Meanwhile, outside Burg Castle, late at night.
Shunned by the soldiers, Anna rode Swiftshadow to Burg Castle for unknown reasons. This spared Isaac from clashing with them over her.
"Who's the highest-ranking now?" Isaac asked.
"The four sergeants," one replied.
"Maybe elect a leader?" Isaac suggested. Thanks to Anna, casualties were low, leaving about 400 men. Without her, as Fidel had noted, 500 wouldn't have been trivial, but the army might've dwindled to 200 at best.
"We believe Mr. Rickwell should lead," the sergeants said in unison.
"Me?" Isaac was baffled.
"You severed a high vampire's hands yesterday. We saw it," a sergeant said.
"Wherever you went, vampires fell."
In truth, Anna had cleared vampires near Isaac to protect him, but soldiers credited Isaac.
"Well…"
"You disagree, Mr. Rickwell?"
"No, no, just call me Isaac."
"Very well, Isaac, sir."
Another sergeant shouted to the troops, "Until the Marquis of Champagne sends a new commander, Hero Isaac is in charge!"
"Yes, sir!" the soldiers chorused.
Isaac, no commander, wished for Sophia's knowledge. But he knew they'd planned to camp here before the attack.
"This place isn't safe. Cremate the dead, then move closer to Burg Castle to camp," Isaac ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
The army organized, cremated the fallen, and encamped near Burg Castle by dawn.
"Good work, brothers. Sentries stay vigilant, but with Burg Castle hundreds of meters away, attacks are unlikely. It's late—rest tomorrow?" Isaac consulted the sergeants.
"Sounds good," they agreed.
"Inform your men. I'm off to sleep."
"Yes, Isaac, sir." The sergeants dispersed.
Isaac stumbled to the commander's tent, shocked to find Anna inside.
"Anna, you—" He hadn't seen her return.
Anna was at the late captain's desk, surrounded by flasks and alchemical reagents, brewing something.
"You know alchemy?" Isaac marveled.
"How else do we make potions?" Anna smiled. Her sea dragon armor was off, her shirt highlighting her near-D-cup chest, enhanced by post-combat dust and bloodstains. Isaac stared, dumbstruck.
"Stop gawking. Finish this, and you can tie me up. Plenty of time to look," Anna teased.
"Huh?" Isaac was floored by the offer.
"What, think I'm uglier than the vampire?" Anna pouted.
"No, no, Anna's the prettiest!"
"Nice! Belmont fourteen, Dominatrix six!" Anna jabbed at Sophia.
"Done!" Anna shook a flask, downing its contents.
"You went to Burg for reagents?"
"Yep. This neutralizes the vampire bitch's aphrodisiac."
"Oh…" Isaac had expected a vampire-killing concoction.
Anna thought her feelings for Isaac were potion-driven, but post-antidote, her affection persisted. Unaware of Sophia's infatuation potion—triggered at first sight, sparking hormonal attraction without sustained magic—she was confused. Without the aphrodisiac, lewd fantasies faded, but Isaac remained special. The potion highlighted his rare traits—honor, justice, respect—stirring love in Anna, a lonely virgin since 14. Had Isaac been a rogue, no potion short of love magic would've swayed her.
Blushing, she said, "Hey, bathroom, then bind me."
Isaac pulled the key. "In the future, call me Mistress."
"Alright, Mistress," she grinned, playfully dropping her pants as Isaac knelt.
"Yes, Mistress." Isaac ogled her legs, struggling with the chastity belt's locks.
Her third plug was full, but Anna was too shy to mention it.
"Feels good. Get a cloth, Mistress," Anna said, standing, wiping the belt clean before redressing.
"Bind me." She crossed her arms. Isaac tied her wrists, chest, and crotch firmly, ropes accentuating her chest against her corset-like sea dragon belt.
"Not stripping tonight?" Isaac recalled her lingerie-clad sleep.
"Yesterday was safer. Tonight, I stay combat-ready. Don't want to fight in underwear among men."
"So, you'd fight like that for me?" Isaac teased.
