Strike the Blood - Volume 16 - Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE 

ANOTHER REALITY 

1 

Asagi Aiba looked down at the early morning skyline from the roof of an enormous building. 

The building’s name was Keystone Gate. Located at the very center of Itogami Island, it was a large-scale structure in the form of an inverted pyramid. Not only were all of Itogami Island’s city functions such as electricity, communications, and traffic management all administered out of it, the structure also served as the safety mechanism for the artificial isle proper, making it the literal keystone. 

Constructed with forty strata underwater and twelve aboveground, the roof of Keystone Gate was the tallest place on an artificial isle that had little curvature of the land. There was nothing to obstruct the azure, eternally summer sky above Asagi’s head. Beneath her, the modern skyline of Itogami Island unfolded. 

The roof of Keystone Gate had no guardrails. After all, it was never designed with ordinary residents standing upon it in mind. 

However, there was no hint of fear or tension in Asagi’s eyes. 

Without a care, she sat on the edge of the roof, legs and bare feet dangling over the side as she made a gloomy sigh. 

Strings of strange characters resembling a spell coursed across the screen of the notebook PC sitting upon her lap. 

Roughly four weeks had passed since the large-scale invasion of Itogami Island by the Holy Ground Treaty Organization, the massive international incident commonly referred to as the war of the primogenitors. 

During that time, the environment surrounding Itogami Island had undergone a dramatic change, the greatest of which was its secured independence from Japan. The present island was known to the world not as a single city within Japan, but the fourth Dominion. It was the city-state of Itogami, territory of the Fourth Primogenitor. 

Surprisingly, independence may have brought political friction, but no great problems had developed. 

At the very least, no nation had yet come forward to officially object to the Fourth Primogenitor’s actions. Also, when the HGTO invasion occurred, the Japanese government relinquished its territorial rights to Itogami Island, leaving it unable to object to the Fourth Primogenitor taking the island over instead. 

On the other hand, if anything, countries besides Japan viewed the Fourth Primogenitor showing himself on the international political stage as something to be welcomed. The Japanese government had been able not only to keep the Fourth Primogenitor concealed from the public up to that point and under blatant observation but had engaged in direct negotiations with him from time to time. Better this than the Japanese government being the only one able to use the Fourth Primogenitor , thought other countries—and who could blame them? 

Even so, that did not mean the relationship between Itogami Island and Japan had completely dissolved. 

At present, while Itogami Island was a sovereign nation under international law, her people were generally free to travel to and from Japan. All judicial and financial matters remained under the jurisdiction of the Japanese government, and the law enforcement activity on the island was still conducted by Japanese police officers and federal Attack Mages. It absolutely was not rare for a nation of Itogami Island’s small size to entrust a portion of its national functions to a neighboring nation like this. Even where transport of foodstuffs and economic activities were concerned, much was entrusted to Japan, with the island treated as a Demon Sanctuary just as before. In one sense, the relationship between Itogami Island and Japan was closer than ever. 

That said, this did not mean everything before independence remained the same. 

In particular, the burden of administering Itogami Island had increased precipitously. 

The establishment of nationhood had come with a vast outpouring of political formalities and administrative work, explaining things to the confused island residents, maintaining public order, and inspecting and administering the Relic of the Cleansing that Dimitrie Vattler had left behind… 

These issues were being addressed by Kazuma Yaze, senior manager of the Gigafloat Management Corporation, and Sensai Aiba, former mayor of Itogami City…and the Priestess of Cain, also known to be a mysterious programming genius. 

High-functionality applications to support government staff…city maintenance systems to deal with the vast, sudden increase in artificial isle urban areas due to the appearance of the Legacy…strategic AI functions for predicting diplomatic difficulties that would arise and providing guidance for their resolution… She’d whipped up all these things in less than a week. 

Though the Gigafloat Management Corporation’s incredible information accumulation capabilities and former Mayor Aiba’s political skills had done much, substantial credit for saving the new city-state from crisis so soon after the nation’s founding surely went to her— 

The girl on that desolate rooftop with a notebook PC before her displayed not a single smidgen of pride in that accomplishment. 

Her mind was focused on the strange strings of characters that continued scrolling past her screen. This was the source code of a particular program that she had obtained through reverse engineering. 

However, in the end, how could that program be described—? 

The code differed from the language used by any computer currently in existence. It involved nigh-impossibly-vast multiprocessing. There were strange algorithms based on mathematical principles yet to be unraveled. Routines with no normally understandable meaning were clearly created with the intent of being used in conjunction with magic. No normal engineer could decipher or reassemble it, perhaps not even classify it as a program at all. 

Like a puzzle maniac solving a particularly difficult crossword, Asagi was deciphering that strange code on the fly. The glint in her eyes was far too aggressive to be called pure, rational inquisitiveness. 

“ Hey, li’l miss. How’s it coming? ” a synthetic, electronic voice asked her. She smiled impetuously at the question. 

The speaker was a 3D, badly sewn CG teddy bear visible in a corner of the PC’s display. This was the support AI that Asagi had dubbed Mogwai—the avatar of the five supercomputers that administered all of Itogami Island’s urban functions. 

“How’s it coming? It’s as you can see. Whoever made this wasn’t sane. Using an external agent to handle spellcraft calculations is an idea similar to The Cleansing, but the technical difficulty isn’t remotely comparable.” 

“That’s because for The Cleansing, the magic’s the main event. The external calculations are just there to help.” 

“I suppose so. More importantly, Mogwai, did you notice? This code—” 

“Yeah. There hasn’t been any data streamlining or measures to raise the efficiency rate. Like this, the burden’s too heavy for even the latest, greatest supercomputers to run it properly.” 

“Either it’s simple sloppiness, or the creator didn’t feel that making it more efficient was even necessary—” 

Certainly, as pure software, the program before her was exceptionally inefficient, but if the software’s inefficiency could be overcome through hardware capabilities, the lack of excess processing meant that the total execution speed would be that much faster. The very absence of compression meant that the calculations themselves would be more precise. Even if it was too vast an amount of data for current computers to handle, so long as technology continued to evolve, the calculations would cease to be impossible in several decades. 

She was afraid of saying so out loud, though. After all, that would mean acknowledging that this code had been written for hardware in a nonexistent future— 

“Well, setting that aside, li’l miss—” 

Mogwai altered the tone of his voice, seemingly to tease Asagi for her internal shudder. His somehow-pompous tone made Asagi sourly twitch an eyebrow. 

“What?” 

“Yaze sent a message.” 

“From Motoki? What’s it say?” Asagi asked in a disinterested tone of voice. 

Her gaze remained directed at the notebook PC’s display. As she did so, Mogwai gazed at her through the PC’s built-in camera and laughed with a sarcastic “ keh-keh. ” 

“Apparently they found my bro Kojou. He’s being taken to a hospital by chopper right now.” 

“—Why didn’t you say that sooner?!” 

Gruffly folding her still-operating PC, Asagi jumped to her feet. 

2 

In the seas surrounding Itogami Island proper, countless artificial isles floated around it in a spiral. 

This was the relic of a super-advanced ancient culture that Cain the Sinful God had left behind—the Ark of the Sinful God. 

In truth, the horde of artificial isles was Cain’s very own castle for protecting the populace in the otherworld known as Nod. It came furnished with numerous automated defense systems and ancient weapons. It was a vast fortress city that had temporarily served as the cause of a great war that had threatened to envelop all corners of the globe. 

However, the menace posed by these weapons had been lost during the war of the primogenitors. 

Wrapped up in the direct confrontation between Dimitrie Vattler, Master of Serpents of the Warlord’s Empire, and the Fourth Primogenitor, the weapons had been nearly completely destroyed. 

The current Ark that spiraled around Itogami Island was nothing but a large, artificial isle. 

They’d barely begun to inspect its interior. The Ark was still largely shrouded in mystery. Even so, as construction of roads and ports advanced, people volunteering to migrate to it kept pouring in from all over the world. 

Kojou Akatsuki—the missing Fourth Primogenitor—was discovered on the extreme southern tip of that Ark, on an uninhabited Gigafloat artificial beach. 

They had found him on the third morning after he had vanished. 

“Only three days…?” 

The air was filled with the scent of antiseptic. Kojou sat cross-legged on a hard bed as he let out a bewildered voice. 

It was past eight AM at Saikai Academy’s clinic. It had taken about thirty minutes for the helicopter that had picked up Kojou, washed up on the beach, to return to Itogami Island proper. It brought Kojou and company straight to the Saikai Academy schoolyard. 

They had landed there and not at the Gigafloat Management Corporation, because Kojou had been rescued by private activity with no connection to the Itogami city-state. Apparently, they couldn’t exactly let the citizens of a freshly founded Dominion know their ruler had been missing, three days or no. 

Also, they’d gone to the school clinic room because it was pointless bringing a vampire primogenitor with an immortal body to a hospital. That said, it wasn’t as if he didn’t require any treatment whatsoever. 

“Yes, Senpai. You were gone for three whole days ,” Yukina replied with a dead serious look on her face as she wrapped fresh bandages around Kojou’s bare upper body. 

The gauze beneath the bandages had turned reddish black after soaking in his blood. Fierce pain ran through him as he breathed. This was the wound left from where Yukina’s Snowdrift Wolf had impaled him. 

A vampire primogenitor was immortal, but that didn’t mean they healed instantly from every injury. After all, special attacks existed that impeded a Demon’s healing abilities. 

This effect was especially large where wounds inflicted by Yukina’s spear were concerned. The Divine Oscillation Effect that nullified demonic energy lingered in the open wound, which no doubt accounted for the continuous damage. 

This was the third time Kojou had been impaled by Yukina’s spear. On the prior two occasions, it had taken a fair bit of time to heal as well, but this wound was the most horrid of them all—so deep it traveled all the way to his back, gouging an area right next to his heart. The wound was grave enough that a normal person might have been killed instantly. 

That said, with Yukina looking so haggard before him, he couldn’t really complain. In the first place, at present, Kojou didn’t even have a satisfactory understanding of the situation he’d been placed in. 

“Lady Sword Shaman fell into a state of panic when thou wert gone, Sir Boyfriend. I hath barely seen her sleep a wink in these last three days. In all likelihood, she hath not had a proper meal.” 

Picking up in an oddly stiff tone of voice was a red-haired girl wearing the uniform of a famous primary school. 

