"How about Koneko? Since she's got the greatest vitality outside of Nee-sama, Yoruichi-san, Kuroka-san, and Kisuke, I think we'd get the best result out of her." Sona suggested.
Koneko didn't even question it and took out a small glass cup from her pouch before making a small cut on her palm using Ki on her fingertip as a knife, letting the blood spill into the cup.
Since everyone except for Hestia was used to the sight of blood, it was only her that reacted strongly, "W-w-wait! How could you cut yourself so easily like that!" She said as she rushed to Koneko's side to check her wound.
But when she got there, Koneko's wound had already started closing up and with a smug face, she said proudly, "I've been working hard on my Ki regeneration. Self-inflicted small wounds like this only take a few seconds to completely heal."
But her smug face was broken when Hestia started pinching her cheeks, "I don't care! It's already hard for me to watch you guys getting hurt from training, but I didn't say anything regarding that. However, I won't stay quiet anymore if I see you hurting yourselves!"
"I... I'm sorry." Koneko immediately apologized when she saw the serious expression that Hestia was making.
Hestia also quickly turned to others and declared, "That's the same for all of you! I won't allow you to hurt yourselves for no reason!"
With a wry smile, Kisuke patted her head in an attempt to calm her down, "This is technically my fault, so please don't blame them. Besides, it's not for no reason."
Kisuke then picked up the glass cup filled to half with Koneko's blood, "I would have done it myself if not for the reason that Medusa-chan mentioned. So please forgive them, okay?"
Hestia could only pout at Kisuke's words, "...Fine. But please think twice before intentionally hurting yourselves."
Each and every one of them then reassured Hestia.
As for Artemis, she saw Filvis' shocked expression and said, "Each Familia is different, just like how each God is different from each other. This might be a very foreign scene for you, even compared to Dionysus's 'love', however, something like this is within the norm... maybe a little bit more than that, but it's nothing strange."
Filvis immediately took back her slackened expression, but she was bothered by this deep inside. It was just very contrasting compared to the Dionysus Familia, with her being mostly unwanted by the other members and Dionysus himself not doing anything to fix the issue, instead keeping her by his side at all times, which just worsened the situation she was in.
Everyone else had also noticed the change in her expression, but chose to not say anything. Placing the cup in front of Filvis, Kisuke continued, "Please try it."
But Filvis didn't move, "...I-is this really alright?"
There's no doubt that she was hesitating. Although she's used to the sight and smell of blood, the thought of consuming it made her reel back. Even as a Creature back then, such a thought was very foreign, and thinking about it now made it feel like it was very immoral.
But when she got the whiff of its scent, Filvis became extremely conflicted, 'What's this sweet smell?'
"Just try it. Your body shouldn't even reject it. On the contrary, you'll be craving for it."
"T-there's no way!"
"We understand your stance, but just try it. You're not killing anyone here and we can't move on if you hesitate now."
"B-but still... There's no way I can drink blood! Only a lunatic would do what even monsters won't do!"
"Then just think of me as a lunatic forcing you to drink blood. Just a sip is fine. If there are any reactions, then you'll also figure out what you can do."
Filvis hesitated for a few more seconds before gritting her teeth and muttering, "You lunatic..."
Grabbing the cup off the table, Filvis got a better whiff of the blood, 'It really smells sweet... I thought it was coming from something else.'
After a minute or two of staring at the cup, Filvis finally took a sip, slowly.
At first, Filvis's attention was fully on the taste of the blood, which was very sweet and something she could get used to for a few seconds, until the warm drink went down her throat and gave her a very invigorating feeling.
The invigoration didn't stop there and it became incredibly revitalizing, to the point that she lost herself to the feeling of power surging from within her. While feeling irrevocably guilty, she took another sip that multiplied the intoxicating feeling she was having.
Finally, completely losing herself in the feeling and forgetting her surroundings, Filvis completely downed the cup and even wanted more. Her crimson red eyes started shining and the feeling of thirst worsened as she craved for more.
All of a sudden, Filvis' sight shook and she felt a stinging pain in her left cheek. The glow in her eyes disappeared and her consciousness returned as she looked up to see Medusa looking down at her while frowning, "Controlling your urges and desires are what separates you from animals and monsters. Never forget that."
While feeling Medusa's slap, Filvis shuddered at the sight of the empty glass and hurriedly returned it on the table, "W-what was that?"
"Maybe Koneko-chan's blood was still too much." commented Kisuke while rubbing his chin, "Challia-san was technically a newborn and couldn't be helped if she were to lose herself to her instincts. Our mistake was to not get an ordinary person's blood, so don't be too harsh on her."
But Medusa shook her head, "That doesn't matter. Something like this should be addressed before it becomes a bigger problem. I don't really want to see someone take the same path as me."
Kisuke sighed with a wry smile and wrapped his arm around her neck and shoulder, "I guess that's true. Learning from it harshly early on is a lot better than regretting it later."
Medusa didn't say anything anymore and just enjoyed Kisuke's warmth wrapped around her. She had a feeling that two people were snickering at her, but she ignored those voices that couldn't be heard by others.
Kisuke turned to the still shocked Filvis, and said, "It looks like it's about time for you to rest. To end this, use all of your strength to punch me."
Filvis wanted to escape from the crowd too and have some time for herself to think about some things, so she readily agreed by immediately nodding her head and standing up.
Without saying anything, Filvis pulled back her fist and lowered her back before throwing a punch. In the middle of the attack, Filvis realized that this simple punch was the strongest physical attack she had ever pulled off, including her previous life as a Creature.
While incredibly surprised at the strength she was able to put out, she also became worried and hoped that Kisuke would dodge, as she couldn't pull back her punch anymore, as she had indeed put all of her strength behind it.
But she was stunned when Kisuke just casually lifted his hand to catch her fist. The moment their fist and palm made contact, it created a small shockwave that spread everywhere. However, Filvis couldn't think of what damage that shockwave had caused, as she could only stare at her fist with eyes wide open, "H-how...?"
"Not bad~. Before drinking some blood, your strength was only bordering Level 5 and 6, but now, your punch's strength isn't very far from that of Ottar's. A big jump, I must say." Kisuke then released her fist and turned to Medusa while removing his arm from around her, "Please take her to her room to rest. We're done here."
Medusa nodded and said, "Got it."