"No way!" Anna blushed.
"Bound but ready to fight?"
"Mistress trusts the hero to protect her. Or does binding me mean no responsibility?"
"I'll protect you to the end, Mistress!"
"Wash my hands and feet."
"Huh?"
"Wash them. I dirtied them saving your sorry ass."
"Alright." Isaac fetched water, placing it on the desk.
"Dip," he instructed.
Anna bent, soaking her face. Isaac braided her battle-mussed red hair, washing out dust and blood, then gently wiped her face with a towel, restoring its youthful glow.
Anna, upper body bound but legs free, said, "Isaac, the vampire's jewelry bag has a mirror, right?"
"Yes, Mistress."
"Get it."
Isaac handed her the mirror. Anna spun, checking her clean red hair and noble face.
"Good job, Isaac! Mistress appreciates you."
"My pleasure, Mistress."
Anna sat on the bed. "Bind my legs. Time to sleep."
Isaac grabbed hemp rope, kneeling to seize her ankles.
"Idiot, take off my boots!"
"Huh? Boots too?"
"Of course, who sleeps in boots?"
"Can't you?"
"Moron, I'm bound. Who else will?"
"Yes, Mistress." Isaac removed her combat boots.
"Speak respectfully, like, 'Mistress.'"
"Yes, Mistress."
"Again."
"Mistress."
"Perfect!" Anna beamed as Isaac stripped her boots, binding her legs over her leggings.
"Why this tone, Mistress?" Isaac asked.
"My happiest moments were when people called me that," Anna sighed, smiling.
"What happened to them?" Isaac knew from Sophia and Anna's chats that Belmont was destroyed, but not how.
Anna's face twisted, the mood heavy.
"Mistress?" Isaac paused binding, concerned.
"They…" Anna's voice was flat, emotionless.
"All died."
Silence.
"Mistress, I won't die. You'll always be my Mistress!" Isaac broke the quiet.
Anna softened, eager to shift the mood. "Bind me, idiot!"
"Yes, Mistress." Isaac tied her legs gently, then gagged her with last night's cleaned silk, securing it. He tucked her in.
"Goodnight, Mistress."
"Mmph."
--------------------------------------------------
Next day, noon.
"Mr. Isaac," a sergeant peeked in.
"Uh… morning, Sergeant. What time…"
"It's noon."
"Damn…" Isaac panicked, overslept.
"No worry, you said rest today, remember?"
"Oh, right. But we need to plan to retrieve the vampire's chest."
Isaac glanced at Anna's bed—her head gone, blanket bulging. She'd heard the sergeant and, bound and shame, hid.
"That's what I wanted to discuss."
"Let me get up. We'll hold a strategy meeting soon."
"Yes, Mr. Isaac." The sergeant left.
"No need to hide, Mistress Anna."
"Mmph!" Anna wriggled her head free, struggling bound.
She hopped to Isaac's bed. "Mmph!"
"Got it, bathroom. Let me get up. You're as bossy as Sophia," Isaac grumbled, dressing.
At "Sophia," Anna fumed, hip-checking Isaac off the bed.
"Ow, lighter, Mistress!"
"Mmph!" Anna glared, still sore about Sophia.
"Be nice, Mistress. Your relief and unbinding depend on this hero."
"Mmph!" Anna scoffed.
"No mercy then!" Isaac tackled her. Normally, he'd never catch her, but bound, she was helpless.
"Mmph!" Anna eyed him, curious.
"My whip's on the cart, but I'll tame you, Mistress!" Isaac straddled her smugly.
"Mmph!" Anna's disdainful glare mocked him.
"Don't push me." Isaac lifted her legs.
"Mmph?"
He tickled her bare soles.
"Mmph! Mmphhh!" Anna thrashed, laughter muffled. "Mmph-hm! Mmph-hm!"
"Behave now, Mistress?"
"Mmphhh!" Her bound feet kicked Isaac's face.
Thud! Isaac toppled, nose bleeding.
