Strike the Blood - Volume 10 - Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE 

EMBRACE OF THE QUEEN 

1 

She remembered very little about her parents. 

It’s not that they didn’t love me, she reasoned. Her fragmented memories, almost like film clips, contained faint traces of warmth, like the feeling you had from an afternoon nap. 

But those happy times did not continue for long. 

Her powerful, uncontrollable spiritual powers made her parents afraid. So scared that they avoided her, spurned her, verbally abused her, and alienated her. 

By the time she had registered what had happened, she was already alone. 

In the end, she was taken in by a large, tight-knit, influential group of spell casters. The faction worshipped a foreign goddess who took the form of a sacred beast—a wolf. 

To the group, seeking a sacrifice to offer to the sacred beast as a means of enhancing their sorcery, they surely thought her strong spiritual power to be manna from heaven. They immediately began preparations for the ceremony to bring about the advent of their goddess. 

However, their earnest hopes went unfulfilled, because the government, discovering portents of large-scale sorcerous terrorism, moved to disband the group. 

And so, a single expert in anti-demon combat was dispatched— 

A girl calling herself a Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency. 

“This is—?!” 

The place Yukina landed was the entrance of a vast ruin surrounded by forests on all sides. 

Rows of countless stone pillars lined the inlaid stone path running between them. 

A half-destroyed stonework temple stood at the center of the ruin. 

Over a millennium had probably passed since its construction. The exterior of the temple was quite weathered, and moss and vines covered the stone pillars. The sun rays that poured down were even fiercer than those of Itogami Island. 

“A temple? Don’t tell me this is the city-state of Ciate…” 

Yukina murmured in bewilderment. She’d intended to use the otherworldly gate Celesta had summoned to enter the egg of Zazalamagiu. However, it was at that ruin Yukina had arrived. She couldn’t see Celesta, absorbed by the egg, anywhere. 

“No, this is an imitation reproduced by sorcery…but…” 

Yukina touched a stone pillar with her silver spear. For that instant alone, the stone pillar shimmered like a mirage, then vanished. That even Snowdrift Wolf could not completely nullify it was due to the unabated flow of demonic energy from which the stone pillar was formed. 

The color of the sky was like flames, resembling daybreak—just like the color outside the egg. This indicated that the place was under Zazalamagiu’s divine influence. She could see no landscape beyond the ruin—and neither birds nor beasts. 

The ruin was probably an enclosed world created by the dark god; it was a barrier. 

Why did Zazalamagiu create this giant barrier rather than take material form directly…? When she considered the nature of the dark god, the answer was as clear as day. 

Zazalamagiu was nothing more than an artificial god, a sorcerous device created to control dragon line energy. The sorcerous device called the Temple of Ciate was indispensable for his complete materialization. 

However, Zazalamagiu had been summoned to Itogami Island, far removed from the temple. Therefore, he had to re-create the temple itself. The dark god would himself build the sorcerous device required to summon him. 

“Then, I should still be in time…!” 

The ruin did not yet appear complete. Even with the dark god’s power, it had not been possible to reproduce matter on that scale from scratch. If that was the case, the dark god was probably trying to fuse with Itogami Island to make up for the missing mass, but that would take a fair bit of time. 

She still had a chance to save Celesta. 

“Celesta—” 

Inside Zazalamagiu’s egg, Yukina probably wouldn’t be able to hold herself together for long. Snowdrift Wolf was still protecting her, but she didn’t know how long that would last as the dark god’s materialization progressed. She had to rescue Celesta while she still had a chance. 

The vines covering the ruin began to wriggle, as if to frustrate Yukina’s resolve. The dark god’s consciousness had sensed a contaminant—this Sword Shaman—within the barrier and had set about expelling her. 

“—Haaaaaaaa!” 

Yukina mowed down the vines assailing her and ran toward the temple at the center of the ruin. 

2 

He’d apparently lost consciousness, if only for a brief time. 

“U…gh…” 

Kojou shakily roused his body, covered in clothes soaked through by his own blood. 

He was on a middle deck of the Oceanus Grave II. Kojou, on the verge of being absorbed by Zazalamagiu’s egg, had been kicked down by Yukina, thus allowing him to escape. 

The bizarre sphere Celesta had summoned was not in the sky above the ship; it had moved right above the harbor. Its diameter was ten times the size as when it had first appeared. 

The many vine-like tentacles stretching from it greedily feasted on Itogami Island; it continued growing that very moment. A few of the vines were even entwined around the railing of the Oceanus Grave II. Kojou subconsciously reached out to rip them away when— 

“Don’t touch them!” 

The sharp, scolding voice halted Kojou’s movements. In surprise, Kojou shifted his gaze in the direction of the speaker. 

“…What?!” 

“Do not touch the tendrils. They, too, are part of Zazalamagiu. Touch them carelessly and they will drain your demonic energy. That will do quite some damage in your current state.” 

The annoyed voice belonged to a handsome vampire—words cold like a knife. 

Tobias Jagan was using his flame-enveloped bird of prey to burn away the vines constantly spewed out by the sphere. The heavy toll from controlling the Beast Vassal attested to the ferocity of his battle with the dark god. 

“Jagan…you’re…?!” 

“Do not misunderstand. I am simply defending His Excellency Vattler’s ship. I do not need thanks from a fool like you. It is an annoyance.” 

Jagan spoke bluntly. Well, if that’s how he’s gonna say it, that’s how I’m gonna take it, thought Kojou. After all, it was a fact the Oceanus Grave II was safe thanks to his valiant combat. 

“So what’s that? What happened…?!” Kojou asked as he glared at the sphere that continued to grow. 

“A barrier to bring about the advent of this Zazalamagiu. He’s probably re-creating the sorcerous device needed to take material form inside other-dimensional space.” 

Unexpectedly, Jagan gave an honest reply. 

“Building it in other-dimensional space… You can do that?” 

“I suppose it means even a dark god is still a god.” Jagan laughed sarcastically. 

Kojou thought back to Natsuki Minamiya’s Prison Barrier—an other-dimensional prison built inside of Natsuki’s dreams. He’d thought of that as the product of incredible sorcery, but this sphere’s size was in a different league. If it kept growing, it’d probably swallow all of Itogami Island soon. 

Furthermore, the fearsome sphere was nothing more than the sorcerous device to call the dark god down. But put another way, it also meant that the dark god had yet to descend. 

“So we might still be able to get Celesta out of there—” 

“Hmph. It seems that others have the same thought as you.” 

The displeasure in Jagan’s voice was the tip-off. At the end of his sharp gaze stood four people, three men and one woman, atop a wrecked Island Guard armored vehicle: the CSA special forces. 

“Angelica Hermida—!” 

Angelica and the others used their bizarre magical gear to blow away the vines obstructing their path as they headed into the dark god’s barrier. Kojou had no doubt they had their sights set on Celesta. That being the case, the odds of Yukina encountering them again was high. I’ve gotta stop them before that happens, thought Kojou. 

However, when Kojou attempted to stand up, he coughed up globs of blood and collapsed on the spot. His injuries were too great. 

His immortal primogenitor’s body was continuing to repair itself. But he was still a far cry from being able to fight. Kojou was able to somehow remain lucid because Yukina had given him her own blood at the end. 

Jagan stared down at Kojou, who could not even stand upright, with cold scorn as he quietly walked forward. 

“…Jagan?! What do you think you’re doing?!” 

“I will crush them. I don’t care what happens to your island, but I will not let the CSA dogs that bared their fangs at the Duke of Ardeal escape my sight.” 

Leaving those words behind, Jagan leaped toward the interior of the bizarre sphere in pursuit of Angelica Hermida. All Kojou could do was helplessly wriggle and watch him go. 

In such a state, Kojou heard a theatrical, annoying voice in his ear. 

“—My, my, Tobias really isn’t honest about his feelings.” 

The sound of that familiar voice sent Kojou whipping his head around in shock. 

The young, blond, blue-eyed aristocrat was standing on the deck of the Oceanus Grave II, which was rocking in the violent wind. His flesh, purportedly completely destroyed, was without a scratch, and his stark-white, three-piece suit did not have a single drop of blood staining it. 

“Vattler?! How…are you…?” 

Kojou looked up at the unscathed Vattler, murmuring in a daze. 

Vattler had sustained the divine beast’s attack, which had completely burned his flesh away. The injury was far graver than what Kojou had received. Even a noble-class vampire’s regenerative ability did not make returning to life an easy feat. 

“Well done, Kira. That’s enough.” 

Vattler quietly raised a hand, seemingly to answer Kojou’s doubts. 

“Yes, Your Excellency—” 

He heard a new voice, this time from the floor of the deck. 

Pieces of Vattler’s flesh were still scattered all over the deck. Suddenly, those pieces of his body grew thicker, changing into black, shadowy blots. Those blots merged together to form a single large shadow, finally changing into contours identical to Vattler’s. 

The shadow suddenly rose to its feet, progressively gaining thickness and color, finally creating a clone of Vattler that was his spitting image. 

“Your Deionika Nox truly has its conveniences.” The real Vattler smiled in a show of admiration. 

“Not at all. Forgive my rudeness.” 

Dummy Vattler bowed to the original. Its face emitted a faint glow. The light seemed to fall away bit by bit, like an insect’s scales, and a handsome, androgynous vampire appeared from inside the dummy. This was Kira Lebedev Voltisvala—like Jagan, a noble of the Warlord’s Empire. He was Vattler’s other close confidant. 

“What do you think you’re doing, Vattler…?” 

Kojou scowled at Vattler, his gaze tinged with indignation at how Vattler had used his subordinate to feign his own death. However, Vattler demonstrated no hint of guilt as he shook his head. 

“Ahh, sorry to have worried you. It was a bit of theater using Kira’s Beast Vassal to manipulate shadows and mirror images. A literal shadow warrior, if you will.” 

“Why you… You knew from the start the priests had a traitor, didn’t you?! Don’t tell me you pretended to get killed to back Celesta into a corner?!” 

