As she spoke, she slipped out of the elaborate, almost artistic dark-red maid’s uniform with its thorny patterns, revealing the simple, modest linen undergarments beneath.
“This outer garment, My Lady, you can use it as a temporary blanket,” Elsa said, spreading the resilient uniform over Pandora’s slender frame. “The clothes can’t stray too far from me, but this should be fine.”
Elsa spoke softly, completely unaware that Pandora had lost her focus.
Pandora’s gaze wavered. Elsa was sixteen, two years older, and it showed. The moonlight outlined her curves, a sight that made Pandora's breath catch in her throat. The faint, sweet scent from the garment, combined with the warmth that hadn't yet faded, added to the feeling of…
comfort.
“Ahem~”
Pandora finally snapped out of it. The overwhelming exhaustion left no room for distracting thoughts. The most important thing now was to recover her strength and wait for dawn.
So, Pandora nodded. “…Alright.”
Without waiting for a reply, Elsa had already knelt gracefully by the window.
Seeing this, Pandora said no more. She lay down carefully, resting her head on Elsa’s soft yet firm thigh, and pulled the maid’s uniform over herself like a blanket.
Unexpectedly, the garment felt delicate to the touch, with a strange, life-like warmth that enveloped her. Elsa’s lap was incredibly comfortable, imbuing her with a sense of security.
Soft, fragrant, and wonderfully warm.
In this island of a manor surrounded by zombies, in this bare-bones room stripped to its core, Pandora had unexpectedly found a moment…
of peace.
An extreme exhaustion washed over her like a tide. Pandora fell into a deep sleep the very next second.
Elsa lowered her eyelids, gazing at the sleeping Pandora.
Her sleeping profile was peaceful, the moonlight gently tracing the smooth, white lines of her neck. Beneath that lustrous skin, it almost felt like she could clearly see the warm blood rushing and flowing.
Suddenly, a craving, primal and absolute, surged from the depths of Elsa’s heart.
The scent of that blood… it was so…
sweet!
Elsa’s pupils contracted. Her throat bobbed.
She could feel her mouth watering, her body celebrating the coming bloody feast—
“No!”
“Even if I die, I can’t!”
Elsa squeezed her eyes shut, her body trembling, her nails digging into her palms. She used every ounce of her willpower to forcefully suppress the instinct that was about to devour her reason.
What a damnable, blasphemous thought!
This was the deepest betrayal of My Lady Pandora!
She didn’t know how much time passed.
When Elsa opened her eyes again, only self-reproach, guilt, and pain remained.
She carefully adjusted her posture, just trying her best to let Pandora sleep more soundly…
………………
Sunlight.
Warm, but not harsh, streamed through the uncurtained window, flooding the empty room.
The pleasant sound of birdsong drifted in, carrying the vitality of early morning.
However,
the snarls from outside the door, intermittent and never-ceasing, shattered the fragile hope in Pandora’s heart.
Was it all just a nightmare?
No, this was still the cold, hard reality.
Pandora stirred, sitting up from her pillow on Elsa’s lap.
“Elsa?”
She called out instinctively, then her gaze froze.
Elsa was still kneeling, but her face was deathly pale.
Pandora’s heart clenched. She noticed the maid’s uniform, which had slipped off her as she woke up, had lost its deep, enchanting color. It had become dull and faded, as if covered in a layer of gray decay.
“Elsa!”
At Pandora’s call, the loyal Elsa showed no reaction at all.
Seeing this, Pandora’s heart seized.
“System! System! Quick, tell me what’s wrong with Elsa!” she cried out desperately in her mind.
The cold, familiar prompt sounded as always:
【Please explore on your own, Host.】
“Damn it!”
Pandora cursed under her breath.
She quickly realized that getting angry at the mechanical System was pointless. She forced herself to calm down, her mind racing.
The System… Myriad Alchemy… strict equivalent exchange… the Price…
The Price!
Like a lightning strike, the System’s prompt flashed through her mind.
【Price: While the Alchemical Item is manifested, the Host will be in an “Anemic” state.】
Elsa was the humanoid alchemical product. Her current existence was her “manifestation”!
So what was Elsa’s “Price”?
Blood. It had to be the blood!
She’d fallen asleep. She hadn’t continued to “pay.” That’s why Elsa was like this!
Thank goodness it had only been one night.
Pandora understood the root of the problem in an instant.
Without a moment's hesitation, she lifted her wrist and brought it to Elsa’s pale lips.
“Elsa!”
Elsa’s nostrils twitched, as if she could smell the blood, but she turned her head slightly, resisting the primal craving.
“You fool!”
Pandora’s heart ached as she watched Elsa resist.
She didn’t hesitate. She pressed her wrist against the edge of the greatsword.
A light cut. The sharp blade opened a fresh wound.
Blood instantly gushed out, carrying its warmth.
Pandora once again brought her bleeding wrist to Elsa’s lips.
This time, the intense, dizzying scent of fresh blood acted as the most powerful catalyst, completely shattering Elsa’s remaining reason and resistance.
“Mmph…”
A suppressed moan, as if from the depths of her soul, escaped Elsa’s throat.
Like a dying traveler in the desert who had found an oasis, she lunged forward, sinking her teeth deeply into Pandora’s wrist!
A faint pain shot through her, instantly numbed by Elsa’s saliva, turning dull and distant.
Then came the familiar, dizzying wave.
The anemia, after a night’s reprieve, crashed back into her, stronger than before.
As Pandora felt the dizziness, Elsa’s deathly pale face began to regain its color at a visible speed. The faded, dark-red maid uniform, as if injected with life, once again returned to its deep, magnificent state, flowing with an uncanny luster.
A few seconds later, Elsa shoved herself away, clarity flooding her eyes—along with a deep, abiding horror.
“My Lady… You!”
She had barely gotten the words out when Pandora’s body went limp, collapsing toward her.