This was Lydianne Didier, young daughter of the family that had founded Europe’s Didier Heavy Industries. She was an elementary schooler, but she was an elite child with PhD-level intellect. She had piloted the recon helicopter that had recovered Kojou. 

“Oh really?” 

Listening to Lydianne’s explanation, Kojou looked at Yukina to confirm. The Sword Shaman murmured, her words caught as she glared at Kojou, angry for a reason he didn’t understand. 

“O-of course I would be nervous over losing sight of my observation target!” 

“Gotcha. Sorry to make you worry like that.” 

As Yukina clenched his bandages, Kojou gave her a light pat on the head. 

For a while, Yukina remained wordless, with her eyes downcast and her cheeks red. Finally, still flushed, she poured strength into the wrapped bandages she gripped. For some reason, anger suddenly seemed to well up in her. 

“…Is that all you have to say after making people worry so much?!” 

“That hurts! Wait a—Himeragi… The bandages are too tiii—! Oww!” 

“…So you know, we were worried about you just as much. Having the all-important Fourth Primogenitor kidnapped with not even a month passing since the Itogami city-state’s independence… That’s no joke, man.” 

Twisting off the pull tab from a can of coffee was Motoki Yaze, saying what he really thought for once. The tone was as flippant as usual, but the thick bags under his eyes testified to his own troubles. After all, on paper, Yaze was the man ultimately in charge of the Gigafloat Management Corporation. 

However, Kojou exhaled with a sullen look. “Not like that really mattered anyway. Normally you’re the one who handles all the difficult negotiations in the first place. And the primogenitors in other Dominions don’t come out in public much, do they?” 

“Seriously? Not showing their faces in public isn’t the same thing as being whisked away.” 

“Well, I guess you’re right…” 

Kojou grudgingly acknowledged the point. His being barely able to run a Dominion after his one-sided declaration of independence during the war of the primogenitors was heavily due to the work his best friend had done after becoming head of the Yaze family. In the middle of that process, Kojou, the cause of the upheaval, had vanished without any prior notice. It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand why Yaze was annoyed. 

Grimacing from the coffee’s bitterness, Yaze turned to face Kojou head-on. “So, what the hell happened? Give us the nitty gritty.” 

Having finished treating Kojou, Yukina made no effort to hide her curiosity, bringing her face very close. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but the look in Yukina’s eyes that morning was downright scary. “Yes, and give us all the details of your relationship with this Kasugaya, too.” 

“I’ve been saying it over and over, geez. For the past six months I’ve been at a Demon Sanctuary called Onrai Island. I’ve been training as an Attack Mage, having mock battles against shikigami, and fighting ghosts in a dungeon and stuff—” 

“…Half a year, you say?” 

Yukina knitted her brows a bit. From their point of view, Kojou’s absence had only lasted three days. She couldn’t exactly be blamed for taking Kojou’s talk of it spanning half a year at face value. 

“Driving off ghosts in a dungeon… Really?” 

Yaze had a glazed-over look on his face, like he might break into laughter at any moment. He pulled a smartphone out of his pocket, input a shortcut, and turned the screen Kojou’s way. 

“Would you be referring to this?” 

“What’s that…?” 

Gazing at the smartphone, Kojou narrowed his eyes, perplexed. On the screen was the public website of a well-known toy manufacturer. 

“It’s a game: Carceri Arcade . You enter an individual, capsule-style cabinet and enter the game world through FSVR—one of those Full Sense Virtual Reality action game thingies.” 

“…An arcade game? You mean like the things they put in game centers and at amusement parks?” 

Kojou felt a stirring in his chest as the smartphone screen scrolled before him. He didn’t think the game screenshots displayed on the website had anything in common with his Onrai Island experiences. However, he did feel like he had a faint recollection of the large, coffin-like game machine itself. 

“Sir Boyfriend, thou participated in local testing of this new product in a video game arcade at Thetis Mall, after which thou didst not come out.” 

“I never…came out?” Kojou stared at Lydianne in shock. 

He wasn’t avid enough to be called obsessed, but Kojou still gamed as much as the average person. Back in middle school, he stopped at an arcade on the way back from club activities on numerous occasions at the invitation of his friends. The complex knowledge and techniques demanded were tough, but he had a quiet confidence in his ability to master games based purely on reflexes and intuition. 

So if he just happened to be on-site when an interesting-looking game was being tested out, it wouldn’t have been strange for him to participate on a whim, but he didn’t know what didst not come out was supposed to mean. 

“You disappeared from inside the game cabinet. You vanished without a trace like some super-skilled stage magician,” Yaze bluntly replied. “Himeragi’s rampage after that was quite a sight, I tell ya.” 

“…Huh?” asked Kojou, bringing his brows closer, bewildered. “Whaddaya mean, rampage?” 

“I’m saying, she put a bunch of the Thetis Mall guardsmen in the hospital. The game company manager apparently lost his memory of the last several weeks and acted like a terrified child.” 

“Himeragi… You didn’t…” 

“Th-that’s not true! I merely considered the possibility of an organized kidnappi… You are making the wrong assumption about me!” 

When Kojou stared at Yukina in a daze, she threw out a torrent of tearful excuses. 

“Good grief,” sighed Kojou, turning his gaze to the smartphone once more. “ Carceri Arcade , huh…? The name rings a bell, but that was no game. Even with cutting-edge tech, it’s not like you’d feel enough pain to actually die, right?” 

“Well, sure you wouldn’t in a normal game. You might get rocked around a lot and feel loads of stimulation, but…” 

Sipping the last of his coffee with an audible slurp , Yaze shrugged a little. 

Kojou grimaced, adamantly shaking his head. Rui, Nozomi, Okurayama, and he himself—he keenly remembered the deaths recently experienced by them all. 

“That’s nothing you can pass off as mere stimulation. We really died… Over and over again…” 

He had felt death’s cold embrace more than once. In the half year since visiting Onrai Island, he had experienced the annihilation of his teammates several times. No, he’d repeated the half year leading up to that annihilation over and over. 

There was a clear contradiction in that, yet, there was no other way to explain the facts. 

In the first place, it was a minor contradiction on top of the massive contradiction already present. After all, if Yukina’s words were to be believed, Kojou had been missing for only three days to begin with. 

“We doth not truly believe that thou entered a game world, Sir Boyfriend. Had thou done so, thou wouldst look far more entertained.” 

“So where did I go, then? Where is Onrai Island…?!” 

When Lydianne calmly made that assertion, the glare Kojou gave her somehow seemed resentful. 

If Kojou had merely been abducted, magic could have explained it any number of ways. Deceiving Itogami Island’s surveillance net and Yukina’s monitoring would be worthy of praise but wasn’t all that crucial. 

Bothering Kojou far more than that were Shizuri and Yuno, who had been left behind on Onrai Island. 

That very moment, Shizuri and Yuno were probably back in the Carceri where he’d left them. If possible, he wanted to return to Onrai Island that very moment and help them. He’d have time to think about inconsistencies in time perception and the identity of his kidnapper later. 

“The Demon Sanctuary of…Onrai Island, huh…” Yaze stared at Kojou with a pitying look, his murmur somehow coming off as sarcastic. “No such island exists.” 

“…It doesn’t exist? You mean, its actual name is something else?” 

“Nah. I’m saying, the land you know as Onrai Island doesn’t exist anywhere in this world. That includes virtual reality on a network.” 

“That’s crazy!” Kojou spat out as he watched Yaze slowly shake his head. 

Onrai Island was no virtual world inside a game. Lydianne had acknowledged as much. However, he didn’t know what it meant that the place didn’t exist in the real world, either. If that was true, then what was the world that Kojou had been living in? 

“That’s right… Himeragi! Himeragi, you know Onrai Island, right…?!” 

Kojou vigorously whirled about and looked at her. It might have been for just a moment, but Yukina had appeared on the Onrai Island where Kojou had been, so she could attest to the island really existing. 

Yukina bit her lip and, for some reason, vaguely shook her head. 

“It is not Lady Sword Shaman of which thou should’st ask Onrai Island’s whereabouts, but Lady Empress,” Lydianne replied in place of the silent Yukina. 

“Empress? You mean Asagi?” 

“Indeed. ’Twas Lady Empress’s plan that sent Lady Sword Shaman into thy world.” 

Lydianne made the statement with a small measure of pride. Yukina nodded silently, affirming her words. 

“I was in touch with Asagi earlier, so she should be coming pretty soon, I think.” 

Speaking those words, Yaze collected his own smartphone from Kojou’s hand. 

Apparently, Yaze and the others had no intention of explaining anything else regarding Onrai Island’s true nature. Or perhaps they didn’t have a precise understanding to begin with. 

“So I’d better ask Asagi for details in person, then. She understands the whole thing, I take it?” 

“I suppose she does. And it would expend far less time than our giving a half-formed explanation ourselves.” 

For some reason, Yukina’s expression was stern with a tinge of worry. He felt like she’d been glancing at the clock over and over for a while. 

“Besides, Senpai, before Aiba arrives, there is an important mission that remains for you to complete, you see.” 

“…Mission?” Kojou muttered, feeling an ominous stirring within his chest. 

Apparently, this mission was the reason the wounded Kojou had been brought to Saikai Academy rather than his own residence. 

However, it was right after Kojou had returned from being spirited away. His wounds hadn’t healed yet. And aside from that, Kojou had Shizuri and Yuno on his mind, genuinely feeling like nothing else should come before that. 

Even so, Kojou did not object to Yukina. He was simply overwhelmed by the force of her will. 

Gazing at him straight-on, she quietly made a statement to him, her expression graver than ever before. 

“Yes. It is a most severe test.” 

Faced with her words, Kojou could do nothing but nod. 

3 

“Wait a—Mogwai…what is this?” 

In the second underground stratum of Keystone Gate’s central block, Asagi was standing stiff and emotionless at the front entrance to the Gigafloat Management Corporation. 

An unfamiliar vehicle was parked right in front of her. It was a small-scale ground-warfare weapon, its entire body painted a light shade of pink. It was round, looking much like a tortoise, with spherical tires on each of its four feet. Its main armament was a short-barreled, 84-mm low-recoil gun. Its secondary armaments were a pair of 5.56-mm machine guns and a host of others— 

“Prototype Legged Tank Mk. VII, Suzuka. In firepower and armor protection, it is inferior to the Hizamaru that li’l miss Tanker rides, but this one’s mobility and electronic warfare gear is superior. The intake and exhaust system and the joints have been customized exclusively for Itogami Island’s climate, too.” 

