Strike the Blood - Volume 22 - Chapter Pr

INTRO

The girl did not know the island’s name.

The monorail darted through the steel-colored city, looking down at the transparent blue sky.

It was a world where ground and sky were reversed.

Overhead, everything was covered by the aquamarine surface of the sea. The artificial isle floated upon its glimmering waves. From the steel-colored island resembling a decrepit ruin, countless buildings towered toward the sky below.

The girl gazed without a word upon this scenery scrolling past her car window.

Following the spiraling path of the track, the monorail car continued its gentle turn. Through the glass, the sun’s rays flickered at every angle, illuminating the shine of the girl’s golden hair like a rainbow.

The train finally decelerated and slid into the station.

This was the end of the line—the last station on her commute to school.

The door made a slight sound as it opened. Passengers spewed out all at once.

These were girls wearing identical uniforms. Mingling amid the throng, she, too, headed to school.

She did not know the name of the school.

It was a campus covered in a clear glass dome like a big goldfish bowl. The girls spent day after day in peaceful classrooms. The familiar scenery was always the same. This was the everyday life they had enjoyed many times over.

At some point, though, a tiny change occurred in the supposedly stagnant background.

The clamor of the girls’ voices echoed through the formerly tranquil school halls.

Delight. Sadness. Anger. Lamentations. The unresponsive, doll-like girls had begun to display emotions—unique, varied emotions. They were like princesses from a fairy tale awakening from a long slumber.

Stopped time had resumed its flow, and the world began to undergo a visible change.

She knew the reason why.

She knew that her existence was the cause behind the changes occurring in the world around her—

“Morning, Avrora. There’s a dead end ahead.”

When she separated from the ranks of the girls heading to class and went down a dark stairway, she heard someone call her name.

A classmate with mature-looking eyes was waiting for Avrora’s arrival at the entrance to the underground warehouse.

She had slender curves and an affable, smiling face. Her steel-colored hair swayed as the classmate gave Avrora a friendly wave.

“…So it is thee, Glenda…Guardian of the Corridor.”

Avrora’s expression did not change as she halted, gazing at the girl at the bottom of the staircase as she spoke.

Surprised and delighted by Avrora’s unexpected reaction, the girl with silver hair blinked several times.

“Why are you talking like that, Ava? You sound like some sort of princess.”

“…A princess I am not. I am a doll, a handcrafted vessel to contain Beast Vassals.”

Avrora quietly shook her head at Glenda’s teasing smile.

Glenda fell into silence for but a moment. Her tiny smile felt a little bleak.

“So you remembered.”

“The time for games is at an end. ’Twas a pleasant dream nonetheless.”

Avrora commented quietly as she glanced down at the top of her uniform.

Glenda’s eyes softened with relief.

“That so? I’m glad you had fun with it. That’s what Cain wanted, after all. I wonder if the other girls are pleased, too.”

The chime announcing the start of classes rang in the distance. Avrora turned away from Glenda without a word.

She could see girls in school uniforms sitting down in the glass-covered classroom. It was a false tranquility. Their daily lives were a sham.

Avrora knew, though. She knew just what price the man once known as the Sinful God had paid to grant this to them.

“Did you find the classroom? The classroom where the secrets of the world are locked away?”

Glenda’s smile vanished as she asked Avrora this with a serious expression.

“Though I have yet to unravel that mystery, the mist hath cleared from my memories.”

Avrora laughed a bit at her own expense.

Poking out from her lips were pointed, pure white fangs. Her blue eyes blazed like flames as she glared at what lay behind Glenda—a spiraling stairway, partially emerging from a thick, steel-colored wall.

“Accordingly, I know this world’s true form—come forth, Minelauva Iris—!”

Fresh, slick blood gushed from Avrora’s outstretched right arm.

This became a crimson mist imbued with demonic energy, finally changing into the form of a huge humanoid beast. It transformed into a beautiful Beast Vassal enveloped by rainbow flames—a Valkyrie gripping a sword of light.

