Strike the Blood - Volume 14 - Chapter Pr

INTRO 

“MRA presents Inside Itogami!! 

“You are listening to Channel JOMW—FM Itogami. The time is two thirty PM . 

“Starting now is our Inside Itogami corner, where we introduce you to people and events concerning affairs on the island. Today we are broadcasting from Artificial Isle Studio 3 from the highest stratum of Keystone Gate. 

“Now then, with the Roses of Tartarus incident still fresh in everyone’s minds—it’s been about two weeks, right, since Tartarus Lapse, the Demon Sanctuary wrecking crew, launched the large-scale demon registration bracelet cyberattack. The destruction from that incident still scars various places inside Itogami City, but even now, urban restoration work is proceeding with the utmost urgency. 

“The monorail loop line has been slow to reopen, but it is returning to normal business operation from this day forward. Except for one section of international routes, all airplane flights have resumed service. With one district excepted, the restriction on travel for roads along the bay will also be lifted…something that I’m sure comes as a relief to many. 

“Now if there’s one person attracting attention on Itogami Island this very moment—yes, it’s her. I’m talking about the exceedingly beautiful, genius hacker who stopped Tartarus Lapse’s hacking attack, containing the damage to Itogami Island to the most minimal level possible—Asagi Aiba, the Cyber Empress. 

“Asagi Aiba is currently sixteen. Although she is a high school student here in Itogami City, known to precious few, she is actually a genius programmer…and a celebrity in the hacking world. Until now, she has developed numerous revolutionary programs under the nickname Cyber Empress. 

“Highly valuing her intelligence and exploits, the Gigafloat Management Corporation had hired Miss Asagi as a part-time employee. On the day of the incident, she was the first to detect Tartarus Lapse’s assault and succeeded in creating a program to counter the hack on her own judgment. As a result, her actions saved Itogami Island from the menace of the Demon Sanctuary wrecking crew’s terrorist attack. 

“That alone is incredible enough, but what really skyrocketed her to stardom was her movie-star looks—in particular, her video interview immediately following the incident became known on the net as the Seven Miraculous Seconds and has over six million views online. She truly is adorable, and a school uniform suits her extremely well. 

“Miss Asagi’s father is Mr. Sensai Aiba, a serving member of the Itogami City Council. Miss Asagi herself has lived here on Itogami Island from a very young age and has been locally famous as a beautiful girl ever since. She truly is an idol this Demon Sanctuary can be proud of. 

“At the request of the Gigafloat Management Corporation, Miss Asagi is currently involved in a large-scale project for Itogami Island’s restoration. Additionally, she is giving her all to charitable activities to support the victims of the incident. Next month, she is scheduled to release a charity song to support Itogami Island’s reconstruction. She has already shot a television commercial which includes her performance, and we are certainly looking forward to seeing how it comes out. 

“Our channel is on standby for messages of support for Asagi Aiba and any information related to her, requests for what you want to see Miss Asagi doing in the future, any Miss Asagi sightings within the city, and any private information on Miss Asagi that only you know—bring it all to this channel’s home page, please! 

“Now then, let us listen to a song. For the Itogami Island Revival Support Project, from Miss Asagi Aiba, here’s the tune ‘Save Our Sanctuary,’ followed by its companion, ‘Unrequited Love Parameter’…” 

The blood drawn from her fingertip was lapped up by the tiny, plastic kit. 

A single vermillion drop fell, spreading like a cloud through the testing fluid that filled the kit. 

She had noticed a change in her physical condition some ten days prior. In actuality, the abnormality in her body had surely begun earlier than that. 

She knew the cause. Since the very beginning, she had resigned herself to the inevitability. 

“……” 

She bit her lip as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. 

Her body refused food. When she tried to force herself to eat, she felt sick and nauseated. There was no dramatic change in her external appearance. If she had to call attention to something, her eyes looked moist, as if she had a fever. Her cheeks were faintly sunburned, too. It had been slightly hotter the last several days. Because of that, her body felt a little languid. 