“If I did, what do you intend to do about it?” Vattler chuckled and narrowed his eyes in amusement. 

“What?!” 

“I thought I told you at the beginning. You can kill Celesta Ciate and stop the resurrection of Zazalamagiu, or you can wait for the dark god to descend right here—those are your two choices. The situation has not changed. The time limit has merely come into sharper relief.” 

“You—!” 

Before Vattler’s words had even finished, Kojou moved, kicking off from the deck. Kojou slammed a fist full force into Vattler’s relaxed, smiling cheek. 

Vattler did not bother to evade. A dull sound of bone colliding with bone rang out. 

“That hurt, Kojou. Not that I mind it, coming from you…” Even as Vattler touched his stricken cheek, his wry smile did not falter. “You may rest easy. We have predicted that materializing on Itogami Island will not permit Zazalamagiu to invoke his proper godly might. At present, he can be destroyed with ease. If you do not feel like doing it, I would be happy to do it in your place—” 

“…Stop it.” 

In the face of Vattler’s buoyant tone, Kojou’s teeth remained clenched as he spoke. 

“Mm?” 

“I said keep your grubby hands off! I’m not letting you do whatever the hell you want until I come back with Celesta and Himeragi!” 

“Ha-ha… I expected you would say as much, but what will you do now?” Vattler spoke with the tone of one humoring an unreasonable younger brother. 

Kojou grabbed him by the chest, lifting him upward with his blood-drenched right hand. 

“Don’t forget, you handed Celesta to me. So shut up and watch till I’m done.” 

“Hmm, I see… So that’s how you want to play.” 

For once, Vattler deferred to Kojou’s point of view. He was a man of integrity in some odd cases. 

“Very well. After all, as far as I’m concerned, a more complete dark god would be greater amusement. I might as well wait until Zazalamagiu finishes materializing. You have no complaints, then? Because, by that time, neither Celesta Ciate nor Yukina Himeragi will exist in this world.” 

“Fine by me…!” 

Kojou defiantly accepted Vattler’s terms. He didn’t like it, but Vattler was right. If he didn’t stop the advent of the dark god, Celesta, Yukina, and a whole lot of other residents of Itogami Island would lose their lives. If it came down to that, he’d be too late anyway. 

“Ah, that’s right. If you really want to save those two, you’d best hurry. That temple is stealing matter from this island’s residents and the man-made island itself. The more time passes, the greater the damage will spread.” 

Vattler seemed to enjoy telling Kojou that, savoring the boy’s nervousness. 

Kojou silently left the man behind, practically dragging his own wounded body forward. 

3 

“Ugh…” 

Having disembarked from Vattler’s ship, Kojou headed toward the ever-expanding sphere. 

It was a giant rift carved out of thin air. The other world created by the power of the dark god was swallowing up the physical world, growing at a continually increasing rate. 

Yukina and Celesta had to be inside that sphere. But before linking up with them, Kojou still had something he had to do. 

He needed to stop the dark god’s egg from fusing with Itogami Island. 

Apparently, Zazalamagiu needed to completely re-create a sorcerous device required for his advent inside that barrier. The sphere was trying to fuse with Itogami Island to obtain the magical energy and physical matter required to build that device. 

If so, it ought to have been possible to delay the dark god’s arrival by cutting the sphere off from Itogami Island. That would both diminish the damage to the island and buy him time to rescue Celesta. 

“—C’mon over, Sadalmelik Albus!” 

Kojou poured his remaining endurance into summoning a Beast Vassal. 

The sea parted, and a water maid appeared, its flesh seemingly composed of flowing water. Her upper body was that of a beautiful woman, and her lower half that of a giant serpent. Her flowing hair, too, was composed of countless snakes. 

The water spirit’s giant serpentine body became a raging torrent and attacked the sphere. Its slender hands, tipped with razor-sharp talons, tore at the countless vines eating away at the artificial isle. He wasn’t attacking the egg directly because the lives of Yukina and the others within it came first. 

The Fourth Primogenitor’s eleventh Beast Vassal was an Undine representative of a vampire’s super-healing abilities. Whatever she touched was restored, almost as if time was being flung in reverse. Complex machinery came apart at an atomic level, and living things were returned to a state before they were ever born. 

The water maid utterly destroyed the vines eating away at Itogami Island, returning them to the artificial materials that were their proper form. If he kept that up, he ought to be able to save not only Itogami Island but also chip away at the dark god’s magical energy. But— 

The water maid stopped moving, almost like something was suddenly pulling her from behind. 

“What?!” 

Kojou suddenly dropped to his knees, agony coursing like blood through his entire body. 

New vine-like tentacles spat out by the sphere had stopped the water maid’s movement. These coiled around Kojou’s Beast Vassal like snakes, holding it in place. The water spirit’s talons sliced the tentacles away, but even more tentacles had appeared to replace them. Instead, it was the Beast Vassal’s attack power that was dropping— 

“Ugh…! Al-Meissa Mercury—!” 

Kojou summoned a new Beast Vassal: a two-headed dragon with quicksilver-colored scales. Its two heads stretched out, consuming the tentacles and freeing the water spirit. 

However, that was as far as Kojou’s counterattack could go. 

“Why that…! It ate my demonic energy, didn’t it…?!” 

Kojou breathed raggedly over and over, barely keeping himself on his hands and knees. 

His barely remaining physical strength was being chipped away little by little. Kojou released his Beast Vassals from their summons, judging that he could not control them any further. 

The dark god’s egg was not eating into Itogami Island alone. It stole a vast amount of demonic energy as soon as its vines wrapped around Kojou’s Beast Vassal. Now Kojou understood what had run Jagan so ragged. When protecting the Oceanus Grave II, the egg stole a fair bit of demonic energy from his Beast Vassal all the while. 

Carelessly smashing his Beast Vassals against the egg was dangerous. Even the Beast Vassals of the Fourth Primogenitor were at a disadvantage in prolonged combat with such a foe. He had to cut the sphere off from Itogami Island and eliminate it with a single attack. Nothing less would work. 

That was possible for Kojou—but not in his current state. His endurance had been depleted far too much for that. To the Fourth Primogenitor, his overpowered Beast Vassals were a double-edged sword. One false move and Itogami Island would itself be wiped off the map. 

What should I do? Kojou pondered. His bewilderment left him wide open. 

“Damn—!” 

Sinuous tentacles whipped at Kojou, simultaneously attacking from above, right, and left. He couldn’t dodge them no matter what he did, and Kojou lacked the endurance with which to dodge them to begin with. 

“!” 

“Defense mode. Execute, Rhododactylos.” 

With Kojou frozen in place, what saved him was a giant arm that seemed to envelop his entire body. The humanoid Beast Vassal summoned by the homunculus girl deflected the attacks from the sphere. 

“Astarte?!” 

Rattled, Kojou called out the girl’s name. The ability of Astarte’s Beast Vassal, Rhododactylos, reflected all magical energy. Even the green tentacles that had eaten into Kojou’s Beast Vassals had not penetrated her defense. 

“Akatsuki! Thank goodness… Are you all right?” 

With Astarte protecting her, Kanon came rushing over. 

“Kanase?! What are you two doing here—?!” 

“I am very sorry. We were worried about Miss Celesta and could not help but come to look,” Kanon said, conflicted over breaking her promise. 

Seeing that Kojou could not stand on his own power, Kanon offered her shoulder without hesitation. Kojou’s blood sullying her clothes didn’t make her flinch for even an instant. She earnestly propped Kojou up with her own frail body, dragging him toward safety. 

“No… Thanks. You saved me.” 

When she heard Kojou’s frail statement, Kanon silently shook her head and averted her eyes, blushing. 

The sphere’s attacks continued, but Astarte’s Beast Vassal fended them off with little trouble. 

Kanon had chosen the interior of the Oceanus Grave II as her place of refuge. The sphere was practically touching the tips of their noses, but they were out of its all-consuming path. It was probably a lot safer than blindly fleeing into a building. 

Kojou couldn’t see any of Vattler’s people inside; maybe he’d instructed them to take cover. There was no sign of the man himself. Kojou was a little relieved that he wouldn’t be seen in such a disgraceful state. 

“Where are Yukina and Miss Celesta?” Kanon asked, laying Kojou in a corridor within the ship. 

“They’re inside that thing. I’m gonna go and get them back—,” Kojou declared, shooting a glare at the sphere, visible through a window. 

Kanon’s blue eyes blinked with visible surprise. Nervously, she held Kojou’s body down. 

“Akatsuki, that isn’t possible in your current state.” 

Kojou, seeing Kanon shake her head at him, bit his lip. 

His blown-away heart had finished regenerating, but that was only in terms of functionality. There were still raw scars in the middle of his chest. His torn-off left arm had only just become able to move. He couldn’t even count the other wounds over the length of his body. At that moment, Kojou didn’t even have the strength to push Kanon off him. Of course she was worried. 

“It’s all right. Wounds like this’ll heal up in no time—” 

In spite of that, Kojou dragged himself to his feet. However, he barely took one step forward before dizziness struck, bowling him over. He had only a tenuous grip on his seemingly distant mind. It burned him, but Kojou had no choice but to accept it: He was in no condition to fight. 

Astarte, having released her Beast Vassal from its summons, looked down at the fallen Kojou and stated, “I have a suggestion.” 

Kojou glanced back at her with a dubious expression. Astarte had a high degree of medical knowledge, but her knowledge of magic was not very deep at all. That she had something to say surprised Kojou a little. 

“What? Sorry, but running isn’t an option.” 

“Understood. Strategic retreat rejected. My second suggestion, then.” 

Astarte readily accepted Kojou’s bitterly conveyed words. Then, she opened the door to a nearby cabin, grabbed Kojou by the scruff of his neck, and flung him inside. Next, she dragged Kanon along on her way in. 

“Oww…! Astarte? What do you think you’re…?!” Kojou exclaimed. 

