After throwing a mild fit Laura looked at the strung up and skinned and broken bodies near her. Other than the one she punched a hole through they were still alive technically speaking. Without their souls they were nothing more than empty husk.
'I should probably bury them somewhere.' She thought with mild annoyance.
She was bursting with so much energy it actually hurt. Soul energy was almost as tied to reality as Ather but separate enough to not harm her in small doses. Eating four souls in such a short amount of time did affect her a little though.
"Really should've spread it out." She muttered as the first body, the one with the hole, was buried.
She spent the next few minutes dealing with the bodies. On the bright side this whole detour wasn't a complete waste of time. She got some valuable information from them, especially with the memories she had received.
Some of it was stuff they already knew, but it was nice getting confirmation that everyone in the White Ash now had powers. On the other hand, she learned that it came from two individuals, a man and a woman. If her suspicion was correct, then it means the White Ash was a larger problem than originally anticipated.
Once she finished dealing with the bodies Laura teleported away, she was ready to go home.
=======
"Do we have a super forge laying around here? Preferably using pure flame?"
"What?"
Zenesha was in her office sighing her approval on something they'll need to wage war with the White Ash with. While she was doing that her girlfriend suddenly appeared in front of her asking something absurd. It caught her off guard so much it took several moments for her to respond.
"Not… here exactly. While we do have forges here, most of our industrial ones are located elsewhere. We don't keep factories near the capital." Zenesha started. "As for Pure Flame? That involves a Witch and unfortunately, we don't have any Witches under our employ at the moment."
"So, there is magic here." Laura noted to herself sounding amused.
"Why are you saying it like you weren't sure?"
"I mean I figured there was some magic considering the Wey Lines and the fact this sword exists." Laura said, lifting the sword." But I couldn't be sure since it's possible this just fell through a crack and ended up here."
"Interesting." Zenesha muttered before speaking up again. "I'll try looking for a Witch to employ."
"I'm surprised there isn't already one." Laura said, sitting in the chair across Zenesha's desk. "Isn't military service mandatory?"
"Only for three years. People are allowed to go back to their lives after that." She paused before adding. "They also have to take a week out of the year for basic drills, so they don't become rusty."
"So essentially the entire country is on reserve duty?"
"You could put it like that." The fox admitted. "Anyway, Witches are rare and secretive. And if any exist in my country, they're keeping it hidden."
"Wait, if you don't have Witches how do you smelt anything with tougher metals like Mithril and Adamantium?"
"We import the parts we need from our neighbors in the southwest." She explained.
"I see." Laura sighed slightly annoyed. "Guess I'll hold off on melting this sword then. In the meantime, I'll figure out what to do with its soul."
"I'm sorry what?"
"It's soul." She repeated. "Anything created from Angelic and Demonic steel has the ability to gain a soul after a while."
"That's new." Th fox said with mild interest.
"... Wait." Laura perked up as a thought came to her. "Try bonding with it!"
"Huh?"
"Well, I can't even touch it, but it's possible for it to find more Angelic metal. As either steel or ore."
"Will it even help us at this point considering you were planning to melt it down in the first place?"
"It's fine." Laura said, waving off her concerns, then sighed as her smile dropped. "Plus, I learned something fairly serious today."
"What did you learn?"
"You know how the White Ash seems to suddenly have an influx of soldiers with powers?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, I figured out the cause, and it's two individuals from the Void."
Zenesha looked at Laura with shock. It made sense when she thought about it, but it was the last thing she was expecting. She glanced at the wrapped sword in Laura's hand, with a little more interest now.
"I'm assuming part of the reason you want me to take the sword is because it can be used to defend myself?"
"Yes, exactly." Laura confirmed cheerfully.
The fox was a little annoyed at the wolf in front of her. Laura had gone out of her way to find this for herself. Now she was just giving it to her instead. She wished the wolf would prioritize herself a bit more.
"Thank you for your concern. But Laura, you still need it don't you?"
"Zenesha, you don't get it." The wolf woman said with a bit of excitement. "This isn't just some fancy hard to break sword, it's the ultimate weapon."
"Sure." She responded deadpan looking unimpressed.
"Just think about it." Pleaded the wolf. "I worry about your safety."
"And I worry about yours Lola." Zenesha said softly. "You have such a self-destructive streak when it comes to my well-being. Please just focus on you?"
Despite the both of them wanting to show their affection they were slightly too far apart to touch much to their annoyance. Laura decided to get up, walk around the desk separating them and sit on the flustered fox instead. Who, much to Laura's enjoyment, didn't know what to do.
"What's wrong sweetie?" Laura teased, her arms around Laura's neck as she watched the fox try and figure out where to place her hands.
"Where did this come from?" The fox asked, but didn't try to remove the wolf.
Laura nuzzled her head into the crook of her neck affectionately as she answered. "Seeing you worry about me makes me happy."
"Of course I'm going to be worried about you, you stupid wolf." The fox chastised holding her now.
"Please just think about taking the sword for now." Laura muttered. "I can't do anything with it anyway."
Sighing in defeat she promised Laura to think about it.
=======
Later that night in their bedroom Zenesha was looking intently at the royal blue blade in her hand. While she could feel a powerful energy coming off of it, she couldn't feel any kind of connection to it. Laura made it sound easy, but she wasn't so sure.
"You sure I can make a connection with the sword?" She questioned, full of skepticism.
"I never said, I was sure. It's possible you'll never make a connection."
"Wait then this is just a waste of time then?"
"No, no. This type of thing can't be rushed." The wolf started explaining. "You'll have to use it for a little while before then."
"I see." Zenesha said as she stood up and placed the sword in the corner of the room.
Laura didn't like the fact the sword was here, but she was also the one that forced it on the fox, so she didn't complain. The wolf was just happy Zenesha was thoughtful enough to place the sword out of the way, so it didn't harm her.
"We're making a sheath for that thing." Laura said, scrunching up her face.
"I'll get someone to do that later. For now, let's sleep."
"Let's shower together! I heard that's something couples do!" Laura said excitedly.
The fox face turned crimson at her words, and she turned on Laura with embarrassed anger.
"Why would you- no!"
"Why not?"
"I know what that means you pervert, I want my first time somewhere more appropriate!"
"Your…." Laura was lost. "What are you even talking about?"
Realizing the wolf genuinely had no idea what she was talking about, the blushing fox silently turned around and headed for the bathroom. She was truly embarrassed and couldn't believe that the flirty wolf was that innocent. Turns out she really did just want to shower together with no ulterior motives.
Laura on the other hand watched the fox leave utterly bewildered. She didn't realize Zenesha was that embarrassed to be seen naked still. A small smile graced her lips as she shook her head in exasperated amusement. Her princess was so cute.
She didn't really have anything to do while she waited for Zenesha, so she decided to pull one of the manga off her shelf. Reading to pass the time is never a bad idea.