Zag’giel balked, but Kanata beamed with delight at the idea. Of course, Kanata’s approval had nothing to do with whatever healing properties Fenrir’s saliva might have.
“Fen-fen’s lickies!” she cheered. “Do me, Fen-fen! Do me!”
Getting licked by a fluffy critter was one of Kanata’s dreams from her previous life. She wanted to get icky saliva all over her face and exclaim “ewww!” giggling like a schoolgirl.
“N-No! I would never subject my Lady Kanata to something so unseemly!”
“Awww...” Kanata pouted, slumping her shoulders in disappointment.
Zag’giel, meanwhile, was aghast at the Spirit Wolf’s wild instincts.
“This is why you are nothing more than a beast,” he said. “As if you could treat such a deep wound by licking it.” In fact, Fenrir’s saliva was a powerful antibiotic. It was far more effective at treating wounds than your average medicine, but it was doubtful whether it would have any effect on a vampire one way or the other. “This woman is no longer among the living. Vampires maintain their undead nature by consuming the blood of the living. In other words, the only way to heal the wounds of a vampire is—”
“Kee hee hee!” The vampire laughed. “That’s simple enough! Child, give me your blood. If you wish to heal my wounds, that is how you may be of assistance.” She lifted her upper lip, showing off the long fangs she used for drinking blood.
“Don’t be ridiculous, vampire!” spat Fenrir, leaping protectively between her and Kanata. “Lady Kanata will never give her blood to the likes of you!”
“We are the King of Demons, whose law is might,” declared Zag’giel, jumping up on Fenrir’s back and puffing out his tail. “We will not censure those who subsist by taking the life of others. But Kanata, you will not touch!”
“Hm,” the vampire observed. “Your minions are quite loyal to you, I see. Beast Tamers are common enough, but bonds like yours are truly rare.”
It was a strange thing to say, considering that in the modern age Beast Tamers hardly existed at all. The vampire must have been shut up in her castle for so long that she had failed to note the changes in the world with the passage of time. After all, the villagers had said that nobody went near the old castle. But then, whose blood had she been drinking to stay alive all these years?
“Kee hee hee!” she continued. “Are you afraid? Having your blood drained is a terrible way to die, after all! But I am merciful. Vanish from this place at once, and I will leave your blood alone! But if you stay here, I will drain you until not a single drop remains...”
Her words were tinged with clear murderous intent. It was as if she was trying to frighten Kanata away. Zag’giel and Fenrir bristled even further, protective of their master.
“Mm-hm!” said Kanata. “I see!”
“What’s wrong?” the vampire asked, grinning like a wicked devil. “Are your legs paralyzed with fear? Very well, then! You shall be my supper!”
“Go right ahead!” Kanata chirped, undoing the ribbon on her vest to expose her pale neck. She didn’t seem even the least bit frightened.
“Kanata?!”
“Lady Kanata?!”
Zag’giel and Fenrir turned around in shock to face her, missing the shocked and upset expression on the vampire’s face.
“A-Are you quite serious right now?” the vampire said. “How much do I have to threaten you before you run away?!”
Kanata just smiled and took a step forward.
“S-Stay back! I’m warning you! I’ll suck your blood! I’ll really do it! I’m a vampire, feared by all!” She averted her eyes from Kanata’s neck. “If I suck your blood, you’ll become one of my minions! You don’t want to become a magic beast, do you?! So get away from me! I’m serious!”
“I said it’s all right,” said Kanata, sounding for all the world like a mother talking to an unruly child. “You can suck my blood.”
“Why?!” The vampire didn’t know what to make of Kanata’s selfless offer. She seemed totally at a loss. “Why do you keep trusting me?! Aren’t you afraid of getting your blood sucked?!”
“I’m not afraid,” Kanata said, taking the vampire in her arms and guiding her desperately averted head toward her neck. “After all, I haven’t seen you try to hurt anyone even once. You would have had no problem with those knights if you were fighting for real, would you?”
“Th-That’s...” the vampire muttered.
“Hm. We had been wondering on that point as well,” Zag’giel mused.
“You’re right,” agreed Fenrir. “I didn’t notice at first because she was in such a bad state, but she seems like a pretty powerful vampire, doesn’t she...?”
The vampire had made all kinds of verbal threats, but she had never actually launched a single attack, not just against Kanata, but against the knights who had been attacking her as well.
“You’re actually a very kind vampire, aren’t you?” said Kanata.
“N-No! I’m not!”
“We see!” said Zag’giel. “She only plays the part of an evil fiend...”
“That sounds lonely,” Fenrir added, “not showing your true feelings to anyone...”
The vampire’s face was turning bright red at the things the three were saying. “Y-You...!”