"Mmph!" Anna, relieved, smirked at his sprawl.
"Ow, I'm sorry, Mistress." Isaac remounted her, wiping blood, untying her gag.
"Mr. Isaac, you okay—" A soldier peeked in, freezing at the sight.
"Uh…" Isaac, atop Anna, gag removed, and Anna stared awkwardly.
"Um!" Anna broke the silence. "Isaac says soldiers think I'm bad luck, so he's binding me to suppress it." She threw herself under the bus.
"Y-yeah," the soldier grinned lewdly, thrilled at Anna's binding neutralizing her "curse."
"Ahem, can you leave?" Isaac said awkwardly.
"Yes, sir!" The soldier fled.
Isaac wiped his nose, sheepish. "Your cover was…"
"What, no thanks for saving you?" Anna grinned, Isaac's hand by her head, kneeling over her, blood dripping.
"Thanks, Mistress!"
"I planned this last night, not a spur-of-the-moment save. You're new leader, need respect. They scorn me as bad luck. Binding me makes you their hero, plus…" Anna blushed, pausing.
"Plus what?"
"Plus… a beauty like me bound? Every guy loves it." Anna turned away, shy.
Isaac glanced at his evident arousal, chuckling.
"Listen, Isaac! Soldiers are crude. Protect me!" Anna, still averted, blushed.
"Of course, not a hair on Mistress Anna will be harmed!"
"Then rebind me differently. This looks weak. I need majesty, even bound."
"Got it." Isaac flipped her, her rear to his groin, still straddling.
"Hey, Isaac! This is humiliating!" Anna snapped.
"Heh, Mistress, if you were mad, your tone wouldn't be so soft," Isaac teased confidently.
"You cad!"
"Mad? I won't untie you."
"No!" Anna softened.
"Say sorry!"
"S-sorry," Anna mumbled, face buried, mortified.
"Good." Isaac untied her arms.
"Get off!" Her arms free, legs bound, she couldn't reach him.
"Not dumb. You'd pummel me if I stood," Isaac smirked.
"You!" Anna fumed.
"See? Speechless."
"Cad!"
"You sound like Sophia calling me rude." Isaac sat heavily, pressing her chastity belt's plugs.
"Ah! Jerk!" The plugs' jolt stung.
"Pose regally, accept binding."
"Jerk!" Anna crossed her elbows behind, forming an X at her mid-back, arms shaping a fleshy W sans hands.
"Gently!" she commanded haughtily.
"Not your call." Isaac roped her W and X, cinching her chest, straining her shirt.
"Ow!" Her breasts ached.
"Payback for wanting to hit me," Isaac grinned.
"You bully!" Anna, out of retorts, whined girlishly.
"Behave, done." Isaac tied her chest and waist, standing.
Anna struggled up. "No crotch rope? When did you get nice?"
Isaac knelt, untying her legs. "What, Mistress don't want relief?"
Her face flushed, touched by his care.
"N-no…" She gasped as he stripped her pants to her knees, legs still partially bound. "W-what!"
"No relief?" Isaac smirked, removing her panties.
"I-I'll do it!" Anna blushed, forgetting Isaac had handled her relief when bound with Sophia.
"Bound, Mistress? Little Isaac serves." He princess-carried her.
"You!" Anna, face inches from his, could only sputter, their breaths mingling.
Isaac set her on the toilet, unlocking her urethra.
"Um…"
"What? Rear plug too?"
"No…"
"Then?"
"The… big front one…" Anna, mortified, admitted her vagina, full since the belt's fitting, overflowed from Sophia's and Isaac's torments.
Isaac grinned wickedly. "Beg me."
"What! Never!" Anna glared.
"Don't, and I parade you like this."
"No! Isaac, I'm sorry, please… unlock that… that hole…"
"Satisfied, Mistress," Isaac smirked.
--------------------------------------------
Later.
Isaac, flushed, led bound Anna from the tent. She wore her witch hunter's hat, a symbol of pride. Isaac was sheepish; unlocking her vaginal plug, he'd seen red fluid—her period—sparking guilt that lingered.
