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Strike the Blood - Volume 18 - Chapter 6




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CHAPTER SIX 

FIREWORKS 

In spite of it being a chilly season, Verterace’s central square was enveloped in a feverish air. 

A great number of people had gathered from around the kingdom to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the signing of the peace treaty between the kingdom of Aldegia and the Warlord’s Empire. There were many visitors from neighboring nations, the Warlord’s Empire included, and numerous happy-go-lucky tourists hoping for a glance at the princess’s widely praised beauty had traveled to Verterace. Many people were on the rooftops of buildings surrounding the square, watching a parade of dancers, marching bands, and the like that added to the extravagance of the ceremony. 

In contrast, Lucas Rihavein, host of the ceremony, waved to the masses from an open-top car as he gazed far into the distance with a grave look on his face. It was in the direction of Askola Air Force Base. 

Periodically, small lightning-like flashes flickered at the back of the clear sky. When he focused on his ears, he could hear a low vibration like the rumbling of the sea. Two large armored airships were locked in air-to-air combat. 

“The Bifrost and the Bö?vildr are fighting…?!” 

Lucas’s shoulders trembled at the escorting knight’s report. 

The Fourth Primogenitor had disappeared. Tarrasques had appeared at the air force base. And a flying battleship had been hijacked. 

Despite having ascertained La Folia’s location, the situation had only grown worse. 

On top of that, he could not move a muscle while he participated in his own ceremony. He could not cause unrest among the large number of citizens and foreign guests. His complicated position generated a great deal of stress; even as hardy a monarch as he was, he could not conceal his growing nervousness. 

“I am told the target of the hijacked Bifrost is the Warlord’s Empire carrier strike group participating in the naval review,” the knight whispered into Lucas’s ear. The king uttered a low, irritated groan. 

An Aldegian military armored airship intended to attack a Warlord’s Empire fleet. Even Lucas could easily imagine the worst-case fallout. 

“And the state of the battle?” 

“The Bö?vildr has lost most of its combat functions and is pulling back, but I have been told Interceptor Knight Justina Kataya and a few others are using the teleportation chamber to invade the Bifrost’s interior.” 

“Mmmm.” 

At the same time Lucas made that low growl, an explosive flash flared in the eastward sky once more. The delighted voices of the masses erased the sound, and virtually no one had noticed even by that point, but it was unclear how long that situation would hold. 

The vampire with long black hair sitting beside Lucas asked in a level tone, “Is something amiss, King of Aldegia?” 

Velesh Aradahl, Chairman of the Imperial Assembly of the Warlord’s Empire—he was said to be of the moderate faction of late, but the valiant aristocrat had achieved great exploits in many past wars against humanity. 

Lucas could request his cooperation to put matters to rest, but this would create a heavy debt Aldegia would owe to the Warlord’s Empire. Considering the political and financial damage created from such a result, it was not something Lucas could lightly accept. 

“Nothing, merely internal discussions. Pay no heed, Duke of Severin,” Lucas said. It pained him to say those words. 

Aradahl silently stared at the side of the king’s face. “Is it related to the attack on the royal palace last night?” 

“No, that issue has already been taken care of. As you can see, we have already rescued La Folia from her abduction.” 

Lucas pointed to the silver-haired princess riding in a different vehicle. Disguised as La Folia, Kanon Kanase smiled and waved to greet the people at the roadside. She looked so much like the real La Folia that even Lucas could scarcely tell them apart. 

“Hmm. Already rescued, you say.” 

As Kanon stood in the vehicle, Aradahl slowly turned toward her and met her gaze. For an instant, his eyes were dyed crimson, and he released a powerful aura akin to a black flame. 

To Aradahl, this was nothing more than an ever so slight release of the power he normally kept under strict control. But Kanon was assaulted with a sense of powerful pressure that a normal person would find unendurable. The Demon’s surge of energy was such that even trained soldiers might fall into a state of terror— 

But Kanon smiled calmly as she let it wash over her. The royal power possessed solely by the women of the Royal Family of Aldegia—spiritual energy so vast that people called it the blessing of the Spirits—canceled out Aradahl’s aura. 

“I see. It seems you have not swapped a gemstone with some cheap bauble out of desperation. Understood, King of Aldegia. We shall observe in silence for a little while longer.” 

Forgive my rudeness, his nod said to Kanon as he cast a smile Lucas’s way. 

Aradahl was suggesting he saw through the deception; Lucas grimaced slightly. Apparently, Aradahl had noticed far earlier the abnormality in the air above the base. 

The car transporting Lucas and Aradahl arrived at the ceremony site’s stage. 

Stepping out of the car, Lucas thrust a fist above his head, drawing cheers from the assembled masses. 

When Aradahl exited next, he, too, was greeted by thunderous applause and cheers. Lucas felt like the voices of young women were more prominent upon Aradahl’s appearance than when he was greeted, but at present, he did not have the luxury of paying that any heed. 

The excitement of the masses reached its zenith when Polyphonia and Kanon waved hands toward them. Lucas glanced in the direction of the air force base while the public’s attention was poured on Kanon and the queen. 

The midair combat was still ongoing, but naturally, he did not know the fine details of the situation at present. If it was only possible, he wished he could cast the ceremony aside and rush to battle that very moment. 

“Oh, no you don’t, darling. Let us leave this to La Folia and her friends,” Polyphonia whispered into Lucas’s ear as if she was reading his mind. 

“B-but…” Lucas, vexed, clenched his fist and grunted. 

To a former knight like Lucas, his being forbidden to join the battle, forced to watch without lifting a finger, was tantamount to torture. A situation with the fate of the kingdom of Aldegia on the line made it that much worse. 

But in spite of Lucas’s feelings on the matter, the time of the ceremony’s commencement was nigh. 

Led by the knights, Lucas stepped onto the stage. 

Unexpectedly, it was Kanon who opened her lips that moment. 

“It will be all right, Your Majesty the King—” 

Lucas halted and looked at Kanon, who greeted his surprise with a smile, narrowing her blue eyes. It was a soft smile meant to reassure others. 

It was unlikely that she was not feeling the tension from playing the role of La Folia. She was surely worried about her abducted friend. Even so, Kanon gazed at the sky that had become the field of battle. 

“Akatsuki and Yukina are there.” 

Kanon put her unwavering faith in them. 

Lucas nodded with an “I see” in spite of himself. 

Then, with an expression stripped of all doubt, he headed for the dais. 

Yukina sighed as she immersed herself in cool water up to the shoulders. 

The shocks and vibrations from gunnery shook the surface of the bathwater. It made sense to cool off after being in a hot sauna, but her sense of urgency demanded to know if this was truly the time. 

“Um, La Folia? Just how long should we remain in the bath like this?” Yukina asked. The princess was also soaking. 

La Folia scooped up some water with the palm of her hand, slowly lifting her face as she looked at the Sword Shaman. 

“Yukina, there is something I wish to ask you. Why did you leap into the gate with me when I was being abducted?” La Folia asked abruptly. Her tone was blunt. The lack of the usual silliness she gave off was not like her at all. It was if she was rebuking Yukina. 

“As a result of your absence, Trine captured even Kojou,” the princess continued. “As the watcher of the Fourth Primogenitor, were your actions not excessively rash?” 

“That is…exactly right, La Folia.” 

Yukina made no attempt at excuses. She knew she was at fault. 

If she’d been at Kojou’s side, Trine would not have been able to waltz in and take control of him like that. That it happened at all was because of Yukina’s own failings. As a result of her actions, it was not only the princess’s life on the line but also those of Aldegia and the Warlord’s Empire—no, people around the world would be exposed to the dangers of war. 

“However, it was possible that the terrorists here would simply murder you without responding to negotiations whatsoever,” Yukina refuted. “I could not just stand and watch knowing that you might be killed, could I?” 

“Are you saying you made the right decision as a Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency?” 

“Yes.” Yukina nodded without the slightest doubt. 

One aspect of her mission of observing Kojou Akatsuki meant keeping a check upon the latent menace posed by the Fourth Primogenitor. 

Normally, he came off as quite laid-back, but Kojou harbored a fundamental, even excessive fear of the people around him getting hurt. This was probably a reflection of his past experiences of being unable to protect his younger sister Nagisa or Avrora. 

Though he’d obtained the power of the World’s Mightiest Vampire, being able to keep that power in check was largely due to his deep desire to protect others. If La Folia, abducted before his very eyes, was killed by terrorists, just what reaction Kojou would exhibit was profoundly obvious. 

He would sink into despair, absolutely unable to forgive the terrorists. He would likely annihilate them all, the people backing them included. And one act of retribution would lead to a string of others as the world was enveloped in a vortex of slaughter. 

It was the future that the young man calling himself The Blood, whom she had once met, desired for Kojou. 

As Kojou’s observer, it was Yukina’s duty to prevent this. 

To Yukina, the worst possible future was not one where Trine succeeded in her terrorism. The worst would be for harm to befall people precious to Kojou, turning him into a true calamity. She’d judged that she had to protect La Folia to stop that worst-case scenario. She had no regrets about her decision. 

“But it is not merely that.” As a disappointed expression came over the princess, Yukina hesitated before haltingly adding to her words. “Also, because you are senpai’s—no, you are our friend.” 

La Folia was taken aback. Her eyes, resembling glaciers that would never melt, gazed straight at Yukina until finally, a small voice escaped the princess’s lips much like a sigh. 

“Tee-hee… Tee-hee-hee…!” 

“La…La Folia?” 

When the silver-haired princess clutched her belly and her serene voice burst into a fit of giggles, Yukina gawked in abject surprise. 

When they’d first met on a deserted island in the Pacific Ocean, La Folia had said Kojou and Yukina were her friends of a foreign country. That was why Yukina addressed her as such rather than focusing on her political status. 

