The dungeon divers both reverted to their real bodies, shrinking down to the small children they really were. Nova had put on clothes that were larger than usual to make it a convincing disguise, but they still embraced him loosely in his child form.

Anny turned from her scaly, red, and tall form back to her tiny, pale, and slim self. The shield fell off her arm, landing on the stone with a metallic thud.

Nova sat down on a nearby rock, still untouched by the blood permeating the room. The stone was cool beneath him, providing a moment's respite after the exertion of combat.

"Where do you want to drink from?" he asked, his voice matter-of-fact as he started to unbutton his loose shirt.

"...Just give me an arm," Anny replied, with her eyes fixed on the floor. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, still finding it hard to look him in the eyes. "But please clean it first."

He stopped unbuttoning and instead folded the sleeve of his left arm up. His exposed skin looked pale in the dim light, with veins visible just beneath the surface.

He reached into his ring with a flicker of essence, producing a bottle of water that materialized in his hand. The liquid sloshed inside as he uncorked it and poured some over his arm, washing away the worst of the blood and dungeon grime that had stained him during their battles. The water ran in rivulets down his skin, dripping onto the stone floor.

"This would have been easier with spells…" he muttered, watching the diluted blood disappear into the cracks between the stones.

"That's fine. We shouldn't waste too much water." She sat down next to him on the rock, positioning herself on the side of his cleaned arm.

"Fine, it's your meal." He held his arm out to her, letting her grab it with both hands. There was a light tremble in her grip, making him turn to her with worry.

"Hey… Don't tease me about this, okay?" Her request came out softer than her usual tone, a rare vulnerability showing through her typical confidence.

'...It's that bad? If anything, I expected her to be more aggressive about it,' Nova thought, surprised by her hesitation.

"I can just sit here in silence if you want. I'll look straight ahead."

"That would be nice."

She opened her mouth, revealing a set of fangs Nova hadn't noticed before. They extended from her canines, sharp and gleaming in the blue light. Whether they were from the vampire blood she had absorbed or some other beast inside of her, he wasn't sure.

She hesitated for just a moment, meeting his gaze briefly before returning to his arm. She took a deep breath, steadying herself, then leaned in. Her newly developed fangs pierced his skin with surprising gentleness, barely causing pain beyond the initial puncture.

Nova flinched slightly at the sensation, but he remained still. He kept his eyes fixed on a distant point on the wall, honoring his promise of silence. The strange intimacy of the moment wasn't lost on him—this was far different from their usual interactions.

As Anny drank, Nova felt the familiar drain of blood leaving his body. His regeneration activated automatically, replacing what was taken with fresh blood created from his essence. The process wasn't particularly taxing, but he could feel a steady pull on his reserves as it continued.

'...This feels odd. She's sucking more greedily now, but I'm still keeping up. Her lips feel really warm on my skin…'

Minutes passed in silence, broken only by Anny's occasional swallowing and their quiet breathing. Nova monitored his essence levels, noting that while they were decreasing, it was happening at a sustainable rate. He could maintain this for quite a while without significant strain.

Anny's grip on his arm tightened slightly as she continued. Her body temperature seemed to rise. Though Nova kept his promise not to look directly at her, he could see her cheeks flushing with color from the corner of his eye.

When she finally pulled away, she did so with obvious reluctance. Her fangs retracted slightly as she released his arm, leaving two small puncture wounds that were already beginning to close.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, trying to maintain an air of casual indifference. But her eyes betrayed her—they had a new brightness, an intensity that hadn't been there before. The golden flecks seemed to glow brighter.

"Thank you," she said, keeping her voice carefully controlled. She leaned back, putting a bit of distance between them. "That was... helpful."

Nova nodded, rolling his sleeve back down. The puncture marks had already vanished, leaving no trace of what had just happened. "How do you feel?"

"Better," Anny replied, still trying to maintain her composure. But her hands gave her away, trembling slightly with excitement. "Much better, actually."

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She stared at something invisible in front of her eyes, accessing information only she could see. Her eyebrows rose in surprise at what she saw.

"My physical aspects have increased by thirty percent," she said, unable to completely hide her amazement. "Just from that."

"That's a significant boost," Nova replied, surprised by the large increase. His blood had only added less than ten thousand, though that was a constant bonus. "The vampire blood has great potential, then."

Anny nodded, clenching and unclenching her fists as if testing her new strength. "I didn't expect it to work this well. I thought it might just restore what I'd used in battle."

She turned away slightly, lowering her voice. "I should probably be careful with this. It would be... easy to develop a dependence."

Nova caught the slight hesitation in her words. "Becoming addicted, you mean?"

"I wouldn't call it addiction," Anny replied quickly. "More like a tactical reliance. I won't let it control me."