Somehow, Mogwai’s voice sounded proud as it came from the smartphone Asagi gripped in her hand. 

“I asked for a taxi! Who sent me a tank?!” Asagi exclaimed, pointing at the parked vehicle. Mogwai laughed without a shred of guilt. 

“Keh-keh. This is faster than a taxi, you know. Don’t worry, it’s street legal.” 

“Aww whatever! There’s no way I’m wearing that pilot suit, though!” 

“In that case, how about this one? It’s modified to be see-through with increased ventila—” 

“Who would wear that?!” 

Asagi howled as she glared at the school swimsuit pilot suit displayed on the smartphone’s screen. Just driving around an urban area with a tank made her head hurt; she couldn’t bear the thought of wearing such embarrassing clothes on top of that. 

“Aww, geez! Motoki put you up to this, didn’t he? I won’t accept an escort, so he’s going to make me ride a tank instead?” 

“Correct. This island has been quite dangerous of late.” 

“Well, it’s not like I don’t see where he’s coming from…” 

Her voice thick with irritation, Asagi put a hand against the tank’s armor. She climbed into the cockpit in the carapace portion, mindful of the hem of her skirt as she sat in the front-leaning, motorcycle-style seat. 

Though she wasn’t especially appreciative of the fact, Asagi, dubbed the Priestess of Cain, possessed a special nature. The magical calculations she employed subconsciously were the key to the forbidden, world-transforming spell known as The Cleansing. 

That meant Asagi was an individual as dangerous as the Fourth Primogenitor—perhaps even more so. 

After all, after obtaining the power of The Cleansing, Vattler had been able to slug it out with vampire primogenitors on better-than-equal terms and was on the verge of laying waste to the HGTO’s multinational fleet all by himself. 

Fortunately, few were aware of Asagi’s true nature. That didn’t mean they could be careless; now that The Cleansing had been proven to actually exist, various forces around the world had begun moving in search of the Priestess of Cain. 

For that reason, Asagi had no logical grounds to complain about Yaze being considerate enough to give her the combat strength she required to defend herself. 

That said, she couldn’t help but feel that no matter how you sliced it, driving around the city in a pink robot tank made you stand out a bit too much. 

“If you don’t want bodyguards or a tank, there’s one other way to deal with it, you know.” 

As if seeing right through Asagi’s dismay, Mogwai spoke in a very sober tone of voice. It was right around the time the robot tank Asagi was driving was entering a highway in the direction of Island South. 

“What do you mean?” she asked, interested but wary. Even she couldn’t feign disinterest after hearing there was a way to be freed from that embarrassing tank. 

“Keh-keh.” Mogwai laughed at Asagi’s reaction in an oddly human way. 

“The gist is, you just need to gain the power to protect yourself, li’l miss. For example, an immortal body, inexhaustible demonic energy, stuff like that.” 

“The heck? Where am I gonna get something like that at this point? It’s not like I’m a…vampire…” 

Around the point where she was going to swat Mogwai’s proposal as preposterous, Asagi audibly gasped. 

Setting aside the exception of the Fourth Primogenitor, a supposedly man-made vampire, it was impossible for preexisting human beings to become vampires. However, there was a way to gain power on par with one. 

“—Wait, don’t tell me, you’re saying I should become a vampire vassal?!” 

“Well, if push comes to shove, being a vampire vassal means becoming my bro Kojou’s bride, I suppose,” Mogwai stated calmly. 

A Blood Vassal, aka Blood Concubine—these were titles assigned to those that had made pacts with vampires, turning into their pseudo-vampire retainers. 

Unlike a pureblood vampire, they could not summon Beast Vassals, but transforming into vassals granted them immortality and demonic energy on par with the vampire they served. Depending upon the abilities of the servant, they could even exceed their master in fighting strength. 

On the other hand, becoming a vampire’s vassal meant spending eternity with one’s master. A pact with a vampire was also a fiendish curse. 

Mogwai surely knew all that. Although from the tone of his voice, it sounded like nothing more than a tease. 

“It’s not like it’s first come, first served, but you already have one rival in a provisional pact. I think it might be best to seduce him while you still can.” 

“Th-this is silly! It’s not like I want to become his bride or anything el—” 

Asagi’s voice went shrill as she violently pounded the pilot seat control panel. Mid-drive, the tank’s frame began to snake around dangerously, moving in accordance with its driver. Cars in motion swiftly altered course, making ferocious screech noises against the highway as horns honked in a chorus of protest. 

“Calm down, li’l miss. Even if it’s on auto-pilot, thrashing around in the pilot seat is dangerous.” 

“Whose fault do you think this is?! It’s because you’re saying stupid things like—” 

Mogwai’s statement, like it was no thread off his back, made Asagi’s voice go ragged. 

However, her rebuttal was interrupted by an impact that came without warning. The robot tank decelerated precipitously, making Asagi, lying upon the seat, let out a yelp. 

“What now?!” 

“Enemy attack.” 

“An enemy?!” 

The odd seriousness in Mogwai’s voice made Asagi’s expression tighten. 

Another brash skidding sound bellowed forth as the car trying to overtake Asagi swerved past. Its balance was heavily thrown off from trying to dodge the creepy monster that had appeared on the highway. 

The car that had been behind her scratched against the guardrail, sparks raggedly scattering from its frame. Despite that, Asagi didn’t have the luxury of confirming the safety of the driver just then. 

“Er, gross! The heck is that?!” 

A bizarre shadow crawling on the roadway had taken Asagi and others by surprise. 

Its form resembled that of a cat, but its hideously swollen body was more comparable to a tiger’s or a lion’s in size. In place of four legs, its body was supported by countless tentacles resembling those of a jellyfish. 

“No body warmth, breathing, or heartbeat. Ah, it’s an animal corpse, huh,” Mogwai murmured with amusement as he used the robot tank’s sensors to scan the enemy. 

Asagi’s cheek twitched. “A zombie? A necromancer’s familiar?” 

“It’s not impossible…but ain’t no time to make sure. Incoming!” 

“Geh?! Wait a… No! Don’t come this way!” 

At the same time as Mogwai’s warning, the zombie sprinted toward her with unexpected speed. 

Asagi reflexively threw the robot tank in reverse, removing the safety on the tactical AI. The artificial intelligence booted up, instantly engaging self-defense protocols. The two machine guns built into the sides of both forelegs spewed out a hail of bullets with incredible force. 

Bathed in augmented, anti-demon rounds, the zombie was blown away in midair. Its remains fell to the ground, dissolving in the sunlight as they crumbled away. 

“Th-that was surprisingly fragile.” 

“The raw ingredient was a simple corpse, after all.” 

Watching as the zombie remains faded into nothingness, Asagi patted her chest in relief. 

She had no more than a second to remain calm. 

A horde of zombies varying in both size and shape came over the fence along the side of the road one after another, assembling in an apparent effort to surround Asagi. All of a sudden, they numbered in the dozens, burying the entirety of the highway. 

“These numbers are bad. If they keep adding more like this, our ammo won’t last.” Mogwai let out a whistle like he was downright pleased. The robot tank Suzuka came equipped with machine guns on the left and right with a hundred rounds each. Naturally, there was no spare ammunition. The number of rounds made the prospect of taking on a horde of monsters far from reassuring. 

“Don’t tell me—Someone’s blocking my line of retreat…?!” 

Realizing that the situation was manufactured by some caster’s insidious scheme, a nervous look came over Asagi’s face. She didn’t think mere zombies had enough attack power to breach the robot tank’s armor, but being surrounded was perilous. 

After all, the possibility of the wheels slipping on the slippery zombies’ slime was significant, and she couldn’t even bear to look if torn bits of flesh packed themselves into the joints. More than that, she really didn’t want to get any closer to the creatures. The wall of flesh created by the creepy monsters posed a far more effective thread than she would have ever imagined. 

“What’ll you do, li’l miss? If you’re gonna break through, isn’t now the time?” 

“You’re telling me to drive through that horde?! There’s no way I can do that! No! Way!” 

Letting a shout mixed with a scream, Asagi fired a barrage from the machine guns. 

A dazzling light surrounded the tank’s front legs as bullets rushed forward. These vermilion particles included minute magical symbols in their interior. This radiance was the world-altering, forbidden spell of the Sinful God—The Cleansing. 

The vermilion bullets punched through the zombies, transforming them into white clumps of salt. The Cleansing was a spell to rewrite the world. The zombies had not been changed into salt per se; it was the very fact zombies existed there that had been changed. Though Asagi could not use magic herself, she was able to draw out the power of The Cleansing to some extent through using the robot tank as a catalyst. Even if it was a far cry from the proper power of The Cleansing, it was plenty for taking on zombies. 

With the zombie ring broken, a path paved with white salt was formed. The surviving zombies could not enter this road of salt. Salt was highly moisture absorbent, so it robbed the zombies’ slime of its water, hindering them from taking action. 

“Let’s run for it, Mogwai!” 

Asagi charged the robot tank toward an opening in the circle. Scattering salt crystals all around, she accelerated while shaking the zombies off her tail. 

“Wait, li’l miss! Somebody’s there!” 

“Say what?!” 

Mogwai’s warning made Asagi’s expression freeze. The wheels gripped the rough, salty surface as the robot tank came to a rapid halt. 

Standing in the center of the highway, gazing at Asagi’s tank, was a girl in strange clothing. 

She was wearing a long wimple as if she was a nun and a long, embroidered coat evocative of a knight from the Middle Ages. She carried a mace on her back and a long sword on her hip. 

“Don’t tell me… That girl is the caster controlling the zombies…?!” Asagi let out a bewildered murmur as she glared at the girl shown by her monitor. 

The girl had long, white hair and blue eyes. She was a beautiful girl straight out of some sort of fantasy game, but in that situation, Asagi couldn’t think of the girl as anything more than a cosplayer. 

The girl’s expression remained as hard as ice as she drew her long sword. Its beautiful blade flickered like flames, surrounded by a crimson light. 

“That sword…!” 

Feeling fear she could not put into words, Asagi ordered the tank to evade. The robot tank painfully screeched as it rapidly retreated. 

“Mogwai, shield!” 

“Aye, aye.” 

At the same time the sarcastic AI signaled comprehension, the area around the tank glowed red. A pyramidal bulwark was deployed with the tank at its center, transforming the pursuing zombies into harmless clumps of salt. 