And just as Kojou desired to protect La Folia as a friend, Yukina had a reason to protect her, as well. 

“So not because I am a princess, not because the nation known as Aldegia holds any practical advantage for you, but because I am your friend? You truly have beaten me, Yukina. I lose.” 

“Eh?” 

“Human beings are not swayed by reason and schemes alone. Now that you have brought friendship to the table, my defeat is ensured.” 

“O-oh.” 

Yukina vaguely nodded, still perplexed by the princess’s words. She didn’t understand what La Folia meant by winning and losing in this context. 

La Folia grinned proudly. “It is the same reason why I invited not only Kojou but you to Aldegia as well.” 

Yukina had wondered about that, too. Thinking about it rationally, a royal like La Folia had no reason to invite Yukina to Aldegia. And yet, she’d always intended for Kojou, Kanon, and Yukina to come together; she provided tickets for all of them. Yukina was the only one Princess La Folia had invited as a friend on equal terms. 

“That is why I ask this, as your friend. Please free Kojou from Trine. This is something only you can do, Yukina.” 

The silver-haired princess’s smile vanished as she locked eyes with Yukina. This was probably the first time La Folia had asked anything of Yukina without a scheme in mind. 

“But what can I do…?” 

Anguished, Yukina shook her head. She was irritated with herself for being unable to meet La Folia’s expectations. She had no idea how to free Kojou from Trine. She felt utterly useless. 

However, the princess shook her head with her usual expression of self-confidence. “Do not worry. Your weapon has arrived.” 

“My weapon?” 

As the perplexed Yukina asked for clarification, she felt the air suddenly shimmer behind her. 

A silver-haired woman wearing a knight’s uniform dropped down from the bath’s ceiling. Yukina had no idea where she’d come from, but she’d apparently crawled her way through the ducts of the Bifrost. 

“Miss Justina?!” Yukina exclaimed. 

“You have done a great deed, Justina. I trust you have brought what I asked for?” La Folia asked, quite pleased and naturally unfazed. 

Justina was carrying a small bag of clothing at her side, which La Folia had requested from the Bö?vildr via a magic-generated optical message. Yukina’s “weapon” of which the princess spoke rested within. 

“Also, we have analyzed the tarrasques captured during the royal palace attack—” 

“I expected as much. Well done.” 

La Folia smiled as she glanced at the device Justina presented to her. Yukina realized what the information meant—this was the analysis of why the terrorists obediently did as Trine commanded. 

“Now, let us be off, Yukina. The final touch awaits.” 

Clear water droplets scattered from La Folia as she rose to her feet. 

“The final touch?” Yukina asked as she also stood. She was suspicious of what exactly the princess meant. 

A glimmer of wickedness shone in La Folia’s blue eyes. 

“Justina.” 

“As thou commandest.” 

The silver-haired knight circled around Yukina and grasped her shoulders from behind. La Folia stretched both hands toward the now-immobile Yukina. Yukina had no idea what the well-coordinated teamwork between servant and master was leading to. 

Without the slightest hesitation, La Folia stripped away the bath towel covering Yukina’s body. 

Yukina stood completely naked within the bathroom as she let out a high-pitched shriek. “Eh?! Ehh…?!” 

When their teleportation had completed, Sayaka and the others were assaulted by an incredible gust that nearly blew them away. The Bifrost was turning while traveling over two hundred kilometers per hour. As a result, something akin to a large-scale typhoon constantly raged across the top of its hull. 

“Wait a… The heck is this?! This wind pressure’s absurd!” 

Sayaka instantly grabbed hold of a railing, dragging Asagi close and pushing her down onto the deck. Long-range teleportation came with margins of error. They couldn’t know beforehand where they’d end up when teleporting to the overly enormous Bifrost. 

“Guess we really couldn’t port inside the ship at the drop of a hat,” Yaze grumbled after clicking his tongue. 

He bit down on a pill. The effect circulated through his entire body as he stepped forward to shield Sayaka and Asagi. 

The strength of the raging winds assaulting the girls suddenly weakened. It was almost as if the flow of the wind had changed, avoiding the pair. 

“Atmospheric current manipulation…?!” Sayaka exclaimed. 

“Hurry! My puny ability won’t hold for long!” Yaze yelled to her as he cast a glance backward. 

Sayaka nodded and drew her beloved long sword. “Lustrous Scale!” 

The silver long sword, imbued with the ability of pseudo-spatial severing, cut through the Bifrost’s armor without the slightest resistance, opening a hole just wide enough for people to get in. The trio proceeded through, tangling together as they fell into the ship’s interior. 

“Oww… Sorry, Kirasaka. You all right?” asked Asagi, who’d ended up on top of Sayaka. 

“Yeah, somehow.” 

They both rose to their feet, and then Asagi swiftly called Sayaka to a halt. 

“Wait a sec, Kirasaka. Your skirt! I can almost see a bit too much! Also, your hair’s a mess!” 

“Wha—?! Thanks…and Asagi Aiba, your bangs that you put so much work into styling…” 

“…Worry about appearances later, you two.” 

Yaze watched with an exasperated face as Sayaka and Asagi began fussing with their hair and clothes. He put his headphones over his ears. These headphones were not for enhancing his ability, but to protect his overly sensitive sense of hearing. 

Examining around them, Sayaka asked, “Where is Miss Justina?” 

That knight had assuredly entered the teleportation chamber with them, but she was nowhere to be seen. 

“Seems she hooked up with the princess,” Yaze reported, full of praise. “That’s a ninja for you.” 

“Nah, it’s not like she’s actually a ninja. She’s just a cosplayer,” Asagi joked. 

“So what are we gonna do? Right now, we’re probably right around here…” Yaze spread open a map of the Bifrost’s interior. 

The core portions of the twin-fuselage flying battleship were centered on the hull to which the left and right floats were connected. The trio had teleported to a point near those central sections, the closest of which was marked ENGINEERING. 

“I’ll hijack the tactical AI controlling this ship. Lately, warship computer networks have become distributed systems, so I should be able to access it from any terminal.” 

“Meaning that from here, our objective should be the spiritual reactor control room,” Yaze said. He mumbled in thought, “They probably have the combat information center under strict guard any way you slice it—” 

Stopping himself, he suddenly whirled around, on guard. He could hear the footsteps of soldiers running down the corridor. 

From those heavy sounds, he determined neither Kojou nor La Folia was with them. By the time Yaze came to this judgment, Sayaka had already drawn her sword and broken into a run. 

“Reverberate!” 

Two soldiers raised their guns when they noticed Sayaka charging at them. But Sayaka’s hand had already thrown a pair of spell tablets their way. The metallic spell tablets transformed into birds of prey that attacked the soldiers, throwing them off balance as Sayaka slammed fists infused with ritual energy into their abdomens. 

Both men, each of far larger than Sayaka, were blown several meters back before fainting from agony. 

“That’s just nasty. Well, she sure is dependable in this situation…” Yaze shuddered. 

The uniforms worn by the toppled men belonged to neither Aldegian knights nor the Aldegian Air Force. They wore plain black combat suits without a single piece of identifying information. These were probably Trine Halden’s comrades. 

Yaze’s brow creased as he muttered, “Annoying.” 

They’d have to defeat more than Trine alone. 

As they arrived at the spiritual reactor control room, Asagi shouted, “There! A terminal!” She raced over to the console. 

The spiritual reactor was running on automatic with no operator visible, but the terminal for maintenance purposes was active. 

“What’s with this API?! A homegrown standard?! I figured it’d be something like this, but…!” 

“Can you manage, Asagi?” 

“Somehow! Aww geez, what a pain in the butt!” 

Connecting her laptop to the terminal, Asagi started hacking away. As befitted a cutting-edge warship from a sorcerous technology nation like Aldegia, the Bifrost’s control system was complex enough to give even Asagi trouble. Nonetheless, she began analyzing the system at a speed beyond reason, piecing together a program with which to seize control of the ship. 

“Kirasaka girlie, enemies on the stairs in back! Four of ’em!” 

“K-Kirasaka ‘girlie’…?” 

An odd expression came over Sayaka at Yaze’s overly intimate form of address as she scattered spell tablets once more. 

Bird-form shikigami flew at high speed, rending the limb tendons of the four approaching soldiers with precision. They wouldn’t die from those injuries, but they wouldn’t be moving for a while—it was an attack focused on incapacitation. 

However, they were immobile only for a single second. 

The entire physiques of the wounded soldiers swelled up, and the supposedly severed tendons fused back together. Their howls were ferocious as they charged into the control room. 

“They shrugged it off?!” Sayaka reflexively repositioned her long sword for an attack. 

“Beast people!” Yaze shouted, crushing a new pill capsule with his teeth. 

“Why are demons working with terrorists who want demonic genocide?!” 

“Probably camouflage to throw the investigation off the scent!” 

The soldiers pounced toward the perplexed pair. 

Sayaka hurled shikigami to slow them down, but with their bestialization complete, they were fast enough to beat the flying shikigami out of the air. They followed with a counterattack that Sayaka fended off with a pseudo-spatial severing barrier. The soldiers retreated to put some range between them. Sayaka ducked behind the nearest pillar. 

“They’re strong…!” She grunted. 

That went for both their individual combat strengths and their seamless teamwork. Sayaka gritted her teeth at the beast people’s discipline, far beyond that of any ordinary terrorists. 

However, Sayaka and Yaze had an advantage of their own—they were in the spiritual reactor control room. Fearful of destroying the control equipment with stray bullets, the beast people weren’t using their guns. Plus, fighting in the confines of a cramped room was Sayaka’s specialty as an assassin. 

“Blazing/Extermination!” 

