“I’m back.”

“Oh, welcome home,” Camilla said. She waved at her.

Kagriss closed the door behind her. “Thank you.” After she hung up her coat on the door and set her bags aside, she sat down across the table from Camilla, resting her chin on her hands. “What are you doing?” 

Her lover had her sword out for some reason and was running her bare hands over the mottled red and black surface. She wasn’t using a cloth or anything. Kagriss had seen Camilla do this before, almost every night, but she never thought to ask then. There were signs of blood magic coming from Camilla’s hands, but it was subtle and complex.

“Just a little maintenance.” Camilla paused in her work and set the sword aside for a break, dusting off her hands. “It’s a habit that’s hard to break from when I had an ordinary sword.”

“What happens if you don’t do it?”

“For this one, who knows? But for a normal sword, all kinds of bad things can happen to it. Rust, chipping, discoloration, deformation…those are just some of a whole host of things that even I don’t understand. I’m not a smith after all, just a warrior. ”

“But this sword doesn’t have those problems, right?”

Camilla nodded. “Luckily for that. But it’s got a whole new set, I think. Ever since I destroyed it with that little trick I pulled, it’s been whining a bit.” She looked at the sword with a gentle gaze and Kagriss blinked when she saw it.

She’d never seen Camilla gaze at something like that to anything or anyone else except her. Of course, that look was nowhere as intense for the sword, but it was still… uncomfortable to see. Still, it was just a sword.

“Does a sword really whine?”

“Maybe, maybe not. It could just be a delusion you get once you use and get attached to a weapon,” Camilla said. She raised the sword up, holding it against the light, a glowing crystal affixed to the ceiling. “I didn’t think I’d be using it for so long considering it’s so big and unwieldy, but it turns out to suit me quite well.” 

“But about those problems…”

Camilla glanced at her. “Why are you hung up about the sword’s problems anyway?”

“I think I can help. You’re doing something with magic, right?”

“Ah, that’s right. Oops, that slipped my attention, sorry.” Camilla blushed, half hiding behind her sword. Kagriss’s heart skipped a beat. However, she didn’t outwardly show anything, so Camilla continued on none the wiser. “This sword is charged with undead mana from the Point, taking a massive dose of the mana at the beginning and then being exposed to it over time. That’s what makes this sword special.”

Kagriss nodded, half understanding. Although she didn’t really know the ins and outs of enchanting, she at least knew that the basics of enchanted weapons was using special materials. That much Camilla drilled into her head when they talked about spelling the lightning antlers.

These special materials are mana rich and are either parts of mana beasts, of mana-rich plants, or other materials that have been in the presence of dense mana for a long time, such as stone or metal. 

Thus, Camilla’s sword is one such example of a weapon. But she didn’t really understand what makes this sword any better than a normal enchanted weapon.

She asked that and Camilla answered it easily, as if it was something obvious: “Raw materials aren’t usually that good for making things, you know? You have to mix in other stuff, which taints the mana imbued within it. Not to mention all the abuse it takes in the forging process for metal weapons specifically. Is it really surprising that they become less effective?”

Camilla ran her hand up and down the sword’s length again, stroking it slowly. “Now, when it comes to weapons like these…the imbuement happens after the forging has been completed. It’s pure…and it’s also rare.”

“Rare?” Kagriss was a bit confused. If enchanting was that easy, then her old home should be full of enchanted weapons. That’s where Camilla got the weapon after all.

“I know what you’re thinking, but think again. Sure, there are a lot of weapons, but how many are in good condition? How many are even intact? Enchanted to this degree?”

That was true. With Camilla helping guide her dive back into her memories, Kagriss found that Camilla was right. There were many weapons, or at least remains of them. But the vast majority were rusted, broken apart, or corroded. Only a few remained that were both intact and powerful, and most of those were in the hands of the Point’s defenders…undead like the zombie Camilla got her sword from.

The smith they had at the fortress was not bad at his job, but there was only so much that old pile of bones could do. In repairing the weapons or forging new ones from salvage, the purity of the mana within would be lowered.

“And…even if they got their hands on this weapon…can they wield it safely?”

Undead mana pulsed from the sword. While it was nothing to Kagriss, a normal person, a human especially, may find it menacing and corrosive to the touch. That even the hilt was saturated with undead mana, unlike a weapon made of imbued material.

Kagriss began to understand why Camilla refused to replace her sword. She wouldn’t be able to find a good replacement.

And after the destruction of the weapon in that laboratory filled with monsters, Camilla could only rely on her blood bond with it to repair it. It probably wasn’t a perfect job and would last only until Camilla broke the bond.

If that happens, that sword will probably be reduced to a pile of scrap without the magic holding it together.

While the bond can store, it can’t recreate the magical, or mimic it that well. The only reason the sword hasn’t fallen apart was probably because blood mana was inherently adaptive and gentle when it came to being a substitute. But however closely the blood mana mimicked the original, there will always be some differences.

Especially for ultimately temporary and makeshift repairs that will never properly adapt and meld into the whole. Kagriss looked at the red that mottled Camilla’s sword.