He looked around the interior of the cabin. It was a so-called linen room, with unused sheets and pillow covers piled up. There was a faint whiff of detergent in the air, but otherwise nothing special. 

Kojou was beside himself, not knowing what Astarte had in mind. Then, to Kanon, looking just as lost as he was, the homunculus girl emotionlessly stated, “Kanon Kanase, please remove your clothing.” 

“…Eh?” 

“Strip.” 

With Kanon rooted to the spot, Astarte slipped behind her and reached toward the top of her outfit. 

That day, Kanon was wearing a frilly, modest-looking dress that had probably caught Natsuki’s eye. It was a slightly old-fashioned design that perfectly fit Kanon’s saintly ambience. 

Out of the blue, Astarte undid all the fasteners on the dress’s back. In addition, she grabbed Kanon’s skirt by the hem and yanked it down without warning. 

There was no longer anything to obstruct Kojou’s view of Kanon’s understated curves. 

“Eh… Ah, um…?!” 

Kanon, not understanding what was going on, stood rooted to the spot in her underwear. 

Kojou gazed at her in bewilderment, unable to look away. 

The sight of Kanon in her underwear affected him especially because it was so taboo. Her skin was so fair, far from the Japanese norm, and she was almost surreally slender. Her underwear was lavender in color, a matching set with a little bit of lace embroidery, making Kanon that much more adorable for it. 

The very lightness of her skin tone made her blue veins stand out slightly from her modest breasts, mysteriously adding to her raw allure. 

“W-wait! Hey, Astarte! What are you trying to make Kanase do?!” 

Kojou, stricken senseless for a while, shouted as he regained his senses. On cue, Kanon covered her breasts as if remembering she was supposed to be embarrassed. The very natural gesture only underlined further to Kojou the fact she was a normal girl. 

“My answer is—blood donation,” Astarte replied expressionlessly. 

Hearing this, Kanon clasped her hands together as if it somehow made sense to her. 

“A-ahh… I understand now.” 

Seeing Kojou frozen in place, Kanon nodded strongly to herself. Then, with some goal in mind, she reached behind her back and abruptly unhooked her bra. 

With her bra in danger of falling, she pressed it in place with both hands, crouching down in front of the prone Kojou. 

Kanon’s graceful, beautiful face peered down at Kojou, unbelievably close. 

However, Kanon stopped moving, seemingly at a loss. She didn’t seem to understand where things were supposed to go from there. 

“Um…ah…it shouldn’t be just… A-Astarte, please strip, too.” 

A frail expression came over Kanon as she sought the homunculus girl’s aid. 

“Accepted.” 

Astarte emotionlessly nodded and began stripping off her maid outfit. The sight of her exposed body, even tinier than Kanon’s, drew a ferocious cough from Kojou. 

“Wait a… Wh-why are…you two…?!” 

In the first place, Astarte’s homunculus body fluids would not aid in Kojou’s recovery. Astarte herself surely was aware of that. However, whether she sparked sexual arousal was a different matter altogether. 

The trigger for vampiric urges was not hunger, but lust. Having two half-naked girls around him in a cramped room was an extreme situation stirring deep emotions in Kojou that appealed to his instincts, making them difficult for reason to resist. 

“Capture.” 

As Kojou backed away, Astarte circled around him, sealing off his avenue of retreat. Her bare breasts pressed against Kojou’s back, rendering him unable to move. 

“Wait a… A-Astarte…?!” 

“I—I am not very good at this, but…” 

It was Kanon who touched Kojou from the front. The faint light shining in from the window illuminated the girl’s silver hair. Its faint aroma and the warmth of her skin stimulated Kojou’s senses. 

“Wait, Kanon. You’re wrong… You’re being tricked into this! Er, well, not that it isn’t blood donation, but…!” 

“No, I am all right. This is simply what you are always doing with Yukina, isn’t it?” 

Barely holding his rational mind together, Kojou admonished her as strongly as he could, but Kanon softly shook her head. 

“It’s not always! There were all kinds of circumstances, so we had no choice but to—” 

“But in doing so, you and Yukina saved me.” 

“Eh…?!” 

Kanon’s blue eyes watched Kojou from very close, conveying her unshakable determination. Both of Kanon’s arms gently embraced Kojou—like the affectionate embrace of a saint. 

“That is why, this time, it’s my turn.” 

“Kanase…” 

Kojou quietly drew in his breath, enveloped by Kanon’s embrace. 

His throat felt very dry. His bared fangs ached. 

Kojou had once fought Kanon, who’d transformed into an artificial angel. That was why he understood her kindness more than anyone. He felt guilty for feeling vampiric urges toward such a compassionate girl. 

But if Kanon, knowing that full well, forgave him for it, then… 

And if it was to save people precious to him… 

“It is all right. The words I spoke to Miss Celesta…were no lies.” 

Kanon exposed her slender neck to Kojou as she whispered into his ear. 

Kojou’s fangs bit into her pale neck. 

A little sigh escaped Kanon’s lips, apparently enduring the pain. 

Kanon’s arms, embracing Kojou, gripped him stronger. Her breath gently touched Kojou’s ear. 

“I have always loved Yukina. And I have always loved…you…” 

4 

The ruin was far vaster than she had anticipated. 

Furthermore, the closer she approached the temple, the more the dark god’s influence increased. 

It was not only the vines covering the ruin but also the gravity, the very air, and everything making up that world that conspired to block their intruder-turned-enemy from her destination. The dimension itself was created to give birth to a dark god, and thus, such defensive mechanisms were to be expected. 

But in spite of this, Yukina continued onward. 

“—I, Maiden of the Lion, Sword Shaman of the High God, beseech thee!” 

The silver spear Yukina poised emitted the dazzling glow of the Divine Oscillation Effect. That glow became a powerful defensive barrier that impeded the attacks the ruin sent Yukina’s way. 

From Yukina’s perspective, it was a stroke of good luck that the divine aura of Zazalamagiu, wrought from dragon line energies, was a very close cousin to Snowdrift Wolf’s Divine Oscillation Effect. Though she could not nullify her opponent’s power, in exchange, the enemy couldn’t get a good read on her. She was able to move around inside the ruin much like a virus that had adapted to its environment. 

“O divine wolf of the snowdrift, let the echoes of thy thousand howls become a shield and repel this calamity!” 

Yukina’s spear lashed out, smashing to pieces the shut door of the temple’s entrance. 

Protected by her barrier, Yukina stepped into the temple interior. 

It was a bizarre room with no sense of up or down. 

Where she stood—a floor in her mind—was a wall, and what she’d thought the ceiling was an angled floor. A place she’d thought was a set of stairs was actually nothing more than the back side of a different set of stairs, passing through a hole gouged into the floor and spreading out at the bottom into a beautiful blue sky. Outside the window on the ceiling was a landscape of the bottom of the sea. 

It was a dimension of madness. Merely looking at it was enough to rob one’s sanity. 

A golden altar stood at the center of that dimension. 

At the altar, she caught sight of a woman with honey-colored hair. Judging from the inverted sight, she was floating on top of the altar. 

“Cele…sta?” 

Yukina ran toward the altar. But that instant, all sense of up and down was ripped from her, and she tumbled onto the floor. 

Gravity was misbehaving; however, this was not a defense mechanism of the ruin. This was a place for a god—a space in which none save the bride of Zazalamagiu was permitted entry. 

“Please! Celesta, answer me…!” 

Cognizant of that fact, Yukina stepped toward the altar nonetheless. 

Perhaps Yukina’s voice had reached her, because Celesta slowly opened her eyes. Seeing that, Yukina knew Celesta was still alive. Mentally, she was still a human being. 

Above the altar, Celesta slowly turned over and replied, “Plain…Girl…” 

The voice echoed of resignation and despair. Considering the situation she had been placed in, it was a very natural emotion. 

“What…do you think you’re doing? Run away, quick… Look at me, I’m already…,” Celesta said. 

Yukina’s reply was swift. Propping herself up with her silver spear, she lifted her face, looked straight at Celesta, and smiled. 

“No, I cannot flee. I am bringing you back with me.” 

Yukina’s unflinching reply wrought an audible sob from Celesta’s throat. 

“What happens to me has nothing to do with you people, does it?! Go and be lovey-dovey with just you and Kojou at his place or something!” 

“I will do that regardless!” 

Yukina shouted vigorously in reply. For a moment, the power of it overwhelmed Celesta. 

“…N-nice comeback…for a plain girl…!” 

“However, I cannot go do that until I have brought you out of here with me!” Yukina declared, climbing another step. 

I don’t understand, Celesta seemed to say with a shake of her head. Yukina and Celesta weren’t old friends or anything of the sort. If anything, her existence had to be an annoyance to Yukina and her companion. 

And yet, why was Yukina exposing herself to such danger to save her? 

“…Wh…y…?” 

Celesta unwittingly murmured the word. If she wanted to stop the advent of the dark god, Yukina ought to have killed Celesta then and there. There would be no need to force herself to reach the altar after that. 

However, Yukina shook her head with a shy, frail smile on her face. 

“Because I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t.” 

“Eh…?” 

“I was the same as you. I was to be killed as a sacrifice to call down a god. It was before I had turned seven… Not that…Akatsuki-senpai or any of the others know about it…” 

Yukina touched a hand to her chest as she spoke. It was as if she felt guilty continuing to shoulder such an abominable secret alone. 

“But just before I was to be killed, there was someone who took me with her.” 

Her foot was caught in a gravity distortion, and Yukina tumbled again. The stairs were not all that tall, but the inability to soften the blows meant she had to take their full impact. Pain coursed through the core of her body. 

Yukina suddenly remembered what the Sword Shaman she’d met in her youth had looked like. At the time, she’d seemed very adult, but now that she thought about it, that girl couldn’t have been much older than Yukina was in the present. Yet even so, she had rescued Yukina all by herself. 

“She said something similar to what Akatsuki-senpai said. When I asked her why she was saving me, she said, ‘Do I need a reason?’” 

Yukina practically crawled up the distorted stairway, arriving right beneath the altar. 

