Strike the Blood - Volume 6 - Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR 

THE SACRIFICIAL VICTIMS 

1 

She was right before Nagisa’s eyes—eyes Nagisa had shut, because she and the girl were so close together their breath intertwined. 

She was a girl with a serious expression and straight black hair dusting her shoulders. Long, wavy eyelashes extended beyond the rims of her glasses. Her lips were slightly pursed, with a glint shining from her glossy red lipstick. 

She brought those lips closer to Nagisa’s and closed her eyes, too… 

And just as it seemed like their lips would press together— 

“I-I can’t…! I’m at my limit!” 

—Nagisa shouted and broke away. 

There was a satisfying snap as the candy stick suspended between their mouths cleaved in half. 

Their friends, watching the display, went ooh in marvel and disappointment. 

It was the first day of the middle school field trip. Nagisa and the other girl were playing the Pocky Game while their ferry was on its way to Tokyo Harbor. The game’s purpose was to sit opposite each other with one crunchy chocolate-covered stick between two people, and see just how far you could nibble it down. 

Nagisa sighed. “Haah… That was close. I almost had my first kiss stolen by the class rep.” 

Nagisa rolled onto the floor, drained of strength. The black-haired girl with glasses coolly looked down at her. 

“That goes for both of us.” 

Her name was Sakura Koushima. Ever since she’d started living on Itogami Island during her fifth year of elementary school, she’d been selected class representative every year running, making her something of a class rep lifer. For someone who was a teacher’s pet and looked completely serious at all times, she had a surprisingly easygoing personality, leading to exceptionally high support from her classmates. 

Another classmate, Cindy, spoke as she shuffled a deck of cards she’d brought out. “I have to say, Yukina’s a tough customer. You haven’t lost even once, have you?” 

“Cindy” was a Japanese girl born in Akita. Her family name was Shindou, a name she’d mangled out of stress when introducing herself, and the name Cindy had stuck ever since. Cindy, the class rep, and Yukina constituted Nagisa’s group for the excursion. 

Cindy shot Yukina a suspicious look. “You’re not using probability-altering charms or magical devices, are you?” 

Yukina swiftly shook her head. “…I-I’m just lucky…” 

Of course, there was no way she’d use an extravagant charm against classmates when playing Old Maid. But she kept to herself how she’d subconsciously used her Sword Shaman Spirit Sight a number of times. After all, if she lost at Old Maid, she’d be on the receiving end of a cruel humiliation game. There was no place for mercy in the games schoolgirls played on a class trip. 

Nagisa, having suffered three losses in a row, murmured ruefully as she looked over her hand. “You sure have quite a poker face, Yukina.” 

Actually, Nagisa was the type to project whatever she was thinking onto her face, enough that you had to consciously convince yourself she wasn’t doing it to just throw you off. 

Nagisa breathed heavily through her nostrils as she tendered cards toward Yukina in a fan shape. “Here you go, Yukina. It’s your turn.” 

Yukina didn’t even need her Spirit Sight; it was plain as day that Nagisa had a joker mixed into her hand. Based on the movements of her big eyes, Yukina knew exactly where the joker was. She stretched a finger out toward the card next to the joker. 

That was when Cindy asked in a nonchalant tone, “So, Yukina, how’ve things been with Nagisa’s brother lately?” 

For a moment, the girl’s question made Yukina’s mind blank out. Thanks to that, she didn’t realize her hand had gone astray until it was too late. She had made a fatal mistake. 

“Aah…” 

Yukina let out a small sound when she saw that she’d drawn the joker from Nagisa’s hand. 

The class representative did not fail to take notice, adjusting her glasses slightly as she said, “That threw her off.” 

Cindy captured the moment to snatch away Yukina’s safe card. “I’ll take that!” 

Cindy discarded all her numbered cards, leaving her with two. Yukina had six, which was a fairly difficult situation to recover from. 

Cindy, sensing weakness after Yukina’s repeated victories, tenaciously pressed the attack. 

“Kojou’s changed a lot lately, hasn’t he?” 

Even though Yukina knew it was a trap, it was not a subject she could avoid. The girl was a current member of the basketball team, so she’d been Kojou’s junior when he was in middle school. In other words, the girl knew things about Kojou that Yukina did not. And so, Yukina asked, “H-how so?” 

“Hmm, I’d say he’s back to how he was when he was playing basketball? He was kind of a scary person until not long ago.” 

“Akatsuki? Scary?” Yukina looked dubious. But Cindy had been completely serious. 

As far as Yukina knew, Kojou didn’t have an aggressive personality. He had the power of the World’s Mightiest Vampire, but had no clue what to do with it, so he lived his days in languid idleness. That was why Yukina couldn’t let him be. Even Yukina, his junior in years, considered him a guy who just needed to straighten himself out. Hearing him described as a scary person didn’t resonate whatsoever. 

So Yukina replied in all honesty. “I find that hard to imagine…” 

Cindy made a pained smile as she narrowed her eyes. “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s like, he wasn’t hostile, more like, he was a hard guy to talk to? Plus, he was really beat-up here and there.” 

Yukina raised her eyebrows. “When…was that?” 

Cindy hummed and looked up at the ceiling as she sifted through her memory. “Spring break, Golden Week maybe, something like that? It was, like, right around when Nagisa went into the hospital for tests, so maybe it had something to do with that?” 

“Spring break…” 

Yukina let out a heavy sigh. 

That was immediately after Kojou graduated from middle school—and about the time he obtained the power of the Fourth Primogenitor. What could have happened to Kojou other than that to make him so hostile that his affable junior could barely raise a word to him…? It seemed worth looking into. 

Cindy murmured to herself as she reached toward Yukina’s cards. “See, back when Akatsuki played ball, he was pretty full of himself when he was on the court, but outside of that he was spaced out, and that was a good mix. I think it’s good he’s like that again. That’s because you dragged him there, huh, Yukina?” 

Yukina gave the girl a mystified look. “You watch him a lot, then?” 

“Ah…? Er, I mean, we were in the same club. Akatsuki stood out a ton when he was in the middle school basketball club.” 

This time, for whatever reason, it was Cindy’s turn to be thrown off. And when it was finally Yukina’s turn, she drew a joker from the deck, practically bringing tears to Cindy’s eyes. She protested, “Er, no, really, it’s not like that. I mean, he doesn’t just have you, he has Aiba, too. There’s no place for me in all that.” 

As Cindy became flustered and panicked, Nagisa, waiting for her turn, chimed in. “Come to think of it, Kojou’s had kind words for you, Cindy.” 

Cindy looked up, taken by surprise. “Ah? What’d he say?” 

“He said you got back on defense fast and that you’re good at layups.” 

“Ugh… He’s that kind of person, isn’t he?” Cindy moaned, shoulders slumped. 

Yukina could only sympathize. Though neither meant any ill will whatsoever, they were a brother-and-sister wrecking ball in various ways. 

“But earlier, you said there was something scary about Kojou…?” Nagisa countered. 

Cindy replied in a peevish-sounding tone, “I just knew you were going to say that… He’s super-sweet with his little sister.” 

Not at all. Nagisa shook her head. 

“He is not. We’re always arguing, and just the day before yesterday, he went and ate all the ice cream on his own. It was my precious Dark Mont Blanc that I don’t buy more than once in a blue moon. I mean, that’s unbelievable. No one does that. I lectured him a ton and he went out and bought more and all…!” 

Nagisa’s cheeks puffed up in a major bout of irritation. 

The class rep murmured in exasperation, “See? Sweet.” 

“What? Dark Mont Blanc?” Nagisa blinked and shook her head. “Not really, it’s kind of a bittersweet taste.” 

Incidentally, Yukina was well aware of that incident. Since Kojou had suddenly left during the night, Yukina, his watcher, hurried off after him. 

In the end, Kojou had to hit no less than four convenience stores before getting the right ice cream, making Yukina, who’d stuck with Kojou until the bitter end, the primary victim of the sibling argument. 

It would soon be nine AM. The ferry, having set sail from Itogami Harbor at seven, would be stopping at Kamijo Island and Bikura Island, part of the Izu archipelago, and was expected to finally arrive at Tokyo Harbor’s Takeshiba Pier at eleven thirty. 

One hundred and fifty-six middle school seniors were packed into the ship’s second-class, tatami-style quarters. They had been divvied up according to classroom and things like similar game interests and speaking styles for maximum fun during the voyage. Yet, despite all that, it was still somehow mysterious that you could look at the blue sea stretching beyond the reinforced glass of the window and never, ever get bored. 