Sayaka’s surprise attack used illusions and divine arms. After splitting the enemy into separate groups with her spatial severing barricades, she attacked the neck of one soldier standing alone with a needle she kept hidden. This was from the Eight Divine Generals School—that which contained the Lion King Agency’s silent assassination techniques. With his nervous system paralyzed by the needle, he fainted without being able to exhibit the regenerative ability possessed by beast people. 

“Full Star/Expiration!” 

As her special barricades disappeared, Sayaka crept into the flank of the next soldier. She pounded a blow into his diaphragm—a vital spot for beast people. Sayaka’s palm strike with her physical enchantment toppled the second soldier. 

That was as far as Sayaka’s surprise attack went, though. 

Right after her attack finished, the third soldier brandished a knife as he lunged for Sayaka’s defenseless back. She had no time either to evade or to pick up the long sword she’d had to let go of in order to launch her palm strike. 

However, as Sayaka braced for death, there was a sudden explosion of sound. It was a roar on par with a flash-bang grenade. The soldier’s body wobbled. 

“Sound Burst. Works pretty well on beast people with sensitive ears, huh?” Yaze said, relieved. 

He’d used his Hyper Adapter power of controlling atmospheric currents to create a powerful sound vibration out of thin air. Yaze’s comment never reached the ears of the now-unconscious soldier. 

With that taken care of, Sayaka beat down the fourth and final soldier with her long sword. She’d struck with the back of her blade, a blow infused with a stun curse. Even a beast person would be out cold for several hours. 

Unfortunately, it was safe to assume the roar of Yaze’s Sound Burst had thoroughly exposed Sayaka and company’s invasion of the ship’s interior. There was no guarantee they would be able to withstand the next enemy attack. 

“Are you done yet, Asagi?!” he asked in a hurry. 

“Hijacking a warship isn’t that easy! I’m working as fast as I can!” Asagi angrily shouted back, typing commands with one hand. 

Guon , went the echo of a weighty sound. Thick shutters closed the front and rear entrances to the control room. Asagi had seized partial control over the ship’s interior and used that to lower the emergency bulkheads. 

“That’s Aldegian cutting-edge tech for you. It’ll take a hundred and eighty seconds to fully get a grip on the tactical AI, even with Mogwai’s calculation speed.” 

“I don’t know if that’s fast or slow, but these bulkheads should last that long, at least…” Yaze sighed weakly. He looked drained as he leaned against the wall. 

In the first place, the bulkheads were meant to protect the ship from explosions and fires caused by enemy artillery attacks. It was not as simple a matter as breaching them with mere bullets and hand grenades. Surely they would buy Asagi time until she finished her hacking—that judgment made Yaze relax slightly. 

But then Sayaka screamed at him. 

“No!! Motoki Yaze, run—!” 

“Huh?” 

Yaze flung himself to the floor without knowing why. 

In an instant, they were struck by a frightening, scalding surge from across the bulkhead. Even a human being who wasn’t a magic user could keenly sense the powerful demonic energy. 

A rainbow-hued flash raced across the area. It had come from the arc traced by a sword of light generated from vast demonic energy. 

The rainbow-hued sword of light cut through the special alloy bulkhead like it was a thin piece of paper before stabbing the Bifrost itself, sending gigantic cracks through its hull. The destructive power was overwhelming, even absurd. In utter silence, Sayaka and the others watched as fragments of the flying battleship turned into tiny pieces of wreckage and fell toward the ground. 

Through the gaps in the destroyed hull, they could see a giant Valkyrie with wings of fire spread forth. 

Of course, it was no being of the human world. This was a summoned beast from another world, dense demonic energy that had taken material form. It was a vampire’s Beast Vassal. 

“Minelauva Iris…!” 

Sayaka murmured the name of the rainbow-hued Beast Vassal, the sixth one under the Fourth Primogenitor’s control. It held an immense power of Severing. 

Sayaka and the others gazed at the Beast Vassal’s host and master on the other side of the destroyed bulkhead. 

There stood an Asian boy wearing a black tuxedo— 

Kojou Akatsuki. 

“The World’s Mightiest Vampire, huh? Having him as our enemy is a real pain,” Yaze muttered. He sounded ready to give up. 

The spiritual reactor control room itself was cramped, just large enough for a station wagon to fit in, but thanks to Kojou’s Beast Vassal’s attack having destroyed one of its walls, it looked a great deal more open. Fitting two or three microbuses in it seemed viable. 

On the other side of that excessively ventilated wall stood six soldiers in combat suits, whom Kojou had brought along with him. Nestled at Kojou’s side was a young woman wearing revealing clothing; the atmosphere was completely different from when they’d seen her at the royal palace, but there was no mistaking that this was Trine Halden. 

“He sliced the bulkhead…with pinpoint accuracy? Since when…?” Sayaka gaped at him. 

Had Kojou been soft in his control, everyone in the control room would doubtlessly have been sliced right along with the bulkhead and annihilated. Yet, Sayaka and the others hadn’t suffered a single scratch. In other words, this meant Kojou had complete control over his own Beast Vassal. 

“Not quite as pinpoint as you said, though.” Asagi clutched her head lightly as she glared at the section of hull destroyed as collateral damage. Thanks to Kojou’s attack severing electrical and data transmission cables, she had no choice but to change her hacking route. 

“Even so, it’s a step up from what he usually does,” Yaze said, cheek twitching. “Maybe he’s overexerting himself ’cause of the mind control, or maybe he’s using the full potential of the Fourth Primogenitor he usually keeps under wraps?” 

Sayaka’s cheek also twitched. “Put another way, it means it would not be strange if the Beast Vassal went berserk at any moment…” 

“Pretty much, yeah…” 

In his current state, Kojou was drawing out more power than ought to be the case. At any moment, this delicate balance could collapse and lead to a rampage. 

Still seemingly unaware of that risk, Kojou released the summons and melancholically lowered his eyes. 

“I have unleashed meaningless destruction once more. Is such my destiny as one cursed by the gods…?” 

“…Huh?” 

Kojou’s abrupt soliloquy left Yaze responding in unwittingly serious fashion. Asagi couldn’t hold in her tiny spurt of laughter. Sayaka was left earnestly wondering What is the meaning of this? 

“Please. Back away, Yaze. I do not want to kill a close, irreplaceable friend. I…I don’t want to hurt any of you…!” Kojou continued in a bombastic manner. It was as if he was a one-man stage act. 

“Umm…” Yaze suddenly got the feeling of his back being itchy as he pressed a hand to his chest. “What the heck is he saying? This a side effect of the brainwashing?” 

“It kind of feels more like it’s his true, normally hidden nature laid bare?” Asagi suggested. She shot Kojou a look of pity. 

Sayaka seemed irritated as she pointed the tip of her long sword toward Trine. “Wake up already, Kojou Akatsuki! You are being deceived by this Trine woman!” 

“…Please. Do not blame her.” 

Kojou spread both arms wide as if to shield Trine. He had a flair for the dramatic as he made a decisive pose like a dancer at the end of a performance. 

“I decided this for myself. I will protect her even if it turns the entire world into my enemy. Yes, this is all a calamity called forth by this abominable power. Do not worry, though. I shall never forget the glimmering days I spent with you on Itogami Island.” 

Asagi and Yaze both clutched their heads and cringed as if Kojou had inflicted some kind of psychological attack. 

“Ugh… Just, oof…” 

“Th-this is getting hard to listen to…” 

Sayaka, on the other hand, shook her head firmly. She didn’t understand why Yaze and Asagi were so uncomfortable. 

“You won’t get anywhere acting suave like that! Stand down!” 

Kojou stared at Sayaka as he closed the distance between them. “So in the end, you would turn your sword on me, Kirasaka?” Kojou smiled, but his eyes looked sad. “It is because of our mutual attraction that we cannot help hurting each other. Now that I think of it, perhaps this was always our fate.” 

“M-maybe so” was all Sayaka could sputter out. 

No, no, went the wordless shakes of Asagi and Yaze’s heads. 

Even the soldiers surrounding the control room looked at Trine, perplexed by the fruitless conversation between Kojou and Sayaka. 

“Major?” 

“Say nothing. I know,” Trine spat. Her expression gave the sense that she was biting into a bitter insect. “Not being able to control people as I please is the annoying thing about my stupid ability! Stand back, Kojou! We’ll take care of them!” 

“Stop!” Kojou halted Trine with a powerful tone of voice. “I will hesitate no more. If it is my fate to bury those that I love, then accept it I mu—” 

“Reverberate!” 

Before Kojou could finish his dubious speech, Sayaka activated her shikigami and launched an attack. 

Yaze’s eyes went wide in admiration. Sayaka had made Kojou think she was going along with his conversation while secretly preparing a surprise attack. 

Sayaka had activated eight bird-shaped shikigami in all. Connected by metal wires, they circled in the area around Kojou and would surely pin him down, but— 

“That’s futile!” 

“Eh?!” 

A rainbow-hued flash glimmered around Kojou, severing all the ritual spell–reinforced wires in a single instant. He’d exhibited the power of Minelauva Iris without having summoned the Beast Vassal itself. 

Next, Kojou unleashed a lightning attack that shot down every last one of Sayaka’s shikigami. His combat skills now rivaled those of top-class Attack Mages. 

“Th-this is the Fourth Primogenitor’s proper strength…?!” She gasped. 

“I will not kill you, but forgive me, Kirasaka—” 

“Kirasaka girlie…run!” 

“Kojou, stop!” 

As Yaze and Asagi screamed, Sayaka blocked the lightning attack unleashed by Kojou with her pseudo-spatial severing barrier. However, Lustrous Scale’s ability could only be maintained for a single, brief moment. 

Kojou released another lightning attack, timing it for when her defensive power vanished. Having swung down her sword, Sayaka was unable to respond to Kojou’s unexpectedly great speed. 

Sayaka’s expression contorted as she girded herself for the impact. 