This was Beast Vassal Number Six of the Fourth Primogenitor, the World’s Mightiest Vampire. Minelauva Iris’s ability was that of Severing.

The rainbow-colored sword of light wielded by the Valkyrie tore through the corridor wall with the greatest of ease. No, what Avrora’s Beast Vassal had sliced apart was an intricate illusion—part of the powerful barrier surrounding the school.

The false image vanished from the corridor, causing the rest of the supposedly cut-off stairway to come into view.

Beyond that was not the interior of a school. Spreading around the spiraling stairway was the sky, endless azure without a single obstruction. One misstep going down the glass stairway and she would doubtlessly keep on falling until she reached the ends of the sky.

Yet Avrora did not falter, calmly beginning to descend the stairs.

“You go, Avrora! …See…ya!”

She heard Glenda’s voice in her ear, but when Avrora looked back, Glenda had already vanished from sight. All that remained were the sounds of wings flapping and the silhouette of an enormous dragon receding in the distance.

The spiral stairway continued.

One step at a time, Avrora continued descending the stairs toward a destination she knew had to be at the end. It was the same as climbing toward the highest reaches of the sky.

The lower she went into the sky, the more her sense of up and down blurred. She gradually became unable to tell whether she was going down stairs or rising into the sky, or whether there even was a difference.

Just as she had reached a point where she was completely unable to feel her body’s weight, Avrora arrived at the end of the spiral stairway.

At the foot of the stairs was a room floating right in the middle of the sky like a moon under the noonday sun.

It was a tiny, cylindrical space seeming like the very center of the world. This was the secret room Glenda had told her about.

Avrora did not know the tiny room’s name. She did know who was in it, however.

The one seated in the place in which the secrets of the world were locked away was he who ruled those worldly secrets—in other words, the King of Nod.

Breathing deeply several times, Avrora went down the final rung.

The cramped room had steel-colored walls.

It was a dark place reminiscent of a pipeline buried deep under a city. The walls were lined with countless monitors embedded in them like mosaic tiles. They displayed scenes of worlds that were not Nod, worlds far away.

Illuminated by the glow from these monitors was a peculiar creature sitting in a tattered chair.

The tiny figure looked like a toy that had been thrown away—

“Yo. So you came, Lil’ Twelfth. Been waiting for ya.”

The badly sewn teddy bear modeled after a lovable animal looked up at Avrora.

“Keh-keh.”

“Our ancestors came down from the sky.”

Ladli Ren still had a crimson lollipop in her mouth as she mused to herself.

She wore long boots, a checkered skirt and a necktie, a sleeveless white shirt, and a top hat with a red ribbon attached. The girl’s outfit was surreal, something that seemed to hail straight from a theatrical stage.

Based on her looks, she seemed to be around seventeen or eighteen years old. Her soft, long hair was an ashen color, nearly black. She had pure white skin that lacked even a hint of the flush of life, and her red, cherry-like eyes were highly distinctive. Sharp canine teeth poked out from the gap of her mouth as she kept the lollipop stuck in her mouth.

“Hence, they named themselves the Devas, so as never to forget they were visitors from the sky and not of the peoples on the surface. No one remembers that anymore, though.”

Ladli’s sweet voice continued to boast.

She was in the master control room on the topmost floor of Arnica Quad—the corporate headquarters for Magna Ataraxia Research floating in the Pacific Ocean’s Celebes Sea.

Incorporating a small island from the Talauds to form a single giant facility, Arnica Quad was more akin to a military fortress than an office building. Connected to branch companies and factories in every corner of the world via its electronic network, it had complete control of its own communications net, allowing it to issue detailed instructions in mere milliseconds. This capability was so crucial that it had amply earned its status as the “brain” of the multinational corporate conglomerate known as MAR.

