Strike the Blood - Volume 8 - Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO 

AVRORA, THE TWELFTH 

1 

It was the eighteenth on the lunar calendar, the eve of the nineteenth day… 

A small silhouette stood atop a conning tower, looking down as the sun set on the Demon Sanctuary. 

It was a young man, perhaps twelve or thirteen. He wore a loose kandura, an ankle-length, long-sleeved garment akin to a robe, with his entire body adorned with ornate gold jewelry. He had black hair and brown skin, and his golden eyes seemed to penetrate the darkness. His face was still a little childish, but his overall appearance brimmed with overwhelming solemnity, reminiscent of a young lion. 

A golden mist suddenly rose up behind the boy. 

The cloud visibly coalesced into the form of a single man: a young, blond, blue-eyed vampire aristocrat wearing a stark white coat. 

“—The Demon Sanctuary of Itogami Island. A fine view, is it not?” 

Addressed by the young aristocrat, the boy continued gazing at the nighttime landscape. He smirked in obvious scorn. 

“This land is but a twisted thing, born from sorcery and scrap metal. A pile of trash.” 

“However, it is a pile of trash with some extraordinary tricks. That is what makes humans so interesting.” 

“I see… So you have come, Dimitrie Vattler…” 

The boy looked back at the sly, irritating smile on the young aristocrat’s face, narrowing his own golden eyes ferociously. 

Vattler placed his hand to the breast of his coat and formally bowed. 

“I am honored that you remember me, Prince Iblisveil Aziz. To be honest, I found it somewhat unexpected that a direct descendant of the Second Primogenitor such as yourself would come in person to a Demon Sanctuary in the Far East.” 

“It’s a spectacle seventy years in the making. I must make a suitable effort—how boorish it would be to leave everything to underlings and have unfamiliar faces make the decisions, would it not?” 

Iblisveil made his statement as sharp fangs protruded from his lips. 

A side-by-side comparison with the tall Vattler made him look particularly young. Yet, the inhuman aura hovering around his diminutive physique was in no way inferior to Vattler’s. 

“I applaud your wisdom, Your Highness.” 

The young aristocrat replied with respect. For his part, Iblisveil clicked his tongue as he watched Vattler in obvious dissatisfaction. 

“I’m thinking the same thing of you, Vattler. This isn’t supposed to be a battlefield. What, have you come to consume the Fourth Primogenitor? Or am I on the menu instead?” 

“Surely you jest. This time, I am a mere referee—the girls’ conductor, if you will.” 

“Girls…?” 

Iblisveil suspiciously raised an eyebrow and glared at Vattler. 

“Vattler, don’t tell me you’re going to let the Numbered roam freely?!” 

“It’s been so long since we had our last banquet. ’Twere it not enjoyable, it would be such a waste.” 

Vattler’s clear, blue eyes narrowed as he laughed. 

The black-haired prince shook his head, unable to believe the foolishness he was witnessing. 

“What are you trying to do, strap a bomb to a wild beast and send it running into a warehouse full of powder kegs? I cannot believe I’m hearing this.” 

“…But it has made this banquet a far more vibrant one.” 

Upon suddenly hearing a new voice, both men looked back. 

With the afterglow of the sky in the background, a sparsely dressed girl appeared from thin air with a flutter of her light green hair. Her eyes were like deep pools of jade. She possessed a strong, lovely beauty, reminiscent of a wild leopard. 

Her cute snaggle tooth poked out as she smiled at Vattler fondly. 

“That’s the Lost Warlord for you—what a witty representative to send.” 

“What…?! The Chaos Bride…!” Iblisveil exclaimed in a muffled voice. Naturally, even he could not conceal his discomfort toward the oppressive demonic power emanating from the green-haired girl. 

The girl was the Chaos Bride—the Third Primogenitor, ruler of the Chaos Zone, the Dominion of Central America. 

“It somewhat grates on me that Grandfather was likely well aware of this… To think that the Third Primogenitor would come in person,” Iblisveil said. 

Vattler was equally surprised. He fell to one knee and deeply bowed his head as his lips broke into a smile of delight at this chance meeting with a powerful foe. 

“I do not like being addressed by that name. You may call me Giada.” 

A bold smile came over the Chaos Bride, one of the oldest and mightiest of vampires, as she spoke. 

Then, her gaze shifted, glaring at a fourth figure standing at a corner of the tower. 

“That goes for you as well, Paper Noise.” 

“—Understood. It shall be so henceforth, Giada Kukulkin.” 

A Japanese girl dressed in a school uniform responded to the Chaos Bride. Her hair was tied in a triple braid, and she wore unfashionable glasses. She was a plain girl, carrying a book under one arm. However, all by herself, she faced one of the three most powerful vampires with ease. Her eyes showed no hint of fear, nor did she give off any suggestion of tension. 

Iblisveil stared at the girl, unmoved as he snorted. “Hmph. One of the Three Saints of the Lion King Agency in this era. Young.” 

Her expression unmoved, the girl acknowledged Iblisveil with nothing but a flick of her eyes. 

“—Your Highness Aziz, please be advised for future reference: I am Koyomi Shizuka. I am grateful that the Third Primogenitor, the Duke of Ardeal, and yourself, have graced me with your time this evening.” 

Koyomi stepped toward the vampires. Accordingly, all eyes fell on her, making her the center of attention. 

“Now, then…,” Giada murmured in amusement. She surveyed those assembled at the conning tower. “That leaves Zaharias of Nelapsi?” 

Upon hearing this, the prince of the Fallen Dynasty’s youthful, symmetrical face twisted into a scowl as he spat out: 

“And so I hear his accursed name. A mere arms merchant with his hands on an Autonomous Region fancies himself a lord?” 

Koyomi slightly lowered her eyes and shook her head. 

“Balthazar Zaharias, Chairman of the Provisional Autonomous Government of Nelapsi, shall not be attending. He stated that he shall comply with your decision concerning the matter for this evening.” 