However, the sight in no way altered the expression of the girl presumably controlling those zombies. She quietly raised her long sword high, swinging it down silently and without fanfare. 

A high-pitched sound like glass cracking reverberated, and the vermilion pyramid vanished. 

“Wha…?” Asagi muttered, her breath catching. 

“What the heck’s with that sword?! It broke through a Cleansing bulwark?!” 

“Feels less like breaking through it than…consuming the magical energy itself?” Mogwai sounded deeply intrigued. 

The blade belonging to the long sword wielded by the girl was clearly glowing brighter since slicing the bulwark apart. Just as Mogwai had said, her weapon had consumed the magical energy of The Cleansing. 

“This isn’t the time for rational analysis! Prepare stun rounds! Hurry!” 

Asagi gave rapid-fire orders to the tank’s tactical AI. Naturally, even she lacked the courage to fire live rounds at a human being. 

However, switching tank weapons created a momentary opening, whereupon the white-haired girl closed the distance with Asagi all at once. Still holding the long sword in her right hand, she drew her mace from her back with the left. 

The robot tank’s sensors reacted to the explosives packed into the mace, sounding a flurry of alarms. It was a direct blow to deliver explosives at point-blank range—these were anti-tank tactics employing flesh-and-blood infantry. 

“E-evade!!” 

Asagi tried to pull the tank back, but the girl’s attack was swifter. The silver mace made direct impact with the tank’s flank. The lightweight fiber-reinforced plastic armor was pulverized as the mace’s flange plunged in. 

Right after the girl abandoned the mace and moved away, a flash burst on the tank’s surface. 

The blast blew into the tank’s interior. The frame was tossed like a rubber ball crashing into the guardrail. It was by no means an enormous explosion, but it was plenty to render the tank nonfunctional. 

“Mogwai…! Mogwai, can you hear me?!” 

Squished by impact-absorbent airbags, Asagi earnestly called out to her partner, but Mogwai gave no response. High-performance that he was, he was still an AI in the end. The interior of the thoroughly wrecked tank had no electronic devices left for him to control. 

The cockpit hatch opened wide, nearly blown off its hinges. The robot tank falling into an inactive state had caused its safety measures to activate. 

Coolant gushed out to douse the flames, surrounding the tank with a dense mist. 

Emerging from that mist was the girl gripping the crimson long sword. Without a sound, she landed on top of the tank, gazing down indifferently at the immobile Asagi. 

Without a word, she raised her sword high. Still buried in airbags, Asagi had no way of dodging the attack. She bit her lip, resigning herself to death. 

But as the white-haired girl tried to swing down her sword, it strongly bounced off, as if obstructed by some invisible wall. 

“Sorry, but could I have you stay your hand against her?” 

A teasing voice could be heard from over Asagi and the other girl’s heads. It was an alto voice that felt transparent. The distinct color of wariness became present in the white-haired girl’s previously indifferent eyes. 

“She’s a precious friend of mine, you see—” 

Before the end of that murmur, even, the air creaked and an annoying ting rang in her ears. Air warped and pressurized within an artificial space to form an invisible shock wave. 

A shock wave cannonball shot out, assaulting the white-haired girl gripping the long sword. 

Even the girl’s sword, which consumed magical energy, could not rend a mass of air. The descending shock wave poured down like rain, making the girl’s coat flutter as she retreated. She leaped skillfully over the highway’s guardrail, vanishing from sight under the elevated structure. At some point, the zombies she controlled had vanished from sight as well. 

“A remarkable retreat. Pursuit might prove rather difficult.” 

Murmuring in apparent praise, a figure stood atop a lamppost with the sun to its back. It was a slender, androgynous silhouette. Heedless of the unreliable footing, the figure’s eyes narrowed as they confirmed Asagi was safe. 

“You’re…Kojou’s…!” 

Crawling out from the airbags, Asagi looked up and gaped. 

Fondly looking back as Asagi did so, she smiled amiably. 

4 

“…What’s the meaning of this?” 

Kojou Akatsuki clutched his head as he stared at the printouts spread atop the desk. Long pieces of text in a foreign language and complex mathematical proofs decorated the sheets. They were exams for English and math. 

Yukina had said she had an important mission for him, and this is where she had led him—a classroom with problems to answer. 

“It is precisely what it looks like: supplemental exams. Is that a problem?” Natsuki grumbled while Kojou took his sweet time internalizing the current situation. 

Natsuki was dressed in the usual extravagant, frilly dress. However, the clearly unenthused expression on her face was doubtlessly related to being at school on a Sunday. She was the supplemental exam monitor on her long-awaited day off; small wonder she was in a sour mood. 

Although Kojou could say the same for himself, having to take supplemental exams he had not desired. 

“Err, they explained the situation to you, right? That I spent the last half year with amnesia on this Onrai Island place, and I only got back this morning, right?” 

“Those are the circumstances solely from your perspective, yes?” 

Speaking with a flat voice, Natsuki shot Kojou a look of visible scorn. 

“The objective fact remains, you skipped end-of-semester exams while spending the last three days in unauthorized absence. Incidentally, if you fail these exams you will be in the same class as your little sister.” 

“Meaning I’ll repeat the year?! Shit!” 

Are you a demon? cursed the voice he dared not raise aloud as he shifted his gaze to the exam problems. 

Kojou’s younger sister, Nagisa Akatsuki, was in her third year of middle school. If he wasn’t careful, he would fail the grade and have to repeat his first year of high school, meaning he would be in the same grade as his younger sister. 

“What a handful,” said Natsuki with a sigh, languidly leaning against her chair. It was an antique with arms and legs ill-suited to a high school classroom. Natsuki remained sitting in it as a homunculus girl in a maid outfit brought her a poured cup of tea. 

“To think the ruler of a Dominion would flunk a grade. It makes you wonder about the future of Itogami.” 

“I haven’t even taken the exams yet…!” Kojou objected in a quiet voice as he worked on translating English text into Japanese. It was long and dealt with current affairs. Three days prior, Kojou surely would have been unable to raise hand or foot against it. 

However, even as Kojou worried, he somehow managed to read and comprehend the difficult problem. His unexpectedly valiant efforts brought a plainly dubious expression over his exam monitor, Natsuki. She turned her gaze toward Yukina and Yaze, who were waiting in a corner of the classroom, as if to say, That’s impossible , suspecting Kojou of cheating. Yukina and Yaze, under suspicion of being coconspirators, hastily shook their heads. 

“I told you earlier, sheesh. I have a half year of extra study under my belt. First-year high school problems are cake, especially English. Her Royal Highness the paladin really worked me over for that.” 

An oddly wounded expression came over Kojou as he vindicated himself. To Kojou, the half year—or longer—he had spent upon Onrai Island was an unmistakable fact. He had undergone horrible experiences more than once or twice, but that didn’t mean all his experiences were meaningless. 

“Hmph, a Paladin of Gisella…you say?” Natsuki gave off a little snort, looking at Kojou with a grave expression. 

“Huh?” Kojou lifted his face in surprise. 

“Ms. Minamiya, you know about Gisella?” Yukina asked, bewildered. 

“The nun paladin… Er, didn’t Kojou just imagine that?” Yaze said, rather rudely, Kojou thought. 

Natsuki grimaced a little, regretting saying anything. Perhaps weary of Kojou and the others’ gazes, she sighed briefly before opening her mouth. 

“Gisella is a minor branch of the Lotharingian Orthodox Church. In other words, it is known as a heretical faction.” 

“…Lotharingian?” 

Kojou’s eyes widened a bit at the term he remembered hearing before. He certainly was surprised, but it was far from unbelievable. Now that Natsuki mentioned it, from the design of her beloved coat to her oddly obstinate personality, Shizuri did resemble a certain Lotharingian Armed Apostle known to Kojou. 

“The Lotharingian Orthodox Church is distinguished by the worship of saints. Holy men that saved multitudes and heroes that earned honor in battle against demons and so forth are extolled and worshipped as saints. Of course, to a lesser or greater extent, commonalities can be seen between this form of religion and others in every corner of the globe.” 

“So it would seem,” Kojou acknowledged with a grimace. 

He’d had few opportunities to appreciate it during the time he’d lived in a Demon Sanctuary, but even to the present day, in many nations and lands demons were still feared as a danger to humankind. 

It was a conflicted feeling for a vampire primogenitor to have, but he very much understood why people would fear demons. Put simply, many demons had physical abilities that outstripped those of humankind, hence why people admired those that could oppose Demonkind as saints. 

“But you said Gisella is a heresy, right?” he asked, feeling a faint tug on his mind from what Natsuki had said. 

She quietly nodded. “To the Lotharingian Orthodox Church that worships saints, demons are an evil existence that should be destroyed. After all, those who would claim to be just require an enemy so as to prove the justice of their cause.” 

“And demons are easy to paint as villains, huh?” This time, Kojou made a distinctly sour face. 

For the sake of their own side’s advantage, people engaged in hatred and strife with enemies of their own creation. Eventually, the original objective was long forgotten, leaving only the hatred and strife. It wasn’t limited to humans and demons. It was a common occurrence all across the world. 

“But Gisella’s creed was different. They asserted that demons ought to be given guidance and converted. Then, they would cease to be the enemy of humanity.” 

“That feels pretty bad, too, like being looked down upon.” 

Kojou stuck his cheek against his hand in dismay. Natsuki did not outright disagree with him. Though she was technically a teacher, she surely had her own personal thoughts on Gisella’s creed. Guidance had a nice ring to it, but teachers were in a position to impose their value system on students when not careful. 

That said, Gisella’s thinking, which did not view demons as evil, certainly did not strike Kojou as unpleasant. If anything, it was closest to the value system of a Demon Sanctuary resident. 

“If I was to appraise Gisella based on a single point, it would be that the group’s assertions weren’t simply hot air,” Natsuki said, elegantly raising her teacup. “As a matter of fact, they continuously acted to protect demons oppressed in conflict zones and in regions where discrimination remained pronounced.” 

Kojou let out a breath of admiration. Certainly, that was conduct that could be assigned value…and dangerous conduct at that. 

“Naturally, many groups were less than thrilled by this,” she continued. “Of course that went for the armies of various nations at odds with demons, but ferocious criticism also poured in from their brethren in the other branches of the Lotharingian Orthodox Church. In some cases, they and the demons they protected came under attack, leading to numerous casualties.” 

“So that’s what you meant by heresy…” 

Kojou’s fist trembled as he was seized by indignation. 