Yukina had been happy when Kojou had said he would save Celesta. Without hesitation, he said he’d save an abominable girl to be sacrificed to a dark god. To Yukina, it was as if he’d been talking about her. 

“Thanks to her, I became a Sword Shaman and met you and senpai. That is—” 

—my reason for saving you, Yukina was about to say, but Yukina’s body was blown away the instant she touched the altar. Vine-like tentacles punched holes through the temple wall as they stretched, bearing down on Yukina’s body. 

“Plain Girl—?!” 

Celesta let up a shrill cry. Before her eyes, a dazzling glow reached out like a blade. 

The glow came from Yukina’s spear. 

Poising the weapon, Yukina rose up, rending the tentacles asunder. 

However, hers was a desperate battle. Yukina was wounded, exhausted, and had little spiritual energy remaining, and the dark god’s barrier held an inexhaustible supply of divine essence. Fight or not, the end result was evident: At that rate, Yukina would die. 

“Stop already! You can’t defeat a god by yourself! Don’t you understand that—?!” 

“I do.” 

Yukina smiled. She’d known that from the beginning. 

Yukina did not have the power to completely halt the dark god from materializing. But having reached the altar, the egg would be forced to destroy the magical pathways it had painstakingly constructed in the process. The longer Yukina fought, the more divine essence the egg would lose. 

That would delay the dark god’s materialization. She’d earn every second she could. Time until he could recover— 

“I know that I cannot win by myself. However, I have watched him all this time, so I know I am not alone in trying to save you. He’ll come. I know he will—” 

“Yuki…na…” 

Celesta’s lips trembled a little. A glint of will, supposedly lost, returned to her eyes. 

As Celesta floated upside down, one of her arms faintly began to move. She stretched her hand forward, toward the surface of the altar that bound her— 

Then, the instant Celesta’s fingertips touched the altar’s exterior, the entire temple seemed to shudder. The twists in gravity that had caused Yukina such anguish vanished. The temple returned to its proper form. 

The floor was now only a floor. The walls were now only walls. 

Pulled down by gravity, Celesta tumbled onto the altar’s surface. 

“Oww…” 

“Celesta!” 

The tentacles assaulting Yukina dissipated. With Celesta collapsed, Yukina cut one final tentacle and rushed to her side. Celesta was too exhausted to stand on her own power, but she was all right. 

The temple shook heavily once more. 

Yukina realized that the entire world was shaking. 

Having lost the sacrifice at the center of the world, the sorcerous device to materialize the dark god was no longer functioning. The vast divine essence that had been barely kept under control to that point had begun to stir in irregular ways. 

At that rate, with the dark god unable to take physical form, the pent-up energy would be released on its own. The resulting phenomenon would be a divine essence explosion. 

At absolute minimum, damage would be severe in a ten-kilometer radius, enough to ensure Itogami Island’s annihilation. 

And then— 

“Celesta…?!” 

Yukina’s breath caught when she realized that Celesta was climbing back onto the altar. 

Celesta was trying to return to the center of the barrier after only just finally being freed from it. Yukina instantly turned around, trying to stop her, but the upward curl of the corners of Celesta’s lips said No need for your concern. 

“I’m all right…Plain Girl. I’ll manage somehow…” 

In anguish, Yukina stopped moving, a hand still outstretched toward her. 

Celesta was the one who’d summoned the egg. It had synchronized with her despair to begin materializing Zazalamagiu. Put another way, she, the bride of Zazalamagiu, was the only one who could stop him from taking physical form. 

Of course, there was no proof she could pull it off. Celesta couldn’t have been confident of it. 

But the fact even a slim possibility remains means I need to trust her—, Yukina told herself, almost like a prayer. But— 

Boom went the golden altar, smashing apart, almost as if to trample Yukina’s prayer underfoot. 

“—Wha—?!” 

The altar and the stairs leading to it were both broken. 

Huge cracks emerged from the temple’s stonework floor, almost as if it had been smashed by an unseen ax. 

Impeded by those cracks, the distance between Yukina and Celesta widened once more. 

The temple’s floor had been sliced apart and the altar smashed by an invisible slash with overwhelming destructive might. Yukina knew that the attack had come from a tactical magical device. 

“I suppose I will say…well done, civilian. Thanks to you, we got into the sacrifice chamber.” 

Yukina heard a cold voice resembling a machine. 

A tall woman wearing a fur-trimmed coat was standing at the entrance to the temple. Waving her left hand above her head, she coldly glared down at the two girls. 

The CSA special forces major, Angelica Hermida, quietly stepped forward. 

5 

In a quiet cabin on a giant cruise ship— 

Inside that cramped, dimly lit linen room was Kojou, unable to move. 

Behind him was an all but naked homunculus girl— 

And in front was his silver-haired, blue-eyed female junior, pressed against Kojou in very immodest attire. 

Sandwiched between the two, Kojou couldn’t move a single fingertip. After all, if he clumsily stirred against the girls, he’d end up seeing various things that were not proper to view. 

“Ahh…how long do you all intend to stay there like that?” 

It was then that Kojou heard someone’s voice from very close. The voice came from the linen room floor—about thirty centimeters above it, to be more precise. 

It was a liquid-metal life-form about the size of the fairy—Nina Adelard, the self-proclaimed Great Alchemist of Yore. 

“You’re…Nina?! Y-you saw that?!” 

“Indeed. Intently, from beginning to end.” She cleared her throat. 

Kojou groaned, raising an incoherent voice. 

Nina nodded solemnly in the manner of one wise to the ways of the world. 

“Well, rest at ease. Appearances aside, my lips are not loose. I am a metallic life-form, after all. If you take firm responsibility as a man, I shall not do anything cross as Kanon’s guardian.” 

“R-responsibility…?” 

For no particular reason, Kojou felt nervous as he murmured the word. 

Kanon, resting limply in Kojou’s arms up to that point, finally lifted her head. Her eyes met Kojou’s up close, making her cheeks flush faintly red. It was the expression of someone just remembering what she’d been doing and unsure of just what expression she should have on her face. 

“Um… It’s… Sorry, Kanase.” 

Kojou awkwardly bowed his head to her. 

Kanon politely straightened her back and said, “I… I was very clumsy…” 

“No, you weren’t clumsy at all, actually. Thanks, you were a big help.” 

Kojou averted his eyes from Kanon’s undressed figure as he let his honest appraisal trickle out. Kanon blinked in visible surprise as she gazed back at Kojou’s body. 

“Akatsuki, your wounds…” 

“Yeah. That’s thanks to you.” 

Kojou smiled and rose to his feet. He didn’t feel dizzy or in pain. His lost demonic energy had been recovered, and his entire body coursed with a strange sense of exhilaration. Kanon, inheriting the blood of the Aldegian royal line, was a frighteningly powerful spirit medium. Her exceptionally pure spiritual energy was high-grade sustenance for the Beast Vassals sleeping within his flesh. 

“—I wanted…to ask you to take care of Yukina and Miss Celesta.” 

Kanon hugged her stripped-off clothing in front of her breasts as she spoke. 

“I know,” said Kojou, looking into her eyes and nodding. 

He opened the cabin door and left. 

Immediately in front, he could see the huge sphere that resembled a speckled egg. Countless vines poured out from the sphere as if it were a waterfall, lodging into the artificial ground of Itogami Island as they continued eating away at the materials there. 

The sphere’s diameter already exceeded a hundred meters. But there was clearly something off about its state, which ought to have still been expanding. 

The dense divine essence swirling around inside the sphere was astir, and the boundary between it and normal space shuddered, almost in agony. Something was going on inside the dark god’s barrier. As far as the summoning spell was concerned, it was an unexpected, and fatal, flaw. 

To Kojou and the others, it was a good omen to be welcomed with open arms. 

Well, then… Kojou raised his right arm above his head. He would cut off the egg’s supply of magical energy in one shot, then and there— 

“—C’mon over, Beast Vassal Number Seven, Kiffa Ater!” 

The miasma Kojou scattered about distorted the atmosphere, creating a sword out of thin air. It was ridiculously huge, with a blade over a hundred meters long—and intelligent. 

Properly speaking, its shape was similar to an ancient weapon known as a Vajra sword, said to be used by the gods to strike down devils. 

But Kojou wasn’t after its maximum power. What he sought was precision. 

He guided the accelerating sword toward the space between Itogami Island’s coast and the speckled sphere. Falling at supersonic speed, an enormous shock wave was created; the pressurized air enveloped the sword with incandescent flames. 

This Beast Vassal was specialized for destroying a single target, and in that role, its might was tremendous. 

The great sword transformed into a giant beam of light, grazing the edge of the speckled sphere as it made it as far as the sea. To protect Itogami Island from the effects, Kojou released his summons of the Beast Vassal just before striking the surface, but even so, the wake of the falling shock wave stirred up incredibly strong blast winds. Ironically, what cushioned the island from that were the tentacles spewed out by the sphere. All the tentacles that had fused with the isle were severed in a single blow, greatly rocking the huge sphere. 

Cut off from its steady supply of matter, even a passerby could tell that the egg was in dire straits. The slice from Kojou’s Beast Vassal left a crack on the sphere’s surface, and its very diameter seemed to have shrunk ever so slightly. The restorative power of normal space had begun to exceed the rate at which the dark god’s barrier ate into it. 

The divine essence inside the barrier became even more disturbed, and the rate of change increased further. 

The sphere tried stretching out new vine-like tentacles to resume consuming Itogami Island, but the tentacles were shot out with less vigor. And then… 

“Let us go, Kanon—!” 

“Yes, director!” 

With Kanon back in her clothes, Nina, embraced by her arms, unleashed a ruthless ray of light—a heavy particle beam bombardment. 

The tentacles’ magical energy absorption ability was useless against a particle beam—a purely physical attack. The slash of the incandescent beam burned the green tentacles down one after another. 

