Herbert's sword was razor-sharp, its blade capable of slicing through raw iron with ease.
His fragile flesh stood even less of a chance.
He tightened his grip, and the blade cut straight into his palm. Blood swiftly trickled down the blade and into the coffin.
Hiss!
Herbert's expression shifted slightly, and he clenched his back teeth.
These damned troublemakers. Not a single one of them was easy to deal with.
One wanted to bite their emperor, another wanted to drown him, and now this one wanted to drink his blood.
Not a decent soul among them!
This was going too far. You all forced my hand!
Since you showed me no mercy, don't blame me for returning the favor.
"Here's your blood!"
The searing pain in his palm twisted Herbert's expression slightly, but he did not cry out. Instead, he forced a grin through gritted teeth.
"Please, whatever you do, don't hold back..."
Hold back?
Elisa did not quite understand what this boy was thinking.
What on earth are you talking about?
If you're giving me blood, why would I hold back?
"..."
Honestly, she was having trouble making sense of the situation. She could not tell whether Herbert had broken free of her hypnosis.
Or had it only half worked, leaving him aware that something was wrong but still compelled to obey?
Elisa pondered it for only a few seconds before losing all reason.
Blood.
Blood, after so long!
She had thirsted for over a thousand years, and now she could finally smell blood again.
Sniff... ah!
She could no longer spare a thought for anything else. Only one urge remained in her mind-lick it!
"To hell with it. I'll drink first!"
Lick-
"Mmph!!!"
The instant her tongue touched the blood, Elisa cried out, almost wishing she could bite her own tongue off.
Fragrant, sweet, rich... a thousand flavors seemed to burst across her mouth at once.
Elisa had never tasted blood like this. Never!
She had never imagined that her first mouthful after such a long thirst would be of such extraordinary quality!
She could not help trembling, letting out a long, moaning sigh. "Ahh..."
It was simply wonderful.
This taste was just so... hmm!!?
"Mmph!?"
Suddenly, Elisa felt a peculiar stinging on her tongue, as though it were burning...
No!
It really was burning!!?
Sss-
Elisa threw her mouth open and screamed.
"Aah!"
"Damn it! What's wrong with your blood!!? My tongue!"
It was not just her tongue. Her entire mouth, her throat, her stomach... all of them burned fiercely at that moment.
She almost thought she had drunk not blood, but highly concentrated holy water!
Wait...
"This is holy water!?"
"Aha, you guessed right!"
At that scream, Herbert finally burst out laughing. As he laughed, he gave his left hand a rough bandage with a strip torn from his sleeve.
Elisa writhed in agony and roared, "But I didn't smell any holy water... you... you're a Holy Knight!?"
"Congratulations. You've even learned to answer before I ask."
The Holy Mark on the back of Herbert's hand shone, proving what he had just done-converted it into holy water.
For Holy Clerics, holy water was an essential necessity when fighting creatures of darkness.
It generally came from two sources: centralized production by the Divine Church, and individual production by certain Holy Clerics.
Holy water produced by the Temple had the advantages of plentiful supply, consistent potency, and low prices. It was also sold to ordinary adventurers.
Holy water made by individual Holy Clerics, meanwhile, varied considerably depending on the quality of their ingredients.
Herbert did not carry holy water with him at all times, nor had he prepared any ingredients to make it. But he possessed an advantage no one else could match.
He was a Holy Knight who had sworn the Oath of Purity. His blood was equivalent to the highest-grade "blood of purity," an exceedingly rare magical material.
Holy water made with blood of purity as its base ingredient was always of the finest quality and highest concentration.
That was why Herbert had said, "Please, whatever you do, don't hold back!"
You wanted my blood, didn't you?
Here you go!
Poison for you!
The corners of Herbert's mouth rose. He leaned close to the coffin and whispered with undisguised malice, "Miss Elisa, please enjoy this baptism of holy light."
Get a good taste of the holy light's corruption!
"You damned-aaah!!!"
For Elisa at her peak, this little holy water would have been nothing. She could have neutralized it with ease.
Unfortunately, Elisa was no longer the Bloodfallen who had once been capable of killing another Prince.
She was weak now.
Very, very weak!
Sss, sss, sss-
The blood she had swallowed from Herbert was like a deadly poison, swiftly corrupting the blood remaining inside her!
Elisa realized she could not let this continue. She had to act.
"Damn it..."
In desperation, she could only sacrifice a part to save the whole. She struck her chest hard and spat a jet of blood onto the coffin wall.
Sss-
Though the blood radiated holy light, it rapidly dissolved, giving off a smell she loathed.
"..."
She had forced the blood out, but Elisa's presence weakened once more, leaving her considerably frailer than before.
This time, Elisa had suffered a complete defeat.
Not only had she gained nothing, she had lost most of what little she had left.
Her losses utterly outweighed any gains.
Scrape-
At the sound, Elisa recoiled warily, trying to evade his next attack.
But this time, she was worrying for nothing.
After successfully catching Elisa off guard once, Herbert did not try the same trick again.
He withdrew his sword with his right hand, giving it a levering twist midway and successfully widening the gap to two fingers.
Hmm?
Elisa looked at the widened gap and hesitated, but eventually pressed her eye to it and peered outside.
In the darkness, a white-haired boy whose entire body gave off a faint glow held a bloodstained longsword. He smiled and winked at her, saying with a cheerful laugh, "Lady Elisa, we finally meet."
"Hmm?"
Elisa narrowed her eye and studied Herbert carefully, remaining on guard for his next move.
But Herbert did not attack.
Looking at the crimson eye visible through the gap, he smiled elegantly, placed his sword behind his back, and gave the coffin a slight bow.
"We've been chatting so happily all this time, but I haven't had a chance to introduce myself."
His face was warm, his eyes full of gentleness. As though nothing had happened, he gave Elisa a soft laugh and said:
"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Herbert, an insignificant Holy Knight."
"I hope we'll get along very, very well from now on!"
Dusk.
In a secluded corner rarely visited by anyone, a thin figure in a black robe hunched over, his body trembling continuously. His arm moved rapidly, and heavy pants escaped his mouth.
"Hah, hah... hah!"
Accompanied by a slick sound, his movements grew faster and rougher.
But just as his body and soul were about to reach their peak, an ill-timed voice rang out.
"...Hmm? Is someone there?"
Before you continue