Cindy asked, “What’s on our schedule for later, anyway?” 

The class rep dutifully answered, “We’ll assemble in the hall at ten thirty, and we’ll watch an educational video before mealtime.” 

“I wonder what dinner will be?” Nagisa wondered aloud. “Curry, maybe? I’d love to eat curry— Ah, Kanon!” 

Nagisa, still looking like she was practically drooling at the thought, noticed her friend standing there, and waved. 

Kanon Kanase, standing at the edge of the window, looked back with a flutter of her long, silver hair. 

“Ah, Nagisa. Good morning to everyone.” Kanon gave them a reverential greeting as a large, black pair of binoculars hung down from her neck. Apparently it was a rental from the ferry company. “I got some binoculars. I heard you can see wild dolphins in this area.” 

Kanon’s blue, gemstone-like eyes twinkled as she spoke. Kanon was an animal lover through and through. Normally a rather docile girl, wild animals made her display a dynamism you wouldn’t expect. 

Nagisa’s expression brightened as she stood up. “Dolphins?! Wow, that’s great, I wanna see, too!” 

Yukina and the others moved to the edge of the window. 

“I’ve seen them before,” Cindy remarked. “It was right near here, come to think of it. Here’s a photo.” 

Cindy got her cell phone out. The image displayed on-screen showed a ship with a pod of dolphins leaping out of the sea alongside it. It raised the girls’ hopes further. 

However, several minutes passed without any sign of a dolphin showing its fins. 

“No dolphins, huh,” Nagisa murmured, downhearted. 

Cindy patted her back in consolation. “They’re not going to appear just like that, are they?” 

“It’s a big ocean,” the class rep added in a detached tone. 

But that moment, Kanon and Yukina gasped as they noticed something, shifting their gazes toward the stern of the ship. There was something silver glittering in the sea, floating between the gaps of the white wake left in the ferry’s path. Afterward, they had a funny feeling someone was watching them. 

There was a metallic object at sail, reminiscent of a mini sub or a torpedo… However, it wriggled its giant body like a sea serpent and immediately sank back under the water. 

“Huh, what was that?” Nagisa’s eyes went wide in confusion. “Was that a dolphin?” 

It can’t be, Yukina muttered under her breath. 

Beside her, Kanon bit down on her lip, as if she were afraid. 

2 

The dust and smoke given off by wrecked buildings hovered over the harbor like ominous morning mist. 

Yaze sat sluggishly on the sloped roof of a lighthouse as he took in the view. 

The enormous gantry crane that Yaze had been standing on but a brief time before had been bent over and severed near its foundation, and now lay pathetically on its side over the pier below. It was well beyond repair. 

Yaze should have been in the same state. But a tiny silhouette wielding a black parasol had saved him. 

Natsuki Minamiya, her extremely out-of-place frilly dress rustling in the breeze, asked, “Are you alive, Yaze?” 

Out of thin air, she’d teleported in to rescue Yaze just in the nick of time before he would have crashed into the ground along with the crane. 

“Yeah, somehow.” 

Yaze sluggishly lifted up his face, using the headphones to comb down his disheveled hair. “Dammit, I really thought I was a goner that time… Thanks, Natsuki. Really saved my butt.” 

The woman glowered in displeasure as she kicked Yaze’s back with a heel. “Don’t call your homeroom teacher by her given name. What is it with you and Akatsuki…? Just what do you think a homeroom teacher is?!” 

Yaze raised both bloodstained arms above his head as he desperately pleaded for mercy. “Hey, wait—ow, I’m wounded here! I’m bleeding! I’m gushing!” 

He might have been saved from a crash landing, but he’d still taken hits from fragments blown by the explosion, rendering Yaze wounded all over his body. 

Natsuki ignored her pupil’s pleas as she looked over the state of the pier. Over ten of the giant warehouses standing on the ocean coastline had been wrecked and set aflame. The Island Guard unit that had surrounded the Wiseman’s Blood had been completely routed. Fortunately, fatalities had been few, but the guardsmen were in a heavily confused state and their gear thoroughly depleted. 

It was all thanks to the strange skull that Kou Amatsuka had plunged into the Wiseman’s Blood. The mysterious beam that the skull emitted blew the Island Guard away in a single blow. 

“Quite a sight,” Natsuki murmured in what sounded like pity. 

Yaze scratched his head as he looked up at her. “Sorry, we screwed up. We misread Amatsuka’s goal.” 

“The resurrection of Wiseman?” 

“—You knew?” Yaze asked back in surprise. 

Natsuki’s doll-like face was expressionless as she nodded gravely. “Kensei Kanase regained consciousness only a short time ago. Thanks to him, I know a variety of quite interesting things. The Aldegian Knights fed me some tips, too.” 

Yaze’s lips twisted in displeasure. “I really would’ve appreciated hearing about all this beforehand…” 

If they’d known Amatsuka’s goal was the resurrection of Wiseman, they would’ve been able to plan accordingly. 

They certainly wouldn’t have tried to riddle Amatsuka full of bullets made of precious metals and lend him a helping hand. 

But Natsuki snorted coldly. “The investigative division told them loud and clear to leave it to the Attack Mages. I understand the anger over their fellow guardsmen having been killed, but—” 

“Yeah… In the end, that was used against them and the casualty list just got longer, huh.” 

There we go. Yaze wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and rose to his feet. 

“Natsuki, do you know what state the Island Guard is in, overall?” 

“The chain of command is a real mess. It’s all they can do to care for the wounded guardsmen. They requested reinforcements, but the garrison at Keystone Gate won’t leave under these circumstances. They are relegated to calling up off-duty members until reserves arrive from the mainland.” 

Yaze scowled and sighed. “So losing half its strength means there’s zero to spare.” 

“Well, either way, if Wiseman is anything like he’s cracked up to be, the Island Guard’s normal gear won’t stand a chance. You could try calling up supernatural-augmented units and demon mercenaries working for private industry?” 

“That would be nice. A certain snake charmer isn’t guaranteed to play nice forever here.” 

Natsuki shot an annoyed glance at a single, elaborate ship—Dimitrie Vattler’s Oceanus Grave II—still maintaining its silence. 

Even if Vattler had displayed no interest in Amatsuka, there was no telling what his reaction would be if he learned that the Wiseman had emerged. They needed to find Amatsuka and bring matters to a close before that nuisance of a vampire made a bigger mess of things. 

Yaze toyed with the headphones hanging from his neck as he ruefully confessed, “But it’s gonna take a while before I can re-deploy my Soundscape.” 

Soundscape was a special field that Yaze could create through the use of his psychic powers as a so-called Hyper-Adaptor. There, he could keep track of all sound within the barrier with a precision rivaling the finest radars in existence. Yaze could even keep track of the movements of an amorphous metallic life-form such as the Wiseman’s Blood. 

However, Soundscape was so sensitive that it had a fatal weakness to loud sounds…such as explosions. Until the aftereffects of Amatsuka’s attack completely disappeared, Yaze was unable to re-deploy the field—which meant that it would be several hours minimum before he could get back on Amatsuka’s trail. 

“You really are quite useless when push comes to shove,” Natsuki declared, sounding disappointed. “You’ll never get your hands on Shizuka like this.” 

“Oh, shut up! And how do you know about that, anyway?!” 

“You and Akatsuki really are birds of a feather.” 

Yaze sounded rather crushed. “I feel like that’s a horrible thing for a homeroom teacher to say here…” 

Without warning, Natsuki snapped her fingers, causing the air before his eyes to ripple. She’d opened a teleportation gate. 

“Fine. I’ll take it from here. Get to school ASAP. You should still be able to make it in time.” 

“H-hey, Natsuki! Wait up! I’m begging you!” 

Yaze hastily called for her to stop, but the witch didn’t even look back as she stepped through the gate. She seemed to melt into thin air as she vanished. 

Yaze was completely beside himself. He shook his head, clutching it as he hunched over. 

The ocean breeze caressed Yaze’s face as he remained on the sloped roof of the lighthouse, dozens of meters above the sea. 

“How the hell am I supposed to get down from here…?!” 

3 

Around that time, Kojou Akatsuki was close to that very same pier. He’d come running when Nina had sensed the presence of the Wiseman’s Blood. 

However, the beast was already long gone. The Island Guard guardsmen had withdrawn as well, leaving only the wreckage of overwhelming destruction. 