Iblisveil looked angry as he murmured to himself, “A wise decision. If he showed his face before me without reserve, I would surely rip his head from his shoulders. Damnable upstart.” Then he glared at Koyomi, retaining his sour expression. “Let me ask you, Lion King Agency: Why have you called us here? Depending upon your reply, I might have your blood as compensation, Bookmaker or no.” 

“There is a single matter for me to report to you all,” Koyomi replied, unperturbed by the prince’s threatening words. “…Dodekatos…has awakened.” 

“What?!” Iblisveil exclaimed, his eyes narrowing in surprise. The very air shuddered. 

Giada laughed in a beautiful voice, as refined as if one was playing a harp. 

“Really… The twelfth Kaleid Blood that was sealed away— Avrora Florestina, yes? How amusing.” 

“…Avrora? They went out of their way to give Dodekatos a name?” Iblisveil murmured, shocked by the Third Primogenitor’s words. 

Do they give names to chickens destined for the dinner table, too? his surprised expression proclaimed. 

“Something done on a foolish whim,” he muttered, shaking his head with an exasperated sigh. 

Vattler was the last to open his mouth. 

“…So MAR removed the seal? That is somewhat unexpected,” he said quietly. 

Magna Ataraxia Research was in possession of Dodekatos, unearthed three years prior. From the point of view of a for-profit corporation such as MAR, Dodekatos had no value beyond that of a simple test subject. They ought not to have had any interest in removing her seal. 

“The one who awoke Dodekatos is Veldiana Caruana, daughter of the late Duke Caruana,” Koyomi explained. “She illegally entered MAR and employed the Key to the coffin—” 

“Is that so?” Vattler said, the corners of his lips curling up in amusement. 

“Illegally entered, you say… I see. Let us leave it at that, then.” 

The young aristocrat nodded a little with a meaningful smile. Koyomi made no reply. 

In a breezy manner, Giada pointed out, “At any rate, with this, all twelve Kaleid Bloods have been assembled.” 

Iblisveil rose an objection. 

“But the House of Caruana has no territory to call its own, with none other than Zaharias to thank for that.” 

“Yes. Accordingly, she has no qualifications to become Elector.” 

“Then who shall serve in her stead, Lion King Agency?” With a glare, Iblisveil threw the question at Koyomi as if to test her. 

Unfazed, the glasses-wearing girl continued. 

“Dodekatos shall participate in the banquet. However, we do not recognize Veldiana Caruana as the Elector. We shall be the ones to provide the venue.” 

Iblisveil sneered ferociously. 

“A mere island nation in the Far East would compete with our Dominion as an equal? Not a bad answer at all, but may I take this to mean that your nation’s government shall prepare a suitable stake?” 

“Of course. After all, one cannot have a wager without stakes.” 

As Iblisveil goaded her with his eyes, Koyomi met his stare and replied. 

“Then I ask you, what will you wager?” he said. “Do not forget, even that filthy arms dealer is wagering the fate of his own nation on this, as are we. If you can provide something comparable, then all’s fine and well.” 

Iblisveil’s eyes glowed crimson as he laughed. It would not have been surprising for a normal person to lose his or her mind just from being exposed to such awesome dread. But Koyomi did not show any emotion whatsoever; she merely opened her right hand wide. 

“We wager this island.” 

Standing behind her was the nighttime landscape of the huge artificial isle. The Demon Sanctuary known as Itogami Island— 

“This land, and the lives of the five hundred and sixty thousand people living upon it.” 

2 

Kojou’s father, Gajou Akatsuki, was an archaeologist. However, he was far from the stereotype of an intellectual shut in his office, spending his time in contemplation. Rather, he wandered war zones across the globe, snatching artifacts under the confusion of combat, a cross between a field worker and a looter. 

Given the nature of his work, Gajou was overseas nearly year-round, returning to Japan only once in a blue moon. Kojou could count on his fingers the number of proper conversations that he and Nagisa had held with their father since moving to Itogami Island. 

Such was the man who led Kojou and Avrora to a small harbor located on Island East, a marina for mooring small residential boats. There were some fifty boats and yachts docked there, lined up like barns for cattle. Gajou approached one of the boats and climbed aboard. 

“Don’t be so shy, brat. Hop on.” 

“I’m not really being shy, here… Just, ah, Dad, what’s this boat?” Kojou asked as he gazed at the unfamiliar white pleasure boat. 

It was a small cruiser about fourteen to fifteen meters long. THE LIANA was written on the side of the hull. There was rust all over it, as if the vessel had undergone hard times at sea, yet it seemed to be quite an expensive boat. At the very least, it wasn’t the sort of thing a cash-poor archaeologist should have. 

But Gajou pranced proudly around the boat’s deck and said, “She’s really something, isn’t she? I won a huge poker bet with this friend of mine in Macao and managed to get this baby on the cheap.” 

“Poker bet…? What the hell were you up to?” Kojou exhaled dramatically to show his annoyance. “Well, you sure don’t come home much. What, you’ve been living on this boat the whole time?” 

“Lots of people live on yachts moored at harbors in Magallanica. Lot of high-status, rich retired guys.” 

Gajou brought bread, bacon, corn beef, chicken, and cold beer into the cabin as he spoke. Apparently, he had a kitchen and a refrigerator on the boat to accommodate one aspect of daily living. 

“You ain’t rich or retired, though.” 

“True, but it’s a hell of a lot more convenient than asking someone to rent me an apartment here. Anyway, eat. You’ve gotta be starving, right?” 

Gajou set the food on a table on the aft deck. Kojou scratched his head in exasperation before leading Avrora by the hand onto the boat, and—looking dismayed—he sat facing Gajou. Avrora meekly sat beside him. 

Gajou chuckled in delight as he watched her cuddled up against Kojou, sliding a handmade sandwich before her. It had lettuce, tomato, and thick, meaty ham between slices of French bread—simple, but it looked mouth-wateringly tasty. 