The very next moment, a silver flash raced through her field of vision, slicing through the golden lightning attack. 

Her glossy black hair fanned out and danced in the strong wind. 

With a sound as light as a feather dropping, a small-statured girl landed in the wrecked corridor. 

A single flash of her silver spear had erased the lightning attack burning the atmosphere without a trace. Kojou pulled back, surprised by the tearing of his tuxedo’s collar. 

Sayaka’s eyes glimmered as she gazed at the tiny form gracefully landing before her eyes. 

“Yukina!” 

“I am sorry to have made you wait, Sayaka. I am glad I made it in time.” 

Yukina beamed as she deftly twirled her long, fully metallic spear. 

Her outfit was not the dress she had worn during the attack, but her Saikai Academy uniform. For some reason, La Folia had demanded that Justina bring it over. The credit went to their just happening to have brought it on the Bö?vildr, thinking Yukina and La Folia would require a change of clothes after their rescue. 

“The Fourth Primogenitor’s demonic power was erased? Schneewaltzer of the Lion King Agency…!” Trine exclaimed. She gave her soldiers a glance. Knowing she could no longer leave this to Kojou, her eyes ordered them to attack. 

However, Trine’s subordinates did not move. The instant Trine raised an eyebrow in suspicion, the soldiers collapsed one after another. They hadn’t been rendered unconscious, yet the spasms of all the muscles in their bodies made them immobile. 

“By channeling spiritual energy through a blade, a Demon’s bodily functions may be halted, robbing them of freedom of movement,” La Folia explained as she walked down a set of stairs in the ship’s interior. “It is one use of the Völundr System.” 

In attendance behind La Folia was Interceptor Knight Kataya Justina, who held one shuriken in each hand, both just like the ones that had struck the soldiers. It was likely she who had neutralized Trine’s subordinates. 

La Folia was delighted as she watched the fallen soldiers. “Their lives are not in peril. After all, we must have them testify concerning your, or rather, the North Atlantic Empire’s treachery…” 

Yaze lifted his head as if he’d been struck by lightning. “Wait… The North Atlantic Empire?” 

The North Atlantic Empire was an island nation off the western edge of the European continent. It was a great military power with a long history. 

“I see… Aldegia confronts the North Atlantic Empire over ocean floor oil deposit interests and ownership of Graceland Island,” Yaze said. “By forcing war between Aldegia and the Warlord’s Empire, they can take advantage and take over the whole stretch of ocean!” 

“Yes,” La Folia said in agreement. “There are few nations of the world that raise and train tarrasques and have beast-people units formed of formal military personnel. Of these, only the North Atlantic Empire desires war between Aldegia and the Warlord’s Empire.” 

Trine sneered at them. “Us? From the North Atlantic Empire? And just where is your proof?” 

“The proof is in these fallen soldiers and the tarrasques you sent to the royal palace.” 

La Folia’s expression held strong; Trine’s stiffened slightly. 

The princess continued. “We discovered husks of insects native solely to the North Atlantic Empire’s home island in the dung of the captured tarrasques. Be it from soil, mold, or DNA, analysis by the Holy Ground Treaty Organization has established that those tarrasques were raised for military purposes by the North Atlantic Empire.” 

“…Dung, is it? Dung… You really got us there. Don’t tell me you feigned cooperation with us solely to buy time so that this might be confirmed, so that you might acquire proof that the North Atlantic Empire cannot explain away?” Trine muttered in a low voice, trying to suppress her irritation. “But all you can prove is that the terrorists attacking the royal palace were from the North Atlantic Empire, yes? It won’t overturn the fact that an Aldegian warship will have attacked a Warlord’s Empire fleet.” 

La Folia turned cold, emotionless eyes toward Trine. “Attack a Warlord’s Empire fleet? Do you truly think I shall permit you to do such a thing?” 

Trine laughed loudly. “You can’t stop me. After all, you will die here, blown away without a trace by the Fourth Primogenitor, who you yourself invited.” 

Glaring at Yukina, Trine pressed her breasts against Kojou’s back. Then she called to Kojou, practically whispering into his ear. 

“Now, Kojou. Please. Slaughter all of our foes. I know it’s hard, but Big Sis will comfort you plenty afterward.” 

“Wha…?!” Sayaka gasped, her eyebrows raised. This was the first time she’d seen Trine’s coquettishness. 

Asagi sneered without a word. It was a fearsome expression likely to chill the hearts of all who beheld it. 

However, the corners of La Folia’s lips curled up as she shot Yukina a knowing glance. 

Yukina let out a sigh of unease and resignation as she quietly lowered the spear in her hands. 

“Himeragi…?” Kojou seemed bewildered as his eyes wavered. 

Yukina, guard down, turned to Kojou and walked calmly toward him. 

Trine laughed in a high-pitched voice at the girl’s helpless demeanor. “You won’t resist? Good. Kojou, kill her. Pret-ty puh-lease?” She blew into his ear, and Kojou’s shoulders twitched and trembled. 

Watching this display, Yukina shook her head. 

“Goodness… You truly are irredeemable, letting someone toy with you like this.” 

With a reverse grip, Yukina used Snowdrift Wolf to lightly graze her own neck. 

Tiny droplets of blood bubbled up from the wound. Finally, several droplets trickled down onto her white flesh. 

Yukina proceeded to brush up her hair with her left hand. 

The scent of her hair softly spread forth. Her shapely ear, her slender contours, and her neck drenched in red became exposed to his view. 

“This one time, though, I shall forgive you. So, senpai, please come back!” 

Standing in front of Kojou, Yukina looked up at him with earnest eyes. She felt like she heard a sound from Kojou’s throat. Sayaka, Asagi, and Yaze firmly held their breath. 

“What are you doing?! Kill that little girl! Quickly!” 

The musculature of Trine’s body swelled as she was enveloped by white fur—bestialization. 

The scent of a powerful musk hovered in the Bifrost’s corridor. 

“Un…ghn…!” Kojou grunted. 

He stretched both hands toward Yukina. With his strength as a vampire, he could surely snap the unresisting Yukina’s neck in an instant. 

However, all Kojou’s hands did was twitch and shake when they touched Yukina’s flesh. 

Yukina did not squirm even slightly as she stared at Kojou. 

Trine’s voice was ragged. She seemed at the end of her wits. “Kojou, don’t you hear Big Sis’s order?! Kojou!” 

Yukina gently smiled and closed her eyes as she embraced him and pulled herself close. Then she whispered into Kojou’s ear. 

 

“Senpai, it’s all right…” 

With Yukina’s arms wrapped around him, Kojou’s entire body twitched and convulsed. 

Trine’s orders. Yukina’s words. The conflict between two diametrically opposed cravings tore at Kojou until he finally let out an anguished howl. 

“Ungh…aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!” 

His eyes dyed crimson, he raggedly bared his fangs. Those fangs thrust into Yukina’s neck. 

Even as her shut eyelids winced, Yukina did not resist. Her cheeks faintly reddened as she strongly bit her lip, seemingly to withstand the rising pleasure. As Kojou swallowed, Yukina matched his movements while her own body shook with tiny shudders. Strongly hugged by Kojou, Yukina let out a heated breath. 

“This…can’t be…” 

Trine gazed at the spectacle in a daze. Kojou, supposedly under her complete control, had ignored her command, drowning in Yukina’s seduction. 

“It is futile, Trine,” La Folia said. Her tone was level, of forced tranquility as she held in her biting laughter. “Your ability cannot win against Yukina.” 

“How…?! Why aren’t my hypnotic suggestions working?!” 

Trine glared at La Folia with a wrathful visage. With Kojou unable to move, she surely could have attacked him from behind, but she was apparently too shaken to even think of doing so. 

Sayaka was taken aback as she looked at Trine. “Hypnotic…suggestions…?!” 

Mind control spells didn’t work on vampires due to their powerful magic resistance. However, hypnotism that did work using your very own brain might well be effective. Sayaka herself had told Kojou as much. 

Even so, Trine’s hypnotic suggestions were incredibly powerful. She’d made him summon a Beast Vassal and use it to attack Sayaka and the others, his true allies—certainly Kojou was a rank amateur without any resistance to hypnosis, but she didn’t think any normal hypnotic suggestion was capable of this. 

Furthermore, Trine was simultaneously controlling not only Kojou, but dozens of crew members of the Bifrost. There had to be some kind of trigger with a wide range allowing her to keep people in a powerful hypnotic state. 

“I get it! The scent…!” Yaze exclaimed. 

The scent of the musk hovering within the ship. The scent left in the bathroom from which Kojou had been abducted. Properly speaking, it had been the corset Trine had abandoned that was permeated with the scent. 

“Yes. Among living creatures, there are many that secrete special chemical substances—pheromones, in other words—with the ability to strongly influence others, strengthen their aggression, or perhaps sexually seduce them. Trine is doubtlessly a special type of beast person with such abilities,” La Folia said. Then quieter to herself, albeit in a serious voice, she added, “She will make a very interesting guinea pig.” 

Then the Aldegian princess concluded, “Using those pheromones, you put Kojou into an intoxicated state, whereupon you gave him suggestions. The point being, scent is the hypnotic trigger—that is the true nature of your ability, Trine. That is why you cannot win against Yukina.” 

“What?!!” Trine shot her a bloodthirsty glare. In contrast, La Folia kept herself composed. 

“Do you still not understand, Trine Halden? To Kojou, Yukina’s scent is more appealing than your body odor. Your ability has lost out to Yukina’s charm—to the scent of a schoolgirl freshly out of the bath!” 

As the princess’s voice reverberated, the silence that arrived made it feel like time itself had stopped. 

Sayaka, of course, and even Trine stood stiffly, completely at a loss for words. 

