The Elder Ainz and I walked up the stairs to my room. The whole way I could feel his eyes locked onto my back. There was once a time when Senna would give me a similar feeling; like I was falling into one of my own traps. Even her eyes were nothing compared to what I was feeling right now. We got to the top of the stairs and I stopped to look back, making sure Senna was still behind us. The grandfather had his eyes on the floor now, but I was sure he did that to hide his staring.

She caught up to the both of us, and gave me a nod before glaring at the old man again. We moved to our room and I opened the door for him first before stepping in afterwards. I lit a lantern on the end table near the bed Senna was supposed to sleep in; she more often than not chose to sleep on the floor beside my bed or inside it if she thought there was room.

I’m sure neither he nor Senna really need a light on in here, but I’d prefer being able to see what’s going on anyway. This was more of a placative gesture anyway, Simon getting taken away is the last thing I would want. On the other hand, maybe there really will be something wrong with me. He could lie and I’d never truly be able to tell if he was being serious.

“Tell me, how was it that you got into contact with Edward’s blood? I don’t see any very noticeable scars on your skin, like Senna.” He asked me, pacing idly around the room.

“No, I had to shield her after he killed himself. After struggling for a while, he sliced into his own stomach. There was a chain reaction and his stomach burst open with some kind of boiling, black liquid. It covered my back and singed off my clothes, but thankfully I was able to survive. Senna brought me back here and I slept for a few days.” I looked towards the door and waited for Senna to come in.

She opened the door quickly before looking at the both of us. I could tell that she wasn’t happy about what was happening, but didn’t want to go against what I said at the same time. I moved between her and the grandfather and folded my arms.

“I’ve got one last question before we start... what is it you’re making this stuff for?” I asked him.

“My plans are mostly irrelevant, aren’t they? They’re a century in the making now, and I don’t feel like explaining every step to the both of you. Just know that it involves murdering the Godwin family, and that after today I should leave the two of you alone.” He answered before looking at Senna. “That enough for you?”

Senna looked away, but she wasn’t glaring anymore.

Guess that means he doesn’t know about what Simon did after he escaped. Hopefully we can do something to get them to investigate the Ainz family after all of this. Still, taking down the Godwins should be enough for Senna. I looked down at my wrist and rubbed it with my thumb. Right? I guess I haven’t gotten the chance to ask her myself, she did start all of this out wanting them dead, but I don’t know how she feels about having no part in it. We just have to make it through tonight and I can talk with her about it then. Whatever he’s about to do, I hope it doesn’t anger Senna.

I turned my back towards the grandfather and rolled my shirt up. The fabric was still a little uncomfortable to wear as I hadn’t worn it long, but the bunched up cloth was far less uncomfortable than having both of them looking at my bare skin. It wasn’t long before the old man pressed one of his fingers against a scar and made me flinch. Unlike what I expected, his fingers were cold. He didn’t look unfed like Simon did, which means he should feel more alive than this.

“Strange...” He muttered to himself. “There’s no lingering pain from this? How did you get the wounds to heal so cleanly?”

“I... I don’t know. When I woke up after the explosion we were worried something was going to grow back or something, but in the end nothing happened. Other than washing it out a few times, we haven’t treated the injuries at all.”

The finger pulled away from my skin and I let my shirt down. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds, and I looked back to Senna. Before I could tell her to go get Simon, I felt the old man’s hand on my neck as he forced me back against him.

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“Ah, I see now! I suppose looking for a random chance of this happening was too hopeful. All I had to do was sacrifice someone to gain what I wanted. Strange to imagine a vampire wouldn’t consider that possibility, hm?”

“What’re you even—?!" I started before his grip tightened on my throat.

“Your blood has somehow managed to withstand the vapor mixing in with it! I thought for sure it would multiply inside of you, melting your insides like it did with Edward. Instead, you have negated the bile that entered your body. Maybe it was the magic healing earlier? Maybe something to do with it being a vampire I used as the fuel for that?” He wondered out loud before chuckling. “Sorry, I’m feeling a little ecstatic. I guess it doesn’t matter in the end, because I only need you and your blood once.”

“Don’t you dare bite him you worthless corpse!” Senna shouted. “I’ll tear your eyes out and make you wander towards the sun before I shred your estate to crumbling ruins if you so much as prick his skin with one of your nauseating fangs.”