A difference in dogma had led to groups killing one another. This, too, was a common occurrence throughout the world. 

Gisella was not wrong in trying to protect demons, but Kojou also understood the hatred that people risking their lives to fight demons bore toward Gisella. 

It wasn’t an issue that could be resolved with violent words such as justice or evil . 

“To protect their members and demons from such hostile forces, Gisella came to view as necessary that it, too, needed to be armed. Gisella’s area of operations was always on the front lines of a war. Consequently, this raised powerful warriors honed through live combat… Ironic, isn’t it?” 

Natsuki smiled thinly. Kojou forgot his anger and stared intently at her. 

“Wait, those warriors, don’t tell me they’re…” 

Natsuki nodded dispassionately. “Yes, the Paladins of Gisella.” 

Kojou wearily exhaled. “So that’s what it was.” 

The lofty pride she had borne toward her title of paladin. The burning tenacity with which she observed Kojou to the point of being bizarre. And her oddly busybody nature: When he considered how Gisella came to be, everything about Shizuri’s personality suddenly made sense. 

Yukina, who had been quietly listening up to that point, spoke up. “If Gisella actually exists as an organization, they should prove quite useful for ascertaining Miss Kasugaya’s identity.” 

“I see. All we have to do is talk directly to these Gisella people and ask, right?” Yaze immediately pulled his smartphone out. No doubt he intended to order someone in the Gigafloat Management Corporation to contact Gisella. 

Natsuki gazed at the pair and quietly shook her head. 

“Unfortunately, that will not be possible.” 

“Why not? Because Gisella is some kind of secret organization like the Lion King Agency?” Kojou glanced back at Natsuki, perplexed. 

“A special government agency,” corrected Yukina. 

“Certainly, Gisella has no reason to hide the identity of its paladins,” Natsuki said dismissively. 

“Then—” 

“But it won’t work. Gisella no longer exists,” Natsuki calmly declared, seemingly chiding Kojou for his fervor. 

“Wait… What?” 

“Until six years ago, Gisella’s headquarters was located within the European Demon Sanctuary of Iroise.” 

“Demon Sanctuary of…Iroise…?” Kojou repeated, shocked. 

It wasn’t that her words were surprising in themselves. Gisella’s objective was to protect demons. If so, basing their headquarters in a Demon Sanctuary made sense. After all, Demon Sanctuaries weren’t limited to Itogami Island; they were built with the objective of coexistence between humans and demons the world over. 

What made Kojou feel bewildered was toward the place being called Iroise. 

Kojou knew the name of that city from somewhere. He’d heard Natsuki say the name before. 

Yukina knew, too. “Tartarus Lapse…” 

The word linked Kojou’s memories together. 

“Right… Tartarus Lapse! The European Demon Sanctuary of Iroise—that’s the name of the city Takehito Senga and his people destroyed six years ago…!” 

“It seems that most of Gisella’s members remained in Iroise until the very end, exhausting all efforts to rescue the citizens. As a result, it was too late for them to flee. The organization was annihilated. There are no surviving Paladins of Gisella…as far as I am aware, at least.” 

Natsuki’s tone of voice was gentle, lending it the heavy ring of truth all the more. 

“They were…wiped out…” 

Kojou’s shaky gaze loitered about. Natsuki’s explanation added up. She had no reason to deceive him. Gisella truly no longer existed. 

In spite of that, Kojou didn’t think Shizuri had lied to him. She’d most certainly called herself a Paladin of Gisella, and there was no inconsistency between her words and actions. Or had Shizuri already died, meaning that what Kojou had seen was her ghost—? 

What’s the meaning of this? Kojou asked himself, his expression that of a man adrift. 

“This idle talk has gone on long enough. There are still twenty-five minutes until your English exam is finished.” 

Natsuki produced a golden pocket watch, the tone of her voice suddenly changing as she spoke. 

Her unexpected words brought a ferocious “Geh!” out of Kojou. Apparently, she’d totally counted the time taken up by their conversation just then against the time allotted for the exam. That she’d gone out of her way to warn him naturally meant she had no intention of extending that time. It was atrocious behavior from someone who’d spoken a fair deal in that conversation. 

And what remained before Kojou’s hands were virtually untouched answer sheets. 

What’s the heck is going on? lamented Kojou, sighing once more as he felt like he’d been slapped. 

5 

Astarte, who’d left the classroom earlier, returned right after Kojou somehow managed to wrap up his supplemental English exam and was digging into math problems with no time for a break. 

“Master, there is an emergency call for you.” 

The tray the homunculus girl carried had a fresh cup of black tea, two cookies, and a small communication device upon it. It was an encrypted communicator for federal Attack Mages. 

“Hmm.” 

Natsuki glanced at its screen before surveying the classroom. Kojou was in the middle of calculating the simultaneous equation inequalities forming the cliff that could bar him from the next grade. Yukina, his watcher, was slouched against a classroom wall and sound asleep, perhaps from considerable exhaustion. Beside her, Yaze and Lydianne were playing a card game. In a sense, it was a very peaceful scene. 

“Astarte. I leave this place to you. Strictly deal with any irregularities.” 

“Accepted.” 

Astarte affirmed her master Natsuki’s rather roundabout orders. 

Grasping one of the cookies Astarte had brought in, Natsuki headed out of the classroom. It was Kojou who called her to a halt. 

“Natsuki?” 

“Forget it. There is nothing to be gained by you paying attention. Don’t think.” 

Did something happen? asked the look on Kojou’s face, but Natsuki bluntly blew him off. 

“I can’t stop thinking in the middle of an exam, sheesh…” 

What teacher talks to a pupil like that? sulked Kojou to himself, resting his cheek against his palm. Then, when Kojou lifted his face once more, Natsuki had elegantly vanished from sight. 

A gunfight had broken out inside the warehouse. It was an old cargo warehouse on the far edges of Island East. 

E VENT M ANAGEMENT C ORPORATION was written on the sign. As fronts for frequently hauling in cargo without arousing suspicion went, you could do worse. 

Engaged in the firefight was the Island Guard’s SWAT team under the command of a federal Attack Mage police inspector. The Island Guard was superior in numbers and firepower, but the situation was most certainly not to their advantage. Sorcerous criminals holed up in the warehouse were employing powerful offensive spells. That was probably the reason they’d sent a request for Natsuki to render support. 

Jumping into the warehouse via teleportation, Natsuki walked right into the middle of the battle. 

The besieged sorcerous criminals numbered seven in total. By modern standards, the spells they used were dangerous and inefficient—not to mention vile. 

They employed powerful miasma that corroded metal and a mind-control spell for causing indiscriminate panic. 

Each of the casters gripped old grimoires with thick, heavy binding. 

“LCO sorcerers, is it?” Natsuki exhaled in tedium as she pegged the sorcerous criminals’ nature. 

The Library of Criminal Organizations—aka the LCO. They were a group of sorcerers with the objective of collecting and studying large quantities of forbidden grimoires said to spread calamity. 

For a time, they boasted tremendous influence around the world, but a betrayal by their leader, Aya Tokoyogi, had dealt a serious blow, leaving them weakened. Having already lost many of their most crucial members on Itogami Island, their kind surely came to see the land as abominable. 

“After being humiliated by Aya, I thought you’d tuck in your tails and run, yet here you are crawling back out of the woodwork. What, did you think you could sneak by right after Itogami Island’s newly gained independence?” 

Without fanfare, Natsuki waved the fan in her hand toward the sorcerers chanting their spells. An invisible shock wave mercilessly slammed into the enemy. The miasma inside the warehouse cleared; the intensity of the Island Guard side’s attacks increased. 

“Attack Mage Minamiya!” 

An inspector she recognized noticed Natsuki and rushed over to her. A conflicted expression came over him, mixing a cringe over his jurisdiction being infringed with unconcealable relief. 

“Did he say Natsuki Minamiya…?!” 

“The Witch of the Void?!” 

Murmurs ran between the holed-up sorcerers. To them, Natsuki, the one who’d captured Aya Tokoyogi and creator of the cause of LCO’s downfall, was a symbol of hatred and fear. 

“Take your wounded and fall back. I can deal with this by myself,” Natsuki ordered the inspector. 

For an instant, the inspector blanched, but he did not attempt to object. He knew that Natsuki was right. 

All view of the Attack Mage, clad in her elegant dress, vanished as she seemed to melt into thin air. 

A moment later, she appeared in the center of the besieged sorcerers. 

Silver chains shot out at every angle, blasting through the sorcerers as they stood petrified. The chains proceeded to entwine them, robbing them of their freedom to act. It was all over in a single instant. As the sorcerers let out anguished voices and fell to the floor, Natsuki fixed them with a glare of disgust, as if she was looking at houseflies. 

“So fragile. Even with the LCO weakened, I would have thought they could send more fighting strength into the field than this…” 

Confirming that the sorcerers had been neutralized, the Island Guard members walked into the back of the warehouse. In contrast to the relieved smiles coming over each of them, Natsuki’s expression remained clouded. The lack of tenacity from the LCO sorcerers weighed on her mind. 

Natsuki’s train of thought was broken by the fearful voices coming from the apprehended sorcerers. 

“U…UWAAAAAAAAAAA!” 

“Wha…?!” 

“What’s wrong with them?!” 

Even the members of the Island Guard were so unnerved that their legs became wobbly. That was how bizarre the sight unfolding before them was. 

Countless shadows were crawling out of the darkness at the back of the warehouse. This was a horde of decaying, swollen, strange-looking beasts. Vestiges of various animals, such as dogs, birds, and fish, remained, but not a single one had retained its original shape. Dozens of individual bodies had merged to form a single mass pushing its way into the warehouse. 

“L…Larvae?! It can’t be! Why, Great Librarian?! We are your LCO brethren—!” screamed one of the sorcerers, rolling onto the floor with a pitiable expression. 

The Island Guard turned toward the oncoming monsters and began firing at them. However, the monsters that had been called Larvae did not halt their incursion. The slippery, glowing, viscous shadow swallowed up the immobile sorcerers and began to digest their flesh. 

“I see. These are expendable pawns. The objective is the destruction of evidence.” 

Sourly narrowing her eyes, Natsuki waved the fan in her right hand. 

The surrounding space made a ripple-like shimmer and spat out little teddy bears one after another. Gray. Brown. Pastel blue. Polka dot. Checkered. Stuffed animals of various colors formed a line without a single thread out of place and rushed the Larva horde. In reality, the bears were Natsuki’s familiars— bombs that Natsuki had created with magical energy. 