“…Y-you offer tribute to me, child of Man…!” 

Avrora’s empty stomach pleaded as she accepted the sandwich, eyes sparkling. She looked at Kojou. May I eat it? was the question on her face. Kojou told her to eat the whole thing and handed the sandwich to her. Then he looked straight at his father. 

“So explain, dammit…” 

“Oh, this, you mean?” Gajou smiled proudly as he lifted up the bottle he was swigging. “This is surface-fermented beer from a monastery in Australia. They don’t make much, and it’s rarely on the market, so half the world thinks it’s a myth. And it’s deeelicious!” 

“I wasn’t talking about the beer!” Kojou was spontaneously seized by the urge to smack his father around. “Where the hell have you been all this time? You’ve barely been in touch for three years!” 

Gajou ignored his son’s yelling with an innocent look. “You met Veldiana, right?” he asked nonchalantly. 

“Yeah,” said Kojou, glaring at his father with a pointed look in his eyes. “Who is she, anyway? And what’s her relation to you?” 

“Oh, does it bother you? It really bothers you, doesn’t it?” 

For some reason, Gajou looked carefree as he gazed at his son’s face. Put bluntly, Kojou found it obnoxious. 

“Well, don’t worry, it’s not like I’m keeping a harem of lovers on a leash. Besides, I only go for girls with tits that bounce.” 

“I wasn’t asking about your taste in women!” Kojou shouted with a curl of his lips. “And even if it’s a lie, you’re supposed to say you’re faithful to your wife, dammit!” 

Gajou chuckled before pouring his beer down the hatch. 

“Veldiana’s the little sister of an old friend of mine. Three years ago, she died protecting you, Nagisa, and the little princess there.” 

Kojou’s voice lowered. 

“…You’re saying it was during the incident where Nagisa and I almost died?” 

Three years before must have meant the terrorist train bombing was why Nagisa had been hospitalized. However, Kojou had no firm memory of the incident. Besides, Avrora shouldn’t have had anything to do with it. 

Gajou gazed pityingly at his confused son. 

“You didn’t almost die. You died, very literally. And you came back to life—as the Blood Servant of the Fourth Primogenitor. That’s why you can’t remember what happened just before and after.” 

Gajou pulled an old scrapbook out from somewhere and tossed it in front of Kojou. FOURTH GOZO RUINS JOINT EXAMINATION TEAM was written in marker atop the faded cover page. 

The large, swollen scrapbook was stocked with a ton of photographs, showing scenes of faded, sun-scorched rock faces, ancient stonework ruins, and a block of ice—a frigid coffin protected by frost and countless icicles. 

“This photo…” 

“You must remember it. It’s the Fairy’s Coffin dug up on Gozo Island, the world’s oldest Demon Sanctuary. That’s where you were attacked by terrorists. That stuff about being caught in the Roman Autonomous Region terror bombing was just a cover-up. There would’ve been a lot of trouble if they hadn’t concealed the truth.” 

There, Gajou let his words trail off as he sighed quietly and deeply. Even as he poked fun at the incident, he no doubt felt some responsibility for involving Kojou. 

For his part, Kojou was dumbfounded as he listened to his father’s explanation. He’d suddenly been told he had died once and come back to life. None of that seemed real. 

Yet, Kojou couldn’t laugh this off like Gajou’s usual antics, because he did remember seeing it. Kojou knew the scenes in the photographs contained in the scrapbook. He’d seen them in his dreams many times over in the intervening three years. 

“I’m…the Fourth Primogenitor’s…Blood Servant……?” 

“It’s a crazy story, I tell you. The Fourth Primogenitor is the World’s Mightiest Vampire and has no blood brethren. That she created a servant is surprising in itself, let alone that it was you. Of course it’s hard to believe. I was there at the ruin, and I can hardly believe it myself,” Gajou continued. 

Kojou was beside himself as he touched his hand to his temple. 

A Blood Servant was a pseudo-vampire created by a vampire master. Acceptance of part of the vampire’s own body changed one from a human into a vampire’s Blood Servant, granted eternal life to live together with the vampire, be it as a faithful subordinate or a personal companion. It was the closest a “human being” could come to being a demon— 

“That smack you got earlier healed already, didn’t it?” Gajou pointed out. 

There was no wound on Kojou’s flank. The man in black had harmed him about an hour before. It couldn’t have been a minor injury, yet there remained not even a faint trace. 

It was the kind of super-healing ability granted to vampires. It was unnatural for him to have shrugged off the damage and stood up to begin with. 

“But this never happened to me before… This never happened when I got hurt in basketball club…!” 

“Yeah, that’s because Avrora was still sealed. I figure that once the princess woke up, she started supplying you with demonic energy again.” 

Gajou had shredded his son’s weak rebuttal with ease. 

“You might be the Fourth Primogenitor’s Blood Servant, but you’re still just a human who heals a little faster when you get hurt. If you knew how to use magic it’d be a different story, but hey. Don’t get cocky, brat.” 

“I’m not getting cocky at all, geez…” 

Kojou tried to repress the anger in his voice. Gajou seemed amazed as he looked back at his son. 

“What, you don’t like being a vampire’s Blood Servant? You can still go back to being human, you know.” 

“That so?” 

“It’s simple. Kill the princess over there.” 

“Wha…?!” 

His father’s disturbing suggestion made Kojou’s face freeze. Avrora shuddered as if frightened out of her wits. 

Gajou gazed at their reactions in apparent amusement. 

“Naturally, if the master vampire dies, the Blood Servant isn’t qualified to be their vassal anymore. A servant who’s lived for hundreds of years might turn to ash on the spot, but that’s not the case for you yet. There are basically no downsides. So how about it?” 

“‘How about it’?! There’s no way I can kill her!” 

Kojou violently pounded the table. Then he glared at Avrora, who wore a worried expression. 