A new tentacle shot out toward the source of the attack—Kanon and Nina. This, in turn, was struck down by the Beast Vassal at Astarte’s command. The tentacle bounced off its arm, covered in Divine Oscillation Effect, and then Nina’s beam burned it to a crisp. 

“Kojou, leave this side to me,” Nina asserted, smiling proudly. 

Astarte’s Beast Vassal, boasting absolute defensive power, combined with Nina’s absurd attack strength, itself fueled by Kanon’s nigh-inexhaustible spiritual energy. Their collective abilities put the egg at an overwhelming disadvantage. 

Recognizing this, Kojou nodded firmly. 

“Astarte, please!” 

“Accepted—” 

The giant arm of Astarte’s Beast Vassal grasped Kojou’s body. It then proceeded to wind up and hurl Kojou over the shoulder, much like a fastball. 

“Execute, Rhododactylos.” 

Boom! Astarte launched Kojou with incredible velocity. Of course, the target was the enormous, speckled sphere floating in midair. 

“Ooooo—!” 

Kojou’s face went pale as he gritted his teeth, enduring the ferocious acceleration. 

And then, he plunged into the dark god’s world. 

It was a world of densely concentrated divine essence raging like a tempest. Beneath him, he saw an enormous ruin. He detected raw magical energy coursing in the spaces between vine-covered stone pillars, almost like a complex electrical circuit. The sorcerous ritual to materialize the dark god was underway. 

The ruin itself was a giant sorcerous device. When Kojou grasped this, a smile came over his lips. 

There was no need to think deeply about it. His task was obvious. 

If the world existed solely to summon the dark god, he merely needed to rip it to pieces. 

“Glad they made it so simple! C’mon over, Al-Nasl Minium!!” 

Kojou summoned a new Beast Vassal as he descended toward the stonework temple before him. The scarlet bicorn manifested, unleashing an incredible shock wave with its roar. 

Buffeted by the blast winds, Kojou accelerated further. 

And so he went—to begin the destruction of the world. 

6 

Special Operations Detachment 17 of the CSA Army— 

At Angelica Hermida’s command, the Zenforce troops surrounded the temple in an organized formation. 

Angelica Hermida served as the vanguard, advancing to single-handedly secure the target. Her one sniper held back to provide fire support. The remaining two members blocked off the temple’s entrance, securing Angelica’s avenue of escape. They had executed many such missions in the past, spilling much blood in the process—the blood of their enemies and the blood of their allies. Angelica was not known as Bloodstained for nothing. 

The history of the Confederate States of America was one of war. In the first place, the CSA was a nation forged via a war of independence with the European North Atlantic Empire and armed clashes with the North American Union. 

Economic issues were the primary causes of those wars, but discrimination against demons loomed behind them. The CSA was not a signatory to the Holy Ground Treaty seeking peaceful coexistence between man and demon. The CSA had a pure-blooded human policy: As such, demons were inferior beings that ought to be eradicated root and branch. 

The CSA, isolated among nations for this extreme discriminatory policy, prioritized military might above all else. For national self-preservation, it was constantly intervening in conflicts all over the globe, because that was necessary to preserve the global military power balance. 

Such military interventions were primarily conducted by the Zenforce members. In addition, they were very loyal to their nation. And they did not fear death. 

One such member of Zenforce—Bouiller, the man with the sunglasses—emitted a light from his mechanical eyes as he checked the area for disturbances. 

“…What’s with the impact just now?” he asked through the transmitter embedded in his head. 

“Dunno. Can’t see a whole lot like this.” 

From the shadow of a stone pillar nine meters away, the man with the prosthetic hand, Mathis, replied. 

Certainly, visibility inside the temple was poor, as it was obstructed by stone pillars and vines. Yet, surely Mathis had noticed it, too. 

Something must have been done to the barrier’s outer shell from out in the real world. 

The giant barrier giving birth to the dark god…was swaying. It was as if its supply of magical energy and matter, obtained from eating into Itogami Island, had been cut off. 

Some powerful attack had cut off its supply of magical energy, severing the world from Itogami Island. On top of that, the world’s outer shell had probably been damaged. The attack was powerful enough to shake a world created by a dark god, even if it was in an immature, unmaterialized state. 

Even though the two soldiers were supposed to be coolheaded fighting machines, that fact unnerved them ever so slightly. It was because of their wealth of combat experience that they instinctively understood: That power would become a hindrance to their mission— 

Then, as if to prove their instincts true, a new distortion occurred inside the barrier. 

What emerged overhead was a scarlet bicorn, as if wildly raging wind had taken physical form. 

Largely indiscriminate, the vibrating shock waves it unleashed assailed the ruin. Stone pillars snapped, and the giant inlaid stones of the floor smashed apart. The sorcerous device runes carved into the ruin vanished, and a vast amount of accumulated divine essence leaked out. It was obviously a situation they could not ignore. 

“Boland, report! Boland!” Bouiller shouted through his transmitter. 

He could tell that a vampire’s Beast Vassal had appeared above their heads. The dense demonic energy it radiated was on par with the dark god’s divine essence. He had a guess as to its master, as well: the Fourth Primogenitor—the World’s Mightiest Vampire. 

However, he ought to have been on death’s door, incredibly worn down from his grievous wounds. Even if you could not destroy the immutable primogenitors, it was possible to whittle their power down temporarily. It was precisely that knowledge that had made Bouiller and the others unafraid to make him an enemy. Taking out his heart with a sniper rifle ought to have put a damper on his strength. 

But this Fourth Primogenitor controlling the scarlet Beast Vassal was different from the one they had first encountered. 

He had not merely recovered his demonic energy. The boy knew who and what Celesta Ciate really was, and he understood Angelica Hermida’s objective. He had hesitated before from the uncertainty of facing an unknown enemy in a crazy situation. Ironically, Celesta running amok had liberated him from all his shackles. Now, he was free to use the malevolent powers of the Fourth Primogenitor, rivaling those of even natural disasters, in whatever ways he pleased, for the sole objective of rescuing Celesta Ciate. 

That boy is dangerous, thought Bouiller. We have to take him out one more time. However… 

“Oh, by Boland, do you mean this wooden puppet?” 

The one replying to Bouiller’s message was a vampire with a handsome face reminiscent of a cold knife. 

The large-framed soldier, his flesh turned into machine, tumbled at the vampire’s feet. The lower half of the soldier’s body had been annihilated, burned away by incandescent flame; both arms had been ripped off his body with incredible force. Even Sorcerous Troopers could not survive such wounds. 

“Tobias Jagan…so you’re the one who…!” 

“He is a sniper who has shot and killed hundreds of innocent human beings. Ending his life without making him suffer was more mercy than he deserved.” 

Jagan responded to Bouiller’s bloodthirsty murmur with a declaration dripping with scorn. 

Bouiller ripped his clothes off without a word, exposing the silver magical devices embedded in his shoulders: metal plates that created an incandescent shimmer. 

“—Wait, Bouiller. I’ll take him. Cover me.” 

It was the other man, Mathis, who held Bouiller in check. 

He was already activating the magical devices embedded in both his prosthetic hands. In the area around Mathis, sixteen gauntlets appeared, floating in midair. The gauntlets were gripping a variety of weapons: swords and axes, spears and sickles, and even large-caliber pistols and machine guns. 

“My,” Jagan said with a show of false admiration. “What interesting arms you have there. Convenient for scratching one’s back.” 

Mathis’s face contorted in unconcealed rage at his sorcerous devices being portrayed as such inconsequential items. 

“Don’t mock me, vampire. You’re already in my Oracle Bombsight. There’s nowhere you can run!” 

The gauntlets controlled by the special forces trooper danced in the air as they surrounded Jagan. The firearms opened fire as the countless weapons thrust in one after another. The force and accuracy of the attacks were as if they came from a grand master. Furthermore, even if the gauntlets created by the sorcerous device were destroyed, they were immediately restored. No one could escape from the onslaught—not even a vampire noble. 

“—I see, quite an amusing sideshow. What a pity.” 

However, Jagan wore a cold expression as he stood unscathed. 

He wasn’t evading Mathis’s attacks. All the gauntlet’s attacks missed. Rather, it was Mathis who missed. He couldn’t attack Jagan. He couldn’t pin down exactly where Jagan was. 

“Tobias Jagan… Damn you, you did something to my—” 

“Rather late of you to notice. Did you truly believe a talisman was enough for you to escape from my Wadjet—?” 

The tedium was plain as day in Jagan’s voice. 

Mathis, the gauntlet user, had already seen Jagan’s Wadjet, which was actually a mind control Beast Vassal that dwelled in Jagan’s eyes. Wadjet embedded itself into the enemy until its master released it from its summons. A mere talisman was no defense against it. 

After all, defeating a vampire’s Beast Vassal required nullifying the demonic energy like a Schneewaltzer, or smashing it with greater demonic power, as the Third Primogenitor had once done— 

Jagan ordered Wadjet to attack. The gauntlets purportedly under Mathis’s control turned on their owner all at once. There was no time to turn the sorcerous device off. Before he could, every weapon bore down upon him, piercing deeply into his flesh. 

“Not yet, vampire—!” 

Jagan, certain of his foe’s demise, sensed his control of Wadjet weaken momentarily. Right then, Mathis, on the verge of death, leaped for Jagan. Countless gauntlets materialized once more, restraining every inch of the vampire’s body. Then: 

“Bouiller, now!” 

Before Mathis’s lips even moved to say Do it, the sorcerous devices in Bouiller’s shoulders unleashed their incandescent shimmer. Simultaneously, the explosives in Mathis’s own body exploded. 

Incredible flames and blast winds enveloped Jagan. “We did it,” Bouiller murmured, breathing raggedly. 

However, the flames that ought to have burned the vampire to cinders swirled before Jagan’s eyes, changing form to a giant bird of prey. Jagan smiled cruelly from the other side of the fire. 

“Ensen, is it? The Flaming Fan. You possess a rare sorcerous device. Your teamwork was not bad, either. But…too weak.” 

