of his membrane on safe spots like the side of his forearm, so he didn't hold back during those days.
The absence of training halls on Nitis prevented Khan from evaluating his execution of the Divine Reaper. The [Blood Shield] became his gauge, but Liiza eventually forced him to stop by replacing the defensive technique with her ice. Khan was only suffering superficial cuts that healed in a matter of hours, but she didn't like how easy it was for him to hurt himself.
Khan and Liiza had to wait until the arrival of the free days to work on the [Blood Vortex]. Nothing unusual happened, so they could meet in the cave after the party meant to celebrate the end of the lessons and approach everything calmly.
The rest of the night went by sweating the booze drank in the party, and the two had become pretty good at it. They woke up near lunch hour with clear minds, satisfied expressions, and a lingering warmth that filled their hearts, but the mood quickly turned serious after a few kisses.
"You aren't going to bleed yourself out, right?" Khan asked while inspecting Liiza.
The girl had brought a small cauldron and a simple knife to the cave during the previous days. She was ready to open a deep cut on her palm, and Khan obviously hated that situation.
"Everything will be fine," Liiza repeated for the hundredth time. "You should be worried about eventual backlashes. Are you sure that the mana in the environment won't kill you?"
Khan had told Liiza about the warnings that Doctor Parket had given him. His body might reject synthetic mana, but that shouldn't apply to the energy in the environment.
The two had decided that they would interrupt the [Blood Vortex] as soon as Khan noticed that something was off, but he felt pretty confident that everything would go well. The [Blood Shield]'s success had proven how his body didn't reject the Niqols' old methods, so he believed that the same would happen for the other technique.
"Are you sure you have enough potion?" Khan asked.
"[Zaza] has been more than happy to help me after learning that we were going to use the old methods," Liiza repeated.
"What about your stomach?" Khan continued. "We didn't eat a lot."
"I ate the usual," Liiza commented. "I even left out part of what you brought in the hope of making me sleepy."
"I'm feeling a little dizzy," Khan announced in a dramatic tone.
"I will make you feel dizzy if you don't stop disturbing me," Liiza threatened. "We are doing this. Deal with it. And, no, I won't stop even if you disturb me."
Liiza didn't need to raise her gaze from the knife to know that Khan had started to plan ways to disturb her. He could only give up on making her stop the procedure. Khan loved her even more when he saw how deeply she knew him, but the requirements of the technique still annoyed him.
Khan wanted to add a few jokes, but his mind went blank when he saw the level of concentration that Liiza reached during those short silent seconds. She had worn the usual aloof expression that she showed to the others, but it contained a deeper meaning now. She looked as if the procedure could kill her, but Khan knew that she wasn't worried about herself.
The knife eventually dug into her palm and opened a deep wound. Pale-red blood began to fall in the small cauldron, and Liiza enlarged her injury once she felt that the process was too slow.
Liiza made sure not to reveal any emotion to reassure Khan. She had cut out everything useless from her vision and senses, but she could still feel his worried gaze on her. That was something that no amount of concentration could make her ignore. Her mana wanted her to know that he was there.
Liiza eventually dropped her knife on the ground and placed her palm on the cauldron. An azure glow slowly spread on the item, and its shades darkened as Liiza changed the nature of her mana. She had to create an energy that could connect Khan's body to the environment and bathe the blood in it.
Creating something that matched Khan's unique aura wasn't a problem for her since she had spent almost three months sleeping in his arms. Liiza had committed his warmth, scent, and reactions to memory. She knew exactly how to modify her mana to suit him.
Doing the same for the cave turned out to be a bit harder. Liiza had grown familiar with that environment, but no special feeling enhanced her perception. A slight difference in the temperature or staleness of the air forced her to adjust the idea in her mind.
Adding two different natures to the mana and blending them without destabilizing the energy was challenging. Khan could add sharpness to his mana, but he was nowhere near the smoothness revealed by Liiza now. The transformation appeared natural when she performed it, and he remained speechless in front of her ability.
Liiza waited until her blood filled half of the cauldron before opening her eyes and picking a flask that she had left behind her. The murky liquid inside it was a potion that Zalpa had made in the past days after Liiza told her about the [Blood Vortex]. The old Niqols was the perfect secret helper for the couple since she had cut ties with the rest of her species, and her affection toward Khan's girlfriend made her even more willing to help.
Blood quickly stopped falling from the cut on Liiza's palm after she took a sip from the flask. The injury didn't close, but that improvement had already reassured Khan. Moreover, the effects of the potion didn't alter her control over mana. The energy that covered the cauldron remained stable and didn't experience any shift in its shades.
Liiza had to remain in that position for a while. The blood had to absorb the mana naturally, so she could only let it bathe in her energy until it gained new features. Almost one hour had to pass before she removed her hand from the item and nodded in satisfaction.
"Come here," Liiza ordered. "It's time to draw the marks."
Khan left the bed and lay on the ground next to the cauldron. He was still naked from the previous night, while Liiza had donned her robe before starting the process to avoid altering his mindset. She needed him to be entirely focused on the technique since they had to act quickly if something went wrong.