Accordingly, security for Arnica Quad was heavy. It possessed independent defensive combat capabilities ranging from patrol boats to fighter aircraft, and each of the forty-six operators working in the command room had a strict military air about them. In that context, Ladli’s presence with her theatrical outfit looked extremely out of place.

Not a single person would dare reproach her for this.

After all, she was the one and only principal executive of the corporation and the little sister of Shahryar Ren, president of MAR.

“—The Holy Grounds Treaty Organization aircraft carrier strike fleet has commenced field operations.”

The report from a young defense operator interrupted Ladli’s soliloquy.

Invisible tension ran through the command room. The employees’ reactions held an air of resignation rather than surprise. They’d known from the beginning that the HGTO would become MAR’s foe.

MAR had assisted the Order of the End, a sorcerous criminal organization. MAR had interfered with a Demon Sanctuary’s neutrality, instigating the civil conflict known as the Electoral War. During this dispute, they had made use of the captured Fourth Primogenitor, opening the gate to Nod—all were crystal-clear breaches of the Holy Grounds Treaty, so MAR could not avoid an outpouring of international scorn.

If that had been the end of it, there would still have been room for negotiations. MAR could apologize and pay out a fortune in compensation. At the very least, a full-on armed clash could surely have been avoided.

The fact that MAR special forces under Shahryar Ren’s command were attempting to monopolize the legacy that the Sinful God had left behind in Nod had decisively turned the HGTO against them.

The Legacy of the Sinful God was a strategic weapon of mass destruction. Shahryar Ren’s desire for this made clear that his objective was to rule the world.

Even without that, MAR had accumulated so much power in its expansion into a giant international conglomerate that it was viewed as an eyesore across the globe. Various national governments had quietly banded together to begin attacking MAR through legal or even extra-legal means: the freezing of assets, the sealing of factories and offices, arrests of executives and employees, and even direct attacks by force of arms—

For all the economic power it could boast, MAR was a civilian corporation in the end—a leaf in the wind against the force of a tornado. MAR strongholds were being taken over across the globe. In two short days, the corporation had lost virtually all of its capabilities.

The last stronghold remaining was its headquarters, Arnica Quad.

“The main force is the Magallanica Pacific Fleet. Aircraft Carrier Yurlungur and six missile destroyers confirmed. The island is already within range of Long-Range Land Attack Projectiles.”

The operator read off the information gleaned from unmanned reconnaissance craft. The calm and businesslike tone could not conceal the turmoil within.

“A grand showing against a mere civilian corporation, isn’t it? Did they really think sending a fleet would make us roll out the red carpet?”

Ladli sighed with a look of exasperation. A strange atmosphere fell over the command room.

The Holy Grounds Treaty Organization had dispatched an amount of firepower able to wipe a small nation off the map in a single night. One could only call it complete overkill for subjugating a single corporate headquarters. There was no doubt they were wary of MAR, but that could not have been the only reason.

“Well, not that I don’t understand what they’re thinking. They’re just crushing us along the way. Their real target is Itogami Island, surely.”

Ladli laughed scornfully, then happily turned around.

At present, the gate to Nod existed only in the sky above Itogami Island. If one conquered Itogami Island, you could pour in as much military power as you pleased, enabling that party to wipe out Shahryar Ren and his MAR forces in Nod. It was a simple but effective means of dealing with the problem. Taking over Arnica Quad was a preliminary step, live-fire training doubling as a morale-boosting exercise.

“This is dangerous. Lady Ladli, you must escape.”

The security department chief, whom everyone called Colonel for short, urged Ladli in a sober tone of voice. Arnica Quad was already within the HGTO battle fleet’s firing range. It was probably only a matter of time before they began attacking in earnest.

Given the situation, the only company employees left at MAR were either pure Devas or clans with Deva blood flowing through them—in other words, coconspirators of Shahryar Ren. The HGTO side was no doubt aware of this. They would surely seek to mercilessly exterminate Ladli and the others for the sake of eliminating future concerns, yet—

“Run? Me?”