But it was not to the point where she was unable to fight. 

She could still fulfill her duty…for the time being, at least. 

“I’m all right…” 

The analytical fluid within the container changed to a color never before seen. By rights, such a situation required an immediate report. 

However, she returned the container to its case as if nothing had happened. 

“I’m…all right, so…” 

She murmured toward the mirror, almost as if she was saying it to herself. 

She could not distance herself from the island—not yet. She could not avert her eyes from him. 

After all, she was the boy’s watcher. 

Yes. For the time being, at least… 

The sea, in the deep of night— 

Above the water, nearly three hundred kilometers to the south of Tokyo, a lone aircraft began its descent. 

It was a huge, amphibious craft equipped with four turboprop engines. It doubled as a flying boat, capable of landing on lakes, marshes, or the surface of the sea. 

Both the craft’s total length and wingspan exceeded forty meters, too large to be a flying boat under civilian ownership. The craft, embellished with a crimson border, glimmered as it reflected the silvery moonlight. A crest upon its wings depicted a chariot drawn by a winged dragon. It was the crest of the Warlord’s Empire—the Dominion that ruled Europe. 

The flying boat Strix lowered its altitude, finally touching down upon the moonlit ocean. Ferociously scattering sea spray all about, it began to glide upon the water’s surface. In front of it was an island—a small city floating upon the Pacific Ocean. It was an artificial isle built with carbon fiber, resin, metal, and magic. 

A single, seafaring vessel was moored in the harbor the Strix was approaching. It was a majestic cruise ship reminiscent of a floating fortress. The flag hoisted upon the ship’s mast was emblazoned with the same emblem of the Warlord’s Empire. The boat’s name was Oceanus Grave II—marking this as the personal ship of Dimitrie Vattler, ruler of the dukedom of Ardeal and a great noble of the Warlord’s Empire. 

The Strix drew close to that enormous vessel as it came to a halt. Its enormous white wake quietly dissolved into the waves, and the surface of the sea became black and mirrorlike once more. 

The craft’s upper hatch opened, and an individual emerged on the Strix’s wing. 

He was a tall, thin man with a dark complexion. His age was difficult to discern. From his facial features alone, he seemed young, and yet, the solemn calm enveloping him resembled that of a cunning warrior or elder statesman. The wisdom plainly visible on his weathered face was a good fit for his old-fashioned coat and long black hair. 

“…” 

Looking up at the resplendent cruise ship, the man sighed loudly in annoyance. He did not sense the presence of any crewmen from the enormous hull floating amid the nighttime mist. The tranquility was enough to make the ship seem adrift. 

Narrowing his eyes in apparent caution, the man surrounded his environs with a golden mist. He was attempting to transfer himself to the upper deck of the Oceanus Grave II. That instant, as if awaiting a momentary lapse, a light dyed the area above his head blue. 

Immense demonic energy, enough to instantly slay a normal human, fell from the sky above. 

The surge warped in the night sky, transforming into a completely dark serpent. 

This was a concentration of demonic energy vast enough to take physical form—a vampire’s Beast Vassal. The beast summoned from another world, huge enough to bury the man’s entire field of vision, ferociously bared its fangs, attacking without warning. 

The man’s expression remained unchanged as he clicked his tongue in revulsion. 

He was still as a huge sword appeared before his eyes—a dark great sword with a seven- or eight-meter blade. Of course, it was far too great a size for any proper human being to wield. Yet… 

“…Dance, Ghoula.” 

Seemingly expertly wielded by an invisible hand, the sword rent space itself, impaling the enormous serpent’s maw. 

The surface of the blade writhed like countless fangs tearing into flesh, and demonic energy spewed from the hilt like flames. The man’s sword was a weapon with a will of its own. It, too, was a vampire’s Beast Vassal. 

However, even with that magic sword impaling it, the serpent’s demonic energy did not wane. Its huge, writhing frame transformed into a blast of wind, about to smash the man flat—and the flying boat along with him. 