No doubt that is one sign of the imperfection of Camilla’s blood bond. 

With silence falling between them, Camilla went back to her maintenance. Now that Kagriss knew what to look for, she realized that Camilla was doing. While the differences were subtle, the patterns on the sword changed every time Camilla’s hand passed over it.

Some spots on the sword initially had well-defined boundaries between black and red. However, with Camilla’s maintenance, the boundaries were smoothed and blurred, as if Camilla was doing her best to meld the two warring types of mana together.

But once again, it wasn’t perfect. There were little mistakes here and there that Camilla missed. It couldn’t be helped. Camilla was juggling two types of mana at once after all. Although Camilla wasn’t bad at undead magic, she was still better at using blood mana.

True blood mana was just a pain to replenish, though, even if Kagriss will gladly give it to Camilla every night.

With that in mind, Kagriss smiled and pulled her seat over to Camilla’s side.

“Let me help.”

“Eh? You don’t have to…”

“Did you already forget why I asked in the first place?” Kagriss placed her hand over Camilla’s, feeling the warmth that could only be felt through contact with another person. When Camilla imitated the living, she went all the way, even going so far as to generate heat.

Meanwhile, Kagriss didn’t bother regulating herself at all, so she was always the same as room temperature, unless she was with Camilla. Apparently Camilla liked her better that way so she never bothered to make regulation a habit.

Camilla gasped a little when their hands touched and she quickly looked away.

“Still so embarrassed when we’ve already gone much further than this? Focus on the sword,” Kagriss chided. “This isn’t the time for inappropriate thoughts.”

“I, I don’t want to hear that from you! Hypocrite!” After a bit of complaining, Camilla calmed down enough to resume the maintenance of the ironblood sword. 

Having her hand over Camilla’s let Kagriss feel the flow of mana better than just watching from a distance. Camilla was trying to act as a mediator between the two types of mana in the sword, melding them together harmoniously to prevent problems down the road where the sword becomes less durable or even tears itself apart.

That the additional mana was blood was fortunate. If it had been holy, they would not meld together at all and will probably destroy the sword the moment Camilla tried anything. 

Kagriss closed her eyes to concentrate, letting out her own mana through her fingers and palm. She took care of the undead part of the process, calming down and smoothing over the parts that were acting up while Camilla mixed in blood mana, filling in gaps. They worked together to fix the boundaries between the two types so that they played nice. As convenient as blood bonding was, the repairs it did was just too rudimentary.

At first, things were slow, but Kagriss picked things up quickly and soon they were going faster than Camilla could alone. They made three passes in all, making crude fixes the first time and focusing on the details in the second and third, and by the time they were done, the sword was still mottled, but the colors blended together, almost melting into each other. 

No speckles of red to be found on the sword anywhere.

Camilla turned it this way and that, her smile widening with each second. “Wow, this is the best it’s been for a long time. It’s even better than before,” she said. 

Kagriss put a finger to her lips, smiling. “Hmmm, really now.” 

“Yes. Thanks!”

“Do you think just words are enough? How about a reward of some kind, like…” Kagriss paused, letting Camilla’s imagination do its thing before she finished her sentence, “…a hug?”

The blush that had been creeping onto Camilla’s face from her neck disappeared, replaced with a scowl. “You bully. No, you don’t get to say that without paying up. I’ll show you that words have consequences!”

Kagriss’s heart skipped a beat, and from that little skip, it skipped again. It was such a strange feeling, a feeling she only felt when she was around Camilla. Especially a predatory Camilla.

With a snap of her finger, the vampire in front of her turned the sword in front of her into a globe of blood that drained into a cut on her fingertips. Her golden eyes glinted red and the same, luxurious color on her hair faded into silver.

Before Kagriss could react, Camilla sprang onto her, knocking them both onto the ground. No matter how many times she experienced it, Camilla’s aggression was always surprising. Camilla had been so meek after all, but as the nights went on…something changed. Camilla became more and more assertive, and the final change was when she let Camilla drink her blood while they played that night.

“Milla…”

“Kagriss!”

She was being pinned to the floor so forcefully, but even though Camilla was strong, she was still so light, so light that Kagriss thought she might be able to buck her off if she tried. However, Kagriss put up just the barest of resistances and watched as the red glint in Camilla’s eyes grew brighter with her struggles, like a cat’s hunter’s instincts being piqued by prey.

The fangs in Camilla’s grew longer and with a smile, Kagriss moved her head to the side. “Come.”

“…wait just a bit.” Camilla’s shirt lifted as her wings grew larger until they were each as wide as Camilla was tall. Large shadows appeared on the floor as the wings were silhouetted against the moonlight from the open window. They flapped once, stirring up a small breeze in the room, before shifting forward to cover Kagriss within their shadows.

Camilla’s skirt hiked up as her tail peeked out from underneath, waving mischievously and alluringly behind Camilla. If it wasn’t for her being pinned on the floor, Kagriss might have grabbed it, although Camilla might yell at her for it.