“What the hell is this?” Kojou exclaimed, gazing upon the scrap heap that had once been the warehouses and a wharf crane. “Did that amorphous blob do all this?” 

It was damage sufficient to alter the topography of the harbor. It looked like a bombed-out city in the middle of a war. But the scars left by the buildings were clearly different than those caused by simple weapons of destruction such as bombs. The destroyed crane was smooth where it had been severed, as if mowed down by a giant, invisible blade. And the concrete walls of various warehouses had been melted by high temperatures, collapsing when no longer able to bear the structures’ weight. 

Nina Adelard, appearing as Asagi, whispered as she surveyed the destroyed buildings, “It’s a heavy-metal particle-cannon attack.” 

Right now, she was wearing a reproduction of Asagi’s school uniform. Obviously walking around in a tracksuit would have drawn too much attention, so Nina had used alchemy to recreate the school uniform, not a single thread askew. 

“Particle cannon?” 

Kojou was in shock as he asked. Indeed, replied Nina with a nod. 

“It is a type of electron beam, so to speak.” 

“—A beam weapon?!” 

Nina seemed mystified as she looked back at Kojou, who was still shocked, as she casually continued her explanation. “It’s nothing as grand as you imagine. It’s merely scattering a collection of particles into the atmosphere; the range is several kilometers at most. Even a direct hit can’t achieve more than disintegration at the atomic level.” 

“That’s plenty bad, isn’t it?!” 

Kojou took a deep breath, looking like his every hair was standing up. 

It was a beam weapon capable of atomic disassembly of all matter within a half-kilometer radius. He couldn’t even picture in his mind the damage a weapon like that could inflict if unleashed upon an urban area. In the worst case, Itogami Island could be destroyed in an instant. 

“It can even use attacks like that?! So this is Amatsuka’s doing?” 

“No,” Nina replied in a voice colder and harder than before. “This was the Wiseman.” 

It was a frail voice unsuited to her. 

Kojou, perplexed, replied, “Who’s that…?” 

As he did, Nina’s thin, pleasant smile seemed somehow mocking. “Have you not found it odd that the mass of liquid metal is called ‘Wiseman’s Blood’ but have not wondered just who the Spirit Blood might belong to?” 

“So the rightful owner of the Spirit Blood…is named Wiseman?!” 

“Indeed.” 

Kojou subconsciously scowled as he watched Nina quietly nod. 

“So who the hell is he?” he asked. 

“Do you know the ultimate objective of alchemy?” 

“Y-yeah… To get closer to God…right?” Kojou replied with what he’d learned from the homunculus girl. 

Nina narrowed her eyes, looking satisfied. “Correct. However, he is nothing as extravagant as a higher-dimensional being. Rather, he is an artificial Perfect Man, created through alchemy.” 

“…And that’s what they call the Wiseman, huh?” 

I see, Kojou murmured to himself. Come to think of it, it wasn’t all that crazy of an idea at all. 

As far as alchemists were concerned, they already had the technology to create a “human being,” in the form of a homunculus. If anything, it was natural for alchemists to aim to produce “God” next. 

“So what did they actually make?” 

“They succeeded…in a sense.” 

Nina spoke as if it didn’t concern her. Kojou was beside himself as he stared at her. 

“That sounds like they failed on a lot of levels, you know.” 

“It cannot be helped, for that is the truth. Alchemists wanted to create a perfect God, and naturally ended up with something too perfect.” 

Kojou tilted his head as he asked, “…I don’t get it. What’s wrong with perfection?” 

If that’s what they wanted and that’s what they got, there was nothing for them to be dissatisfied with, right—? 

But Nina shook her head with a sarcastic laugh. “It is rather simple. A perfect individual being has no use for anyone but himself.” 

“…Huh?” 

“Living beings love and protect their own kind, for the survival of the species demands it. Indeed, humans naturally protect even those not of their own race, for they understand that not to do so invites their own destruction.” 

“Instinct…huh?” 

Nina’s detached manner of speaking deflated Kojou. It was sad she could say something like that so bluntly. 

“Well, that might be true,” he continued, “but, you know, isn’t there a better way to put it or something?” 

“Do not misunderstand, I am not criticizing. After all, life has its limits. Consequently, should a person not live life to the fullest, be it instinct or not?” 

Nina gave off an impetuous laugh as she continued. 

“Besides, this world’s ‘ecosystem’ is the result of various species pooling their collective knowledge together in the interest of mutual survival. Put in that light, one cannot so easily declare love holds the world up, rather than instinct.” 

Kojou’s face grew graver as he realized what Nina was truly getting at. 

“I see. Then the Wiseman…!” 

Nina agreed with a nod. “The Wiseman requires neither food nor breath to live. Even if every living creature on Earth perished and this became a planet of death, he would mind not. To the contrary, ’tis all the better for him, because his sole fear is that other life-forms might evolve and a more ‘perfect’ being would emerge.” 

Kojou covered his eyes with a hand. 

“They sure made one messed-up thing…” 

They had created a man-made “God” that desired the death of all living things other than itself so that it would have a monopoly on perfection. That made it the darkest of blights, something for which the word evil seemed inadequate. 

“…So what’d they do with the Wiseman they’d created?” Kojou asked. 

“The Wiseman, an immutable being, could not be destroyed, so they sealed him away. They extracted all his Spirit Blood to rob him of his power. That was two hundred and seventy years ago.” 

“So the Wiseman’s Blood is the stuff pulled out of him back then…” 

Kojou sighed listlessly as he finally grasped the situation. But he immediately realized that Nina’s explanation was still missing one crucial piece. “Hold on, Nina. So what’s with you? How can you control the Wiseman’s Blood?” 

“I am the Wiseman’s jailer to prevent his resurrection. I was chosen because I just happened to be the alchemist with the greatest spiritual power at the time. If the immutable Wiseman was to be watched, his watcher needed to be immutable as well. Thus, my consciousness was transferred to the Hard Core and the Wiseman’s Blood placed under my care.” 

“But that…that’s like you’re…” 

The scapegoat, Kojou was about to say, but he swallowed down his words. 

This was the truth of Nina Adelard—a lonely warden bound to the Spirit Blood for all eternity to stop the immutable Wiseman from reviving. He had little doubt the alchemists of the day dubbed her a “legendary alchemist” to reduce even slightly the burden of their sins. 

Nor did he doubt Nina herself was painfully aware of her own position. Kojou remembered the lonely expression on her face when she had murmured, I never sought to have a body like this. 

He didn’t know what Nina, having been granted an immortal body she had not sought, was thinking when she arrived at the Demon Sanctuary and founded an abbey, but she’d no doubt gained a surrogate family in the process, letting her live her days in tranquility. At least, until the abbey was destroyed five years ago— 

“Nina?” 

After drifting into such thoughts for a bit, Kojou realized Nina was standing still a short distance away. It was a place where there’d no doubt been heavy combat. As she crouched forward, she was surrounded by fragments of destroyed vehicles and countless empty bullet casings. There were also faint traces of the Spirit Blood scattered about. The fragments, once frozen by the Island Guard’s freezing attack, had thawed, and had begun to move once more. 

However, it was not the Spirit Blood that Nina reached her hand out to, but to the human bones scattered everywhere. 

Kojou went rigid with shock when he realized just how many there were. 

“Those bones… They’re not from Island Guard guardsmen, are they…? How could this happen…” 

The bones weren’t just from a few people. At a minimum, there were dozens of skeletons. In particular, there were a large number of small bones, like those of children. There was only one body that looked fresh, a large-framed adult male. Everything else looked like it’d been eaten away long ago. 

“They are the children and nuns consumed by Amatsuka,” Nina explained. “I know little about the man. He was likely a decoy for the purpose of planting the Dummy Core into my body.” 

Nina’s eyes remained lowered in sadness as she rose back to her feet. Kojou did a double take at her words. 

“Nuns…? You mean the people who lived at the abbey who died in the incident five years ago?” 

Indeed, Nina muttered with a bitter smile. 

“Five years ago, Amatsuka appeared before me and asked me to make him my apprentice. He had the Dummy Core with him. He said he wanted to study it, but my body was his sole objective from the beginning. He intended to steal the Wiseman’s Blood from me.” 

Kojou nodded without a word. He had no intention of criticizing Nina for being deceived. 