Ladli’s eyes went round as if taken a little by surprise. Then the corners of her lips rose with amusement.

“Of course not. Right now it’s far more dangerous outside of Quad.”

“But, Lady Ladli…”

“More importantly, warn all hands that someone’s trying to lay a finger on us. We have incoming.”

“Eh?”

The security chief frowned, perplexed.

The very next moment, Arnica Quad was slammed by an unanticipated blow.

Blast winds blew and raged like a tornado, violently shaking the entire island.

The stout exterior wall of the command room was on par with a nuclear shelter, yet it creaked as if crying out. It was not the ground, but space itself that was shaking. An object of immense mass suddenly emerged from another world.

“Situation report!”

The security chief angrily shouted at the nearby operators. His voice was overridden by the sounds of countless alarms echoing across the room. Even Arnica Quad’s information management capacity was unable to ascertain the true nature of the anomaly that had appeared out of the blue.

“A Necropolis. The final fiefdoms left to the seventeen Deva clans, and the symbols of their martial might.”

In contrast to her skittish subordinates, Ladli’s expression was bright and cheerful.

Operating a console without even having to touch it with her hands, she switched to real-time imagery sent from an unmanned reconnaissance craft. The bizarre sight displayed on the giant monitor made everyone in the control room draw in their breath.

It was an enormous sphere similar to a snow dome.

The sphere was a little under a kilometer in diameter. Its surface was composed of stone and steel. From its appearance, one might think it was the result of taking a castle city from the Middle Ages and forcing it into a round shape.

Ignoring the power of gravity, the sphere floated in the sky above the Pacific Ocean.

The spherical castle floating in midair was an ominous structure that seemed to have come straight out of a surrealist work of art. The fortress of the Devas emerging from another world was one of the cities known as Necropolis.

“You mean…the Necropolises are real?”

The security chef’s murmur trickled out from his lips.

This Necropolis had emerged at a point ten kilometers south of the Talaud Island chain. It was perfectly positioned to shield Arnica Quad from the HGTO fleet’s approach.

“The Necropolis came to support us? But that means…”

“It will be bathed in concentrated gunfire from the enemy fleet, yes.”

Ladli spoke in a sober tone as if it wasn’t any concern to her.

The Necropolis was a powerful weapon built with Deva technology, but seven thousand years had already passed since it had vanished from the surface. Humanity’s technology had risen by leaps and bounds during that time, certainly rivaling the Devas of old in military might at the very least. A straight-up gunfight with a cutting-edge fleet would be a hard fight even for the Necropolis.

“Flying objects from enemy fleet confirmed. Total numbers sixt…no, thirty-two. Roughly eighty percent reaching the Necropolis.”

The operator shouted with a tense tenor. The missile destroyers had fired ground attack cruise missiles. They were most likely armed with ritual warheads for demolishing facilities.

The Necropolis, also known as the Otherworldly Castle, existed simultaneously in that world and another, giving it powerful resistance to all physical attacks. This magical bulwark had caused humanity much grief in wars of old, but there was no guarantee it could withstand the latest ritual warheads.

“Should we counterattack?”

The security chief checked with Ladli. She, however, waved a hand with a relaxed smile.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Just leave them be.”

“But at this rate—”

“Sure, the Necropolises come off as moldy antiques compared to mankind’s weapons nowadays. On top of that, the Devas have no demon soldiers or human peoples on their side anymore. We can’t fight a proper war like his.”

Ladli spoke these words with an indifferent air.

The missiles launched by the HGTO fleet would probably arrive at the Necropolis in less than thirty seconds. If they eliminated the Necropolis, Arnica Quad would be their next attack target.

Though she knew this full well, Ladli’s smile was undiminished.

“Yet these are but trifling concerns. The greatest power of the Devas is not dependent on sorcerous technology or the number of soldiers at our command.”