"Your ancestors were quite kinky," Khan joked.
"We have also been kinky," Liiza whispered while crouching to leave a kiss on his lips.
The teasing ended there. Khan closed his eyes to focus on the insides of his body, and Liiza brought the cauldron closer to her side before dipping two fingers into the blood.
"I'm going to start," Liiza stated. "Make sure to warn me as soo-."
"[Liiza, I trust you]," Khan murmured without opening his eyes.
Liiza revealed a loving smile and caressed Khan's hair before freeing his forehead from his black strands. Her other hand came out of the cauldron at that point, and she let a few drops fall from her fingers before approaching his face.
The blood was slightly cold, but Khan focused only on Liiza's firm movement. He had memorized the marks that the [Blood Vortex] required. They were simple drawings that went from his forehead to his toes, so he could follow her with his mind.
Liiza never hesitated nor committed mistakes. She was perfect. She always dipped her fingers inside the blood after drawing three lines, and Khan eventually started to feel something building up above him.
His sensitivity to mana allowed him to notice how the blood began to activate as more lines joined the drawing. The technique wanted to create an electrical circuit meant for mana, and its power built up until Khan started to feel uncomfortable.
Nothing affected Khan's skin, but he felt that something was about to happen. He understood the reason behind that sensation when Liiza hesitated for the first time since the beginning of the process.
"Complete it," Khan exclaimed to reassure Liiza, and she left another kiss on his lips before drawing the last line required by the technique.
Liiza quickly took a step back while dragging the cauldron with her. The lines began to shine in those seconds, and a pale-red glow filled the dark cave. A faint wind also blew from behind her as mana started to converge toward Khan.
Khan didn't speak. His complete focus was on the marks that Liiza had drawn, and faint surprise spread in his mind when he studied the nature of the [Blood Vortex].
Mana flowed naturally toward the glowing lines after they established a connection with the environment, but that energy didn't immediately enter Khan's body. It gathered inside the blood and slowly seeped into the skin below.
The mana didn't disperse inside Khan's body either. It remained under the blood and continued to accumulate until it created a copy of the lines inside his skin. The process caused discomfort and even some lingering pain since his flesh couldn't contain so much energy in the same spot. Yet, Khan endured worse during the meditations, so remaining still wasn't a problem.
The issues started when Khan began to feel hot. The mana flowing through the blood created some friction with his skin. The burning sensation was initially milder than what the Lightning-demon style had trained him to endure, but it continued to intensify as the process went on.
"Is everything okay?" Liiza asked when she saw a frown appearing on Khan's face.
"It burns a little," Khan grumbled. "I can still endure for now."
Liiza wanted to add something, but she forced herself to remain silent. She suppressed her words even when a faint sizzling noise started to come out of Khan's figure.
The noise and burning sensation intensified until Khan remained unable to hide most of his expression. Everything started to hurt properly, but he had faced worse during his fastest sprints, so he endured that pain. He wanted to get the best out of that process, and stopping too early would make him feel like he was wasting Liiza's blood.
"I'm stopping the technique," Liiza declared when trails of smoke started to come out of Khan's skin.
"I can still go on!" Khan complained.
"I don't care," Liiza commented while crouching next to Khan and reaching one of the lines on his abdomen to interrupt the technique.
Liiza voiced a painful gasp when she touched the glowing line. The drawing was so hot that she had retracted her hand instinctively. However, mana quickly covered her fingers when she realized that Khan was keeping those scorching marks on his entire front.
The marks stopped absorbing mana when Liiza wiped part of the blood away. The scorching sensations filling Khan's mind faded, but he could only inspect Liiza when he opened his eyes.
Khan could quickly notice the burn on Liiza's fingers, and he didn't hesitate to sit to take her hand. However, she didn't react to his gesture. Her eyes remained fixed on the chunk of skin that she had uncovered to interrupt the [Blood Vortex].
Khan's eyes also went there. A red mark had appeared on that spot since the blood had burnt the superficial layers of his skin. It wasn't hard to guess that the rest of the lines hid flesh in a similar state, but Khan didn't care too much since he had almost two days to heal. Instead, he felt happy to feel the mana accumulated right under those injuries.
"It worked!" Khan exclaimed while turning to show his excited smile to Liiza, but she slapped him before he could look at her face.
Khan had to hear her sniff to realize what had happened. He tried to turn toward Liiza again, but she jumped to her feet and hurried outside the cave. She even kicked the cauldron angrily, causing the remaining blood to spill on the ground.
'I fucked up,' Khan immediately realized.
A deep sigh came out of his mouth before he jumped to his feet too. Khan straightened the cauldron up and walked out of the cave slowly. He was still naked, but he didn't care. He knew that the area was empty.
His sensitivity to mana led him to the familiar presence sitting in a muddy corner on the cliff's base, where he found Liiza wearing the most pissed expression he had ever seen on her face.
****
Author's notes: 3-4 hours for the second chapter.