If the Dummy Core truly was able to control the Wiseman’s Blood, Nina could have freed herself from an eternity as a sacrificial lamb. To her, it must have been an irresistible temptation— 

But even that fickle hope became just another part of Amatsuka’s plan to bring Wiseman back to life. 

“But Amatsuka failed, huh?” 

A pained smile flickered across the woman’s face. 

“The Wiseman’s Blood went on a rampage when it escaped my control, slaughtering everyone at the abbey. Even Amatsuka had half his body consumed by it; he should have perished then and there. The rampage was stopped by Kanon Kanase, the girl with such rare spiritual power, and her father, Kensei Kanase, watching over Kanon from the shadows.” 

“So the reason Amatsuka tried to take out Kanase and her old man is—” 

“No doubt he sought to ensure father and daughter did not interfere with him a second time.” 

A look of glacial anger came over Nina as she continued, “I always wondered how a man of Amatsuka’s level could have constructed the Dummy Core… But if the Wiseman had been controlling him from the very beginning, it all makes sense.” 

“So Wiseman’s been using Amatsuka for his own resurrection…huh?” 

Kojou remembered all the strange elements of Amatsuka’s behavior up to that point. Of course his actions had seemed inconsistent and illogical—Amatsuka hadn’t been doing them for his own benefit, but rather, to revive the sealed-away Wiseman. That was the only thing dictating his actions, even at the cost of pieces of his own body— 

And just as he thought that: “H-hey, Nina?!” 

Kojou was completely thrown off at the sight of Nina undoing the tie on her school uniform’s collar. 

In the first place, Nina was using Asagi’s body for this. From Kojou’s point of view, it was no different than seeing Asagi suddenly start stripping right before his eyes. 

However, Nina murmured in a sober tone as she reached up to Asagi’s breasts. 

“These fragments of Spirit Blood are beyond the Wiseman’s control… They are not sufficient to remake my own body, but…” 

Then, she plucked out the scarlet jewel embedded in her chest. 

“Nina?!” 

In front of Kojou’s shocked eyes, Asagi’s body began to fall. 

The gemstone that fell from her fingertips made a clear, crystalline sound as it rolled onto the ground. 

4 

The jumbo ferry Phaeton steadily continued its voyage. 

Stops at the Demon Sanctuary of Itogami Harbor carried numerous annoyances compared to other routes. They’d dropped off a large amount of freight, which had involved complex customs inspections and paperwork. Now that the lengthy formalities were complete, they were on their way home, and the crewmen on duty in the pilothouse were going about their tasks with a relaxed atmosphere. 

The skies were clear and sported excellent visibility. The waves were comparatively gentle. The passengers aboard, being mostly high school students on a field trip, were somewhat boisterous, but nothing beyond what they’d expected. Barring some sudden change in the weather, they’d arrive back at the mainland with few difficulties—or so they had all begun to think when they heard a guard cry out: 

“Who the hell are you?!” 

The other crewmen looked back. 

Ferries with routes to Itogami Island were required to carry a minimum of four guards aboard. Many came from police SWAT teams or the Island Guard. They didn’t carry firearms, but they were permitted to carry stun batons and bladed weapons. They were pros at rough methods with ample combat experience against demonic opponents. And it was precisely such men that were clearly terrified at that moment. 

A slim man wearing a white coat had just walked into the pilothouse. However, the entry door to the pilothouse remained closed and firmly locked. The man had not opened the door to enter. Rather, he had oozed in from an air conditioning duct on the ceiling. 

“Don’t move. Stop right there—!” 

The guards drew their weapons. The slender man coolly turned toward them and smiled. 

“That’s fine. Though it won’t be me who stops—it will be you.” 

“Wh—” 

A guard wielding a stun baton tried to say something when he suddenly stopped moving—as did everything else. His entire body froze in place, changing to a color similar to rusting steel. 

The alchemist, Kou Amatsuka, had reached out with his right, tentacle-like arm and transformed the guard into metal. He then transformed the two other guards into metal, and then the man at the pilot wheel, leaving only a single navigator left in the pilothouse. 

The navigator’s face went pale as he cried out, “Wait. Stop, this is—” 

He didn’t know the identity of the invader. But the sailor instinctively understood that the alchemist before his eyes was doing something more than a simple boat hijacking. There was something far more frightening, more evil, about the man— 

Kou Amatsuka smiled as he replied, “I know. This room’s full of the ship’s navigational instruments.” 

That was when he turned the navigator into metal as well. 

“That’s why I came to destroy it!” 

Amatsuka swung his blade-like right arm around, laughing wildly. He sent the autopilot system flying off with a great hail of sparks. Next, he took out the radio and the radar, followed by the propulsion control system, turning them into pieces of junk that anyone could see were irreparable. 

The previously running propulsion system shut down, perhaps due to some safety mechanism. As a result, Phaeton lost steam and turned into a drifting ship lost at sea. 

Amatsuka grinned as he beheld that fact. But when he brought his outstretched right arm back to him, his expression darkened. His fingers, transformed into a blade, did not return to human form. The blade itself was cracked, with pieces falling off. 

The liquid metal cells fused with his flesh and blood had already reached their limit. 

“The degradation’s already progressed this far… Crap. The Sage works his people hard.” 

Amatsuka breathed heavily as he pressed a hand to the Dummy Core embedded in his chest. He was unable to hide the look of impatience on his face. 

“Well, fine. Just a little longer. Then you’ll return the other half of my body to me as promised, Wiseman!” 

Amatsuka laughed like some kind of haunting spirit. He stared at the sea from the window of the pilothouse. 

Here, already far from the shores of Itogami Island, there was no Fourth Primogenitor, nor any witch to oppose him. All he needed to do was provide the “fuel.” 

Yet to Amatsuka’s ears came a bizarre voice, with a bizarre laugh: 

Ka-ka… 

5 

“—Yukina, where are you going?” 

Seeing her quietly head back to their cabin, Nagisa called to her with a mystified expression. 

The students on the Saikai Academy field trip were assembling in the ferry’s hall. They were scheduled to watch an educational video until dinnertime. It was a boring event as far as the students were concerned, but given that it was mandatory, it took a measure of courage to dare skip it. However, Yukina quickly said, “I forgot something. Go ahead, okay?” 

Yukina ran off without waiting for Nagisa’s reply. 

Upon returning to the empty cabin, Yukina pulled a long, slender bundle of fabric from the bottom of her traveling bag. 

A pair of wrapped knives was inside. They were plain, practical weapons, with blades around twenty-five centimeters long and parachute cord wrapped around the handle. The silver glint of metal was their sole, faint resemblance to Snowdrift Wolf. 

Yukina nestled the knives into the back of her uniform and put on her coat to hide them as best she could. She then left the cabin and headed straight for the bridge. 

It wasn’t that she clearly felt something was wrong. But for some reason, she experienced deep unease. Her Sword Shaman intuition told her there was danger. It was as if the very ship itself was surrounded by some malevolent force. 

As Yukina rushed up the stairs, she realized with shock that there was someone walking ahead of her. 

“—Eh?!” 

Heading toward the EMPLOYEES ONLY section of the ship was a schoolgirl in uniform with translucent, silver hair, looking worried as she surveyed the area. Yukina called out to her. 

“Kanase?” 

“Ah…” Kanon seemed frightened as she looked back. 

It was not the reaction of someone spotted somewhere she ought not to be; rather, she seemed afraid of wrapping Yukina up in something. That behavior led Yukina to understand Kanon’s objective. 

“…You too?” 

Yukina’s question was vague, but Kanon correctly read the meaning of her words. She nodded weakly and looked straight back at Yukina with her pale blue eyes. 

“It seems like something bad is surrounding the ship, so…” 

I have to do something, Kanon was about to add, when Yukina stopped her with a smile. 

“It’s all right. I’ll handle things from here, so could you tell Ms. Sasasaki about this?” 

Kanon blinked with surprise when she saw Yukina draw a knife from her back. Finally, her eyes widened in understanding. 

In the latter half of October, Kanon had seen Yukina fight as a Sword Shaman during the Faux-Angel incident. Even though she still didn’t know the finer details, she seemed to understand it was right to let Yukina handle it. 

“Also, take this… It’s a protective charm.” Yukina showed her open hand to Kanon. Atop her palm was a silver-colored piece of origami shaped like a wolf. Kanon seemed doubtful as she took the origami from Yukina. 

“Ah, wait!” Kanon called as Yukina began to rush up the stairs. 