The flaming bird of prey transformed into a ray and leaped. A great pillar of fire burst up, centered on the place where Bouiller stood. With a great blast, the flames spread, reducing the surrounding area to ash. 

Jagan dissipated his Beast Vassal, but the flames raged on. However, he did not see Bouiller’s corpse anywhere. All that remained were slightly melted fragments from his shattered sorcerous devices— 

Bouiller had fled. 

“So much time and trouble… Ah, well…” 

Even as he muttered in annoyance, Jagan suddenly looked overhead. There, a giant silver shelled beast was materializing—a Beast Vassal of the Fourth Primogenitor. 

Kojou Akatsuki had likely turned the temple’s outer wall to mist, annihilating it, and had made his way to the sacrifice chamber. 

“Tch,” went Jagan, roughly clicking his tongue as he stepped forward. 

He had no intention of lending Kojou Akatsuki a hand. Merely breathing the same air as that man disgusted him. This was not, in any way, a shared battle; he simply didn’t care for his prey being stolen. That was all. 

Jagan headed into the temple telling himself that, seemingly for his own benefit. 

7 

The area around the temple had already begun rocking ferociously. 

Celesta having descended from the altar was not the sole cause. Disturbances had arisen both inside and outside Zazalamagiu’s barrier. The outer shell consuming the physical world had been damaged, and its supply of magical energy from the outside had been severed. And the temple itself, constructed from the dark god’s magical energy, was being destroyed. 

There was only one person capable of such reckless deeds—the Fourth Primogenitor, Kojou Akatsuki. 

However, that realization brought no relief to Yukina’s face, for the woman in the fur-trimmed coat was still quietly gazing at the two girls. 

“Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency, you called yourself. Hand over Celesta Ciate. I do not desire to kill any more civilians than I have to…” 

Angelica Hermida calmly held her right arm high. 

She, too, had surely sensed the disturbance outside the temple. However, there was no change in the female soldier’s expression. She was confident that she could control and overcome whatever that disturbance was. 

“What do you intend to do with Celesta…?” Yukina asked, poising her spear. 

Her polished senses as a Sword Shaman told her that the foe before her eyes was dangerous. If she let up, she’d be crushed by her opponent’s overwhelming pressure. 

This was a human soldier unlike any demon—and different from any foe Yukina had yet faced. Yukina’s spear could not completely fend off Angelica’s attacks. For that matter, she even wondered if Angelica had shown off her full power up to that point. 

Even so, Yukina could not retreat. She was the only one who could protect Celesta then and there. 

“In answering your question, what are your demands?” the female soldier inquired. “We would collect her and transport her to the Chaos Zone. Surely these are desirable terms for you?” 

“That is not—” 

“It is possible. That is why I am here.” 

Angelica replied with the bare minimum of words required. Her blunt tone of voice announced the end of the unexpected negotiation. 

“I will count to five. Vanish from my sight within that time. Otherwise, you will die. Five…four…” 

“Plain Girl…!” 

Celesta shouted from behind Yukina. Leave me here and run, her grief-stricken voice seemed to say, but Yukina would have none of it. 

Thanks to the crevice delving into the floor, she could not shield Celesta. In that situation, she had but one way to protect Celesta—attacking Angelica first. 

Yukina kicked off the floor, leaping with all her might. However, Angelica easily evaded the mighty charge. 

“…three…two…” 

Angelica emotionlessly continued counting down. She was upholding the little time she had given to Yukina. In other words, if that time limit was exceeded, she would attack without mercy. 

“…one… A pity.” 

Angelica murmured without even a single change in her expression. However, the female soldier did not swing her right arm downward. 

Before she could attack, the exterior temple wall burst apart with incredible force. 

The vast demonic energy scattered in every direction and the silver mist filling up her field of vision made Yukina gasp and look over her shoulder. And there, amid the obviously excessive destruction, stood a young man surrounded by mist, wearing a bloodstained parka and a languid expression. 

“Sorry for making you wait, Himeragi…!” 

Kojou Akatsuki’s eyes shone crimson as he made a ferocious, fang-bared smile. 

For a brief time, Yukina gazed at him in abject shock. Behind Kojou, the Beast Vassals he had called out were destroying the ruin to the fullest extent possible. It was without purpose or restraint, destruction for destruction’s sake. He’s overdoing it, she thought. 

Certainly, this would prevent the dark god from materializing or consuming the real world, but one false move might well make the accumulated dragon line energy go berserk. This is why, thought Yukina. This is why I can’t take my eyes off this boy for a single moment. 

“How’s Celesta?!” 

“Safe! However, later when we get back, I will be lecturing you, senpai—” 

The indignant expression on Yukina as she spoke those words suddenly froze over in fear. Through a gap in the enshrouding mists, she saw Angelica Hermida lower her right hand. 

The silver mist parted as she unleashed her invisible slash. The unseen giant blade was aimed at Kojou Akatsuki, standing there defenseless. 

“Senpai—!” 

Yukina let out a brief shriek. 

The invisible blade split the floor of giant inlaid stones, severing Kojou’s body apart across his shoulder—or so anyone would have thought. But in that moment, a beautiful, gemstone-like glimmer arose directly in front of him, making a high-pitched, earsplitting ting! 

The invisible blade touched that light, and immediately after, fresh blood scattered with incredible force. 

Yukina’s eyes opened wide, seemingly unable to process the sight before her. 

“What…?” 

It was Angelica Hermida who spewed blood and fell. 

Kojou continued standing in place, unharmed. 

“…the…hell?!” 

With her coat and her torso sliced apart, Angelica tumbled to the temple floor with a thud. 

Kojou had done nothing. The invisible blade the female soldier had unleashed had bounced right back at her. Angelica Hermida had fallen to her very own attack. 

“…Does this…end it, I wonder…?” 

From the tone with which Kojou murmured, even he was at a loss. 

Angelica, reinforced with machinery, was still alive, although her body had been sliced in half at the waist. She didn’t even seem to be in pain. But she probably couldn’t continue fighting like that. 

In her shape, she could not stop Kojou and the others. 

The fight was over. There was no longer any reason to stay inside that world. They’d take Celesta and get out. They could figure out how to stop the energy from running wild afterward. 

With such thoughts, Kojou stepped forward, but suddenly— 

He heard a voice quietly laugh. It came from Angelica Hermida. 

“It’s not over… It’s not over yet, Fourth Primogenitor. Don’t underestimate my unit. A mere demon won’t—” 

Kojou looked back at the female soldier, shocked by her defiant words. At some point, a new figure had come to stand beside the fallen, gravely wounded Angelica—a large-framed soldier with mechanized eyes. 

It was one of Angelica’s subordinates, the one she’d called Bouiller. 

“—Major. Sorry I’m late.” 

With those words, he crouched at Angelica’s side. He had considerable wounds all over his body; the sorcerous devices embedded in both shoulders had been destroyed as well. It was to him that the female soldier looked up, asking: 

“Only you, Bouiller?” 

“Yes. Boland and Mathis were taken down by Tobias Jagan—” Bouiller shook his head slightly. 

For a single, brief moment, Angelica closed her eyes, seemingly to mourn her fallen men. Then, the next instant, she smiled beautifully as she reached out with her right hand. 

“Is that so? Then, I shall take you, Bouiller—” 

“So that our nation may stand forever.” 

He nodded, satisfied, as he took Angelica’s hand. Then, he kissed the back of her hand, like a knight swearing fealty to his liege. 

Kojou and the others watched the strange, highly out-of-place gesture in silence. And it was Jagan, running into the temple, who broke that silence. 

“Stop that woman, Kojou Akatsuki!” 

“Huh?!” 

Jagan’s lips twisted in their haste, but Kojou could not immediately comprehend his words. Angelica Hermida was on the brink of death, and all her subordinate had done was touch her right hand. He didn’t know what Jagan was so afraid of. 

“Angelica Hermida’s right arm uses the Embrace of the Queen!” 

Jagan shouted in Kojou’s direction as he summoned his own Beast Vassal. He unleashed his incandescent raptor toward the subordinate standing astride the fallen Angelica. But… 

“Gah…?!” 

Fresh blood scattered about, and it was Jagan who fell, his torso deeply slashed. The enemy had assailed him just before he could make his own Beast Vassal attack. 

“—Jagan?!” 

With Kojou rooted to the spot, Jagan, unable to endure the slash, dropped to his knees before Kojou’s eyes. 

The invisible blade had left a wound as if from a giant ax. The technique belonged to Angelica, purportedly fallen and gravely wounded. 

“And that was the Left Hand of Decapitation…Tobias Jagan.” 

The incandescent bird of prey Jagan had summoned dissipated. 

A tall, bizarre figure stood on the other side of the lingering flames. The humanoid’s head was that of a beautiful woman. However, beneath both her arms was another set of arms and a stout, male torso. Angelica had fused with the body of her own subordinate to replace her sliced-off lower body. 

“What—? She stole her own teammate’s body…!” 

Kojou exclaimed as he noticed the change in the female soldier’s appearance. 

Apparently, the sorcerous device embedded in her right arm embraced the other party’s flesh, with the effect of taking his flesh into her own. Angelica had consumed her subordinate, turning him into a part of her. 

“My right hand turns everything I desire into a part of my flesh. Zenforce is a unit established solely for my sake. My subordinates’ flesh and blood are nothing more than spare parts for me. I kill friend and foe alike—hence, why I am Bloodstained Angelica.” 

Angelica spoke without emotion. She was neither bragging nor pitying herself—she was simply explaining to instill fear into Kojou and the others. In her mind, even robbing the flesh of her loyal subordinates was just part of the process required to carry out her mission. 

The machines embedded in Angelica’s body wriggled around like independent living creatures. Circuits were switching over as she connected to the artificial organs inside her subordinate’s body. The sorcerous device for fusion was no simple thing. Only Sorcerous Troopers, their entire bodies converted to machines, could pull off such an extreme feat. 

“Why you…!” 

