Arknights: The Holy Son's Leisurely Life — Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Gavial’s Misery

Although, from a certain perspective, being pinned down like this was a rather scenic reward.

But Lucian wasn’t quite shameless enough to sit back and enjoy the view while his bones were actively protesting.

To be perfectly fair, Gavial’s monstrous physical strength was downright terrifying. The sheer kinetic force packed into her slender limbs had long surpassed the world of a mere vice grip; she was built like a runaway steamroller. If Lucian hadn’t spent so much time sparring with Hoshiguma—and occasionally being forced to train his physical endurance all night after the oni dragged him into a drunken stupor—he wouldn’t have lasted three exchanges against the Archosauria medic.

Even with sheer willpower keeping him conscious, his stamina was scraping rock bottom. The crushing pressure of Gavial’s thigh pressing against him was starting to make his vision blur with colorful hallucinations.

How was he supposed to flip the script here?

Pulling out a weapon was entirely off the table. This was an honorable hand-to-hand brawl. Gavial might have been wildly unreasonable, but her martial prowess was genuine. Drawing steel now would just be admitting defeat, and Lucian still had his pride to maintain.

By that same logic, using his Originium Arts felt like cheating. Besides, they were tangled up in a cramped room. If he accidentally launched the two of them into the ceiling, a slow reaction could end up seriously injuring her. He still knew how to treat a lady with care.

‘Though right now, it feels like I’m the one being cared for,’ he thought dryly.

So what was the play? How could he salvage his pride and force this tyrannical medic to lose a bit of her own dignity?

Lucian’s processing speed kicked into overdrive, the Sankta halo hovering above his head spinning fast enough to rival a centrifuge.

Then, an epiphany struck.

Using his one free hand, he fought against the crushing weight, straining to reach toward the upper curve of Gavial’s thigh. “Gavial!” he grunted, forcing the words out. “You’re an Infected, right?”

“Yeah,” she shot back without missing a beat. “Got a problem with that?”

Lucian deliberately leaned into the provocation. “Then what’s your Originium Assimilation Rate? You’re a Medical Operator, don’t tell me you forgot your own charts!”

“Of course I remember. It’s around fifteen percent.”

Misinterpreting his intent, Gavial tightened her iron grip on his arm, wrapping her legs around him with even more punishing force. “What are you plotting? Don’t tell me you’re one of those cowards who hates the Infected and doesn’t want to be touched. If you dare spout that kind of garbage, I’ll dislocate your shoulder right now.”

“If I actually hated the Infected, why the hell would I be lying here?!” Lucian shot back fiercely.

His wandering hand pushed deeper. At this point, he threw all concerns about decency out the window—and Gavial clearly didn’t care about personal space anyway. Like a drowning man grasping for a lifeline, his fingers traced the firm line of her thigh, sliding further up until they slipped beneath the hem of her safety shorts.

His eyes gleamed. “Found it!”

Gavial raised a sharp brow. “Huh? Found what?”

The Archosauria tightened her hold again, making the joints in Lucian’s arm pop ominously, fully prepared to punish the wandering pervert.

But Lucian was a fraction of a second faster.

His fingertips brushed against the hard, jagged cluster of Originium growing directly from her flesh—a jagged mass that could easily tear skin.

“Bite down,” he advised with absolute sincerity. “Be careful not to bite your tongue.”

Before she could process the warning, Lucian pressed his bare palm directly against the sharp crystal cluster and dragged his hand down hard.

The Originium embedded in Gavial’s body was deeply rooted, unyielding to the touch. But its razor-sharp, irregular edges were more than capable of slicing human skin, especially when someone was actively trying to flay themselves against it.

Gavial caught sight of the fresh crimson welling up on Lucian’s palm and her eyes widened in shock. “You scratched yourself on my crystals? Idiot! Do you lack basic common sense?! Don’t move, I need to clean the wound—”

Her reprimand died in her throat.

“Gu—wu?!”

Her pitch spiked dramatically. The previously domineering Archosauria shuddered violently, a violent flush of red sweeping across her pale skin.

Unable to hold it back, she let out a high-pitched shriek. “Ya—!”

“So hot! It’s burning! Hot, hot, hot! My—my butt! Ahhh!”

Lucian casually dusted his hands off. “Sorry, rubbing it won’t help.”

“Your backside isn’t on fire. That’s just the intense reaction between your Originium crystals and my blood. The higher your infection rate, the more explosive the effect. You’ll be fine in a few minutes, just grit your teeth and hang in there.”

This was the unadulterated potency of the Holy Son’s blood.

The blood-replenishing sugar he usually handed out was diluted tenfold, yet it still possessed a miraculous ability to suppress Assimilation Rates. For severely Infected patients crossing the ten percent threshold, those with iron willpower could barely weather the internal storm.

Lightweights like Exusiai would choke and tear up after consuming a single piece of candy. If she were to ingest his raw blood directly, the Sankta would probably be clinging to his leg, sobbing and calling him ‘Daddy.’

Compared to Exusiai’s embarrassing track record, Gavial’s endurance was genuinely spectacular.

Even so, she was currently reduced to a trembling mess. She was on all fours, her hips pitched upward, her thick crocodilian tail quivering uncontrollably. Tear-filled eyes glared daggers at him.

“What the hell are you?!” she gasped out. “I’ve never felt pain like this in my entire life! My butt is definitely split! It’s split in half, ah!”

The shameless man just waved a dismissive hand. “It was already split down the middle anyway. No worries, no worries.”

Instead of offering a shred of comfort, he was secretly enjoying the spectacle. He was truly a lost cause.

Once Gavial fully recovered, she was absolutely going to extract double the vengeance for this humiliation. But Lucian’s philosophy was simple: enjoy the moment while it lasts. Failing to capitalize on such a prime view would just be stupid.

The former Holy Son let out a hearty laugh. “Are you going to remember my name now, Big Sister Gavial? Tell you what, I won’t even charge you the medical fee for treating your Oripathy. Just call me ‘Good Brother Lucian’ and we’ll call it even. How about it?”

“Go… die!”

Tears streaking her flushed face, Gavial stubbornly refused to yield, grunting in discomfort as she glared at him.

Still, he had to admit, the fierce medic looked surprisingly cute like this. Seeing the usually unstoppable brawler reduced to such a delicate, trembling state right in front of him… Lucian worried he might be awakening some dangerous new preferences. He made a mental note to go tease Croissant when he got home, just to reset his moral compass.

But Gavial was still Gavial.

Even before the burning sensation of the blood therapy fully subsided, her body was already adapting to the intense heat.

She struggled to push herself up, panting heavily. “I remember now… Two days ago, Warfarin caught some weird illness that had her running to the toilet dozens of times a day. And Kal’tsit was choking Exusiai, forcing her to swallow that brown sugar candy… That sugar was yours, wasn’t it?! It’s made with blood that treats Oripathy!”

Lucian clapped his hands in genuine admiration. “Brilliant. Truly brilliant. As expected of a professional Medical Operator, your deductive skills are top-notch. But who is Warfarin? Another medic? I don’t think we’ve crossed paths yet.”

Gavial rolled her eyes, still wincing. “She’s basically living in the bathroom right now. She claims she’s going to keep practicing until she can eat your sugar without making a total mess of herself in front of people.”

She shot him a dark look. “You pervert, if you’re so interested in a Blood Demon’s ass, go feed her your blood instead!”

‘…Rhodes Island actually employs a Blood Demon? That’s incredible.’

Lucian’s appreciation for Rhodes Island ticked up another notch. Things were getting truly exciting.