The Larvae had been pushed back only a few short meters when Natsuki detonated her familiars one after the next. The scale of the explosions was small, but the force was plenty to blow away Larvae, nothing more than zombies in the end. Moreover, the familiars overwhelmed them by sheer numbers. 

The Larvae were thoroughly turned into scorched pieces of flesh, steaming white as they vanished. Only the members of the Island Guard, seemingly beside themselves, and the wounded sorcerers remained behind. 

“Now, then. It seems that you have been abandoned by your superior. Do you still have the morale to put up resistance?” 

Natsuki coldly levied her question toward one of the sorcerers openly weeping from fear and the pain of his wounds. The sorcerer continued to sob, but even so, he desperately shook his head. Naturally, he understood full well that he would have been killed had Natsuki not blown the Larvae away. 

“Now, then, will you hand over the cargo you smuggled in?” 

Natsuki posed the question in a voice bereft of emotion. One of the sorcerers, still bound by silver chains, used his barely free left hand to point at a machine standing nearby. 

It had a cheap, plastic exterior and a very loud color scheme. It was a large-sized game cabinet like those one would see at a game center or an amusement park. 

“Are you toying with us…?!” 

“You’ve got a lot of guts,” growled the Attack Mage inspector, wrenching the wailing sorcerer up by his collar. 

“No, it’s true! The Great Librarian… The Witch of the Dusk ordered us not to hand this machine over to anyone!” 

The sorcerer retorted in a voice with a sob mixed in. The desperate look on his face sent the inspector into silence. His demeanor suggested he did not know how to process that information. 

“The Witch of the Dusk…is it? I see now,” Natsuki murmured purely to herself. Her eyes somehow seemed visibly amused as they gazed at the game cabinet that had been sitting in the warehouse gathering dust for those last three days. 

6 

“Time is up.” 

The homunculus girl’s monotone voice echoed throughout the closed classroom. 

The needles of the clock indicated it was 11:50 AM . The time allotted for Kojou’s supplemental exams had come to an end. 

“It’s…over…” 

Kojou, who had somehow managed to finish all the problems, slumped onto the table, motionless. 

To begin with, it hadn’t even been six hours since Kojou had been recovered from Itogami Island’s beach. Dragged to school without a clue what was going on, he’d had supplemental exams out of the blue. On top of that, he’d heard the true nature of Gisella; Kojou’s brain was on the verge of overheating. 

For the time being, he didn’t want to think about anything complex. He knew he couldn’t do that, though. 

“Submission of answer sheets confirmed. You will be informed of supplementary test results after two days.” 

Whether she was aware of Kojou’s mental anguish or not, Astarte’s statement was businesslike to the very end. With a neutral look on her face, she checked the test papers that she had collected. The only thing Kojou and the others could do beyond that point…was pray. 

“Senpai, you have worked very hard.” 

Kojou fell into a state of despondency as Yukina’s voice called out to him. It probably wasn’t just Kojou’s imagination that her expression looked a smidgen brighter. 

She might have felt responsible as his watcher for him being backed to the brink of failing a grade, or perhaps it was simply that her lack of sleep had been alleviated. 

“Himeragi, you fine with being awake this soon?” Kojou asked, genuinely concerned for her. 

Maybe she was trying to keep him from noticing, but even to Kojou it was plain as day Yukina had been sleeping during the exams. 

“To what do you refer? Not that I am particularly short on sleep, but I shall have you know that Sword Shamans of the Lion King Agency receive training so that they may continue acting for ninety-six hours with neither rest nor sleep—” 

“You’ve got a mark on you.” 

Kojou pointed at Yukina’s left cheek as he conveyed the minimum information necessary. Plain as day, Yukina had a mark on her cheek from the arm she had used as her pillow while she had been sound asleep. 

Yukina’s face turned bright red and she fell into silence. 

“How are your wounds, Kojou?” Yaze asked in her place with a pained smile. 

“Well, I’m all right somehow. An all-out sprint would be asking a little much, though.” 

Kojou subconsciously touched his left breast as he replied. He was accustomed to pain, but he couldn’t hope for a wound made by Snowdrift Wolf impaling him to dramatically heal in such a short time. Furthermore, wounds via Snowdrift Wolf impeded him from summoning his Beast Vassals. Kojou knew that from past experience. 

That said, it wasn’t a wound on a level that hindered day-to-day life. That was no doubt thanks to Yukina having missed his vitals. 

“Let’s go grab something to eat, then, hm? Asagi should be arriving anytime now.” 

Yaze checked the clock as he spoke. His words made Kojou realize just how empty his stomach was. Kojou’s last meal had been before entering the hot spring in the Carceri . 

At present, Kojou did not really know if the Carceri truly existed or not. The girl supposedly able to explain that had yet to arrive at Saikai Academy. 

“Come to think of it, Asagi’s kinda late,” Kojou murmured. 

It had already been over three hours since Yaze had sent word to her. 

However, Yaze nodded without any particular sign of nervousness. 

“Yeah. Seems like there was some sort of trouble with her tank midway.” 

“…Trouble?” 

Kojou’s eyebrows wavered with worry. He didn’t ask, Why is Asagi riding a tank in the middle of the city? He felt like it was a little late to be asking that . 

“I sent Lidy-Lady to go get her, so I don’t think there’s any need to worry. Whatever might happen along the way—” 

Yaze immediately stopped. He held his favorite headphones to an ear as a grave expression came over him that he never showed others under normal circumstances. 

“…Yaze?” 

“We have a guest. One woman. And she’s armed.” Yaze looked like he was gazing far into the distance as he clicked his tongue in disgust. 

Kojou’s expression tightened as well. “Armed? Wait, are you saying she’s gonna attack our school?” 

With it being Sunday, there were virtually no students on campus save for a few involved in club activities. If someone was coming to attack, odds were 80 to 90 percent that the target was Kojou. 

“Senpai!” 

Yukina’s warning reverberated through the classroom before Kojou could grasp the situation. She drew a spell tablet from the pocket of her school uniform, hurling it like a shuriken. 

The spell tablet changed form in midair, transforming into a silver wolf. It was a metallic shikigami . 

The wolf sailed over Kojou’s head, moving toward a window with a veranda right outside. 

There stood a single, blue-black shadow. It was as if two lizards had been forcibly fused together to form a two-headed, eight-legged reptile. Its body was rotting, swollen until its form had become especially unsettling. 

Kojou and the others stared straight at it as it climbed over the sill of the open window. Its bulging eyeballs darted to and fro as if it was monitoring Kojou and the others. 

Yukina’s shikigami attacked the monster with lightning speed. Rent by ritual-energy-infused claws, the monster’s body burst into pieces. The scattered, flying pieces of flesh twitched for a while, but finally turned to smoke under the sunlight and vanished. 

“…What the heck was that thing?” Yaze asked, disgusted, as he stepped on a not-yet-dissolved piece of flesh with his indoor shoe. 

Yukina seemed at a loss as to whether she should return the shikigami to a spell tablet and recover it. She no doubt hesitated to touch a spell tablet covered in a monster’s blood spatter with her bare hand. 

Belatedly, Kojou spoke the monster’s name. “Larva…” 

“Larv… What?” Yaze blinked with a suspicious look in his eyes. 

“A type of zombie. Supposedly an animal corpse that’s animated from demonic energy in the Carceri .” 

“ Carceri … Wait, you don’t mean…?” Yaze’s eyes flew wide open. 

No doubt Yaze was just as surprised as anyone that a monster from Onrai Island, a place that supposedly didn’t exist, had appeared in the real world. 

Yukina calmly explained, “This was no naturally occurring undead. It was faint, but I sensed it was receiving some kind of directional ritual energy.” 

Kojou’s expression became grave. 

“Meaning that someone was controlling it?” 

“Then the objective was recon. We’ve been found out,” Yaze said, pressing his headphones over both his ears. 

Kojou didn’t know what basis he had for declaring that, but he figured those headphones had something to do with it. 

“Maybe someone’s after me…!” 

“Well, in this situation, it’d be difficult to assume any other reason,” Yaze said. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” 

What a chore, thought Kojou, genuinely irritated for a second, but he immediately switched gears. If there’s trouble coming either way, better it come straight at me, he reasoned. 

That went double since someone had been controlling the Larva. He had a mountain of questions he wanted to pose to the assailant. 

“Do you know the intruder’s location?” Yukina asked as she drew her silver spear from her beloved guitar case. 

“She’s just coming through the service entrance onto the school grounds. Given the time, the possibility of bumping into other students is low…but what are you gonna do?” 

Yaze shifted his eyes to the windows on the corridor side. Kojou took the latter question to mean Is it better to lie in ambush inside the classroom or head outside to smack her around there? 

Kojou volunteered without hesitation. “I’ll go. Our location’s been exposed anyway.” 

Without knowing the opponent’s identity, no effective plans could be formed, and you can’t surprise attack someone who knows your location. Leisurely waiting for the enemy to approach would be futile. Besides, every single one of Kojou’s Beast Vassals would prove useless in the cramped confines of the building. 

“Concur. I shall apprehend the intruder in Master Minamiya’s place.” 

Rather surprisingly, it was Astarte who straight-up agreed with Kojou’s opinion. 

Astarte, a homunculus under protective custody and observation, had a duty placed upon her to obey Natsuki’s orders. It was to her that Natsuki had given the vague orders of I leave this place to you. As a result, Astarte had apparently taken the absent Natsuki’s duty to preserve public order within the school as her own. Here, maintaining public order meant disposing of the intruder. 

“Understood. I’ll handle evacuating the students on my end. I’d have left Lidy-Lady here if I knew this was gonna happen.” 

Yaze grudgingly accepted Kojou and Astarte’s plan of action. Lidy-Lady no doubt meant Lydianne. Lydianne herself was the powerless elementary schooler she appeared to be, but her robot tank was incredibly strong. Though having something like that go on a rampage within school grounds posed problems of its own. 

“I shall go on ahead.” 

“Eh? Astarte… Er, hey!” 

Before Kojou could stop her, Astarte headed for the window in the corridor. Leaping out of the windowsill from the school building’s third floor, she landed on the ground. Translucent wings spread from the back of her maid outfit, absorbing the blow from the fall. 

“Senpai, let us go as well.” 