Kojou bared his fangs, horrified at the exceedingly bizarre state of the pair. He strongly clenched his fist and launched a punch at the now-grotesque female soldier. 

Angelica, seemingly knowing from the start what Kojou would do, raised her left hand high. Suddenly, Kojou realized what she was after. Now that he was bent on attacking, he couldn’t use that strange reflect ability— 

The sorcerous device embedded in her left arm activated, forming an invisible blade. 

“—Senpai!” 

But before she could swing the blade downward, Yukina wedged herself between Kojou and Angelica. She thrust her silver spear forward like an arrow, impaling the female soldier’s left wrist. 

The sorcerous device in Angelica’s left wrist shattered, releasing a shock wave like a discharge of static energy. The invisible blade dissipated. She could no longer use the sorcerous device she had called the Left Hand of Decapitation. 

Seeing this, the female soldier smiled, satisfied for some reason. 

“I foresaw that you would move in that way, Sword Shaman.” 

Angelica yanked out the spear, not caring that it mangled her left wrist in the process. 

Yukina’s expression stiffened. She realized that Angelica’s objective had been to draw her away from Celesta. 

Using the legs she had stolen from her subordinate, Angelica leaped with tremendous acceleration. 

Celesta was on the other end. As Celesta stood still, petrified with fear, Angelica violently embraced her: the bride of Zazalamagiu, with her right arm— 

“This is the true power of the Embrace of the Queen—the pride of the CSA.” 

Angelica’s right arm emitted a glow, the light swallowing Celesta whole— 

8 

An ominous sound filled the world. 

The earth shook— No, the dimension Kojou and the others were inside was rumbling. 

The vast ruin had begun to vanish. The stonework temple, existing so vividly before, suddenly became insubstantial, shuddering and vanishing with barely a whimper. 

“Angelica Hermida…” 

However, in that moment, Kojou’s mind was too preoccupied to care. 

Before Kojou’s and Yukina’s eyes, Angelica’s form changed once more. 

Her skin lost all color, and was now dyed black—literally—like the dark of night. Her body lost its humanoid contours, expanding as it changed shape. She transformed into something like a giant bird, and at the same time, like a serpent. She might have even become the chick of some foul beast, freshly hatched from its malevolent egg. The only vestiges of her humanity were three arms, now covered in obsidian scales. 

The black scales coating her entire body were covered in golden magical runes resembling subtle electrical circuitry. 

Celesta was at the center of the circuit. With her four limbs buried in the monster’s brow, she was frozen like a statue, her eyes remaining open in terror. 

“What have you…done to Celesta…?!” 

Kojou’s entire body shook with anger and despair. Angelica Hermida had used the Embrace of the Queen to bring Celesta into her. She’d obtained the icon of the dark god. Whatever she might look like, Angelica had succeeded in her mission. 

With Kojou rooted where he stood, he heard a woman’s voice behind him, one with a small lisp. It was Natsuki’s voice. 

“So she’s fused with the bride of Zazalamagiu—” 

Carrying a lacy, extravagant parasol, Natsuki looked up at the transformed female soldier with what seemed like pity. 

“I see… You reproduced the sorcerous device inscribed in the Temple of Ciate and transplanted it inside your body, haven’t you, Bloodstained Angelica?” 

“Transplanted…the sorcerous device…?” 

Blood drained from Kojou’s face as he realized the meaning of Natsuki’s words. 

The dark god had not materialized in spite of Celesta summoning the egg. That was because the Temple of Ciate, the sorcerous device for materializing the dark god, did not exist on Itogami Island. 

Hence, the dark god’s egg had constructed that other-dimensional world, going as far as to eat away at Itogami Island to magically reproduce the ruin. Kojou and the others had destroyed the false ruin to prevent the dark god’s materialization. That should have worked. 

But if the inside of Angelica Hermida’s body was equipped with a real sorcerous device the same as the Temple of Ciate, then— 

The grotesque monster told the tale in Angelica Hermida’s voice: 

“The Temple of Ciate was a magical device constructed with technology from over a thousand years ago. Using current sorcerous technology, such size is not necessary for the device. It is possible to embed the entire thing into a single body—mine, in the form of an integrated chip the size of a one-centimeter square.” 

In so doing, she expressed her complete control over the power of the dark god. Having taken Celesta, the bride, into herself, the artificial god was under her dominion. 

“Recovery of the sacrifice was successful. There were casualties, but that was expected. There is no problem in executing the mission,” the grotesque monster declared in a mechanical tone bereft of intonation. 

The destruction of the temple accelerated. The barrier maintained by the dark god’s magical power dissipated, returning them to the real world. Kojou and the others, hurled into normal physical space, were pulled down by gravity, falling onto Itogami Island’s coast, which—eaten into by the dark god’s egg—was now a broken ruin. 

Natsuki manipulated space to teleport them to a safe location, whereupon Yukina landed safely. For his part, Kojou, who looked set to fall into the sea, somehow managed to land in a crouch on exposed building materials. 

Then, Angelica, transformed into the dark god, spread black wings, looming over Kojou and the others from high in the sky. 

“However, public revelation that my nation was involved in the advent of the Deity of Darkness is undesirable. Accordingly, I will eliminate all witnesses.” 

Shrouded in obsidian scales, the deity’s arms became enveloped in pitch-black flames. Their incredible temperature made the atmosphere shudder. The grotesque monster grasped those black flames as it glared at Kojou. 

“The dark god Zazalamagiu governs death. Burn in the hellish flames of the dark sun—” 

The black fire, completely bereft of light, fell silently toward the ground. 

The condensed magical power held enough heat to burn away not just Kojou and the others, but the entire harbor area. The black flames scorched the ground, and white bubbles frothed on the boiling surface of the sea. 

But that intense, destructive heat never reached Itogami Island. 

“Like hell you will, Monster Girl—” 

A light arose before Kojou’s eyes. It was a huge wall of beautiful gemstones. 

The black flames released by the dark god dissipated the moment they touched the pale, transparent wall, seemingly sucked into it. Simultaneously, the gemstone wall shattered, turning into countless crystals that showered the dark god head-on. 

“What…?!” 

The sharp gemstone fragments were imbued with the same temperature as the black flames the dark god had unleashed. The grotesque monster was unnerved at being bathed in the might of its own attack. 

“…You all knew, didn’t you? That Celesta was abducted to be a sacrifice, that her memories were stolen, that she was gonna be killed…” Kojou audibly ground his teeth as he glared at the female soldier–turned–dark god. The vast demonic energy welling in his entire body made the very air creak. 

Vattler said that there were only two ways to stop Zazalamagiu. Namely, either kill Celesta and stop the dark god from materializing, or defeat the dark god after its descent. And should the dark god descend, Celesta would be annihilated, unable to endure the blow. 

However, Angelica Hermida merging with Celesta had thrown those preliminary conditions askew. Angelica had transformed into the dark god, but she had not lost her own will in the process. If that was the reality, it was possible that Celesta remained intact, both in mind and in body. If so, his task was obvious. 

“So you left Celesta to rot, killed all the priests, and on top of that, you still wanna use the god’s power as a tool of war! Then I’ll just beat you down and save Celesta. From here on, this is my fight!” 

Kojou deployed the gemstone wall. Once again, the dark god unleashed black flames, and both their supernatural energies clashed. The fragments of the shattered wall became bullets beyond counting, launching a counterattack against the grotesque monster. 

But the dark god that had unleashed the flames had already vanished from Kojou’s sight. Circling to Kojou’s rear, it scattered new flames from his blind spot. 

Kojou reacted too slowly to create another wall in time. Then, with Kojou gone rigid, the flames parted without warning. 

A dazzling, pale glow had become a giant blade, slicing the pitch-black flames apart. And that blade of light was the radiance of the Divine Oscillation Effect from a Schneewaltzer—the secret weapon of the Lion King Agency. 

“No, senpai. This is our fight—!” 

Twirling her silver spear, Yukina stood with her back against Kojou, covering his rear. 

At her words, Kojou nodded firmly and raised his right arm high. 

“I, Kojou Akatsuki, heir to the Kaleid Blood, release thee from thy bonds—!” 

Fresh blood scattered from Kojou’s right arm which, together with a ray of light, transformed into an enormous beast. This was a dense enough mass of swirling demonic energy to possess a will of its own. It was an absurdly huge bighorn sheep vested with a body of diamonds. 

This was the Fourth Primogenitor’s new Beast Vassal—Agnus Dei, the Unstained and Unerring Divine Sheep. 

“—C’mon over, Beast Vassal Number One, Mesarthim Adamas!” 

Together with Kojou’s shout, the holy sheep roared, scattering gemstone-like crystals in the process. 

The hallowed sheep of diamonds stood unscathed against any attack, reflecting the wounds it would have borne upon the attacker. It was a Beast Vassal that represented the vampiric curse of immortality. 

Kojou’s Beast Vassal created a wall of infinite gemstones that filled the sky behind the grotesque monster, seemingly to hold it in check. If the dark god attacked the wall, the might of its attack would rebound upon it. 

The dark god could no longer harm Itogami Island without harming itself; nor was escape an option any longer. 

Angelica, in her dark god form, glared at Kojou, who had interfered with her mission, and roared. 

The grotesque monster spread its black wings and plunged. 

Kojou’s expression hardened as he looked up at the pitch-black giant drawing near. The dark god was using its own enormous body in an attempt to squash Kojou and the others flat. 

Having already used the Beast Vassal to prevent the dark god’s escape, Kojou could not deploy a new wall. Nor could Yukina’s spear provide any defense against a non-magical, purely physical attack. 

Kojou tried to summon a different Beast Vassal to strike down the dark god, but its attack was faster. The huge, completely black body crashed into the broken coast, smashing Kojou along with it— 

Or it would have, save for the giant, silver-glimmering golem instantly bringing its overwhelming mass to a halt. 

“Anmauth!” 

The steel-wrought golem punched the dark god with all its might, knocking the enormous, jet-black body back. 