It was Yaze who recovered from surprise first as he logically worked through the situation. “Ahh… Come to think of it, there’s a phenomenon of scent triggering memories of a forgotten past and stuff. Kojou’s used to li’l Himeragi’s scent, so that must’ve helped him come to his senses.” 

“I think it’s more that Kojou is particularly weak to Himeragi and her blood than that chick,” Asagi bluntly added. Why didn’t I realize this sooner? went the regretful expression that came over Asagi. If Yukina’s scent could bring Kojou back to sanity, she could have done the same thing herself, a thought that no doubt burned her to no end. 

Trine’s unusually revealing clothing. The way she stuck to him like glue. All of it was a scrupulous, calculated snare, increasing the effectiveness of the pheromones she was giving off. To counter this, La Folia had cleansed Yukina’s body with a sauna and bath, increasing her metabolic rate. 

“So bringing Yukina’s uniform was to…?” 

“I surmised that Yukina’s clothing, which would carry her scent as well, would be more effective. Of course, I am also aware of the effect a schoolgirl uniform has—” 

La Folia replied to Sayaka’s question with an earnest look. Trine, shaking without a word up to that point, burst into anger that very instant. 

“As if I can accept stupid logic like that—!!!” 


Trine watched Kojou and Yukina as they embraced—and then she assaulted the pair with a flash of her elongated claws. 

With her beastly strength, she could surely punch right through Kojou’s chest and pierce Yukina’s heart. Furthermore, with Kojou’s and Yukina’s bodies as her shields, Sayaka and Justina would not be able to attack her. 

However, Trine’s strike never reached the pair. Before it connected, Kojou turned with great force, sending Trine flying with nothing more than the overwhelming demonic power he had released. 

“Have you awakened, senpai?” Yukina asked as she put her disheveled uniform in order. Her cheeks reddened out of bashfulness. The embarrassment over his drinking her blood in front of so many people had only just sunk in. 

“Feels like I was having a long nightmare.” Kojou violently shook his head, seemingly to drive the fog in his mind away. 

Yukina giggled and smiled softly as she looked up at Kojou. 

“Perhaps you got a little carried away, though.” 

“Ah…” 

Kojou’s expression stiffened as a torrent of memories suddenly came back to him. Flashbacks of his own embarrassing words and deeds sloshed inside his brain like waves of the sea, leaving Kojou writhing as he raised an unusually shrill voice. 

“Aaaaaaaa…!!” 

“It is all right, Kojou. I do not dislike that side of you whatsoever.” 

“R-right. It’s good once in a while. Kinda funny.” 

La Folia calmly joined the conversation. “Well, it was the hypnotic suggestion’s fault and not entirely in your control.” 

“Eh? Huh? What’s going on?” Kojou asked, having come to his senses completely. 

Yaze and Asagi added their own consoling words that were of small comfort. Sayaka was the only one with an expression of pure surprise, gawking curiously at the anguished Kojou. 

Sent flying by Kojou, Trine grimaced in humiliation as she rose to her feet. “Grrr… La Folia Rihavein…how dare you…?” 

La Folia, head raised high, haughtily gazed down upon her from the stairs above. Then the princess commanded with solemnity, “Trine Halden’s objective is to bring about a new war between humanity and Demonkind. Kojou, please. Put a stop to these plans.” 

“Naturally…!” 

Kojou ripped off the coat of his tuxedo, mussed up his tightly combed hair, and ferociously bared his fangs as he glared at Trine. 

“My first foreign trip in a while is ruined. Now I have to live in shame…and on top of that, you tried to use La Folia to kick off a war! Now I’m pissed!” 

“Correct. On top of that,” Yukina said, shifting her own quiet indignation at Trine, “you tried to use the Fourth Primogenitor…to use senpai as a tool to hurt others!” 

Rainbow flames encircled Kojou’s entire body. The demonic energy from his Beast Vassal was leaking out. Ironically, the effects of being controlled by Trine’s hypnotic suggestions had raised Kojou’s ability to control his own demonic energy another notch. In his current state, Kojou could draw out the demonic energy of his Beast Vassal without massively damaging to the Bifrost’s hull. 

Kojou howled as he raised his rainbow flame–enveloped right arm high. 

“If you want a war so badly, I’ll give you one! From here on, this is my fight!” 

Standing by his side, Yukina trained her coldly glimmering silver spear toward Trine. 

“No, senpai. This is our fight!” 

“You intend to take me on…?” Trine spat out saliva mixed with blood. 

Her expression said that she could fight both Kojou and Yukina easily. The look bespoke absolute certainty that they could not apprehend her. 

As if to intimidate the pair further, Trine laughed loudly enough to contort her face. “It is ten years too soon, children!” 

Her body sank downward. Bang! went the gunshot-like roar as she kicked off the floor, accelerating so quickly that Kojou lost sight of her for a moment as she shifted right before his eyes. 

“Wha—?!” 

Trine only reentered Kojou’s vision after she had already slugged him in the gut. It was an attack with such incredible speed that he didn’t even know if she’d struck him with her fist, palm, or foot. 

Unable to endure the blow, Kojou bent right over, whereupon Trine’s knee strike exploded through his jaw. 

Trine regarded Kojou with scorn. “Vampires are all small fries, overly reliant on the power of their precious Beast Vassals. Do you think you can beat Big Sis Beast Lady in close-quarter combat? Don’t get full of yourself, moron!” 

He snapped back and reeled. 

Yukina and Sayaka shouted simultaneously. 

“Senpai!” 

“Get down, Kojou Akatsuki!” 

Yukina used a sharp thrust to put Trine in check while Sayaka shifted her long sword to bow form and fired a cursed arrow. Such instant, perfect teamwork was nigh unthinkable. 

However, Trine leisurely avoided both attacks. With nimble movements that could scarcely be believed, she evaded the tip of Yukina’s spear. Her whiplike roundhouse kick sent both Yukina and the spear she gripped flying. 

Furthermore, Trine used the recoil from the blow to instantly close in on Sayaka right after she’d fired her arrow. 

Judging she could not evade, Sayaka crossed both arms to receive Trine’s kick. However, the undiminished impact sent Sayaka’s tall body sailing into the air. Trine followed up with a heel drop that sent the bow flying from Sayaka’s hand and pounded her back with a spectacular blow that knocked the wind out of her. 

“I heard that Sword Shamans of the Lion King Agency are experts in anti-demon combat, but they’re surprisingly unremarkable.” 

Having kicked apart the trio of Kojou, Yukina, and Sayaka in an instant, Trine sighed in tedium. 

Kojou groaned as he fell to one knee. “She’s fast… And what’s with that crazy power behind her attack…?!” 

He’d expected that a trickster type wouldn’t be skilled in a direct fight, but that had been a great mistake on his part. This wasn’t divine bestialization or the like, yet that speed, that strength—of all the types of beast people Kojou had faced to date, Trine was the most terrifying. 

“It would be prudent not to make any clumsy moves, Princess…for your own good.” 

With Kojou and the others at a disadvantage, La Folia tried to unleash a spell to support them, but Trine’s admonition cut off La Folia’s efforts. When La Folia slowly checked her rear, she saw fresh soldiers emerging from multiple passages inside the ship. 

Trine had not brought only North Atlantic Empire troops with her—many of them were wearing Aldegian knight uniforms. These were the actual crew members of the Bifrost. 

Yaze clicked his tongue when he realized their identity. “Those are…Aldegian Knights…!” 

Standing in front of the control panel, Asagi seemed irritated and bewildered as she backed away. “Even if they’re under hypnosis, for a knight to turn a sword on the princess…?!” 

“Well, can you blame them?” Trine flashed a lascivious grin. “The princess they’d believed was so pure and innocent made a boyfriend out of someone they don’t even know, and she claimed she would marry him. Knight or not, isn’t it natural they’d be jealous and envious?” 

“So you brainwashed them to think that. Pretty nasty,” Yaze blurted out. 

“They’re like groupies for a manipulative idol,” Asagi added in disdain. 

La Folia listened emotionlessly to the former royal secretary. 

“Now, what will you do, Princess? Have everyone here smell that little girl’s scent? Of course not.” Trine oozed smugness as she continued to scatter about her own odor. “But there’s no need for concern. They will not carry the dishonor of killing their princess. After all, everyone here is going to die. Even an immortal vampire can’t do anything if he sinks to the bottom of the sea, can he? Maybe some fisherman will trawl him up in a hundred years or so.” 

“Sink into…the sea?” Yukina repeated, haphazardly getting on her feet. She blanched at the thought. 

Kojou had escaped Trine’s control, and many of Trine’s subordinates had been defeated. La Folia turned from hostage to mutiny leader, and Trine couldn’t use the Bifrost’s sorcerous armaments. In that situation, it was no longer possible for Trine to achieve her objective of annihilating the Warlord’s Empire fleet. 

If so, what was the next step she would take? 

“She’s planning a suicide attack with the Bifrost…!” Kojou shouted, realizing Trine’s aim. 

She would crash the ultra-large armored airship—with a spiritual reactor on board, no less—colliding it with her target. Whether it be the Warlord’s Empire fleet or the peace commemoration ceremony site, it would be a great disaster either way. It was more than enough to fulfill Trine’s minimum goal of whittling away Aldegia’s national might. 

Before Kojou could recover from his surprise, Trine had already left. With the Bifrost already lowering its altitude, she intended to abandon it and escape alone. 

“Kojou, Yukina, pursue Trine. She intends to escape with a ship-borne plane,” La Folia ordered. Aldegian Knights turned foe had surrounded her. Kojou and Yukina were the only ones capable of breaking away and chasing Trine. 

“La Folia…! But the knights—” 

“You need not be concerned for me. Have some faith in your fiancée.” 

“You’re still saying that?!” 