“And have a little more faith in me, sheesh. I’m the one who risked my life to save you. I’ve got no reason to hate you. Never mind that, I should be thanking you for saving my life, shouldn’t I?” 

“Th-the truth is lost to oblivion…,” she replied, meekly averting her eyes. 

“Ah,” Kojou said as he scowled. “Right. You did mention you lost your memory.” 

“R-regrettably…” 

Avrora nodded timidly. Having lost her memory, even if you told her she was the savior of your life, it was hard for her to appreciate that. 

One was a Blood Servant for whom being brought back to life didn’t feel real; the other was a vampire who’d lost her memory of bringing him back to life. In one sense, they were a master and servant truly suited for each other. 

Come to think about it, mused Kojou, shaking his head before turning to his father. “Vel said that she could save Nagisa, but—” 

When Kojou pointed at Avrora, her eyes widened as if she was startled. To begin with, the vampiress’s words were what had motivated Kojou to protect Avrora. Veldiana had said that only Avrora could save Nagisa Akatsuki’s life. 

“You’re not gonna tell me something stupid, like have her die once to bring her back to life, too?” 

Kojou shot Gajou a doubting look. Bringing a debilitated Nagisa back to life as a vampire’s Blood Servant—a sane father would never think of such a solution, but he couldn’t put it past Gajou. 

However, Gajou furrowed his brows, making his displeasure plain. 

“Oh? Don’t be stupid. You’re another story, but I’m not gonna let Nagisa die.” 

“But it’s okay if I do?!” 

“In the first place, going out of my way to kill Nagisa would be meaningless. The cause of her debilitation is her own spiritual power running amok.” 

“Spiritual power…running amok?” 

Kojou’s mouth dropped open as he echoed the words. 

Certainly, Nagisa was a priestess. Her knack for being a spirit medium was something she’d inherited from their grandmother on their father’s side, mixed with the psychometry she’d inherited from their mother, making her an exceptionally rare hybrid—until three years ago. 

“That can’t be right. Nagisa lost her power because of that incident.” 

When Kojou disagreed, Gajou glared at him ferociously. 

“It’s the other way around, kid. Y’see, Nagisa’s been using her spiritual power nonstop for the last three years.” 

“…What?” 

“Well, it’s like this. She’s being possessed by the Fourth Primogenitor, even right this moment.” 

“Possessed by…the Fourth Primogenitor…you say?” 

“That’s right,” Gajou said with a grave nod. 

“Three years ago, we called Nagisa to Gozo to help us wake up the twelfth Kaleid Blood because Nagisa’s priestess powers were really amazing at the time. Her compatibility with the Kaleid Blood, a legacy of the Devas, was really good. Too good.” 

Gajou shifted his gaze to Avrora. The blond vampire twitched. Her entire body, greatly resembling Nagisa’s in stature, seemed to shrink. 

“As expected, Nagisa succeeded in making contact with Dodekatos, who was sleeping in the Fairy’s Coffin—in other words, the girl sitting right next to you. If that’d been all, we could’ve taken our time waking Avrora up nice and slow. But…”—Gajou poured bitter-looking beer down his throat before continuing—“…that day, the ruins were attacked. The opposition was the Black Death Emperor Front—a beast-man-supremacist terrorist group. The end result was the destruction of the ruins examination team. About half the surveyors were killed, and the private military corporation guard team was wiped out. Miss Liana Caruana was killed while protecting you.” 

Kojou’s supposedly lost memories reacted to the name, Liana Caruana. Suddenly, intense sadness welled up in him, crushing his chest, though he still didn’t understand why. 

“I don’t know what happened after that, but I can guess.” 

Gajou put down the now-empty bottle. By then, Kojou had already realized just why he, and only he, had been brought back to life as a vampire’s Blood Servant, while Nagisa straddled the line between life and death— 

“Nagisa made her bring me back to life.” 

“Exactly.” 

A self-deprecating smile came over Gajou as he spoke. Just as Kojou regretted his failure to protect his little sister, the man had no doubt continued to blame himself for not being able to safeguard his own children. 

“The Fourth Primogenitor had no reason to rescue you. It was Nagisa who asked her to bring you back to life. She probably dragged the Fourth Primogenitor’s powers out to save you. Then she used the primogenitor’s Beast Vassal to wipe the floor with the terrorists.” 

Kojou’s throat twitched as he uttered in a shaky voice, “And the price for that is her body’s weakness now…” 

Vampiric Beast Vassals consumed the life spans of their hosts as the price of summoning them, so only vampires, possessing infinite negative life forces, were able to employ them. 

Nagisa had to be a spiritualist with power off the charts. However, her flesh and blood was that of a frail human girl. There was no way it could withstand summoning a vampire’s Beast Vassal, let alone one of the Fourth Primogenitor’s. Controlling the Fourth Primogenitor herself was an absolute impossibility. Yet, even so, Nagisa had forced the Fourth Primogenitor into her own body and taken control—all to save her older brother, Kojou. 

Kojou had meant to protect Nagisa, but it was he who had been protected. Nagisa had put her life on the line to save him, and in exchange, she was confined to a hospital. 

With that desolate truth stabbing into him, Kojou couldn’t lose himself in a rage or tearfully shout. It was all he could do to just sit there and desperately clamp his teeth down on his lip, lost. 

“Th-the curse…from my abominable original sin…” 

It was not Kojou who cried, but rather, the blond girl at his side. 

Clear drops poured out of Avrora’s blue eyes as she bawled like a child. Even Gajou stiffened, shocked by her sudden reaction. 

“Why’re you crying? It’s not something you should feel responsible for, right?!” 

As Avrora continued to sob, Kojou couldn’t help but wipe her face with a table napkin. 

Certainly, Nagisa’s debilitation might have been from using the power of the Fourth Primogenitor, but Avrora was blameless. If anything, being yanked out of her seal in the ruin and turned into a research subject on Itogami Island made her a genuine victim. 