The soldier had spread word of Isaac's "welfare" and Anna's "curse" suppression. Her calves were unbound, with one rope limiting motion but allowing steps. Thighs rebound, crotch rope linked to her chest. Isaac fitted a bit gag from the chastity belt's toy kit.
For her dignity, he tied a lead to her W-bound arms' X-cross, letting her walk ahead, giving her nominal control. The W-binding forced her chest out, exuding majesty despite her shirt's evident curves. Anna held her neck high, ignoring drooling soldiers with cold, haughty sidelong glares.
"To the strategy tent," Isaac said. Her rear lead meant she had to move first. Less demeaning than a front leash—like a pet—it still felt like a guide dog or driven horse, humiliating her. To cope, she fixed soldiers with disdainful superiority.
Small-stepping, she reached the tent slowly.
Isaac handed her lead to a soldier. "No disrespect." The soldier nodded, and Isaac joined the four sergeants at the strategy table.
"Last night, I discussed with Lady Belmont," Isaac glanced at the proud Anna, "she can track the stolen chest."
"Oh?" The sergeants leaned in.
"I cut off a high vampire's hands in battle. Lady Belmont used alchemy on them to craft a tracking talisman." Isaac showed a pouch Anna made pre-antidote, using vampire limbs to trace their owner. "It's dark now, but it'll glow faintly in the right direction."
"Impressive," the sergeants said.
"I'll go with Lady Belmont to find the vampire's lair."
"What? If that jinx gets you killed!" a soldier protested.
"No disrespect to Lady Belmont!" Isaac snapped. "She's bound, she won't curse me."
"But—"
"My decision. If I'm not back by morning, the sergeants take charge."
"…" The sergeants, though not superstitious, worried for Isaac.
"No debate! Lady Belmont and I leave after lunch."
"Wishing you triumph, Mr. Isaac!"
------------------------------------------
After lunch, Isaac and Anna set out, her gear on Swiftshadow and himself. Her thighs were unbound, but torso and crotch ropes remained, gag removed. They shared Swiftshadow, Anna in front, Isaac holding the reins. The Belmont-bred steed, bred for vampire hunters, bore them and gear effortlessly.
"Why follow, Isaac?" Anna's hat hid her face, but her tone was grumpy.
"To bind you and prevent your curse," Isaac half-joked.
"Be serious! This is dangerous!"
"Safe with Mistress."
"Then why bind my torso?"
"'Cause… I like seeing girls teased," Isaac admitted.
"Jerk!" Anna fumed, angrier that he joined her. Last night, she'd planned to scout alone, reporting back. Isaac, exploiting her bonds, insisted on coming, and she, unable to untie, complied, dragging him into peril.
"Isaac!"
"What?"
"You promised Mistress you won't die!"
"Oh, that? I won't, I swear."
"Then why come!" Anna circled back.
"I swore to her. I'm her knight. I can't abandon her." Isaac's answer disappointed her.
"You!" Anna's eyes flashed hurt.
"What?"
"Nothing. Just don't die!"
"Yes, Mistress, I won't."
"Swear to me like you did to the vampire!"
"Huh?"
"Swear!" Her bound aura dwarfed Isaac's.
"Alright, Mistress, I swear I won't die."
"Good!" Anna beamed.
"Mist—"
"Wait!"
"What?"
"The pouch!" Anna nodded, hands bound, toward her belt's glowing pouches.
"It's glowing! Wait, another pouch?"
"Made from the vampire's foot."
"You went to Waterwheel Village's… cave?" Isaac recalled Sophia's severed foot there.
"Exactly. That's how I found you."
"But it's glowing so bright, and nothing's here?"
"Wait!"
"What?"
"My crossbow."
Isaac handed it to her.
"Idiot, untie me."
Isaac obeyed, freeing her.
Anna grabbed the crossbow, pulling a special folding bolt from her belt. Switching to custom ammo mode, she unfolded the bolt, loaded it, and fired into the air.