Ladli’s words had not even finished when something was shot out from the Necropolis.

It was not an interceptor missile or a high-output laser or anything of the sort. It was a simple metal round fired out of a large, primitive cannon barrel.

After tracing a parabolic arc as it flew through the sky, the shell burst apart midair in a stretch of open sky. Flying out from the scattering fragments was a glimmering sphere resembling a jewel.

“…What the?! A doll…no, a woman?!”

The security chief scowled when he noticed the strange silhouette encased inside the sphere.

It was a naked girl with her knees tucked under her chin as she slept. The young girl slept inside the gemstone like a mosquito encased in amber.

“Everyone has forgotten how the betrayal of Cain the Sinful God sealed away the Devas’ greatest power, leading to humanity’s victory in The Great Cleansing of days gone by.”

Ladli broke out into giggles.

Pulled down by the force of gravity, the gemstone would cross paths with the cruise missiles in midflight—the second the employees watching thought this, the sleeping girl suddenly opened her eyes, glimmering blue eyes glowing like flames.

“Demonic energy response increasing! It’s a vampire’s Beast Vassal! It’s materializing!”

The pale-faced operator’s report sent the command room into an uproar.

A vampire was summoning a Beast Vassal. In itself, this elicited no special surprise. Being able to detect that Beast Vassal’s demonic energy from a place ten kilometers removed was a different matter entirely.

Few existing vampires were able to summon Beast Vassals of such power. Really, it would be rather bad if more existed.

“This is crazy… This demonic energy capacity is on par with the Beast Vassals of the three primogenitors?! If it’s released without any restraint, this part of the sea will be unapproachable due to magical contamination…!”

The security chief’s voice was full of terror.

The violence and destructiveness of a Beast Vassal was not the truly frightening part. Those who had inherited the knowledge of the Devas knew this well.

Beast Vassals were beings akin to flames. Weaker ones could be completely controlled through the actions of the summoner and could be dismissed once the need for them had passed.

Overly powerful Beast Vassals, however, were very difficult to dismiss. Just like it was arduous to snuff out a massive conflagration, powerful Beast Vassals were beings beyond the control of advanced peoples.

These beings sought to destroy everything and consume magical energy without limit in accordance with their cravings. Once summoned, these Beast Vassals could never be dismissed so long as magical energy was present. They vanished only when all magical energy in the surrounding area ran dry—in other words, only when any and all information, including the memories of living creatures, was erased.

The Beast Vassal summoned by the girl inside the jewel was a huge eyeball blazing like the sun. Perhaps it was better to call this a mass of white flesh with a blazing centipede wrapped around it. In human terms, the shape of the monster was simply repulsive.

Flying cruise missiles were blown apart one after another as the Beast Vassal’s flames engulfed them. The Beast Vassal roared with delight as it consumed the magical energy scattered in the process. Then, with incredible speed belying its great size, the Beast Vassal assailed the HGTO fleet.

The destroyers’ main guns spewed flames. Fighter jets launched from the aircraft carrier boldly challenged the Beast Vassal as well.

The Beast Vassal did not stop, however. Its demonic energy flames explosively swelled, enveloping the entirety of the fleet. Within those flames, the fleet was embroiled in a single moment.

The fighter jets were vaporized without a trace. The destroyers sank instantly one after another. The enormous aircraft carrier dissolved and melted away, steam gushing from the sea as the vessel sank.

The destruction was overwhelmingly one-sided. Arnica Quad’s control room fell so silent that one could have heard a pin drop.

“So they are finally in your hands, Brother.”

Amid that silence, Ladli abruptly mused aloud.

Biting apart the crimson candy giving off a scent of fresh blood, she narrowed her eyes and formed a tiny smile.

“The Deadly Sin of the Devas, sealed in Nod by Cain the Sinful God—the Beast Vassal Warheads.”