“I can tell you won’t actually suck me dry,” Kanata reassured her.
“Nhh...” Her bravado shattered, the vampire timidly brought her lips to Kanata’s neck with an air of resignation.
The truth was, she was at her limit. The damage done by the blessed holy spears was even worse than it looked from the outside—even now the wounds were burning at her flesh. She hadn’t drunk blood for a long time, and her body lacked the regenerative power necessary to dispel the blessing’s lingering effect. Her plan had been to drive Kanata away and face the sunrise alone, letting herself turn to ash.
“I-Is this...really okay?” she asked.
“I’ll be all right!” Kanata said. “I make sure to get plenty of iron in my diet!”
“Th-That isn’t exactly the issue here...”
“It’s okay, really! Go ahead!”
“I-I’ll just take a bit...” the vampire finally said. “A single mouthful should be enough. It won’t hurt or sting. The mark will go away in just a moment. And I won’t turn you into a vampire or a ghoul...”
“I know,” said Kanata, cutting off the vampire’s string of apologies. Kanata cradled the vampire’s head gently in her arms, pressing her lips up against her neck. The vampire felt oddly safe in Kanata’s motherly embrace.
“You really aren’t afraid of me...?”
“Not at all.”
“I’m sorry...” the vampire sobbed, overcome by emotion. “I’m so sorry...”
“It’s all right,” Kanata repeated. “Now, go ahead.”
At Kanata’s urging, the vampire took a small bite at the girl’s neck.
“Mm...”
Kanata’s benevolence in saving even a vampire—an enemy of humanity—and offering her succor with her own body and blood seemed like nothing less than the deeds of a Saint. It was enough to move the vampire to tears, even as she sucked her blood.
Mwa ha ha! Kanata thought, unbeknownst to the vampire, as she idly petted her fluffy hair. This is some good fluff!
“Pwah...” the vampire sighed as she removed her mouth from Kanata’s neck.
“Well?” asked Zag’giel.
“Lady Kanata has given you her blood!” said Fenrir. “That had better cure you, or else...!”
Kanata, Zag’giel, and Fenrir all watched the vampire with great interest.
“Nhhhngh...” the vampire moaned, her head facing down. Zag’giel and Fenrir had a pang of worry that feeding had reawakened her vampiric instincts, but then she cast her head back and cried out, “That was sooooo goooooood!!!”
A vortex of magic energy, strong enough to cause a whirlwind, formed around her body, forcing Zag’giel to cling tight to Fenrir’s back to avoid being blown away.
“N-Nwhooooa!” he cried. “H-How much power does this vampire have?!”
“W-With this power, she could be a match for you or me!” exclaimed Fenrir.
The vampire laughed at the center of the storm. “Kee hee hee hee hee! That full-bodied aroma! That flavor! Even fine wine a century old would never compare to this! The power! The power is flowing into me!” She flexed her arms, relishing the feeling of strength.
Zag’giel and Fenrir, Kanata’s two faithful servants, watched on in fear of her heightening power as Kanata smiled brightly.
But that scene only lasted for a moment. Just as the vampire had begun to celebrate, magic energy began to burst out of her body here and there like holes in a balloon. With a loud hissing sound, her body began to shrink before their eyes until all that was left of her was her tattered dress.
“Did she...perish?” Zag’giel said, jumping down off Fenrir’s back and prodding at the dress with his paw.
“What a way to die...” Fenrir said, sniffing at the spot.
For some reason, drinking Kanata’s blood had caused the vampire to vanish!
Or so they thought.
“I am not dead!” came the vampire’s voice. The dress swelled up, and something came bursting out from inside.
“Whoa?!” Zag’giel started, falling back. Fenrir caught him in his forepaws like a ball.
“What’s that?!” Fenrir asked.
They looked up to see something flying in the air.
“I have been reborn most gloriously!” the vampire declared, spreading her wings.
Or rather, the creature that was once a vampire.
Her body had become a ball covered in reddish-pink fur, with only her tiny wings and her pointy ears breaking her round silhouette. She looked somewhat like a bat, although her form was much more spherical. It was the birth of a third fluffball.
“W-Wait!” the former vampire said, clearly confused. “What’s this?! Where is my beautiful skin?! My legs?! Why is my entire body covered in fuuuuurrrrrrrr?!” She fluttered slowly to the ground, her tiny wings unable to keep her airborne any longer.
“Oh my goooosh!” Kanata gushed, her eyes going heart-shaped as she caught the bat creature. “C-C-C-C-Cuuuuuuute!!!”
“Wh-What did you do to me?!” the pink furball gasped, quivering in fear as Kanata regarded her like a hungry predator.
“New fluff-fluff, acquired!” Kanata cheered.