Annan reached for the branch of the Otherworld Tree at his waist. To Perry, it looked like the Succubus was undoing his belt while moving into his blind spot.
"Brace yourself. This might hurt a little." The seductive voice came from the foot of the bed.
Then Perry felt his pants being pulled down, and—
The pain he had imagined never came. Instead, a chill spread outward from his wound.
"Priest, did you put ice on my wound?"
"No. It's a branch with a strange power."
Perry lifted his head and saw a withered branch resting on the wound in his leg.
"Do you feel unwell anywhere?" With nothing else to do, Annan took out a notebook and began recording his observations.
"I feel a little cold..."
Annan thought of Baron Kinkelly and said, "That's good. It means it's working."
"Really?"
"I'm a Priest. Would I lie to you?"
Annan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had worried it might not work on someone who wasn't dying.
So it can draw from living people too... Did Free City's earlier method waste some of it? Wouldn't a Noose made from Otherworld branches work better?
The Otherworld branch drew in humanity and developed a peculiar pulse of life, but its appearance did not change.
Perry hugged his shoulders and hunched over involuntarily. Shivering, he asked, "Why am I getting colder...?"
"That's only natural. How could you be warm when you're dead?"
"What?"
But Perry's thoughts seemed to freeze. He slowly raised his head, a beat too late, and found himself staring into the Succubus's whirlpool-like eyes.
"The people you killed send their regards..."
Fear gradually spread across Perry's face, as though he had seen something terrifying. But just as his expression was about to freeze, it turned into a peaceful smile.