Having drawn her silver spear from her guitar case, Yukina followed Astarte without hesitation. Deftly turning in midair like a cat, she landed without so much as a sound or a wobble. She’d probably enhanced her physical capabilities with ritual energy. She even demonstrated the luxury of firmly holding down her pleated skirt. 

“Aww, crap! No choice but to go…!” 

Kojou was practically in tears as he followed after Yukina and Astarte. Now that his body had become that of a vampire, that kind of height was no big deal at all, but logic didn’t make scary things any less scary. 

As Kojou performed a relatively disjointed landing, Astarte spoke in a voice with little intonation. “Warning. Approach of undead designated as Larvae confirmed.” 

“Larvae…in these numbers…!” Yukina exclaimed, looking around the schoolyard. The pathway leading to the service entrance was seemingly buried under a horde of creepy undead pressing closer. They were based on mouse corpses in such bad taste that the very sight of them made one want to retch. Naturally, even Yukina could not conceal her unrest. 

“Pull back, Himeragi. You too, Astarte.” Kojou raised his right hand as he stepped to the fore. “Sheesh.” 

He was not using his Beast Vassals. The Beast Vassals of the Fourth Primogenitor, said to rival natural disasters, specialized mainly in wiping out large armies and engaging in mass destruction. Using them in a place like that would draw attention, and the facilities within school grounds would not escape unscathed. What was needed was not a Beast Vassal, but a tiny fragment of the demonic energy one possessed— 

“Eh…?!” 

He saw Yukina gape, for what Kojou gripped in his right hand was the spell tablet that Yukina had purportedly left in the classroom forgotten. It was not Yukina, but Kojou pouring demonic power in, which transformed the spell tablet into a shikigami —one with the form of a lion enshrouded by pale lightning. 

Kojou’s shikigami manifested for but a single moment. 

Transforming into a beam, it assaulted the horde of Larvae; the next instant, it burst apart, seemingly exploding from the inside out. The shikigami had no doubt been unable to withstand Kojou’s vast demonic energies. 

In the span of that single instant, the horde of Larvae had been wiped out. Before it burned up and dissipated, Kojou’s shikigami had torn dozens of Larvae apart. 

“Well, that’s that.” 

Kojou gazed at the steaming pile of Larvae remains, exhaling with relief. After all, the shikigami had only materialized for a single moment, and it wasn’t like he was capable of precise control. It wasn’t something particularly praiseworthy at all, but since the immediate objective had been accomplished, he supposed it counted as a success. 

“Senpai…just now…?!” she exclaimed, eyes blinking wide. 

He couldn’t fault her for being surprised. Even if it was a ritual accomplished by pure force of demonic energy, Kojou had used a spell. 

“I told you. For half a year, I’ve been training as an Attack Mage. Well, not that I was able to use a single spell right up to the very end…” 

Kojou bore a distinctly awkward expression as he spoke. It was Rui who had taught him the fundamentals of magic, including how to control a shikigami . He was keenly aware of just how unsophisticated his own spell had been. 

“It can’t be… You really did train on Onrai Island…?” Yukina was in a daze. 

However, Kojou did not reply to her question. 

He had noticed the sight of the assailant stepping past the remains of the Larvae and drawing near. It was a white-haired girl carrying a long sword. 

The sight of her brought Kojou to a halt, as if it had sent an electric jolt running through him. 

“That’s crazy… You’re the one controlling the Larvae…?!” 

Kojou blanched and shook his head. He could not comprehend what was happening. 

The girl was clad in a long coat adorned with armor in various places. Pure-white hair spilled out under the long wimple she wore. She had a refined face and blue eyes. 

The girl was gripping a crimson long sword that resembled a flame—Hauras. 

“Cas, why—?!!” 

Shizuri Kasugaya looked back at the shouting Kojou with a neutral expression, her sword at the ready. 

The undulating, crimson blade coldly reflected the light of the sun. 

7 

“Presence of armed intruder confirmed. Right to self-defense activated under Homunculus Protective Custody Conditions: Special Exemption Clause Number Two.” 

Astarte’s monotone voice echoed across the schoolyard. A pair of nearly transparent wings spread from her slender back clad in a maid outfit once more. These gradually transformed into a set of arms—that of a huge, humanoid Beast Vassal. 

“Execute, Rhododactylos.” 

A translucent golem appeared, swallowing Astarte. She was the world’s one and only artificial, experimental Beast Vassal symbiote. She was a homunculus controlling a Beast Vassal. 

In her Beast Vassal armor, Astarte stepped in front of the enemy to act as everyone’s shield. 

Physical attacks were completely ineffective against a Beast Vassal. Furthermore, Astarte’s Beast Vassal, Rhododactylos, reflected and absorbed magical energy. This meant, in other words, any kind of attack could not harm Astarte’s Beast Vassal. 

Even so, Kojou’s expression twisted in fear. 

“It’s no good, Astarte! Not against Cas’s… I mean Kasugaya’s sword, Hauras!” 

Shizuri launched her attack before Astarte could react to Kojou’s yell. Holding the crimson sword in a low stance, she sprinted, slicing toward the huge humanoid Beast Vassal. 

Astarte manipulated the Beast Vassal’s arm in an attempt to block the attack. No doubt she intended to capture Shizuri unharmed. 

However, immediately before contact was made with Shizuri, a deep gash was sliced into the enormous arm. 

To a Beast Vassal constructed of demonic energy, the damage itself was not threatening, but Astarte reacted late to the unexpected impact. While Astarte struggled to reorient herself, Shizuri leaped into the golem’s flank, slashing it over and over. 

“Miss Astarte’s Beast Vassal is being sliced apart…!” Yukina exclaimed with a heavy heart. After all, even her Snowdrift Wolf had proven unable to damage Astarte’s Beast Vassal. 

Shizuri was breaking through Rhododactylos’s impregnable defenses with ease. It was a one-sided fight. Indeed, her sword seemed to increase in might the more it sliced into Rhododactylos. 

“Her sword gets stronger as it consumes demonic energy. You can’t block that sword with a Beast Vassal! Pull back!” Kojou warned. 

Astarte politely obeyed. She surely understood that prolonging the fight would only be to Shizuri’s advantage. Using the overwhelming strength in her golem’s legs, Astarte jumped backward in one bound. Shizuri made no attempt to pursue. 

“Cas…!” 

Kojou stood still and defenseless as he called out to Shizuri. Behind him, Yukina quietly raised her spear. 

“I have finally found you, Kojou Akatsuki.” 

Shizuri’s voice sounded robotic, as if speaking to someone unfamiliar to her. She looked back at Kojou with emotionless eyes, training her crimson blade toward him. 

“Return to Onrai Island, Fourth Primogenitor. Absconding from a Demon Sanctuary is a serious offense.” 

“Absconding…?” 

Shizuri’s false accusation threw Kojou for a loop. 

Of course, Kojou had no memory of fleeing from Onrai Island. She had to have seen Kojou vanish from the Carceri the moment he’d been impaled by Yukina’s spear. It had happened right in front of her. 

“Wait, Cas. You really came here from Onrai Island? How…?” 

Yaze had said Onrai Island didn’t exist. 

Yet, here was Shizuri, telling him to return to Onrai Island. Did that mean travel to and from Onrai Island was actually possible…? 

Shizuri chose not to answer. She lowered her center of gravity, holding her sword up. Kojou recognized this stance. She did this before charging her enemy. 

“I am a Paladin of Gisella, watcher of the Fourth Primogenitor. For the protection of Onrai Island, I shall guide Kojou Akatsuki to the Carceri —!” 

“Cas, stop it! Kasugaya!” 

Kojou’s expression stiffened as he yelled. He had no desire to fight her. He didn’t think he could win against her in the first place. 

Disregarding Kojou’s plea, Shizuri kicked off the ground, hurling herself toward him. 

Her acceleration was overwhelming. It was beyond human limits. She closed the distance between them in a blink. Her crimson blade traced a beautiful arc that would sever Kojou’s torso in two— 

That instant, a silver blade resembled a beam as it raced into Kojou and Shizuya’s fields of vision. 

“Snowdrift Wolf!” 

“—?!” 

Shizuri’s eyes wavered in shock. The sword she had swung with the speed of the gods had been blocked by the silver spear just before reaching Kojou. Shizuri used the power of the clashing sword’s recoil to leap backward, whereas Yukina re-poised her spear, keeping up her guard. 

“H-Himeragi…?!” It took Kojou, frozen stiff, a moment to grasp the situation. 

By that time, Yukina and Shizuri had clashed once more. Each of them understood that the opponent before her was a powerful foe. Their guards were up. 

“The demonic energy of Hauras… It’s vanished…?!” 

Shizuri bit her lip a little when she saw that her beloved sword had lost its glow. Hauras, its might likely amplified from consuming Astarte’s Beast Vassal, had reverted to an ordinary long sword. Yukina’s demonic-energy-nullifying Snowdrift Wolf had erased the demonic energy the sword had accumulated. 

“Shizuri Kasugaya Castiella, I am your opponent,” Yukina said solemnly, showing no sign of being swayed by Shizuri’s anger. 

Kojou did not stop Yukina. More accurately, he could not stop her. He couldn’t even approach the pair as they glared at each other from a safe distance. All he would accomplish by carelessly approaching was getting in Yukina’s way. 

Shizuri’s expression was full of hostility. “And who might you be?” 

“Yukina Himeragi. A Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency.” 

“…The Lion King Agency?” Shizuri tilted her little head slightly. She probably didn’t know the name. 

“Please put down your weapon and surrender. Your sword’s ability is ineffective against Snowdrift Wolf,” Yukina warned. 

Shizuri took that as a provocation, though. The sharpness of her beautiful features increased. 

“Do not underestimate me!” 

As she spat out the words, Shizuri stepped into the gap separating her and Yukina. 

Reflexively controlling her spear, Yukina parried Shizuri’s sword. However, Yukina did not refrain from counterattacks. She used the force of the recoil to spin her spear around, turning its fully metallic shaft as a blunt weapon to assault the side of Shizuri’s head. Shizuri ducked her upper body to evade the attack and unleashed a slice from a low stance. With elegant steps, Yukina eluded the crimson blade before thrusting with Snowdrift Wolf once more. Shizuri swung her sword down from on high to parry the blade head-on. The two weapons clashed, and the force pushed both of them backward. It was truly an even battle. 

“Cas, stop it! You too, Himeragi!” Kojou shouted. 

It was futile. His voice vanished amid the sound of blades clashing. 