Whoosh! The bolt rippled the air like water, briefly revealing a castle corner where it passed, then vanishing.
"What's that?"
"A cloaking barrier! No wonder I missed the vampire here before. Anti-magic metal disrupts it."
"So we storm in and grab Sophia?"
"No, trouble." Anna sighed.
"Why?"
"It's a demon castle—a vampire's stronghold."
"So?"
"Open-field vampire fights are one thing; indoors, odds drop 50%."
"You can't win inside?"
"Listen. Know a mage's home turf?"
"Like, never challenge a wizard in their tower?"
"Exactly. Mages fortify their lairs with arrays and spells. A grand mage in a supreme fortress can rival a legendary one."
"Vampires are mages?"
"Right. As ex-humans, their magic should match ours. But as undead constructs, they're brimming with magical energy, outstripping humans in learning and casting. Plus, their unique powers and necromantic affinity make them deadly with death magic, amplified in demon castles."
"Anna, got experience?"
"Some. Damn, I should've brought the cannon."
"You have a cannon?"
"In our manor's ruins. Thought it useless for the vampire. I soloed a high vampire's castle once, using cannon and water."
"Water?"
"You know the vampire-running-water myth?"
"Yeah."
"It's mostly discomfort for high vampires, but holy water changes that."
"No water here."
"Only that idiot vampire built near water."
"Other experiences?"
"With local hunters and priests, yes. Solo? Just that once."
"No water or cannon now." Isaac faltered.
"Hence the trouble. It's dusk; we can't stay. Back before dark."
"Alright."
"Bind me later; no time now."
"Yes, Mistress." They galloped back.
------------------------------------------
Night, in Isaac's commander tent.
"Anna, you scared?" Isaac asked Anna, her arms rebound in a W.
"Nope."
"Confident?"
"Can't say."
"Anna," Isaac approached her bound form.
"What?"
"If tomorrow's uncertain…" Isaac said calmly.
"You afraid to die?"
"W-what? I wasn't before." Since 14, Anna faced the world's cruelty alone, hunting monsters without purpose, heedless of death. Nothing tethered her.
"You don't need to do this. Get your allies, cannon, then strike."
"What're you saying?"
"I swore to save her. But you just need to kill vampires—anytime works."
"You think I'd let a fool like you storm a vampire castle alone?"
"I must, Anna. Anyone can use the master key."
"I knew. The vampire bitch had you lie." Anna smirked, all-knowing.
"As expected, Mistress. Take the key, unlock your belt if I—"
Anna's lips stopped Isaac's fatal oath, kissing him fiercely. His hands instinctively gripped her W-bound waist, roaming her hips, thighs, groin, and roped chest. Their tongues danced.
Anna's free legs shoved Isaac onto the bed, falling face-to-face, biting his shoulder.
Isaac licked her earlobe, shedding his coat and pants, fumbling her shirt's buttons. Ropes blocked him; he untied her knots, kissing her neck.
Ropes fell. Anna stripped herself; Isaac removed her pants, unlocking her belt. She pinned him, straddling his thighs.
Isaac's presence paled beside Anna's. She rode him, hips and legs driving her body, hands on his lean chest, lips locked.
"Mm! Mm! Ah!" Anna's gyrating hips drew moans, climaxing as fluids flowed. Isaac shuddered beneath.
Their first time done, youthful hunger lingered.
Anna tossed ropes at Isaac's face. "Tie me, quick!"
Isaac bound her wrists behind, roping her upper arms to her chest, kneading her breasts.
Gagged with his shed underwear, Anna was flipped, Isaac aligning himself, thrusting.
"Mmph! Mm!" Anna savored it. Bound, she forgot werewolves, vampires, her tragic past. Her only thought: bound, her captor bore all worries.
"Ah! Ha!" Isaac panted, exertion heavy.
"Mmph! Mmphhh!" Their bodies quaked, Anna collapsing, Isaac atop her.
With final strength, Isaac bound her legs, cuddling his naked, bound, gagged prey under the sheets, drifting to sleep.