When Yukina stopped, Kanon looked up at her with an anxious expression as she continued to speak. She held her trembling hands together in front of her chest. “I think I know this feeling. I’ve probably come across it before.” 

“…Kanase, don’t tell me you know about the alchemist?” Yukina asked, puzzled. 

Kanon was right there when the incident happened at Adelard Abbey five years prior. It wouldn’t be shocking if she’d met Amatsuka then. If so, she might know what Amatsuka had been after. 

“Alchemist…?” 

However, Kanon slowly shook her head. 

“No, that is something far more frightening. I lost many dear friends to it. I do not want to see anything like that again… Yukina, please be careful…” 

Yukina felt warmth swirling inside her chest as she listened to Kanon’s clumsy words. Kanon was worried about her. She was saying, I don’t want to lose you, and she was saying it because Yukina was her precious friend. Yukina, who’d only gone to the Demon Sanctuary because of her mission— 

“Thank you, Kanon, sweetie. You be careful, too.” 

Both nodded to each other before running separate ways. 

Yukina leaped over the rope cordoning off the EMPLOYEES ONLY area and entered the bridge. 

The hallway to the pilothouse was devoid of the crewmen or guards who ought to have been present. The creepy feeling prickling at her skin strengthened further. 

When she reached the pilothouse, the door was still locked. But Yukina took a short breath and then spun around with a flutter of her skirt. With her high kick’s brute force, she broke down the door. 

As the barricade flew open, the scene beyond it made Yukina’s expression frost over. 

“This is…” 

There was nothing left in the pilothouse but silence and despair. 

Crewmen turned into metal sculptures lay fallen on the floor. Sparks spewed from navigational devices. Even Yukina, not noted for her skill with machines, could plainly tell that the damage was fatal. 

I have to let someone know about this, thought Yukina, but the moment she spun on her heels, a jolt of malice assaulted her from behind. 

A whip-like liquid metal blade lashed out, but Yukina’s knife swatted it down. 

“Hiya.” The upper body of the alchemist in the white coat revealed itself as it oozed down from the air conditioner duct. “Ah, it’s you, Sword Shaman. What happened to your precious spear?” 

A thin smile remained on his face as he flowed down onto the floor. 

Yukina looked at him in shock. “Kou Amatsuka…?! How are… You should be dead…!” 

Amatsuka laughed heartily. “That’s right. The two of you killed me.” 

But Yukina immediately recovered from her shock when she realized that Amatsuka was unable to completely maintain his human form. 

“Kou Amatsuka… You’re…” 

The edge of the young man’s leer faltered. 

“You really are a sharp one. Yes, what you see here is a clone. This body’s much easier for moving around a ship, you see—!” 

A new tentacle ripped its way out of his torso and wrapped around Yukina’s knife. No doubt it meant to fuse with the knife to rob her of her weapon. 

But it was Amatsuka’s expression that twisted. His tentacle was unable to assimilate the knife, and was batted down by Yukina instead. 

“That knife… It’s made of enchanted meteoric iron? What a nuisance!” 

Amatsuka ruefully spat out the statement as he collapsed backward. Amatsuka’s entire body changed into viscous liquid-metal and proceeded to look like it was being sucked into the slit on the drainage pipe behind him. 

“Sorry, but I’ll deal with you later. There’s a limit to how many clones I want destroyed!” 

“Kou Amatsuka—!” 

Dumbfounded, Yukina watched as Amatsuka vanished. She had no way to stop the alchemist with her current gear. She needed Snowdrift Wolf, able to nullify any kind of magical energy, but the demon-purging spear was not in Yukina’s possession. 

Surely Amatsuka was well aware of this, yet he hadn’t even tried to finish her off. That was throwing her for a loop. Why would he just let her go like that—? 

“It can’t be…!” Yukina rushed out of the pilothouse, knife in hand. 

In spite of being a Sword Shaman, there was a spirit medium stronger than Yukina aboard the ship. Yes—Amatsuka had been after Kanon Kanase from the beginning. 

Yukina felt a chill up her spine. She might not be able to protect those precious to her. It was the first time in her life she had truly felt such a fear. 

And this time, the boy who had always saved her was nowhere to be found. 

Kojou Akatsuki wasn’t there. 

6 

“They said the meeting place got changed.” 

At the entrance to the ship’s hallway, Cindy and the class rep were waiting for Nagisa. Other student groups were there, too, starting to mill about restlessly. 

“Oh? Why’s that?” Nagisa asked. 

Cindy shrugged her shoulders as she replied. “Dunno, but they’re arguing about it a bit. All the crew are worked up for some reason.” 

Hmm, thought Nagisa, tilting her head. “Wonder what it is. A fire or something?” 

“Geez, of course not. The siren’s not on.” 

“Maybe we hit an iceberg?” 

“No way. Since when do we get icebergs here? I mean, I’d love to see one!” 

Cindy had meant to give Nagisa a serious answer, but she found the thought so funny that her slender shoulders shook as she broke into laughter. Hmm, went Nagisa again, as she put a finger to her lips. 

“This is a pain, though. If I don’t get word to Yukina somehow…” 

“Yes. It’s so rare for that girl to forget something like this,” the class rep added in her usual clearheaded tone. 

Yeah, nodded Nagisa in contemplation. “You two go ahead and take attendance, ’kay? I’ll wait here for her.” 

“Understood. We’ll see you later.” 

The class rep and Cindy waved as they walked off. Nagisa waved back before looking around the suddenly empty corridor. Normally, there’d be passengers about, on their way to the gift shop and the information counter, but those too were deserted. It seemed, just as Cindy had said, there was some kind of trouble happening on the ship. 

Oh well, worrying doesn’t get you anywhere, Nagisa thought as she began to carelessly browse the souvenirs on the gift shop’s shelves. The Demon Sanctuary key holders and phone straps were all things you didn’t get a chance to see much of in daily life, within Itogami City itself. The rare sighting here accentuated the trip’s feeling of liberation—as well as stimulated her consumer impulses. 

“Oh, this is neat. Maybe I should buy this?” 

Without thinking, Nagisa grabbed up a key holder emblazoned with KOJO as soon as she set eyes upon it. It was an unusual brand to see on the shelves, and the name being very similar to Kojou made it super-rare. She couldn’t let something this valuable slip through her fingers. 

“Ah, excuse me?” 

Nagisa looked over her shoulder and raised a hand as she heard the cashier’s door open. She thought it was a shop employee. However, the slim man standing there was dressed up like a stage magician. The moment his eyes met Nagisa’s, he smiled cruelly and raised his right hand. 

Then, with no forewarning, he brought his hand down, as if wiping mud from his jacket. 

“Nagisa! Get down—!” Yukina screamed. 

Nagisa immediately dropped onto her butt, silver light scattering just above her head. The tentacle flying directly in front of Nagisa’s eyes was deflected by a knife. 

“Y-Yukina?!” 

Nagisa, not having any idea what was going on, was further thrown off by seeing Yukina grip an unsophisticated knife. But then she saw the man Yukina was squared off against and gaped, for the man’s contours crumbled away as he transformed into a monster with countless wavering appendages. 

“Wh-what is that guy?!” 

“Run! Quickly!!” 

Yukina advanced to shield her. Nagisa was in the middle of a wide corridor—it would not be difficult to flee from the monster. However, Nagisa’s face was pale as she shook her head. She remained on her knees, rooted to the spot. 

“Is it…a demon?!” 

“Nagisa…!” 

With horror, Yukina realized that her classmate was too panicked to move. 

Nagisa had a phobia of demons. She was scared of them, in spite of residing in a Demon Sanctuary, to the point that she couldn’t even flee. 

“Now, that’s rude. I’m quite human. You wound me…” 

Amatsuka slowly approached the girl on the ground, as if to torment her further. 

“N-no, stay away!” Nagisa’s voice trembled as she desperately tried to back away. But her slender arms had gone rigid, and merely flailed against the floor. 

Yukina jabbed at the chimera-man as she searched for some line of retreat. There was no way she could fight him while shielding Nagisa. Her only option was to get Nagisa out of there— 

But Yukina’s plan was smashed into tiny pieces by the emergence of a new silhouette from a gap in the wall. A new Kou Amatsuka had emerged to seal off their retreat. 

Yukina gazed in despair at the bizarre enemies, one ahead and one behind her. 

“Two of them—?!” 

Even with Snowdrift Wolf, Amatsuka was a powerful opponent she could not be certain of defeating. And fighting two at once, while simultaneously protecting Nagisa, was well beyond Yukina’s ability. 