Even with his enhanced vision from his vampire abilities, Kojou couldn’t track the pair’s movements as they blended together. All he could see were countless after-images of weapons and flying sparks. 

“What is your relationship to Kojou?!” Shizuri yelled, keeping up a flurry of continuous attacks. 

“I am his watcher!” Yukina replied while beating down the virtual storm of slicing attacks. 

That instant, a hint of distress like never before arose in Shizuri’s eyes. 

“Excuse me?! Watcher?! That is my duty! I am the one who has been eating and sleeping with him every day for the last half year!” 

Bereft of emotion, Astarte repeated, “Eating and…sleeping together…” 

“That’s not true! Well, I guess that’s not technically a lie, but it wasn’t like that!” Kojou hastily denied. He needed to dispel any unfortunate misunderstandings. 

With an especially ferocious metallic echo, Yukina and Shizuri put distance between each other once more. The air of fatigue was thick with both of them. Yukina’s breathing was labored, and Shizuri’s brow was drenched with sweat. 

“Senpai, Miss Kasugaya is likely not in her right mind at present,” Yukina said. 

“Er, that’s probably right, but…” 

He knew that. He’d understood Shizuri wasn’t in her right mind from the very fact she’d been controlling Larvae. 

“Thus…,” said Yukina, narrowing her eyes. “I am sorry, but I shall have to subdue her by force!” 

“That is my line! I shall show you the power of a Paladin of Gisella! Hauras!” 

With a roar, Shizuri accelerated, holding her sword above her head, ready to bring it down to one side with all her strength. It was a type of offensive strike that also left her defenses open—Shizuri’s specialty. 

Yukina got out of the way by a single hairsbreadth, only thanks to her Future Sight as a Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency. She had seen the arc of Shizuri’s sword a moment faster than it could be traced. 

“Wha—?!” 

Surprised by her sure-kill attack being eluded, the tempo of Shizuri’s movements slowed. The first opening she showed proved crucial. 

“—Roaring Thunder!!” 

Yukina’s knee slammed into Shizuri’s flank. It was a Sword Shaman close-combat technique developed with anti-demon combat in mind. The refined ritual energy within it became a shock wave that penetrated the armor of Shizuri’s coat. 

“Grounded Lightning!” 

With Shizuri’s movements halted, Yukina spun around and attacked Shizuri’s temple with a back-knuckle strike. With that thud , Shizuri’s head made an unnatural lurch. The blow had surely shaken her brain. 

“A-are you crazy, Himeragi…?!” Kojou’s face went pale. “That’s totally overdoing it!” 

It was Shizuri who’d come slicing first, but self-defense had its limits. A Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency could render beast people powerless with their bare hands. If a normal human squarely took one of Yukina’s attacks, their life could be in danger. 

Kojou’s concerns went away fast, replaced by fear. 

To keep herself upright, Shizuri had dug her feet in then and there, brandishing her sword once more. 

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!” 

Shizuri put her whole body into a sword strike against Yukina, who was defenseless directly after her attack. 

“Urk…!” 

Yukina managed to block the counterattack in the nick of time. The distinctive serrated blade of Hauras collided with the shaft of Snowdrift Wolf, scattering pale sparks all about. Even so, Shizuri did not relent in her attacks. She proceeded to shake the slammed sword free, sending Yukina’s body flying backward. 

“Himeragi…?!” 

Kojou watched, unable to do a thing as Yukina slammed into the ground back-first. 

Shizuri was an exceptional swordswoman, but by no means did she have an imposing physique. Normally, you would never think she could have sent Yukina flying with a single hand. On top of that, it was downright mystifying how she could stand after Yukina had attacked her earlier. 

Shizuri’s unfocused eyes found him. “Kojou…let’s go home…together…” 

Even though her mind was hazy, she reached a hand out toward Kojou. The wimple she wore fell off her head, and her sparkling white hair fluttered out. 

“Kasugaya…you’re…,” Kojou rasped. 

Shizuri was in no condition to be walking upright at the moment. Even so, she approached Kojou out of sheer obstinacy. It was a heart-wrenching sight. 

The fallen Yukina forced herself to her feet bit by bit. “I understand now… Shizuri Kasugaya Castiella, you’re…” 

The damage to her was by no means small. She was unable to even pick up her dropped spear. 

Seeing Yukina like that, Shizuri’s eyes suddenly regained their focus. 

“Aaaaaah—!” 

Shizuri, raising her crimson long sword high, sliced toward Yukina, giving her no time to regain her footing. Shizuri was most likely relying on her own combat instincts at this point. However, her attacks no longer had the speed or precision they did moments before. 

Easily eluding the sword thrust toward her, Yukina entered Shizuri’s flank. With rather slow motion, she pressed her palm to Shizuri’s chest, slamming a shock wave into her body. 

“—Distort!” 

Shizuri trembled. She let out a short gasp as the strength left her body. Shizuri finally lost consciousness. Yukina gently laid her on the ground. 

“Himeragi, are you all right?!” Kojou rushed over as Yukina remained squatted. 

Yukina’s uniform was heavily askew, and her bangs stuck to her sweat-drenched forehead. She was still trying to catch her breath. But the damage Shizuri had taken was far greater. Kojou was shocked she was even breathing. 

“And Cas…? You didn’t kill her, right?” he asked timidly, leaning over to see the girl. 

Astarte grasped Shizuri’s wrist and began measuring her heartbeats. Originally, she had been designed as a medical homunculus. In a situation like this, she was more reliable than any bottom-of-the-barrel doctor. 

Staring at her opponent, Yukina answered haltingly, “I believe she is merely unconscious. However, she is—” 

She cut herself off. 

Kojou nodded in silence. He knew what she meant. 

Natsuki’s voice abruptly arose in the back of his mind once more. The Paladins of Gisella had no survivors. 

“I see, Cas…you’re…” 

Kojou gently touched the side of Shizuri’s sleeping face. 

Bright white hair adorned her head, but there were unfamiliar things above her ears. They were tiny protrusions resembling hair ornaments, not even reaching ten centimeters in length. They had been hidden beneath her wimple the entire time. 

A pair of gleaming, jade horns… 

Proof that she was a Demon. 

Intermission III 

The roses were blooming. 

The giant flowers buried the whole surface of the sky. 

The spectacle was at once a densely concentrated aurora, yet also a vortex of demonic energy. 

Hieroglyphics drawn in the air covered a diameter of tens of kilometers. They were scarlet roses wrought from magic. 

The falling rose petals danced in the sky, transforming into malevolent, phantom beasts. They greatly resembled vampire Beast Vassals. They were collections of dense demonic energy possessing their own sentience: beasts summoned from another world. 

“Shinako!” 

A single girl called out from inside the storm born from rampaging demonic energy. Despite wearing plain, dirty clothing, she was beautiful; anyone’s eyes would rest upon her. The white hair spilling out from beneath her wimple danced in the wind. Tears would not stop welling up in her blue eyes. 

In her arms, the girl carried a female knight with a gentle visage. 

The knight was in her mid-twenties or thereabouts. Her charming face possessed gentleness and gallantry in equal measure. The painful wear and tear visible on her armor made her look like a grizzled warrior straight out of myth and legend. 

Her armor was ruined, and the surface of the ground was drenched in fresh blood. The right hand that gripped her long sword was charred, and the awful stench of scorched flesh hovered in the air. 

“Shinako, why?!” the white-haired girl shouted as she crouched down with the wounded knight. 

The knight gently touched the side of that girl’s face with her hand. Her fingertips were cold, without blood flow. Her strong arms felt as frail as a single feather. 

“So you…made it out safe, Shizuri… Thank goodness…” Shinako’s voice was weak, ready to disappear. 

The girl strongly embraced that gently smiling, battle-worn knight. 

“Why?! Shinako, you should have been able to easily fend off an attack like that all by yourself. So why…?!” 

“My duty is to protect everyone in this place. That is why I was granted this secret armament. That is why…” 

The knight gazed at her long sword with a look of satisfaction. Its blade, undulating like a flame, dazzled as it glowed with vast demonic energy. She had lost count of how many Rose Beast Vassals it had felled as it had consumed their demonic energy. 

Her valiant fighting had saved the white-haired girl. Thousands of citizens had been left behind in a city on the brink of destruction. However, there was no end to the Beast Vassals. The knight’s strength had been exhausted, and death had its clutches on her. 

“But…Shinako, you…!” The girl despaired. 

In spite of that, the knight hid her agony, offering a charming smile. “You are so gentle, Shizuri… Gisella was indeed right to have saved you.” 

“…!” 

The knight’s words, full of pride, made the girl audibly gasp. She bit her lip, placing her own hand upon the knight’s charred right arm. 

Raggedly wiping off the tears drenching her cheeks, the white-haired girl quietly said, “I will protect them—” 

“Shizuri?” 

The knight’s eyes narrowed, bewildered. The girl took the sword from the knight’s right hand. 

“I shall protect everyone in your place!” 

Beneath that declaration was a voice shuddering in pain. 

Infused with vast demonic energy, the long sword imposed a burden on its possessor just from wielding it in her hand. To the girl, no trained knight, the agony must have been akin to gripping molten iron. 

Even so, she did not let go. 

Surprised, the knight made a little nod. With a face full of resolve and determination, she smiled brightly. 

“Understood. Shizuri Castiella, in the name of Shinako Kasugaya, I grant thee the sword Hauras.” 

The knight gently put her left hand over the girl’s on the sword. At the same time as the knight chanted that holy vow, the girl’s pain faded. The sword had acknowledged her as its new master. 

“Shinako—?!” 

All strength drained from the knight’s body, as if that was the ceremony’s price. 

The girl carrying the sword let out an anguished cry as she watched the knight slowly collapse. 

“Good night, Shizuri…my very own paladin…,” said the smiling knight, lying in a sea of fresh blood. 

The girl’s narrow shoulders trembled as she watched the knight gently close her eyes. She turned to the sky, seemingly fighting back a flood of tears. 

The roses covering the sky scattered, whereupon they summoned new phantom beasts. 

The countless Beast Vassals were consumed as four new beasts came into being. 

The girl did not know that these were known as the Four Holy Beasts. However, even from the ground at a great distance removed, it was immediately apparent that the beasts possessed overwhelming demonic energy. 

If the beasts completely materialized, they would surely destroy the island in the blink of an eye. 

I shall not allow it. 

She had made a promise. She would protect that island and everyone on it. 

Come what may…