“Now, I can do it…” the vampire whispered. 

Hot air from her mouth brushed and caressed Kagriss’s neck and she could almost feel in her mind the teeth sinking in bit by bit. And when they came, pressing against and finally piercing through the skin, she revelled in the pain and sweet numbness that came with it.

The tips went deeper ever so slowly, parting the flesh beneath. Despite being partially blocked by teeth, blood seeped out from the artery on her neck, slowly drawing a red trail on her skin toward the ground, only to be stopped by the lips that sealed her wound.

With the tips of her fangs barely in, Camilla began to suckle, her tongue moving all over the part of Kagriss’s neck that was inside her mouth, doubtlessly painting her skin red.

“Geez, why can’t you ever just bite all the way in one go?” Kagriss muttered.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Camilla mumbled. With each sound she made, the teeth moved, widening the two puncture wounds. “Besides, for someone who loves to go slow when it comes to me, you sure are complaining a lot.”

That… wasn’t inaccurate, so Kagriss closed her mouth and eyes, waiting for Camilla to go further. Her legs rubbed together, irritated with impatience. This was how Camilla felt, the feeling of not being satisfied while being teased.

But at the same time, she loved it when Camilla struggled underneath her. Those moments became rarer and rarer, so she was never going to pass up the chance if it came.

“By the way,” Camilla said, “did something good happen?”

“W-why?” Despite the rather compromising position they were in, Kagriss’s thoughts flew to the bars of bloodstone in her bag. She hadn’t told Camilla yet. For some reason, she didn’t want Camilla about it… it was a strange feeling, keeping things from Camilla.

Despite her non-answer, Camilla didn’t seem to care for any elaborations. Her soft tongue swiped over the skin on Kagriss’s neck again. “Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just that your blood is sweeter than usual. So sweet, that I think I want some more.”

With that, the fangs slowly pierced in deeper and more of her blood drained out of her. Camilla’s firm grip on her arms loosened as well, becoming more gentle, squeezing and caressing.

But just as Camilla shifted her weight, about to do something, the sound of someone knocking on the door made them both freeze. Kagriss’s eyes flew open and focused on the closed and locked door, her senses flaring out. Three people, one big and two small.

Camilla got up and wiped her mouth, licking the traces of blood off her hand almost like a cat does. The red in her eyes slowly faded and the golden color returned to her hair.

Her wings began to shrink and retreated under her clothes along with her tail. Finally, she crawled off Kagriss’s body and stood up.

Kagriss watched that all happen, disappointed. 

She was unfulfilled. Unsatisfied. 

Yet, there were three people outside the door.

Thunk thunk thunk. The knocks came again. “Miss Camilla? Are you there? Are you awake?”

“How can she be asleep? Undead don’t sleep.”

The sound of bickering came from outside.

“You’d never know. Miss Camilla is special after all,” Ariel said. Her tone was a bit gentler compared to her sister’s despite their similar sounding voice, so with a little more speaking, Kagriss managed to identify her even through the door.

The other voice, Sariel, huffed. “Special or not, sleeping or not, she’s definitely awake now with all the ruckus you’re making.”

“Oh no…”

Kagriss shook her head and sighed. If the two little ones were the twins, then the bigger lifeform behind them was Lucienne. They came back. This kind of situation was one of the reasons she and Camilla agreed to have Lucienne take care of the twins, but to think that didn’t work.

“L… Camilla, are you there? There’s something I want to talk about.” It was Lucienne this time. Although she didn’t sound particularly hurried, it was rude to make people wait.

The wound on Kagriss’s neck closed and she got up, patting off her dress. 

Camilla was looking at her and she nodded.

Checking herself once again for anything out of place, she stepped toward the door to open it, only for Camilla to beat her to the punch, stepping in front of her and putting her hand on the lock. 

Kagriss froze. She really was out of it… for her and Camilla to not be in sync.

But right before Camilla unlatched the door, she leaned back and muttered something under her breath. 

“I’ll definitely~ make it up to you later.”

Before Kagriss could reply, Camilla opened the door, leaving Kagriss standing there frozen, a slight blush on her face. Then, before anyone could notice, she touched her face and wiped away the blush, returning to the cool and calm lich that Lucienne and the twins knew best.

When the twins came inside, they made a beeline toward her. “Hi, Kagriss!” 

“Hello. Did you just return?”

“Yeah!”

“Where were you?” Kagriss asked as she patted Ariel’s head. 

Ariel smiled up at her. “We went to gather data with Lucienne.”

“I see, I see, and what did you find?”

While she entertained the twins, she also paid attention to Camilla’s conversation with Lucienne, and naturally, they were talking about the same thing. The funny thing was, their conversation and her conversation with the twins moved along at about the same place, and sometimes they mixed together as Sariel or Ariel’s attention drifted and they chimed in on Lucienne’s report.

“So you met someone from Lavitte’s party too? What a coincidence. So did I,” Camilla said. “I ran into Lavitte himself, though. Who did you see?”

“We saw Celaen.”

“That… is certainly a coincidence, huh?”