The two Amatsukas farther closed the distance—slowly, enjoying the girls’ despair. 

“N-no! Kojou, save me! Kojou—!!” Nagisa curled up and screamed. 

In that instant, incredible, barrier-breaking magical energy erupted from her entire body. The very air froze over as a white fog surrounded Nagisa, making snowflakes dance in the air like flower petals. 

“What the—?!” 

The second Amatsuka took a direct hit from the icy cold, his body freezing white as he fell over. He writhed and crawled on the floor, desperately trying to get away from Nagisa. 

The first Amatsuka recoiled in terror and began to run. “What is she…?! What is this magical power…?! Shit!!” 

Yukina stared agape as he fled. There was no opportunity to pursue him—because the change in Nagisa continued still. If the icy winds continued to swirl unabated, Yukina too was doomed. 

“Nagisa—!” 

Yukina, enduring the cold to the limit of her internal ritual power, desperately called out to her friend. 

Nagisa, surrounded by arctic cold, calmly rose to her feet. However, the eyes that looked back at Yukina contained no shred of Nagisa. They didn’t even recognize Yukina’s existence. It was as if Nagisa had completely lost consciousness. 

She was being possessed. 

If the cold continued at that rate, no doubt the ship itself would be destroyed by it sooner or later. However, it was clear that this other person was not attacking anyone on purpose. She had merely appeared, probably emerging to save Nagisa from the crisis befalling her— 

Yet that alone was spreading incredible destructiveness in all directions. 

Yukina knew this phenomenon all too well: This was one of the twelve Beast Vassals that served the Fourth Primogenitor. Nagisa was displaying the same symptoms as when Kojou’s Beast Vassals had slipped out of his control. 

But the flow of destructive magical energy was interrupted by a woman speaking with an oddly bubbly voice. 

“All right, that’s enough—!” 

The young woman who appeared, slicing the vortex of pure cold apart in the process, had red hair worn in a braided double bun and wore a Chinese-style dress. She vigorously darted her way toward Nagisa’s flank and bopped the out-of-control girl on the head. 

“Ms. Sasasaki?!” 

Yukina stared aghast at the brute-force method her homeroom teacher had employed. 

The red-headed woman, Misaki Sasasaki, was Yukina and Nagisa’s homeroom teacher, and also the head instructor for the field trip. She was a federally certified Attack Mage and Natsuki Minamiya’s junior at the academy as well. However, that even Natsuki had difficulty dealing with her spoke volumes about how not-normal Misaki was. 

The being possessing Nagisa used the earthly girl’s voice to ask Misaki, “You would interfere with me, monk—?” 

It wasn’t that “Nagisa’s” rampage had ended. However, the “something” possessing her apparently recognized Misaki as someone worthy of dialogue. 

Even as the cold wildly flapped about her, Misaki smiled as she replied. “Not at aaall. I mean, if you were serious, this whole ship would be a goner. But that wouldn’t do you any good either, would it?” 

The being did not necessarily agree with the assessment, but the surge of magical energy scattering all about suddenly stopped. 

“I see… Very well. I shall grant you a small measure of time…” 

These words spoken, Nagisa closed her eyes. She fell to the ground like a marionette with her strings cut. It seemed the state of possession had lessened. 

Yukina was still pale and breathing heavily. “Ms. Sasasaki… What was that just now…?” 

Yukina’s protective ward, created with ritual magic, was at its limits. Had Nagisa’s rampage continued another thirty seconds or so, Yukina’s entire body would have been frozen solid. 

Misaki smiled wryly. “It’d violate student-teacher privacy to answer that.” 

The look on her face silently added, We all have our circumstances here. 

Yukina silently sighed. Not knowing bothered her, but their attacker was the more pressing concern. “Concerning the alchemist named Kou Amatsuka—” 

“I know. I ran into him before getting here, and Natsuki told me about him, too. The plan backfired… We didn’t think he’d actually come after this ship.” 

Misaki’s lips twisted as she spoke. As head teacher, she was responsible for all students’ safety. No doubt the situation was affecting her even more than it was Yukina. 

“The other students?” 

“Shiromori is leading them to safer ground, but it’s still aboard the ship. This isn’t exactly someone a ward is going to stop, so it’s not a good situation.” 

“Not at all…” 

An anguished look came over Yukina. Unfortunately, Misaki was correct: Even if they got into the life rafts, escape was likely impossible. Amatsuka, able to alter the composition of his own body at will, could probably move just fine underwater. After all, even a comparatively heavy liquid-metal body would be plenty buoyant if he added a few internal air pockets. 

Misaki audibly gritted her teeth. “To be honest, now that he’s split into more bodies and we don’t know where he might strike from, there’s not much I can do. Natsuki could probably manage if we at least knew what he was after…” 

That was when she heard a girl’s gentle voice behind her—Kanon’s voice. 

“I am most likely his target.” 

“…Kanase?! Didn’t you take refuge with the others?” 

Misaki lifted her face in shock. Kanon shook her head apologetically. 

“I remember now, he’s the man who attacked everyone at the abbey. He said he needed powerful spirit mediums as fuel. That abbey had many in its care, you see.” 

The blood drained from Yukina’s body. Amatsuka was an alchemist. There was only one thing that fuel could mean when coming from an alchemist’s lips. 

“Fuel?! You don’t mean he intends to use you as an alchemical ingredient—?!” 

“Yes. That is why the others will most likely be all right if they are not near me.” 

Kanon’s words were gentle, but her face was one worn only by the determined. She turned her back on Yukina and Misaki and began running in the opposite direction of the students taking shelter. 

Misaki, realizing Kanon’s intensions, yelled, “Kanase?! You’re using yourself as a decoy—?!” As she was carrying the unconscious Nagisa in her arms, she had no immediate means to stop her. 

Yukina moved forward “Ms. Sasasaki, you care for Akatsuki. I’ll go after Kanase!” 

“Ah…?! Wait, don’t you run off, too—!” 

Yukina disregarded her teacher’s voice and headed toward the bow of the ship. 

Kanon’s decision was likely correct. If Amatsuka was after a powerful spiritualist, he’d never overlook two top-class ones—one a part of the Aldegian royal family, and the other a Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency. At the very least, the other students ought to be safe during the time Yukina and Kanon served as decoys. 

But they could not continue to flee inside a cramped ship forever. Sooner or later, Amatsuka would catch up with them. They had to find a way to defeat him before that happened. 

But what to do—? 

7 

Scarlet droplets gathered on the gemstone that had fallen to the ground. Defying gravity, they slowly rose and gradually took the shape of a human being. She had glossy black hair, brown skin, and ornate facial features that seemed very familiar— 

The girl with the same face as Asagi made a satisfied murmur—but with Nina’s voice. 

“Indeed, well. This is how it is?” 

Kojou stood in shock as he compared one Asagi to the other. For whatever reason, Nina had gathered together the Wiseman’s Blood to restore herself but still looked like Asagi. Her clothes were even the same Saikai Academy uniform as before. 

Looking between the twin faces, he felt like he was looking at a color-palette-swapped character in a fighting game. I’m so glad the original Asagi’s still out cold, thought Kojou with a heavy sigh. 

“So you’re back up and at ’em, Nina? Ah… Why do you look like Asagi, though?” he asked. 

Nina rotated both arms around, testing her range of motion as she spoke. “Suddenly altering the length of my arms and legs would throw my balance all off. Furthermore, there was not enough ‘blood’ to restore the full bounty of my proper body. It was all I could manage in her meager physique.” 

Kojou scowled and rebutted her for the sake of his fainted friend’s honor. “Hey, don’t say meager. Man, you’re rude… And, I mean, Asagi has better style anyway. I don’t know how glamorous you were before, but…” 

As he spoke, Nina seemed to take that as a challenge. She hmphed, proudly tossing her chin out to the side. “Indeed, I am incredible. How about I restore myself just a little, like…this?” 

As Nina spoke, her breasts suddenly grew, nearly doubling in size. The shirt of her uniform bulged right up to the breaking point, sending one button popping out and flying. 

Kojou, staring with surprise as Nina purposefully made her bust sway, asked, “…What was someone like you doing in a convent?” 

Nina smiled warmly for once. “It was not that I had any use for a convent, per se. However, it was a convenient means of caring for spiritualists with nowhere else to go. I knew all too well that selfish alchemists and the like would view their kind as ideal fuel.” 

