A figure wearing a stern iron mask stood hunched over. There was no one else around. In the empty hall, Koai hung her head, devoid of strength.

...It's cold.

She never felt cold in normal temperatures. This meant the chill she felt was likely not in her body, but in her spirit. However, she couldn't quite grasp that.

Why is that? I don't know. But if I can just meet that girl, I'm sure I'll feel whole again. That much, I understand.
That girl... whose name I never even asked. If only I could meet her again.

I want to see her soon.
Indeed, that was, for the most part, all Koai could think of, all she desired.

To summon "her" again with certainty, she had kept a small item. There should have been no mistakes. However, just moments ago, perhaps out of dejection, she had carelessly let her magical power drain away, and had even lost the blood that was the foundation of her spells.
In order to summon that girl without a hitch, and also to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, she needed to eat and replenish her blood while she still had some reserves. Koai understood this.

However, eating was not essential for Koai under normal circumstances; to be blunt, it was a hassle. It seemed she was the only one in this world with a nature that didn't require food.
In this world, she alone couldn't help but find it comical to watch others happily devouring meat and savoring alcohol. That was why, in the past, she never held banquets or tried to enjoy food, drink... and of course, carnal pleasures, with her subordinates.
The only time she needed to eat was when she had shed her own blood. And most of the time, like now, it was due to her own instability, not from a battle with a powerful foe.

"...Guess I'll go outside."
A soliloquy. She had muttered it unconsciously.

When she had wandered through the kitchen earlier, nothing edible remained. To get food, she had no choice but to leave the mansion. Fortunately, whether it was beast or vegetable, she could convert most things in this world considered food into her own flesh and blood. Not that she felt any joy or satisfaction in doing so.

Koai began to walk, somehow pushing away the lethargy that threatened to overwhelm her entire body with memories of that girl.

Yes, for that girl's sake. To touch her one more time.

When she thought that, everything else fell away from Koai's mind.
Her face, her voice, her breath, the touch of her hand.
Her thoughts became her. From her chest, her entire body, down to her very toes... sank into warmth.

Feeling a light dizziness, as if she were floating, she began to walk unsteadily. The surroundings seemed dim, but that didn't matter to Koai. She was focused only on the sensation of her.

...However, that dreamlike state was shattered by a boorish call.
"Hey, what are you doing?"

That voice pulled Koai swiftly back to reality. And for her, it was an exceedingly unpleasant phenomenon.
"So it's you, the one who interrupts."
As she said this, she directed a cold gaze in the direction of the voice.

"A traveler? I haven't heard of anyone like you staying here."
"...Annoying."
What Koai saw was a middle-aged man of the Suimazoku, the Green Demon Tribe, holding a bow.

"What!?"
"A lone Suimazoku, daring to defy me?"
"...Suimazoku, you say? To think there's someone who still uses that name these days."

The man seemed to feel a sense of unease at Koai's words... but that was of no concern to Koai.
"Well, whatever. For now, I'll just question you—Gah!"

"Noisy."
Koai focused her mind on her fingertip, imbuing the blood flow there with a powerful repulsive force and crushing the man's windpipe. His throat crushed, the man collapsed with a choked groan.

"Gah... ghk..."
The man's eyes were wide as he writhed on the ground, clutching his neck. Looking down at him, Koai shifted her mask to reveal her mouth. She bit her middle finger, sharpened the blood that welled up, and stabbed the man with it. A small hole was bored into his shoulder, and red blood seeped through his clothing.
Without hesitation, Koai placed her mouth on the man's bleeding shoulder and sucked with all her might. Not just to drink his blood, but as if to inhale and swallow every last drop of the life before her!

The man couldn't even cry out as he was reduced to a withered husk, like a dead tree, in an instant.

Koai felt power surging through her, but she paid it no mind and channeled magic into the finger she had just bitten. The husk that was once a man glowed with black light and was instantly incinerated. Perhaps his innards hadn't completely dried out, as there was a faint stench.
But that was now a trivial matter. For her, the only thing that mattered was that she had regained enough blood, enough power.

...With this, I can call her back without any worries...

As Koai became certain of this, her mind began to float again. Yet for some reason, it felt pleasant. It was soft and warm, an irresistible feeling. She found herself wishing she could sink into it completely.

Feeling a terribly blurred softness and warmth deep within her body, so vague she couldn't tell dream from reality, Koai returned to the mansion.