“Ahh, well, that’s how it is,” Gajou said with a guilty look, scratching his head. “Besides, the reason the princess here lost her memory has to be related to you and Nagisa.” 

Kojou looked at his father, somewhat surprised. 

“You knew from the start that Avrora had lost her memory?” 

“Yeah. It wouldn’t fit together otherwise.” 

“…Fit together?” 

“Think about it, kid. If the Fourth Primogenitor, supposed to be sealed in a ruin, is possessing Nagisa right now, who is the princess right here?” 

His father was apparently testing him with the question. 

Kojou nodded. “So she’s just a part of the Fourth Primogenitor’s personality?” 

Gajou curled his lips up in what looked like a satisfied smile. “Probably something like that. If I wanted to be mean about it, I’d call it ‘whatever’s left of her.’ Or maybe the last dregs wrung out of her.” 

“Why would you want to be mean about it?!” 

“No matter how good a spiritualist Nagisa might be, she just doesn’t have the capacity to take in the entire Fourth Primogenitor. That’s why there’s a part of her consciousness left here in her body.” Gajou gazed at Avrora, who was still slightly teary. 

Then, Kojou finally understood his father’s objective—his reason for cooperating with Veldiana to revive Avrora, and why he was secretly protecting Avrora now. 

“I see…,” Kojou murmured, staring at the girl. “Then we just need to get the Fourth Primogenitor’s consciousness out of Nagisa and back into her real body… If she gets her memories and powers as a vampire back, we can save Nagisa?” 

Avrora didn’t seem to understand. She appeared somewhat conflicted as she watched Kojou. 

“Well, I suppose so,” Gajou said. “At the very least, if we keep her power in check, we can keep her from losing even more physical energy. It might take a while, but Nagisa’s condition would be a lot more stable than it is now. Well, probably,” he added, shrugging away responsibility. 

“So that’s why you two woke up Avrora?” 

Kojou sighed at length. Gajou had probably been searching for a way to save Nagisa all that time. That meant running all over the world, well away from his family. In the process, he’d met Veldiana and had learned about the existence of the Key to the coffin. 

Maybe Mimori had been in on it. Now that he thought about it, it was unnatural how Mimori’s assistant, Tooyama, had given Kojou that pass card at the most opportune moment. 

Gajou narrowed his eyes in a pained expression as he vigorously tousled Kojou’s hair. 

“I suppose… Well, it’s that, too.” 

“What do you mean?” 

Kojou raised his brows suspiciously, but Gajou made no reply. His eyes narrowed sharply again, glaring at the night-darkened pier. 

“Geez… they’re already here. Faster than I expected.” 

Gajou emptied the last drops of his beer as he listlessly rose to his feet. He picked up a bullpup-style rifle. It was clearly an illegal firearm, but Kojou didn’t care enough at that moment to point it out. 

That was when, for some reason, the blond vampire girl’s body quivered like a rabbit as she crouched against Kojou’s arm. He looked at the bewildered girl. 

“…Avrora?” 

Hiu, Avrora squeaked, the sound coming out weakly as her body went rigid. 

Then, Kojou noticed what had frightened her. 

Avrora was staring at an unfamiliar figure standing on the marina’s breakwater. It was a tall, middle-aged man in a suit, flanked by two guys dressed in black that looked like his bodyguards. They were no doubt comrades of the group that’d tried to abduct Avrora earlier. 

However, Kojou’s gaze was not drawn to the frightening men in black clothing, but to the sight of a different person standing behind them. It was a small figure that didn’t even reach their shoulders. 

“You’re… Why are…,” Kojou uttered, completely shocked. 

The small thirteen-or fourteen-year-old girl that stood behind the men in black wore an unadorned protective suit made of reinforced fibers that resembled a biker’s leather suit. Its surface was marked with a dry-looking Roman numeral, giving Kojou the impression that he was looking at a prototype weapon. 

The girl looked at Kojou and the others emotionlessly. Her hair was blond. Her eyes gave off a pale blue radiance, like that of a flame. Her fleeting, fairy-like beauty greatly resembled the vampire girl quivering at Kojou’s side. 

Like mirror images. 

“Why are there…two Avroras…?!” 

Kojou’s murmur died on the wind. 

Unemotionally, the girl with the same face as Avrora continued staring at Kojou. 

3 

Veldiana Caruana opened her eyes atop an unfamiliar bed. 

Around the bed was a ridiculously expensive canopy. 

The rest of the room’s interior was also extravagant, decorated with astonishingly beautiful antiques. The dazzling curtains looked like they were custom-ordered. Outside the window, she saw the beautiful nighttime landscape of the Demon Sanctuary. 

“This is…?” 

Veldiana awkwardly sat up and looked around. 

It was probably the penthouse of a high-class apartment building or something close. She didn’t seem to be confined in any way. The clothing she’d been wearing had been stripped off, replaced by bandages that wrapped around her entire body. The slow healing of her wounds was no doubt the doing of the special anti-demon bullets. Even so, the bleeding had stopped. There was still a little pain, but her right leg, nearly ripped off, had somehow recovered enough that she could move it. 

“So you’ve come to?” 

Suddenly, someone spoke; Veldiana had no idea how long she’d been standing there. The voice had a slight lisp, but the tone had a strange gravitas to it—one with overwhelming majesty, more suited to an empress rebuking one of her ministers than for checking on the condition of an injured person. 

The speaker looked like a young girl. She had long, dark hair and pale skin, and wore an ornate, Western-style dress. 

“Urk…the Witch of the Void?!” 

Driven by intense fear, Veldiana leaped out of the bed. 

The Witch of the Void, aka Natsuki Minamiya, was a name synonymous with terror among the demons of Europe. Her image was less of a federal Attack Mage employed by the Japanese government than of a merciless genocidist. Even though Veldiana was well aware she could not escape, she was captive to the blind feeling that she had to run. 

But Veldiana’s injured right leg would not bear the weight, and she lost her balance, tottering on the spot. 