Even though her eyes were ice cold, she was baring her teeth at him threateningly. More than that, her whole posture had changed to a more animalistic one. The scarred side of her face twitched like a rabid animal, itching to tear into him.

He might be too tough for her to take head on, but from how easily she took down Anna, I’m not quite sure. Either way a full blown fight would probably drawn the attention of the people downstairs at the least. It’s definitely more dangerous for me, but being between the two of them is probably keeping Senna from going ballistic.

“What do you even want with my blood anyway?”

“The effects of repeated exposure to the occult has left my body in less than an ideal shape, to say the least. Even over feeding doesn’t cure the amount of degeneration my supposedly immortal body suffers. Blood like yours, however, has a potential to revert those changes. Even if it’s only in part, I think the real benefit will be finally being able to push forward with my plan.” His hand slowly turned my head to the side as he forced one of my arms behind my back. “After all, if I feed on someone immune to the effects of the vapor... I should be able to inherit that trait myself.”

With my body in an awkward position, I couldn’t easily pull away. Even if I wasn’t held, he’s strong and fast enough that I think he’d kill me before then. I looked to Senna for something to help me, but her eyes seemed distantly locked on the background. Without a word, she moved over to where the silver sword was hidden and pulled it out.

“If you’re going to threaten me, save yourself the time. Even if you could kill me first, you wouldn’t dare risk harming your pet human here.”

“You?” Senna asked holding the sword up with one hand and pinching the blade with the other. “No, I was going downstairs to murder the son you brought with you. Then I was going to kill Simon, and tell everyone in town that you’re a vampire.”

“A crowd like that would definitely pick up on the fact that you are as well, you know.”

“Do you think I care? There’s going to be a whole army of church hunters coming into this area before long, and they already know there are vampires here. Even if I end up dying in the aftermath, I’ll make sure you and anything you planned or love will be torn to shreds. You hurt Leo, and that’s what you deserve.”

The old vampire hesitated, probably weighing whether or not she was bluffing. Even though neither of them spoke, I could practically feel the air get thicker. After a few seconds, Senna shouldered the blade and took a step towards the door.

“Wait!” He shouted, letting go of my arm to hold out his hand to her. “Clearly we’re at a stalemate here for what we want to do. Things aren’t going to go either of our ways unless we agree to move on for now. Let me take my family and leave, then we can both wait out these church hunters in our own ways?”

“Do you really think I’d trust you for anything close to that? Let Leo go right now and I’ll settle for slicing your limbs off with this sword.”

“Come now, I was planning on letting you feed on him before he dies, you know. It’s not right to be selfish when it comes to blood of this rarity. What gives you the right to claim his blood, exactly?”

“We’re soulmates!” She shouted back, pointing the sword at him.

The statement definitely shocked me, though it must be stranger for him. Even though we’ve never explicitly stated it before I’ve gathered that’s how Senna saw us. If this weren’t such a life threatening situation, I’d be inclined to tell her the same thing.

“I beg your pardon? You really must be an animal if you think falling in love with a mortal is a smart move. But fine, you don’t want to share him, then we have nowhere to go. If you want him to stay alive, the best choice is to let me go. At the very least, then you can prepare for a proper fight at a later date. Sound fair enough to you?”

She seemed hesitant at first, but eventually turned back around. The grandfather slowly let me go, and I stepped out to the side. I rubbed my neck and glanced down at the red skin on my wrist from where he grabbed me. At the same time, Senna let the sword fall down on the ground, but kept herself low. The grandfather initially stepped around her, until he got one last look at me from the doorway. He held out a hand towards Senna with a smile on his face.

“Care to shake? To seal the deal, I mean. I don’t want you going back on your word and stabbing me from behind or anything.”

“Get away from me you worm.” She said, and slapped at his hand.

A grin flashed over his face. The instant her hand smacked his, he wrapped his fingers around it and gripped tight. Before she could react, bright green flames burst out of her arm and rapidly crawled over her body. He moved quickly to her side and gripped the burned half of her face with his other hand. Senna howled in pain as her body convulsed, the bright light of the flame hurting my eyes just to look at.

“Don’t worry, I’m not healing anything this time, so there won’t be any scars.” He spoke over the flames. “That pain should still feel real, however. Oh, try to pass out as soon as you can. I don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention from the humans downstairs before I leave...”