Like hell I’m engaged, thought Kojou as a stubborn expression came over him. But he reconsidered the matter, judging that, at the very least, he didn’t have the luxury of cracking that joke. It was certainly as La Folia said; all he could do now was trust her. 

“Himeragi!” 

“Yes!” 

Knocking down the nearest soldiers, Kojou and Yukina broke into a sprint. Relying on vague memories of the ship’s interior, they headed toward the hangar in the Bifrost’s upper level. 

As they did so, La Folia descended the stairs into the control room. 

All of the corridors connected to the control room were surrounded, leaving everyone present with nowhere to run. Put together, Trine’s subordinates and the controlled knights numbered around twenty enemies in all. Justina and the wounded Sayaka could not take on such numbers by themselves. 

“What will you do, Princess?” Asagi asked, plainly nervous. “Just to make this clear, I can’t use The Cleansing.” 

Her hacking of the Bifrost was making progress, but that would be rendered meaningless if Asagi and company were neutralized first. 

However, La Folia was undaunted, turning a resolute, smiling face toward the Cyber Empress. “Asagi, can you hijack the ship’s internal communications?” 

“If that’s all, I can do that in no time.” 

“Thank you. Please do so, then.” 

Shrugging at the princess’s words, Asagi punched a command into the terminal. She set things up so that the princess’s voice could be heard from every speaker and communication device within the ship. 

“What are you gonna do? I don’t think persuasion is going to work in this situation,” Asagi commented. 

“Persuasion? Perish the thought. Even if their minds are being controlled, they are still Aldegian knights.” 

A laugh rising within La Folia threatened to spill right out as she took a microphone for internal communications from Asagi. 

With Yaze’s support, Sayaka and Justina were managing to hold back the advancing soldiers, but it was unlikely that this equilibrium could be maintained for long. La Folia had tens of seconds at most. Understanding this full well, the princess calmly put her breathing in order before she began. 

“The place to which heroes return, embraced by beautiful goddesses as they sleep. This lovely land, our motherland…” 

Engaged in a beautiful melody, La Folia’s voice coursed through every broadcast device inside the ship at once. 

Upon hearing this, the group of soldiers had two completely different types of reactions. 

A wary expression came over some, wondering if this was some kind of attack. 

Others listened to her voice, their hearts seemingly wavering. 

Sayaka and Yaze gasped and looked back when they realized the true nature of what La Folia’s voice was weaving. 

“It’s not…a spell? A song…?” 

“Aldegia’s national anthem?!” 

The knights supposedly under Trine’s control seemed beside themselves as they came to a halt. Not understanding the reason why, unease spread between the beast-people soldiers as well. 

“Glacier-formed mountains with peaks that reach the sky, the sunshine nurturing our green forests. Our esteemed country is named Aldegia, our homeland loved by the Valkyries…” 

La Folia continued to sing. Asagi and the others held their tongues in admiration of the princess’s sheer will to calmly sing in that situation, surrounded by bloodlust-filled troops. The overwhelming solemnity of her tenacious will and beautiful singing voice left the soldiers surrounding them in awe. 

Even the beast-people soldiers serving under Trine were unable to move, gripped by fear. 

“Let us sing to the heavens of our light, our hope…” 

La Folia elegantly spread both arms wide toward the hypnotized soldiers. 

This became the trigger for one knight, then another, to sing along with the princess’s voice. 

Trine had employed scent as the catalyst for hypnotic suggestions, and La Folia countered that with sound. By performing the melody the knights of Aldegia knew by heart, she had summoned back their loyalty once more . 

“Our esteemed country is named Aldegia, our homeland loved by the Valkyries…” 

When La Folia finished singing their national anthem, the men turned their own song into a great cheer. 

The song of victory granted the knights courage and instilled fear in the soldiers who opposed them. 

“Princess!” 

“Your Highness La Folia!” 

Having escaped from Trine’s control, the knights choked back their tears of gratitude as they bowed their heads to La Folia one after another. 

One among them—captain of the Bifrost—walked before La Folia and bent on one knee. 

“To have fallen for the scheme of an enemy nation’s spy and turned our blades upon our princess is a failure unworthy of the Knights of the Second Coming. I believe this to be a crime that should be repaid with death.” Then he drew his sword and pointed it at the beast-people soldiers, fury burning in his eyes. “However, so that Your Highness might be rescued, please permit us to render judgment onto these villains.” 

Realizing the situation that had befallen them, the beast-people soldiers scuffled around. There were more knights than beast people to begin with. Now that Trine’s mind control was no longer effective, the situation had been completely turned on its head. 

And La Folia, her entire body enveloped in pale spiritual essence, spoke without mercy: “I permit it, my knights. With Holy Swords in hand, dispatch the enemies of our kingdom!” 

“Raaaaaa!!” 

The ship’s interior was filled with the knights’ war cries as their swords were enveloped in a spiritual light—the Völundr System. This was the anti-demon purging power only the knights of Aldegia were permitted to use. 

“Uu…aa…!” 

The beast-people soldiers retreated in abject fear. 

Even if their numbers were inferior, the beast-people soldiers were still superior in individual capabilities. The balance of power was probably equal. 

However, the beast-people soldiers’ superior officer, Trine, had already fled, and the knights’ leader had granted them a direct blessing. The difference in morale between the two was overwhelming. Victory and defeat had been determined before the battle even began. 

Just when Asagi and company exhaled in relief at getting over the most imminent threat, La Folia said, “Let us leave this to them. We attend to the bridge.” 

Having finished changing course, the Bifrost was progressively losing altitude. 

Trine Halden’s plan was still in progress. 

The place Kojou and Yukina arrived at was a complicated block resembling an automated factory. The dimly lit chamber, evoking an image of a parking garage, had elliptical crafts around the size of a car packed in orderly rows. There must have been over a hundred in total. They were legged tanks that could fly—one might call them legged combat helicopters. 

“This is what she meant by onboard planes?!” 

Kojou was faintly dizzy, feeling as if he’d wandered into a nest of ferocious hornets. 

A door of special alloys creaked as the hangar’s exit opened. Even if Trine was inside one of these onboard planes, they had no time to open every hatch and check inside one by one. 

As Yukina surveyed the hangar interior, even her voice was tinged with unconcealable nervousness. “These are largely unmanned craft controlled by artificial intelligence. We need to find where the manned command planes are or—” 

However, Kojou nodded at her words in apparent relief and smiled violently, interrupting her. “Unmanned craft, huh? Glad to know that.” 

“Eh?” 

The explosive demonic energy emanating from Kojou’s entire body made Yukina’s expression freeze. A malevolent crimson cloud swirled around and transformed into an enormous summoned beast. 

“Sorry, La Folia, but I’m gonna break every last one of these! C’mon over, Regulus Aurum!” 

Within the hangar interior, Kojou materialized a glowing gold lightning lion. It rained down high-voltage electrical strikes indiscriminately, destroying the legged combat helicopters. Had Yukina not instantly protected herself with Snowdrift Wolf, she and Kojou would have become caught up in the attack themselves. 

Receiving the Beast Vassal’s electrical onslaught, the legged combat helicopters gushed white smoke from their fried circuits, each and every one of their functions screeching to a halt. Indeed, all manner of machines in the hangar and even the lights were blown away as sparks flew all around. The entire Bifrost was nearly in danger of all its electrical systems being annihilated, rendering it unable to maintain flight. 

Kojou’s previously grinning face twitched. “Crap… Did I overdo it…?!” The damage inside the hangar had exceeded his expectations. 

Weakly shaking her head, Yukina resigned herself to a smile. “It would appear to have fulfilled its purpose, though.” 

Just then, amid the destroyed unmanned craft, Trine wobbled as she got out, squinting her eyes in anger. The electromagnetic pulse had shorted out the combat helicopter, rendering her unable to escape. 

“How can this…? Now you’ve done it, you brat… To think you’d unleash a monster like that Beast Vassal inside a ship…! Do you have a screw loose?!” 

In response to Trine’s screams, Kojou and Yukina both kept calm. “Thanks to that, I got to meet you again, right? Don’t think you can escape all on your own.” 

“Please surrender, Trine Halden. You have nowhere left to run.” 

Trine’s eyebrows twitched with hostility and scorn. “Nowhere to run? I’ll have you know, I’m the one who allowed you to escape.” 

Shifting to her beast form once more, Trine extended sharp claws and howled. Kicking off from the frame of a wrecked combat helicopter, she accelerated toward Kojou and Yukina. 

“Thanks to this, now I have to kill you! Regret your actions while fish eat you at the bottom of the sea, Fourth Primogenitor!” 

“Grounded Lightning!” 

Blocking Trine’s charge with the shaft of her spear, Yukina unleashed a palm strike with her right hand. It was a counter using her Sword Shaman ability to peer into the future. But… 

“How careless!” 

“…?!” 

Beating away Yukina’s palm strike, Trine rammed into the girl’s frame with her shoulder. Taking the full brunt of the impact, Yukina’s delicate physique was thrown into the air. 

“Why, you—!!” 

Kojou punched at Trine in a rage. It was a blow with the speed of a god and the maximum of his vampiric physical strength behind it. However, Trine easily predicted Kojou’s movement, slicing with a razor-sharp claw into Kojou’s neck. Blood violently scattered about. 

Trine laughed scornfully as she gazed down at the tottering Kojou. “Did you think you could beat me, a combat instructor for beast people? You filthy amateur!” 

The wound on Kojou’s neck cut it close but had missed his vitals. His carotid artery and windpipe were both safe. However, his vision was hazy from the blood loss. His body’s regeneration speed couldn’t keep up. 

“The regeneration ability vampires possess is so weak compared to beast people, it makes me want to yawn.” 

Trine laughed as she gazed at the wobbly Kojou with contempt. Without fanfare, she swung her right arm, this time to completely claw out Kojou’s throat. 