But even as she said it, Nova noticed how her gaze kept drifting back to his arm, lingering a moment too long before she forced herself to look away.

"Of course not," Nova agreed, choosing not to press the issue. "You've managed to control much more difficult powers."

Anny nodded gratefully at his understanding. She stood up, stretching her arms above her head as if shaking off the moment of vulnerability.

"Let's head on, shall we? I wouldn't mind testing this out right away."

Nova gestured toward the next tunnel as he looked at her. "Lead the way."

They continued through the dungeon, facing increasingly challenging opponents. In a flooded chamber, they battled gill lurkers—humanoid fish-creatures with razor-sharp fins and poisonous spines along their backs. The creatures attacked from beneath the water's surface, trying to drag them under.

Anny's sword skills proved invaluable here. Where the water should have slowed her blade, she cut through the liquid as easily as air. The blood-enhanced strength made her swings even more devastating, allowing her to cleave through water and flesh with equal ease. Each strike left a momentary vacuum in the water, creating imploding bubbles that damaged the creatures even beyond the sword's physical reach.

Nova relied on speed and precision, avoiding direct confrontation where possible. He targeted eyes and gills, exploiting vulnerabilities rather than engaging in tests of strength.

When a particularly large lurker lunged at him from below, Anny moved with blinding speed—faster than she could have before the blood enhancement. Her blade flashed through the water, intercepting the creature mid-leap and splitting it from head to tail in a single, devastating stroke.

"I could get used to this," she said, grinning from ear to ear. "The blood reserve is being drained as I fight, though. The bonus has already fallen a bit."

"How long would it last at this rate?" Nova asked, curious about the way the power worked.

"Hmm… A few days at least. It would probably drain much slower if I weren't fighting, though. And it might speed up if I get hurt and need to regenerate."

"That's not bad. As long as I'm around, you won't have to worry either way."

"Yeah…" She didn't seem quite as eager about that notion. "Next chamber!"

Later, they encountered a nest of tunnel worms—massive segmented creatures that burst from the walls without warning. Their circular maws contained multiple rows of rotating teeth, designed to bore through solid rock.

"These would be much easier to deal with if I could use magic," Nova muttered, dodging a worm that lunged from the ceiling.

"Less complaining, more killing," Anny called back. She had severed several of the worms already, somehow passing through their heavily armored hides as if the protection simply wasn't there.

Nova focused on the task at hand. He rolled beneath another attacking worm, coming up behind its head. The blade pierced into one of the gaps, scrambling whatever served as the creature's brain.

The worm thrashed violently before going still. Nova withdrew his sword, already moving toward the next threat.

The battle continued until the chamber floor was littered with segmented corpses. Both Nova and Anny were splattered with the creatures' ichor, but neither had sustained serious injury.

"How much farther do you think until we reach the guardian?" Anny asked, cleaning her blade on a relatively clean section of the wall.

"Not far," Nova replied, sensing the familiar pattern of the dungeon's layout. "These floors tend to follow a similar structure."

They pushed forward through a series of progressively narrower passages. The air grew warmer, carrying a faint sulfurous scent that stung their nostrils.

"The blood seems to enhance my senses too," Anny noted as they walked. "I can smell things I couldn't before, hear the slightest movements in the stone around us."

"Useful for detecting ambushes," Nova observed. "Does it feel... strange? Having someone else's blood empowering you?"

Anny considered this for a moment. "If it were someone else's, probably a bit. But since it's yours…" She turned away, trying to hide another bout of embarrassment. "It feels... right, somehow. Almost familiar."

Nova bit down on a playful jab that almost escaped his mouth. She had asked him not to tease her about it, and that was to be respected.

'I wonder if it would work as well if I gave her some bottles instead of giving it directly from the source… It was a bit weird, if I'm honest. But maybe not in a bad way.'

The passage finally opened into a massive circular chamber. Unlike the previous areas, this one was dry and scorched, as if it had been subjected to intense heat. The walls bore evidence of melting, stone flowing like wax before resolidifying in twisted patterns.

At the center stood the massive guardian—a chimera of impossible proportions—ten meters in height, and likely thirty meters long. The creature had the body of a lion, massive and muscular, with scaled legs that ended in razor-sharp claws. Three heads rose from its powerful shoulders: a lion with a mane of flame, a dragon belching smoke from flared nostrils, and a goat with eyes that glowed like molten metal. A serpent formed its tail, weaving independently through the air as if alive.

"This should be fun," Nova said, studying each head closely. "We need to watch out for the fire. I don't have my barriers, so it would hurt."

The chimera roared from all three mouths simultaneously, a sound so powerful it sent dust cascading from the ceiling. The chamber shook with the force of it, and both Nova and Anny braced themselves for what was certain to be their most challenging battle yet.

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