The park was less than a two or three-minute walk from the apartment where Naoki was staying, it was very close.
When Naoki arrived, Arcueid was sitting on a park bench, gazing at the sky that was beginning to darken.
"Arcueid."
"Ah, you've come, Naoki." Arcueid smiled and shifted her position, then gestured for Naoki to sit down. "Sorry for calling you out on purpose, but there are some things I wanted to talk to you about. Anyway, sit down first."
Something she wanted to talk about?
Naoki thought for a moment: "Are you going back to the Millennium Castle?"
"Eh? How did you know? Can you read minds too?"
"With a little thought, it's easy to guess." Naoki sighed, "Roa is truly dead. Unlike before, this time even his soul has been completely annihilated, and he won't reincarnate again. You came to kill him, now that he's dead, you don't need to stay here anymore."
"Naoki, you're really smart. You guessed everything I was thinking."
If this alone was considered smart, then there were too many smart people in this world.
Swinging her legs back and forth, Arcueid looked up at the sky and smiled: "That's right, Roa is dead, and I'm the only True Ancestor left. I no longer need to carry out my mission. There's no place for me anymore, so after this, I'll return to the Millennium Castle and fall asleep forever."
"To suppress the blood-sucking urge?"
"That's no longer a problem." Arcueid smiled, "Shiki has already helped me kill that blood-sucking urge, but according to her, she only killed the urge that had accumulated all this time. The urge itself hasn't disappeared from me. It's like restoring a save game to the beginning again."
"Although I know Shiki could definitely kill that blood-sucking urge completely, the current Shiki can't, and [she] also doesn't intend to appear, so after this, I still have to use 70% of my power to suppress the blood-sucking urge."
Root Shiki didn't intervene.
But eliminating the blood-sucking urge that had accumulated for 800 years at once was already very good. At least for the next 800 years, Arcueid definitely wouldn't have to worry about falling.
"In that case, you called me out just to say this?"
"Only partially. What I really wanted to say... actually, thank you, Naoki!"
Standing up and approaching Naoki, Arcueid smiled gratefully: "Although our time together wasn't long, these past few days, it seems I've troubled you in many ways, and you've also continuously helped me in various things."
"Reconnecting my torn body, using Avalon to heal me, also helping me resolve the Nero problem, helping me fight Vlov, and completely killing Roa as well as eliminating the blood-sucking urge... You've helped me too much, I don't even know how to thank you in a short time."
"So, I'm really, really, really very grateful to you. I'm so glad I could meet someone like you during this time I was out, Naoki!"
This was her sincere gratitude.
Naoki smiled: "There's no need to thank me. I personally don't feel like I did anything worthy of your thanks. Even without you, if I had encountered Nero and Vlov, I probably would have dealt with them too. This was almost certainly going to happen, so you don't need to thank me like this either."
"Is that so? So that's the kind of person Naoki is, hmm hmm."
Arcueid blinked her eyes as if understanding something, then placed her hand on her chest: "Speaking of thanks, then I have to give you a thank-you gift. Isn't that the custom in Japan? Gratitude should be accompanied by sincerity."
"A gift? No need."
"No, it's very necessary! And this isn't just a gift, but also proof of my friendship with you, Naoki!"
Saying so, Arcueid gave a small ray of red light that floated out of her chest to Naoki.
"This is a part of my power, maybe about 1%."
"Your power...?" Naoki looked at the red light in his hand, slightly puzzled, "What are you giving this to me for? And sharing your power with me... Won't this affect you?"
"No, no, this small loss will recover in an instant, and I'm not exactly sharing my power with you either. As for the type... maybe it's equivalent to a relic?" Arcueid explained, "The Summoning Magecraft you used, wasn't it a Magecraft that can summon fairies, sprites—frankly speaking, a Magecraft that controls stars?"
"Um."
"True Ancestors are also a type of sprite, you know, so I'm also a suitable target for Summoning Magecraft."
Arcueid pointed to herself: "Although I can't directly appear before you through Summoning Magecraft, as long as you use Summoning Magecraft through my power, then wherever you are, I will lend my power to you."
Then this is the same as... Tsukihime Armament?
"Arcueid, why are you..."
"This is a thank-you gift!" Arcueid smiled, "All this time, you've been lending your power to me. Your power has helped me a lot, so from now on, it's my turn to lend my power to you. Don't worry, my power is very great. If you encounter an opponent you can't defeat, just use my power as much as you want!"