Yukina charged in to put a stop to that. However, Trine calmly continued to evade the storm-like series of spear thrusts. Trine was a powerful foe like none before her; spiritual power alone was insufficient to deal with her. 

“Roaring Thunder!!” 

Judging she could not catch the foe with her spear, Yukina launched a kick right at Trine’s eyes. Trine calmly caught the kicking leg in midair. 

“You’re a stubborn one, little girl!” 

“?!” 

Trine kept a grip on Yukina’s left leg as she traced an arc with her somersault. Easily lifting Yukina into the air, she slammed her against a wall. Thanks to one leg being yes until the last split second, Yukina was unable to counter. The arm strength of a beast person plus centrifugal force sent Yukina hurtling headfirst toward the wall. 

“Guoah…!” 

The sound of bones breaking reverberated behind Yukina. A moment before she’d collided with the metallic wall, Kojou had caught her. Kojou protected Yukina from the impact by using his own body as a cushion. Sandwiched between Yukina and the wall, Kojou’s entire body creaked and let out unpleasant popping sounds. 

“S-senpai…?! You shielded me…?!” 

Yukina let out a brief shriek when she saw Kojou coughing up blood. 

However, hovering in Kojou’s eyes was not pain, but an air of bewilderment and guilt. As an unpreventable consequence of the collision, both of Kojou’s hands ended up thoroughly grasping both of Yukina’s breasts. 

Unable to find words, Kojou was fiercely thrown for a loop by the squishiness that seemed to suck in his fingers. 

“Himeragi, this is…” 

Yukina’s face turned beet-red as she justified herself. 

“I-it could not be helped! Miss Justina did not bring a bra with her! And the bustier from the dress is too stiff for combat, so…!” 

Justina had brought a school uniform all the way to the Bifrost, but unfortunately, she had not provided Yukina with underwear as well. Because Yukina couldn’t fight in something so stiff, she was left with the choice of simply going without. Yes, at present, Yukina was braless. 

This is not the time to pay attention to that, thought Yukina, but the damage from the collision left her unable to get up immediately, either. That went double for Kojou, with bones broken all over the place. 

Even so, Trine showed no sign of carelessness as she approached the pair. She no doubt intended to ensure Kojou would not regenerate, and then she would slay Yukina as well. 

Even as he realized Trine’s aim, Kojou let out a voice with little sense of tension. 

“Himeragi, you smell really nice…because you just came out of the bath, maybe…?” 

“N-never mind that!” Yukina shouted, flushed. 

However, even as pain made Kojou’s breaths ragged, he continued whispering into Yukina’s ear. 

“Remember the deserted island where we met La Folia for the first time? I tried and failed to use my Beast Vassal to catch fish and you got drenched, right, Himeragi?” 

“…Senpai?” 

Yukina’s emotions were muted as she met Kojou’s eyes. 

Trine probably thought that Kojou had begun speaking of their memories because he’d resigned himself to defeat. 

She would be wrong, though. Kojou hadn’t given up. He was trying to convey something to Yukina in words that Trine might hear but would never understand. 

“We’ve lost most of our altitude. Sorry, but Big Sis is going to take care of you with haste and bail out. Don’t take it personally.” 

“No, we shall capture you right here.” 

Yukina wrung out the endurance remaining within her. Trine gave her a sullen glance. She was quite fed up with the pair’s stubbornness by then. 

Getting her ragged breathing in order, Yukina wove a solemn chant. 

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

With graceful, silent movements, Yukina danced, silver spear in hand. She looked like a warrior praying to the gods for victory—or perhaps a priestess receiving a prophecy of victory. 

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

The silver spear was enveloped by the pale light of spiritual essence. Yukina poised the spear and raced like the wind. 

As a Demon, Trine could not carelessly touch Snowdrift Wolf in its current state, but she remained unbothered. Ripping off a metal pipe set against a wall, she swung it like a club to slap Yukina’s spear aside. 

“Physical enchantment at this late stage? It’s no use. Slightly enhancing your muscle strength and reaction time is nowhere near enough to defeat me.” 

“Yes. Certainly, I am unable to defeat you,” Yukina acknowledged. 

Trine, having likely undergone harsh training in a military environment, was nothing like a sorcerous criminal resting on the laurels of her inborn physical abilities. Not only was she of a beast-person species, she was just plain strong as a soldier. In terms of close-quarter combat might, hers most definitely exceeded Yukina’s. 

“However, I succeeded in luring you in, just like you did when you abducted the princess!” 

“What?!” 

Trine’s eyes wavered with bewilderment as her gaze subconsciously shifted toward her own feet. 

Back then, she had opened a teleportation gate at La Folia’s feet. Remembering what had happened at the time, she was no doubt wary Yukina had set some sort of similar trap. But Yukina had only pretended to set one. Yukina and Kojou’s target was not at her feet—it was above her. 

“C’mon over, Al-Meissa Mercury!” 

Kojou summoned a twin-headed dragon with quicksilver scales. This Beast Vassal was the Dimension Eater that held the power to gouge out space and any and all dimensions associated with it. 

However, the twin-headed dragon did not harm Trine; it stripped away only a single part of the Bifrost’s hull, then vanished. What it stripped away was above Trine’s head, on the ceiling of the hangar. 

“A Beast Vassal of the Fourth Primogenitor?! What in the world was it aiming for?” 

Trine looked overhead, perplexed. Something was falling onto her entire body. It was a tasteless, odorless, transparent liquid—water. 

“Water…? Water for cooling the spiritual reactor…? What do you intend to do with this…?” 

Trine violently shook off the water droplets from her drenched fur. 

The water of the spiritual reactor’s cooling system was simple water, harmless to a person’s body. As a matter of fact, the Bifrost had plenty of water for bathing. Kojou likely realized the presence of coolant system water pipes on the ceiling from water dripping into the hangar, but that didn’t mean water alone could defeat Trine. 

No. Water alone could not— 

“It couldn’t be…?!” 

Trine’s eyes flew wide when she saw Yukina backing away, seemingly fearful of touching the water. 

The breaking of various bones dulled Kojou’s movements, but he stood up and raised his right arm high nonetheless. 

Trine’s breath caught as she gazed at the golden electricity enveloping that right arm. Water that included impurities served as a type of electrical conductor. And no matter how swift a beast person Trine might be, she could not move faster than the speed of conducted electricity. No one could—! 

“Don’t die on me, Big Sis.” 

Kojou made an upward swing of his fist toward the pool of water spreading across the hangar’s floor. 

“S-sto—!” 

Trine tried to shout at Kojou. He paid no heed and swung his fist downward. 

“Regulus Aurum!” 

With a limited summons, he transformed the Beast Vassal’s demonic energy into a high-voltage electrical attack that raced across the hangar’s floor. 

A pale light enveloped Trine’s body. She stood in place while she violently convulsed. 

When that flash faded, Trine, enveloped in white steam, collapsed onto the floor. Her once-beautiful white fur was brown and scorched, and a disagreeable scent hovered all around her. 

The wounds were such that any normal person might have died instantly, but fortunately, she was alive. 

Her body still twitching from the electric shock, Trine let out a laugh from her throat. 

“It’s no use… Even defeating me…won’t stop this airship from crashing… The insolent masses at the commemoration ceremony…will all be blown away…” Trine continued to laugh. 

“Why?” Kojou asked. “Why do you want to kick off a war that much…?” 

“Don’t make me laugh so much, Fourth Primogenitor. Would it be all right to start a war if it’s a reason you can accept?” 

Trine inquired in a tone of voice so sober, it gave him a shudder. Kojou couldn’t find the words to reply. 

“I’m a spy doing a spy’s work. The North Atlantic Empire’s military is the only one that acknowledged my talents. I’m doing this for self-fulfillment. It’s nice to have someone expect something of you.” 

Unable to understand Trine’s motive, Kojou’s empty voice trembled. “That’s…all…?” 

Trine had infiltrated Aldegia as a spy. Her opportunities to come into contact with North Atlantic Empire people had to be few and far between. Even so, Trine was trying to ruin Aldegia for their sake. They’d acknowledged her. That was all the reason she’d needed. 

“Do you find that trifling? But those are the sorts of reasons why wars start. Discord between demons and humans, territorial issues, religion, history, loyalty to the national anthem… These are mere excuses made up after the fact for the public. Remember this, Fourth Primogenitor. Just because something isn’t a lie does not mean it is truth…” 

Unable to maintain bestialization, Trine reverted to the form of an injured human being. Even her species’ regenerative ability was surely at its limit just keeping her alive. Her consciousness seemed to already be fading. 

“La Folia Rihavein…understands all this well. That is why she never once asked…my reason for fighting… She may be a nasty, scheming woman, but she is a true royal… Though I’d rather rip my lips off than say I respect her…” 

Even as she made those halting comments, a triumphant smile came over her. 

“But in the end, I win. Take that, suckers.” 

With that final murmur, Trine completely lost consciousness. 

Kojou and Yukina stared at Trine’s lifeless body with pity. Certainly, Trine had been strong and capable—but that was all she was. She had not found any way to prove her own worth save through using others and destroying the established order. That was why… 

“Nah, you’ve lost, Trine Halden.” 

Wiping the fresh blood trickling from his lips, Kojou smiled bitterly. A new message was arriving on his smartphone just then. It was Asagi. 

“If you say you’re starting a war for no reason, it’s fine if we stop you on a whim, right?” 

Making eye contact with Yukina, Kojou nodded at her and shifted his attention to the hangar exterior. 

Through the wide-open door, he saw a blue sky and Aldegia’s green forests. The fast-approaching city of Verterace looked unexpectedly large and distinct. 

Arriving at the bridge, La Folia knit her refined brows ever so slightly as she sighed. 