It was Tobias Jagan who controlled the golem. He, ostensibly collapsed from grievous wounds, pressed a hand against his wounded chest as he shouted to Kojou, “Don’t let up, Kojou Akatsuki! If she can’t defeat the Beast Vassal, of course she’ll go for its host!” 

“Man, you really are stuck up—!” 

“Silence! Damned fool,” Jagan growled, venting as he glared back at Kojou in annoyance. Thus, Kojou lost sight of when to actually thank him. 

“Irrlicht—!” 

“C’mon over, Al-Nasl Minium—!” 

Jagan, promptly ignoring his feud with Kojou, summoned a new Beast Vassal. Kojou moved simultaneously. An incandescent bird of prey materialized alongside the crimson bicorn, assaulting the dark god from right and left. It was an unbelievably well-coordinated combination attack. 

Surely the attack was unavoidable, but the dark god evaded it with ease. It was the same as when it had circled around Kojou’s wall earlier. The black flames unleashed by its obsidian arms shot the two Beast Vassals down. 

“Absurd!” 

“—It dodged that?!” 

Jagan and Kojou exclaimed simultaneously. They commanded their wounded Beast Vassals to attack once more, but the result was the same. The grotesque monster completely read which way they would move and attacked accordingly. 

It wasn’t that Angelica was drawing out Zazalamagiu’s complete power. Thanks to materializing far from the dragon lines of its native land, forced into an incomplete ritual through use of a sorcerous device, the Deity of Darkness was only able to tap into a small portion of its proper power. The fact Celesta remained in human form and Angelica retained her own will was proof enough. If they could defeat the grotesque monster now, they could surely save Celesta. 

But that wasn’t going to happen if their attacks couldn’t connect. Even that very moment, the dark god was absorbing energy from the dragon lines, gradually increasing in strength. It was only a matter of time until all hope was lost. 

“I see… So that’s how it is,” Natsuki murmured, casually gazing at the sky like this was all someone else’s problem. 

Her utterance reached Kojou’s irritated ears. In a tone evocative of explaining a question on a test, the small-statured witch stated to Kojou: 

“Listen well, Kojou Akatsuki. A magical device capable of predicting the future is implanted in Angelica Hermida’s body. Assume she will evade any half-hearted attack.” 

“Predicting the future…? You mean, just like Himeragi…?” 

Kojou gasped and looked at Yukina. Her Spirit Sight allowed her to peer a moment into the future during combat, allowing her to move faster than a demon. Such was the strange secret combat ability Sword Shamans of the Lion King Agency possessed. If Angelica possessed the same ability, it was no small wonder Kojou’s and Jagan’s attacks weren’t hitting her. 

“That’s how it is. You know how to proceed from here, I take it?” The corners of Natsuki’s small lips curled up in a leer. 

Kojou’s and Yukina’s eyes met, and they nodded at each other. 

They had no time to double-check with words. Time was precious. 

Yukina set Snowdrift Wolf down without saying anything. Kojou circled around Yukina’s back, embracing her from behind. Then, the two put their right hands together. 

“Senpai—” 

Yukina’s face turned upward and over her shoulder, looking up at Kojou from very close. Her eyes were gentle, like someone wearing a bashful smile. 

“When we have safely rescued Celesta, there is a story I want to tell you. What happened that triggered my entry into the Lion King Agency… Are you all right with that?” 

“Yeah, ’course I am.” 

Kojou nodded without hesitation. In that moment, the two felt like there was something connecting them together. An invisible thread seemed to link their nervous systems together, conveying their thoughts to each other through the touch of their flesh. 

Together, Kojou and Yukina observed the horizon. 

The pitch-black dark god hovered against a sky the color of flame. 

If this Angelica who’d turned into a deity really could see the future, they just had to see further ahead than she could. But to turn that into reality, Yukina’s Spirit Sight power had to beat out the power of Angelica’s sorcerous device— 

Yukina can do it, Kojou believed in his heart. 

I will see it. Yukina was certain she could—because Kojou believed so. 

“Senpai!” 

“Regulus Aurum—!” 

The pair’s voices overlapped. A lightning lion was summoned out of thin air, enveloped in a powerful electrical field. 

It became a gleam of purple lightning, dashing through the sky in the direction Yukina pointed, biting into the dark god’s enormous frame. 

The Beast Vassal’s attack, surpassing Angelica’s own predictions, made her emit a high-pitched scream. She—supposedly an emotionless fighting machine—harbored fear for the first time. 

“Well done, my pupils.” 

Natsuki hid her smiling lips behind her open fan. 

From the shadow at her feet, she launched giant, golden chains resembling the anchor of a battleship. This was Dromi, forged by the gods—the golden sorcerous devices began dragging the pitch-black deity down to earth. 

“I, Maiden of the Lion, Sword Shaman of the High God, beseech thee.” 

Immediately, Yukina grasped her spear and sprinted. Alongside the chant, a vast amount of spiritual energy flowed forth, enveloping the silver spear in the glow of the Divine Oscillation Effect. 

“O purifying light, O divine wolf of the snowdrift, by your steel divine will, strike down the devils before me!” 

Yukina’s spear impaled the dark god’s obsidian-covered flesh. 

She targeted a single spot: the sorcerous device chip embedded in Angelica’s body. She knew where the chip was located from the internal flow of the deity’s divine essence. It was a tiny integrated circuit, the size of a one-centimeter square; Yukina destroyed it with one certain blow. 

In that instant, the deity lost the power that had given it physical substance. 

The grotesque monster visibly shuddered. 

Angelica’s flesh, merged with the deity, was spat out; simultaneously, Celesta was freed from it. 

Together with a roar that made the air tremble, the dark god’s power began to run amok. The vast divine essence accumulated was set to be unleashed indiscriminately. 

“Akatsuki!!” 

Natsuki glared at Kojou as she shouted. Kojou summoned a new Beast Vassal. 

“Al-Meissa Mercury—!” 

The dark god was on the verge of going berserk when the quicksilver, two-headed dragon bit into its flesh. The flesh of the deity consumed by the dragons dissipated, erased along with the very space they occupied. If the dark god’s divine essence was wholly released, even the holy sheep’s wall would not be able to block it. So before that happened, the power of the twin-headed dragon, the Dimension Eater, flung that divine essence into some other, unknown dimension. 

The pitch-black deity roared and thrashed as its flesh continued to be consumed. Wringing out the last of its remaining strength, the dark god cut its own lower half away to free itself from the dragons’ twin maws. 

“What the—?!” 

The dark god’s mangled flesh plunged toward the ground. Seeing this, nervous expressions came over Kojou and the others. 

Kojou commanded Mesarthim Adamas to deploy countless walls. The dark god’s body was worn down, its power depleted with each wall of light it touched. But even so, even with the deity losing its substance, it was impossible to ward off all of it. 

Fragments of the dark god turned into fine shards, pouring onto Itogami Island like a meteor shower. Even the faint traces of divine essence remaining held enough might to wipe the entire island off the map. 

Yukina’s spear would not be enough to knock them all out of the sky, and there was no time to summon a new Beast Vassal. 

We won’t make it, Kojou worried, biting his lip. But suddenly— 

Countless fresh serpents appeared out of thin air and consumed the dark god’s shards, not leaving a single one. 

“Eh…?!” 

The sudden arrival of silence made everyone present stop moving. 

The dark god’s divine essence had vanished from the world. At some point, the sky had also returned to its normal color. 

The serpents, vast enough in number to completely bury their lines of sight, vanished back into thin air, their task complete. 

Kojou didn’t even need to look back. He knew who had summoned the frightening Beast Vassal. 

It was the aristocrat also known as the Master of Serpents—Dimitrie Vattler, Duke of Ardeal. 

“Vattler… He…” 

Kojou subconsciously grimaced as he noticed the young aristocrat’s approach. 

On the coastline, broken and battered from the dark god’s encroach, a girl weakly sat up, her hair the color of honey. 

Having lost her clothes during the fusion, she was not wearing a single stitch. Her radiant brown skin lacked any sign of major injury. She was extremely worn down, but her memories did not seem to be jumbled, either. 

With her in such a state, Vattler stood still before her, smiling elegantly. 

“It would seem you are safe, Celesta Ciate. I suppose I should say congratulations.” 

Vattler put his own coat over the naked Celesta’s shoulders. 

The girl with honey-colored hair looked up at him with visible surprise. Half-unconsciously, she called out the young aristocrat’s name. 

“…Lord…Vattler…” 

He gave no reply to her address and simply walked past. 

Vattler smiled pleasantly at the injured Jagan, thanked him for his hard work, and brought him along as he departed. 

Kojou gawked as he watched the spectacle, like something straight out of a movie. 

“…Why does it kinda sorta seem like he saved Celesta or something…?” 

Aside from lending a hand at the last minute, Vattler had done virtually nothing. In fact, he’d seemed bent on abandoning Celesta for quite some time. 

When Zazalamagiu became incarnate, the divine essence Celesta Ciate was synchronized with had departed from her, only to be consumed by Kojou’s and Vattler’s Beast Vassals. She was the bride of the dark god no longer. 

Therefore, Vattler had surely lost all interest in her. His gentle gesture toward her was a display of indifference. Of course, Kojou thought it unlikely Celesta would understand that. 

Just doesn’t sit right, Kojou thought with a shake of his head. 

Yukina looked at his face, giggling a little as she smiled. But her grin immediately soured into a twitching cheek of displeasure. 

After all, Kojou was staring straight at the half-naked body of Celesta, who was wearing nothing but Vattler’s coat. 

“Senpai…how long are you going to keep staring at her like that…?” 

“Wh…whaaat?! Wait a sec, that right now was just me being worried about her…!” 

“Indecent,” fumed Yukina as Kojou desperately continued trying to excuse himself. 

As Celesta wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, the rays of Itogami Island’s setting sun shone on her beautiful, happy face. 

Her briefly murmured words were stolen by a strong ocean breeze, never to reach Kojou’s ears— 

“Thank you…Kojou…”