“Whoa?!” 

The other person in the room cried out as Veldiana nearly fell over and crashed right into him. A glass on the tray he was carrying toppled, and the boy, wearing a school uniform with his spiky hair combed back, caught it just short of hitting the floor. 

“You’re…Motoki?!” 

“Yep. So we meet again, Vel.” 

Motoki Yaze smiled like they were best buds as he poured cold water into the glass, offering it to her. 

It was the second time that Veldiana had met the young Hyper Adapter. Now that she thought of it, it was a small wonder that he, charged with monitoring Kojou Akatsuki, had caught wind of Veldiana’s actions once again. However, as he smiled sarcastically, Veldiana could sense no hostility toward her in his eyes. 

Natsuki looked down at Veldiana, now sitting on the floor, and sighed as she murmured, “Goodness, you certainly are fired up. Based on that, your wounds must be in fairly good shape.” 

Though somewhat exasperated, there was no aggressive subtext in her words, either. 

“You two…saved me…?” Veldiana asked tentatively. 

Natsuki glanced sideways at Yaze in visible displeasure. 

“My good-for-nothing pupil asked me to.” 

“Pupil?” 

Maybe she means an apprentice Attack Mage, thought Veldiana, becoming sure of it all on her own. Naturally, the Witch of the Void also being a middle school English teacher was beyond her wildest imagination. 

Veldiana tilted the glass handed to her, emptying it into her mouth in a single gulp. As the dryness of her throat eased, she calmed down a little. 

“Incidentally, where are my clothes?” 

Veldiana pulled a sheet over her body, which was covered in nothing but underwear and bandages, as she asked. 

Natsuki glanced at Veldiana in annoyance. 

“Ah, I threw those tasteless rags out.” 

“You threw them out?!” 

“They were covered in blood and riddled with bullet holes. I threw them away before they rotted.” 

“Wh…what am I supposed to do about fresh clothes, then?!” 

To the nearly destitute Veldiana, that black leather suit was her sole, precious good set of clothes. Beyond that, she couldn’t leave wearing nothing. 

With Veldiana tearfully objecting, Natsuki sullenly looked back at her and said, “Fresh clothes are in the closet over there. I’ll give you whichever one you like. Choose.” 

“Huh?” 

Faced with those words, Veldiana dragged the sheets along with her as she headed toward the closet, but… 

“There’s nothing but maid outfits?!” 

Natsuki rebutted in a calm tone, “Of course. That’s where I keep my servant uniforms. In the first place, I doubt you could put on my clothes with your physique.” 

Veldiana groaned, compelled to hold her tongue. She might have been small in stature as women of the Warlord’s Empire went, but Natsuki was twelve centimeters shorter still, and with narrower shoulders. 

“Certainly that is the case, but…ugh, I, a daughter of Caruana, dressed as a servant…” 

Veldiana voiced her complaints in a quiet murmur as she reluctantly selected an outfit. Her choice was far from minimalist, with a long skirt and full sleeves, but it was a maid outfit through and through. 

With Veldiana having finally finished changing into fresh clothes, Natsuki abruptly asked, “Incidentally, Veldiana Caruana, you’re suspected of an attack on MAR, aren’t you?” 

Veldiana, still tying her ribbon, awkwardly froze. 

“Also, summoning a Beast Vassal in an urban area. Furthermore, you’re not wearing a demon registration bracelet.” 

“Th-that’s…” 

“It wouldn’t be any trouble to just hand you over to the Island Guard, but I am somewhat interested in your actions. If you are willing to provide information, I shall consider leniency.” 

Natsuki sat on a velvet-covered chest as she spoke in a relaxed voice. It wasn’t a negotiation, but rather, one-sided blackmail. Veldiana didn’t want to challenge her; defiance didn’t even enter her mind. 

“Fine, then… What do you wish to ask?” 

Veldiana glared at Natsuki in regret. The witch’s eyes, rimmed with long eyelashes, narrowed. 

“Nelapsi Nosferatu were the ones that attacked you, yes? Who is the man giving them orders?” 

“…Balthazar Zaharias, Chairman of the Provisional Autonomous Government of Nelapsi. It is not accurate to call him a politician, though. He is an arms dealer, a merchant of death.” 

“I have heard the name. A leading figure in the Fourth Ghoul War, yes?” 

Natsuki’s words made Veldiana’s entire body shudder. Her face twitched from ferocious anger. 

“That’s right. Fourteen years ago, the war started with the invasion of the territory of the Duke of Caruana of the Warlord’s Empire. At the time, Zaharias was supplying Nelapsi with weapons and troops. Thanks to that man, the Knights of Caruana were slaughtered…and the Duke of Caruana fell in battle…” 

The Duke of Caruana who fell in battle was Veldiana’s father. Having permitted the annihilation of the Knights drew the ire of the Lost Warlord, and the family of the Duke of Caruana was stripped of its lands. Veldiana was stripped of her nobility in the process. All stemmed from the plotting of the merchant of death named Zaharias. 

Natsuki raised her voice in ill humor. “Why is this weapons broker on Itogami Island?” 

Veldiana bit her lip as if unable to bear the disgrace. 

“In the confusion of war, that man robbed the House of Caruana of the ninth Kaleid Blood. So he seeks the commencement of the banquet.” 

“Banquet…?” 

“The Blazing Banquet. I have heard it is the ceremony through which a true Fourth Primogenitor is awakened.” 

Veldiana’s explanation caused Natsuki to frown in contempt. 

“Hmph…so the Nosferatu intend to raise a primogenitor to the throne.” 

“That’s right. It is a truly ridiculous notion,” Veldiana indignantly declared. 

Yaze cut in with a low murmur of grudging admiration. “It’d work, though. If they get the Fourth Primogenitor, Nelapsi will turn into the capital of a new Dominion. There’s no way the surrounding nations’ll deny it recognition as an independent country then.” 