Countless swords intercepted this, breaking it apart. The short swords freshly summoned by the man stitched the surge of demonic energy to the nighttime sky, bringing it to a halt. Both sets of demonic energy collided, jostling with each other, and a high-pitched creak sounded. And then— 

“Have you had your fill, Master of Serpents?” the dark-haired man called out with another annoyed, deep sigh. 

A moment later, the vast demonic energy filling the surface of the sea vanished without a trace, as if it had been nothing but an illusion. 

In its place, a golden mist appeared before the man’s eyes. The particles, like sand falling out of thin air, became a handsome young man. He was a blond, blue-eyed vampire, wearing a bright-white coat that was vivid even in night vision. 

Baring his white fangs, the young man—Dimitrie Vattler—cracked an amused smile. 

One would never think someone with such a broad, innocent-looking smile would launch a surprise attack with a Beast Vassal. 

“Is that not a boorish thing to say upon our reunion after so long, Velesh Aradahl?” 

The black-haired man named Aradahl returned a fixed stare at Vattler and coldly declared, “I did not come to this backwater island to put up with your equally boorish hobby.” 

Vattler narrowed his eyes as he listened to the man’s words with apparent satisfaction. Aradahl was one of the few people who could withstand a serious attack from Vattler, and he was one of his few friends of equal standing. Hence, Vattler was obligated to display commensurate etiquette. From Vattler’s point of view, attacking Aradahl upon meeting him was merely paying proper respect. 

“Well then, from the top—Mr. Velesh Aradahl, chairman of the Imperial Assembly of the Warlord’s Empire. I, Vattler, am extremely honored and humbly delighted that you have descended to this most distant land.” 

“Vattler, are you trying to annoy me? You’re the one who orchestrated this whole affair to begin with. The Fourth Primogenitor, the Priestess of Cain, and on top of that, Glenda, the Dragon of the Swamp… You’ve done a fine job lining up one messy situation after another.” Aradahl’s cheeks twisted as he glared at the young blond aristocrat respectfully bowing his head. 

“Keh,” Vattler chuckled, letting the sound out of his throat as he smiled at his friend’s sober and serious response. “That was rude of me, Aradahl, but may I take your having come to this island as meaning the elders of the Council finally feel like coming on board?” 

“It’s not something they can let go, I’m sure. Not when they are aware that the Coffin has been opened.” The black-haired vampire sighed and turned his sights overhead. “And besides…” 

A small-statured girl was standing on the deck of the cruise ship Oceanus Grave II. She had rainbowlike hair that periodically changed color, flickering like flames. As she smiled charmingly, white fangs poked out from the gap between her lips. 

“The sixth Kaleid Blood, I take it…,” Aradahl murmured. 

“Yes…the final Key to the Feast, previously sheltered by the Chaos Bride.” Vattler’s lips curled upward ferociously. 

The girls dubbed Kaleid Bloods were all artificially produced vampires for sealing a Beast Vassal of the Fourth Primogenitor. There were twelve in total, but eleven of those seals had already been broken. 

As for what would happen when the current, incomplete Fourth Primogenitor gained Hektos’s Beast Vassal, this was completely unknown even to Vattler and Aradahl in spite of their centuries of life. The one and only so-called fact they knew with complete certainty was this: The emergence of the Fourth Primogenitor, a being that ought not to exist, would throw the world order’s stability into chaos. 

Aradahl remained expressionless as he watched his old friend continue to smile. 

“We have gained our king’s forbearance. But, Vattler—do you truly understand what it means to cause the complete revival of the Fourth Primogenitor? What is your real objective?” 

“Why, does that not go without saying, Aradahl? Past or present, I have never changed. There is only one thing I desire—” 

Spreading both arms wide in a theatrical fashion, Vattler silently shifted his gaze behind him. There, glittering brilliantly on the moonlit sea, rested the man-made Demon Sanctuary. A glint resembling roaring flames flickered in the young aristocrat’s eyes as he gazed upon it. 

Then he gave his reply—and he kept it concise: 

“War.”