“Nina…” Kojou stared at the dark-skinned girl in surprise. 

She herself had been unhappily sacrificed because of her spiritual strength two hundred and seventy years earlier. That was why she was using the convent to protect those children under her own name—so that no one should have to suffer the same fate. 

But the Wiseman and Amatsuka had conspired to crush her hopes under their feet. 

Kojou silently clenched his fists. He was coming to realize that he felt a powerful anger toward the Wiseman, a remorseless, man-made god crushing all other living beings underfoot to protect its own existence. He was certain in his own mind that such a being could not be allowed to exist. 

Kojou’s fists were still clenched when he heard a lisping voice from behind Nina. 

“Oh, so you are Nina Adelard?” 

It was Natsuki Minamiya, emerging from a ripple in thin air, wearing an elaborate dress that was very out of place. As was the rest of her; it was just like her to show up at the oddest moments. 

“Natsuki?!” Kojou blurted, earning him a silent pounding. Kojou, smacked hard in the face with her parasol, recoiled as he pressed his hands to his face. Then, Natsuki gave Nina—and her breasts—a sullen glare. 

“Although I am wondering why the Great Alchemist of Yore has Aiba’s face and fake tits on her. Kojou Akatsuki. Is this a fetish of yours?” 

“No. Way. And it’s not like this is the place to say that—” 

Natsuki ignored Kojou and addressed Nina. “I have heard most of the story concerning Kou Amatsuka’s true nature from Kensei Kanase, and yours as well, Nina Adelard.” 

Nina hummed and flippantly replied, “Let us leave troublesome talk for later, Natsuki. Please search for Amatsuka’s whereabouts first. The Wiseman he is attempting to resurrect is rather…bad. If we do not find him as soon as possible…” 

Kojou picked up the still-unconscious Asagi. Natsuki gave a small snort. 

“I agree we have no time for pleasantries. I know with virtual certainty where Amatsuka is. The ferry’s communications equipment has been destroyed, so I am thin on the details, but—” 

Natsuki’s casually spoken words made Kojou’s face twitch. “Ferry…? Wait, what are you talking ab—you can’t mean?!” 

Natsuki’s reply was blunt. “The ferry departing for Tokyo at seven this morning, with the Saikai Academy students aboard as scheduled.” 

Kojou weakly shook his head. “No…way. Then Nagisa, Yukina, and the others…” 

Nina interrupted sullenly, “They might…be the very reason why.” 

“Wh…what?!” 

“The production of the Wiseman required a vast amount of precious metals, and spiritualists as the fuel. Do you think it strange that the Wiseman has not arranged to regain his strength just after his resurrection?” 

Kojou subconsciously shuddered. “I see. Kanase’s on that ferry, too…!” 

At the very least, Amatsuka was well aware that Kanon was a top-class spiritualist, even by Itogami Island standards. On the one hand, she was an obstacle to the Wiseman’s resurrection, but on the other, the necessary fuel to bring the complete resurrection about. 

And Nina gravely nodded as she added, “Amatsuka’s target may not be her alone. That Yukina girl is a superior spirit medium as well, yes?” 

Kojou’s face twisted in impatience. “This is bad… Himeragi doesn’t have Snowdrift Wolf with her!” 

Blows would do nothing against Amatsuka. Ritual magic probably wouldn’t work either. No matter how skilled a Sword Shaman she might be, Yukina had no way to defeat Amatsuka at present. It wasn’t even certain that she could defend herself— 

Kojou rushed toward Natsuki, as if ready to grab her. “Natsuki, can you jump us as far as the ship?” 

With an annoyed look, Natsuki used her parasol to brush him aside. “You would go to save her?” 

“Damn right. Himeragi’s on that ship! And Nagisa, and a whole lot of other people I know!” 

“I cannot. It is too far for me. Spatial control magic does not reduce the distance itself to zero; it reduces the transit time to zero. For each second of travel time saved, my body feels a burden equal to having traveled that distance on foot. I can leap a few kilometers at most.” 

Kojou made a low, agonized groan. “Magic can’t do everything, I guess. Then get me a plane or a helicopter. That can fly me in close, right?” 

“I cannot do that either.” 

Natsuki’s indifferent tone sent Kojou into a frustrated growl as blood rushed to his head. “Well, why not?!” 

“By treaty, the Island Guard does not possess an air force. It was established to maintain law and order within the Demon Sanctuary… More to the point, it is to prevent coups. If the Island Guard were to join forces with the demons in Itogami City, it would present a grave threat to the government.” 

“The hell is that all about?!” 

The reasoning, adult to a fault, sent Kojou into a rage without a target. At any rate, given there was no aircraft available with a far enough flight range, there wasn’t a whole lot he could do. 

“Well, what about borrowing a civilian plane…?! Don’t tell me we can’t do that either?!” 

“No, I came to you with that intention from the start. I’ve already arranged an aircraft. Or rather, a good samaritan kindly made a craft available.” 

Natsuki’s unemotional explanation gave Kojou such a sense of relief that his knees almost gave out. He wouldn’t complain no matter how much of a bucket of bolts the plane was. If it could fly him to the ferry at max speed, he didn’t care if the thing crashed and burned after the fact. 

Nina forcefully wedged herself into their conversation. “I am going with him. No complaints, Natsuki Minamiya?” 

Natsuki nodded once and exhaled. “It sounds like a plan, Fake Tits. I was a bit nervous about the prospect of sending Akatsuki alone.” 

“…Me, alone? What, you’re not coming along, Natsuki?” Kojou asked in a dubious tone. 

Natsuki looked up at him and nodded frankly. “We’ll follow you by helicopter. It is not my preference, but I can’t think of anyone else besides the two of you who could endure flying in that.” 

“What do you mean, flying in ‘that’…?” 

The ominous ring of Natsuki’s word made Kojou hesitate instinctively. However, the woman made the air twist as she opened a gate, and seamlessly brushed Kojou off as she teleported the two. 

Kojou felt an uneasy floating sensation for a moment, something like being seasick, before he appeared in an unfamiliar place. With one sweep of his head, he saw a runway built on top of a Gigafloat stretching before his eyes. A horde of helicopters and tour planes was parked there. He was apparently right in the middle of Itogami Island’s central airport. 

But upon seeing one particular aircraft stationed in one particular spot, Kojou did a sudden double take. 

“Huh…?!” 

It was a shockingly huge craft. It was a ship built like a spindled balloon with a hull over five hundred meters long. The craft, large enough to carry a good couple-thousand people, was brimming with countless machine gun turrets. The hull’s thick armored shell, built with a special alloy, made the words flying fortress seem apt. 

It was an armored military airship. The glacier-like pearl blue armor was embellished with golden edges. And the hull was emblazoned with the image of a Valkyrie wielding a great sword. 

Kojou knew that emblem. It was the emblem of a Northern Europe nation, the Kingdom of Aldegia. 

8 

“The hell? An…airship?” 

Kojou looked up at the splendid vessel, a little beside himself as he spoke. 

Gazing at the airship up close made its size seem beyond comprehension. Were it not hovering slightly off the ground, one would think of it as an ornate castle. 

As the vampire stood rooted to the spot, he heard an amused, elegant voice from a speaker close by. He knew that voice, and its aristocratic tone that effortlessly projected class— 

“This is the armored airship Bö?vildr, the pride of the Kingdom of Aldegia.” 

“That voice…?! La Folia?!” 

“I am pleased that you remember me. It has been a while, Kojou.” 

A large monitor hanging down from the airship displayed a beautiful, silver-haired girl. She greatly resembled Kanon Kanase, but she bore an overwhelming majesty that Kanon simply didn’t have. 

Princess La Folia Rihavein wore a blazer with gold embroidery that resembled a ceremonial military uniform. She was the princess of the Kingdom of Aldegia—“The Second Coming of Freya.” 

Even an image sent by satellite signal did little to diminish her presence. She was graced with an overwhelming aura that none but the finest artists could do justice to. 

And just brushing against that aura made Kojou break out in a cold sweat. 

Secretly, he had a very difficult time dealing with the wise and clever princess. She was a sharp cookie, and Kojou never knew what the hell she was thinking. In a different way than Natsuki, the world seemed to revolve around her. 

And with La Folia attracting such attention, there were three people down from the ship standing in her shadow. It was a group of three women unfamiliar to him, wearing blazers like that of La Folia, but without embroidery as extravagant as the princess’s. These were ordinary, practical military uniforms, and the women’s short-cut silver hair added to the impression that they were competent soldiers. 