“I suppose so. Besides, to a weapons merchant like Zaharias, having a product known as the World’s Mightiest Vampire must be an attractive proposition. If he sold it to say, beast-man supremacists, they could wipe a country or two off the map easily.” 

Natsuki agreed as if it had nothing to do with her. Veldiana raised her eyebrows and grimaced. 

“Surely they cannot be permitted to do such a thing?!” 

“I see. And so, you awakened the twelfth Kaleid Blood to oppose their plans. Perhaps you thought you could avenge your father?” 

“You have no right to judge me for that, demon-murdering Witch of the Void!” 

Veldiana unwittingly lost her temper and yelled at Natsuki. Then she immediately paled as she recognized her own mistake. Even if she was beaten to death then and there for having earned the ire of the Witch of the Void, she had only herself to blame. 

However, far from flying into a rage, Natsuki merely trained her sarcastic gaze on Veldiana as if the latter were a poorly trained dog, and she quietly folded the fan in her hand. 

“I am not judging you… I am merely displeased. You speak very arrogantly for a girl in a maid outfit.” 

Veldiana’s forehead sustained an oddly powerful blow, a hundred times stronger than the flick it had appeared to be. 

“Ow! What’s with that logic?! Whose fault is it that I am wearing this to begin with?!” Veldiana cried tearfully. 

Yaze watched the interaction between the two girls as if he was completely uninvolved as he said, “Blazing Banquet, huh… I understand where you stand, Vel, but Natsuki, isn’t this kind of bad?” 

“Why are you addressing me so casually?!” 

“Don’t call me by my first name.” 

Scolded by both girls simultaneously, Yaze shrugged his shoulders a little. 

“To begin with, there’s no way you thought up awakening the twelfth Kaleid Blood all on your own. Did Kojou’s dad put you up to it or something of the sort?” 

“A-and what if he did?” 

“Then I could at least praise you for that much. I mean, there ain’t any other way to save Nagisa, is there…?” 

“To what do you refer…?” Anxiety suddenly seized Veldiana. 

Yaze bared his teeth in visible irritation. 

“I’m sure you meant to become the Elector and get your revenge on that Zaharias bastard, but that probably ain’t gonna happen.” 

Yaze shifted his eyes toward the window in annoyance. There, a giant building, shaped like an inverse pyramid, stood against the backdrop of the fleeting darkness of night. 

“Damn it. What the hell are Big Bro and them thinking…? The Board of Directors probably planned this from the start. And that’s why they made me Kojou’s watcher, huh?” 

“…Motoki?” 

Veldiana looked at Yaze in bewilderment. As Yaze pounded on the wall without a word, Natsuki continued where he left off. 

“You awakened the twelfth Kaleid Blood for the sake of revenge against Zaharias, didn’t you, maid?” 

“Y-yes… And who is a maid here?!” 

“Why is Zaharias on Itogami Island? Why would he know that you released the seal on the Twelfth? In the first place, did you not think it mysterious that a conglomerate of MAR’s level would let go of its precious twelfth Kaleid Blood so easily?” 

“Are you saying that someone set me up? Someone made me awaken Avrora?” 

That’s impossible, Veldiana seemed to say as she shook her head. 

Natsuki coldly examined her. 

“One of MAR’s departments manufactures weapons. It is hardly unthinkable that it would have connections to a weapons merchant like Zaharias. Surely, it would not be difficult for a giant conglomerate like MAR to influence the government of Japan?” 

“But…that’s…” 

“Even if you had obtained the Kaleid Blood, you lack the land or title to qualify you to commence the banquet. Who benefits most from your having awakened the Twelfth?” 

“It can’t be…” 

The rebuttal left Veldiana at a loss for words. She weakly fell to her knees on the spot. 

Natsuki’s red lips twisted a little as she continued to gaze coldly at the young woman. 

“The ceremony to revive the Fourth Primogenitor. You’ve gotten yourself involved in quite a troublesome thing, Kojou Akatsuki—” 

4 

The slender man stroked his kaiser beard as he approached Kojou and the others. The man, flanked on either side by a figure in black, was reminiscent of a circus ringleader onstage in front of his audience. 

Kojou and the others gazed dumbfounded as the man theatrically bowed. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, please forgive my intruding upon your abode. Could you give me but a tiny bit of your time? Mmm, a splendid night, is it not?” 

The man spoke cheerfully, but the glint in his eye was so cold, Kojou could not sense the slightest warmth. Avrora hid behind Kojou’s back as if avoiding the gaze of a reptile. Kojou was still shielding her with his body as he glared back at the men. 

“You’re…the guys from before…” 

Kojou’s voice was tinged with tension. He had no doubt that the black-outfitted figures to the man’s right and left were comrades of the group that’d tried to abduct Avrora. He knew the danger they presented. Earlier, Gajou had driven them off, but that engagement was a surprise attack. There was no guarantee Gajou could repel them the same way this time. 

However, Gajou lifted his empty beer bottle high and laughed in good humor, as if greeting an old friend. 

“Sorry, monsieur. If you’d arrived just a little sooner, I could have treated you to a cold brew, but as you can see…” 

“No, no, pay no heed to that. Please forgive me for my lack of forbearance in not bringing anything. You must understand, we are a people of war operating as mercenaries…” 

The man with the kaiser beard replied to Gajou’s call with great courtesy. The corners of Gajou’s lips rose impudently, even as he continued resting his rifle on his shoulder. 

“Chairman Zaharias of Nelapsi, there are some nasty rumors going around about you.” 

“I believe you are rather notorious yourself, Professor Gajou Akatsuki, the Death Returnee. Please accept my apology for the great rudeness my compatriots showed toward you earlier.” 

“…Ah, so you didn’t come for revenge?” 

The man named Zaharias made a show of surprise at Gajou’s question. 

“It is the furthest thing from my mind. Indeed, as Elector of the banquet, I owe you an apology for my discourtesy.” 

“Hah… I see. So that’s the story.” 