The smell of gunpowder mixed in with the air. The navigational equipment, communications gear, and tactical AI terminal—all devices necessary for controlling the Bifrost—had been largely blown to bits. Trine had made the crew under her control destroy them. 

“You’ve really done it, Trine Halden.” 

For once, a look of indignation came over La Folia’s comely visage. 

The Bifrost was heading toward the very center of the royal capital, Verterace, the site of the peace commemoration ceremony. 

Trine intended to crash the Bifrost not against the Warlord’s Empire fleet, which might evade such an attack, but against the ceremony site that was the surer target. 

“Well, I expected as much,” Yaze replied in his usual flippant manner. “I suppose we could say she takes her work as a saboteur seriously.” 

“Expected… Hmm…,” Sayaka murmured. She stood stock-still, at a loss. This was no longer something a single Attack Mage could do anything about, not even a Shamanic War Dancer of the Lion King Agency. 

“Mogwai,” Asagi said to the AI on her laptop. “How long until this thing collides with the ceremony site?” 

With the majority of the bridge equipment wrecked, Asagi’s partner AI was the only thing left capable of controlling the Bifrost. 

“At this speed, it’ll be two minutes, seventeen seconds before the initial casualties. If the engines are cut this second, let’s say three minutes or so.” 

“There does not seem to be time to evacuate us all.” 

La Folia calmly nodded as if it was of little concern to her. Then, with a light shrug, she turned toward Sayaka. 

“Sayaka, I request that you protect Asagi and Yaze. Take them and get off the ship immediately. The lifepod for royals should be usable.” 

“Eh…?” 

Sayaka’s eyes wavered with gloom. As a Shamanic War Dancer of the Lion King Agency, her top priority was to prevent sorcerous terrorism. However, at present, Sayaka lacked any means with which to halt the Bifrost’s descent. 

This being the case, the next action Sayaka ought to take was surely to protect Asagi Aiba, the Priestess of Cain, and Motoki Yaze, chairman of a giant conglomerate. La Folia’s request did not conflict with Sayaka’s duty in any way. To do so, however, meant to abandon the princess. 

“What do you intend to do, La Folia?” Yaze asked. 

The princess’s reply was swift. “I shall ask Kojou to destroy the Bifrost. Surely his Beast Vassals are capable of blowing the ship away without leaving a single trace.” 

“You planning on dying?” Yaze grimaced. 

The princess did not back down. “I judge that it is the optimal means for my survival. I believe in Kojou.” 

Her unwavering gaze silenced any refutations he could muster. 

To protect the people gathered at the commemoration ceremony, the Bifrost had to be annihilated before it crashed. The Beast Vassals of the Fourth Primogenitor were fundamentally specialized for destruction. The odds they could save the people still inside the vessel were low. The situation was not ideal. 

It meant destroying the giant Bifrost as it plunged from the sky at high speeds while saving only the people not on board. Yaze didn’t think Kojou was capable of such fine control while exhausted from his battle with Trine. 

“If you’re going to believe in him, why not make a somewhat better bet?” Asagi suggested. 

“Asagi?” La Folia prompted quizzically. 

Asagi suddenly began fiddling with her smartphone. She held it to her ear, addressing the person replying to her call with a laid-back, almost gossipy tone. 

“Kojou. You getting this? You read the text I sent you earlier, right?” 

“…Yeah. But is this really gonna be all right?” 

The voice with which Kojou replied was plainly tinged with worry. She might have called it a better bet, but in the end, it was still a risky one. 

“There’s no time. Ready to go now? Got it, Mogwai?!” 

Ignoring Kojou’s hesitance, Asagi addressed her partner AI. 

“Heh-heh. This is gonna be a show!” 

A sardonic synthesized voice coursed over the smartphone’s speaker as the Bifrost ’s hull swayed significantly. Roars seemed to echo from every direction as flashes and explosions stretched into the blue sky. A large quantity of turrets from the flying battleship emptied their missiles and machine-gun bullets. 

Sayaka fearfully looked around the area as she shouted, “Asagi Aiba?! What in the world are you trying to do…?!” 

The fired rounds were all shot toward the deserted sea. Even so, the impacts delivered to the surrounding area were incredibly frightful. 

It was La Folia who realized Asagi’s objective first. “Expending all explosives? To prevent a chain reaction—” 

The Bifrost was not being purged only of explosives. Jet fuel sprayed out, vanishing in midair as if it was steam. 

Sayaka was gazing outside the window in a daze when Asagi gave her back a nudge. 

“Kirasaka.” 

“Wh-what?” 

“For starters, you really should put on a seat belt. I think it’s going to be quite an impact.” 

“P-pardon me?” 

Sayaka’s expression acquired a questioning air. The following instant, she pitched over and crashed into the window. The Bifrost’s enormous hull was being violently flung about as if it had been punched by some gargantuan, invisible fist. 

“Kojou Akatsuki’s Beast Vassal?! What is he…?!” 

Within her eyes, Sayaka beheld a scarlet bicorn that had appeared in midair. 

The Beast Vassal of the Fourth Primogenitor unleashed furious winds and shock waves that struck from the front like a torrent, causing the Bifrost’s hull to heavily distort. The air bladders that made the Bifrost float were damaged one after another, and the materials stored within leaked out. 

With its floating ability greatly decreased, the Bifrost lost speed. It was losing altitude more like a straight-up crash. 

“With Engineering destroyed, we can’t maintain altitude or change course. But we can lower the altitude. Even though they call it something extravagant like a battleship, when push comes to shove, it’s still just an airship.” 

“Wha…?” 

Sayaka’s face blanched as she stared squarely at the quickly approaching ground below. She could see treacherous mountains and green forests and a deep lake created by a glacier. 

“It’s all right. The land of Aldegia will protect us,” Asagi said, though Sayaka still found it irresponsible. 

Asagi was staring at the back of the boy on the Bifrost’s deck. Standing with Yukina’s support, Kojou thrust both arms out and howled: 

“C’mon over, Sadalmelik Albus!” 

Fresh blood gushed out from Kojou’s arms. The explosive demonic energy imbued within emitted a pale light. 

Within that radiance emerged an enormous Beast Vassal with transparent flesh that seemed like a current of water. Its torso was that of a beautiful woman, while its lower half was that of a translucent serpent. Its hair was a cascade of countless snakes. 

It was a pale water maid—an Undine. 

Fjords were terrain created by glaciers. Making all of the water of that lake part of its own body, the water maid’s serpentine body danced higher into the sky. Then it caught the falling Bifrost. 

With the power of restoration the water maid possessed, it barely managed to heal the hull as it was being destroyed by the recoil from the collision. Reverberations from excess restoration dismantled the special alloy armor, turning back the clock on an atomic level, but the consequence was to reduce the Bifrost’s mass and weaken the force of its fall. 

Before losing consciousness from the impact, Asagi murmured as if making a prayer. “Hold on tight, Kojou.” 

Nodding with a smile that somehow seemed mischievous, La Folia closed her eyes with the utmost satisfaction. “Kojou, you truly are my—” 

With the back of the boy who would someday grant her wish burned into those blue eyes… 

A tumult began among the people at the anomalous sight of a flying object approaching the ceremony site. 

Few realized that this was a flying battleship in the midst of crashing, but ordinary citizens were already aware of the recent attack on the royal palace. If anything, suspecting the descent of the mysterious aircraft of being a second terrorist attack was a natural reaction. 

Standing on the ceremony stage, Lucas glared at the sky without a word. He could not carelessly speak in the middle of guests from countries around the world. 

For his part, Aradahl, sitting right beside Lucas, appeared fascinated. He was the only one who’d noticed that the demonic energy of Kojou Akatsuki could be felt from within the damaged battleship. 

“Ohh…!” 

Finally, a commotion rose from all over the site. 

The weapons with which the flying battleship was equipped had begun firing all at once. 

The roars from the explosions could be heard all the way from the still-distant ceremony site. 

The flashes of star shells of differing colors. The exhaust trails traced by guided missiles. If the display was not due to the malevolent weapons of war, it would be seen as an unquestionably beautiful sight. 

Then the sky was illuminated with a scarlet flash. It was the radiance of a bicorn wrought from demonic energy. 

Enveloped by that flash, the flying battleship fell. 

People held their breaths as they watched its descent and then a giant pillar of ice rose up from the lake. 

Rising to the heavens like a dragon, the pillar of ice engulfed the flying battleship’s enormous frame. 

Then, the flying battleship vanished from sight. All that was left was the azure sky as far as one could see. 

The gazes of the people turned toward Lucas atop the dais. 

Were the strange happenings that had unfolded in the sky above a terrorist attack, or a performance for the ceremony—? Everyone sought the answer to that question. 

However, Lucas could say nothing, for even he did not understand what had just occurred. 

It was an international political stage, as well. If he rashly spoke words of untruth, they would become a curse that would damage trust from other nations. But if the silence continued, the effect would be the same. 

Feeling the heavy weight of responsibility, I must say something, thought Lucas. The instant when he began to feel desperate— 

Kanon, waiting at the edge of the stage in her role as princess, suddenly but confidently rose to her feet. 

The abrupt action by the beautiful princess made the eyes of those present turn toward her in unison. 

Surely an ordinary girl with no experience in such matters could not endure such pressure. 

However, Kanon received the gazes of hundreds of thousands of people like it was second nature to her. An elegant smile came over her as she spoke. 

“The fireworks were splendid.” 

Silence blanketed the site as people held their breath once more. 

Then, the next moment, the rise of thunderous applause shook Verterace Square. 

In an instant, one phrase by the princess had swept the anxiety of the people aside, whipping up a vortex of delight. 

At that point, it became certain that history would record the ceremony commemorating forty years since the signing of a peace treaty between the kingdom of Aldegia and the Warlord’s Empire as a success. 

So, too, would the fame of Aldegia’s wise princess spread throughout the world. 



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