“And you are—” 

“I am Interceptor Knight Kataya Justina of the Aldegian Knights of the Second Coming. I protect Her Highness the Royal Sister by the command of Princess La Folia.” 

“The Royal Sister?” 

For a moment, Kojou wasn’t sure who she was talking about, but he remembered after a little thought. Kanon Kanase was an illegitimate child of the former king of Aldegia. In other words, she was the half sister of the sitting king of Aldegia. That actually made her Princess La Folia’s aunt. 

“Protecting Kanon, huh? Wait, is that why you’re here on the island…?” 

The princess’s voice lowered just a little. Apparently the airship’s speaker was directional, meaning that Kojou and the others were the only ones hearing her voice. 

“Even if she has abandoned her place in the royal line of succession, Kanon is still a part of the Aldegian royal family. There was no guarantee someone would not emerge to use her position and capabilities for ill.” 

Kojou raised an eyebrow. “Kanon hasn’t said one word about this, though?” 

Even when Kanon was at school, there were no signs of a knight protecting her. It was the polar opposite of how Yukina hovered over Kojou’s life 24-7. 

“Justina is a talented Interceptor Knight. She is there to quietly eliminate threats to Kanon from the shadows, not to interfere in her daily life. Justina’s family is Japanese and she is quite a big fan of ninjas.” 

“…Ninjas?” 

When Kojou shot Justina a dubious look, she calmly pressed both palms together before her. She lowered her head like one did when making an earnest request. 

“Nin! The Japanese Ninja, faithfully serving her master, hiding in the shadows, seeking neither fame nor fortune, is the very essence of a knight. I have employed this mission as an opportunity to study further so that I may increase my mastery of chivalry.” 

“R-right. Well, that’s great.” 

Kojou, taken aback by the woman’s fervor, gave a vague, perfunctory reply. He belatedly noticed that La Folia’s image displayed on the monitor looked like she was striving hard not to laugh. 

She set this up on purpose, didn’t she? Kojou finally realized. That scheming princess was no doubt having a blast at how seriously Justina was taking this… And who greeted people with nin in real life, anyway…? 

Dragging things back to the subject at hand, Kojou asked, “You mean just like Amatsuka this time around…” 

La Folia nodded. “I grasped the situation rather early on. I was relying on Attack Mage Minamiya to protect Kanon because, unfortunately, we cannot intervene outside of the Demon Sanctuary.” 

These words spoken, the princess lowered her eyes in dismay. “And so, Kojou, I wish to borrow your strength.” 

Kojou made a small heh and shot the princess a smile. “It’s me who’s borrowing yours here, I think?” 

Minor personality quirks aside, La Folia’s desire to rescue Kanon was absolutely genuine. Kojou was truly grateful for her aid in his hour of need. Kojou followed up, “So we can ride on this airship till we get to Kanon and the others?” 

“No. Bö?vildr would take over fifteen minutes to arrive at their present coordinates. That is too slow, and we do not have a moment to spare… Therefore, you will use this.” 

“This…?” Kojou murmured with a strong feeling of dread. 

Just as he looked, the airship opened a weapon rack, from which a strange piece of equipment emerged. It was an armored box that greatly resembled a ship-borne missile launcher… 

“When you say this, you don’t mean…the thing that’s sitting on that launcher?” 

The princess stated with an aloof tone, “This is Floaty, a prototype aircraft of the Knights of the Second Coming.” 

Kojou furiously ran his hands through his hair. 

“Wait a minute. That doesn’t look like any plane to me! That’s a cruise missile!” 

The princess smiled firmly as she declared, “It is a prototype aircraft. Normally, it is employed as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, but we have removed the surveillance equipment so that we can cram…ah, board a person onto it. Its cruising speed is three thousand four hundred kilometers per hour. According to our calculations, it will impact, ah, arrive at its destination in one hundred and fifty seconds.” 

“Impact?! You said impact, didn’t you?! You took it back, but you said impact on purpose!!” 

Kojou’s voice boomed in indignation. Three thousand four hundred kilometers per hour amounted to Mach 2.8. There weren’t even many jet fighters that could reach that kind of speed. It was a straight-up supersonic cruise missile. 

As Kojou wavered, Natsuki punted his back from behind, as if to spur him on. “Hurry up already, there’s no time. Are you going to let the Princess’s goodwill go to waste?” 

“I think you’re mistaking ill will for goodwill, dammit…!” 

Kojou clenched his teeth in annoyance. Ignoring him, Nina fawned over the thing, saying, Modern aircraft are simply incredible! like an old woman. No doubt an immutable liquid metal life-form would hardly be inconvenienced by being crammed into the missile. Kojou apparently had no recourse but to harden his resolve. 

At the very, very end, La Folia shot him an earnest look. “Kanon is in your hands, Kojou.” 

Kojou gave her pale blue eyes a strained smile, but answered that gaze with a strong, silent nod. He turned and gave Asagi, whom he still had in his arms, to Natsuki. 

“Okay then. Natsuki, sorry, but could you get her home?” 

The woman took Asagi into her own arms, her beautiful face twisting in dismay. “Goodness. You have a lot of guts presenting your hooky partner to your teacher like this.” 

Afterward, Kojou walked toward the prototype aircraft. Riding in a missile wasn’t his first choice, but it sure beat letting Yukina and the others die while he sat back and watched. 

Then, just as Kojou was about to put his foot on the airship’s gangplank, an unexpected voice called out to him. It was the voice of a cat—the familiar of Yukina’s master that had been at the antique shop. 

“Professor Kitty?!” Kojou shifted his gaze in the direction of the voice. 

A girl wearing the face of Sayaka Kirasaka was getting out of the shuttle that had brought her to the parking spot. She was wearing that ridiculously exposing maid outfit, with the black cat sitting on her shoulder— 

And a black guitar case slung over her back. 

“Oh, Professor Kitty, you fixed your shikigami, too? That was fast.” Kojou approached without warning and moved to touch the girl’s shoulder. But just as he did so, she shuddered and recoiled. As a result, Kojou’s hand slipped past its intended target, grabbing hold of the girl’s nearest breast instead. 

“Hya?!” 

“Eh?!” 

Kojou immediately froze. The shriek, and the bounciness of her flesh, seemed too real to be a shikigami. The girl’s face seemed to grow redder with each passing moment. Indeed, with her eyebrows raised high, raw bloodlust and rage swirled within her eyes— 

“H-how long are you going to touch me?! You molester! Pervert! Pervogenitor!” 

With a windup, cross-body uppercut, she walloped Kojou’s chin, scrambling his brains. Kojou groaned in acute pain as he staggered backward. “Kirasaka?! Wait, you’re the real one?!” 

“Something wrong with that?!” 

Sayaka had tears in her eyes as she continued to pummel Kojou. He’d thought it was the shikigami that resembled Sayaka, but this time the real Sayaka was present. 

So when Professor Kitty had declared that recreating the shikigami would take some time, what she meant by that was, instead of dispatching a shikigami from the mainland, she was sending the real thing instead. You should’ve been more specific, Kojou thought, as he glared at the cat. 

But the black cat only glanced at the horseplay. “Oh, settle down, Sayaka. It didn’t hurt anything. Why get all worked up over just having your boobs fondled? You let him suck on them before, didn’t you?” 

“I-I did not let him suck on them!” 

“Hey, don’t say stuff that’s gonna get taken the wrong way, you stray!” 

Both Sayaka and Kojou objected in an oddly similar fashion. Then, when Sayaka finally calmed down a bit and regained her senses to some degree, she slid the guitar case off her back and handed it to Kojou. 

“Here you go.” 

Kojou’s eyes shone as he felt the familiar weight of the case. “Snowdrift Wolf…!” 

The black cat with the golden eyes stared at Kojou. “Please hand that to Yukina.” 

Kojou silently nodded in reply, then shifted his attention. “Nina!” 

“Just so.” 

Kojou, taking the Great Alchemist of Yore with him, boarded the armored airship. 

The cruise missile locked into the launcher was aimed at the blue, twinkling horizon. No doubt Yukina and the others were fighting that very moment on the ferry beyond that horizon. 

Kojou crawled into the cramped warhead of the cruise missile. 

“We’re counting on you, Justina!” 

In apparent respect for Kojou, the silver-haired knight put her palms together, murmuring a single word in reply. 

“Nin!”