Gajou seemed delighted as he nodded, lazily leaning against the boat’s railing. 

Kojou watched his father with suspicion. 

“What does that mean, Dad…? Don’t just stand there and nod—explain, dammit. Why are there two Avroras…?” 

“Avrora…? Ahh, you granted a name to Dodekatos. Hmm, that idea does have some merit. Excellent weapons are often given titles and nicknames, after all.” Zaharias crossed his arms, nodding deeply in apparent admiration. 

“If I may be so bold, allow me to introduce our Enatos. Once a prisoner in the former Duchy of Caruana in the Warlord’s Empire, she was liberated by our Nelapsian hands. She is the ninth Kaleid Blood.” 

“Ninth…?” 

Zaharias extended his right hand; behind stood the girl with the same face as Avrora. She had wavy blond hair and pale skin. Though she wore a plain defense suit made with reinforced fibers, it enhanced the elegant curves of her figure nonetheless. She looked so much like Avrora that Kojou could barely tell them apart. 

“Do you know her, Avrora?” Kojou asked quietly. 

“M-my memory carries no imprint of this mirror image…” 

Avrora faintly shook her head. Perhaps the appearance of the girl named Enatos had surprised Avrora more than anyone. 

Zaharias, seeing her reaction, raised his eyebrows, apparently finding it somewhat unexpected. 

“My, to not know of her, she must not yet be fully awakened? Hmm.” He stroked his beard as if pondering the matter. “Very well. Allow me to explain—Kaleid Blood is the name of the project to give birth to a new primogenitor and of the prototypes for the Fourth Primogenitor constructed for that project. Created from the three primogenitors and the technology of the Devas, they are the ultimate god-killing weapons.” 

“…Weapons…you say?” 

Startled, Kojou stared at Zaharias. 

Avrora worriedly huddled against Kojou’s back. Normally, no one would ever believe a timid girl like her was a weapon. Even so, Zaharias’s claim seemed oddly convincing. There were too many mysteries concerning Avrora to consider her to be just a vampire. 

“Indeed, it is so. Our Enatos and your Dodekatos are weapons, constructed by the same technology and for the same purpose. However, they made a mistake. To err is human, and it seems that the people of the ancient super-humans known as Devas were no exception.” 

At that point, Zaharias opened his arms wide like an opera singer heralding the tragedy to come. 

“In other words, as a complete Fourth Primogenitor, the Kaleid Bloods were too strong, too much to even be considered weapons.” 

“…” 

Kojou silently listened to Zaharias’s words. 

Yes, the Fourth Primogenitor was considered the World’s Mightiest Vampire, destruction incarnate despite having no blood brethren, a cold-blooded monster beyond the doctrines of the world. 

Surely there were no better words to describe an artificially crafted weapon. 

“That is the Fourth Primogenitor—the World’s Mightiest Vampire, surpassing even the primogenitors, the oldest of vampire-kind. Its existence upset the global balance, throwing the world order into chaos. And so, Kaleid Blood was sealed away in places such as a windswept desert, or inside a coffin of ice.” 

Kojou peered at Enatos. “So she was sealed away, too, just like Avrora…and that seal was broken…” 

Zaharias’s eyes narrowed, somehow looking proud as he shook his head. 

“It was not broken on its own—we broke it.” 

“What for…?!” 

“There is but one reason for taking the safety off a weapon—so that it may be used for war.” 

Zaharias smiled, as if finding it strange that anyone would even ask. His tone was so natural that it left Kojou at a loss for words. 

“Records remain of Kaleid Blood’s seal being removed several times in the past. Each time they awaken, a great turning point in history shall surely follow.” 

Kojou looked between the two girls, Avrora and Enatos, and murmured, “You mean…there’s gonna be a big war somewhere in the near future?” 

“It shall surely be so. The embers of conflict in this world have not burned out, after all.” 

Zaharias lowered his eyes in sadness. He had the look of a cunning realist who used war for his own ends, well aware of the horror and tragedy that followed. 

“You called her the ninth Kaleid Blood?” 

“Indeed I did.” 

“So there are others? Other candidates for Fourth Primogenitor like these two?” 

“Yes, there are some ten others.” 

After saying this, Zaharias frowned deeply. 

“I believe even you can imagine just how dangerous they are. If elements of the Fourth Primogenitor, however incomplete, were to come into conflict, no one would be able to stop them.” 

Zaharias’s shoulders shuddered as if he was genuinely afraid, and then he smiled. 

“—But, please rest assured, it is a simple matter for someone in my occupation. I handle weapons on a daily basis. The uninformed might call us merchant of death and the like, but I can say with confidence that there are none more skilled in the employ of weapons than us.” 

“You’re an…arms dealer…?” 

Kojou finally realized why Zaharias was employing a silver tongue. The long digression about the Fourth Primogenitor hadn’t been out of any kindness toward Kojou. Zaharias was a merchant. Every word was part of a sales pitch. It was simply part of doing business. 

“Now, Mr. Kojou Akatsuki, let us move on to the issue at hand.” 

“…The issue at hand?” 

“Yes. I would like you to hand Dodekatos, there with you, over to us.” 

For the first time, Zaharias shifted his gaze right in Avrora’s direction. The blond vampire girl’s breath caught as if that gaze had cowed her into submission. 

“You’re telling me to sell Avrora to you?” 

Kojou checked to make sure in a low, suppressed voice. Zaharias nodded imperiously. 

“As compensation, hmm, would twenty billion yen be acceptable?” 

“Wha…?!” 

Kojou’s eyes snapped open in surprise. Taking his reaction as dissatisfaction, Zaharias made a strained laugh. 

“Hmm, it is not enough? Then I shall doub—no, triple it. The product is the world’s mightiest weapon, after all. I will not say that money isn’t an object, but even my capital has its limits. I must ask you to make some concession on the price.” 

“The product…huh?” 

Kojou made a small snort through his nose as he mulled Zaharias’s words. He smiled to the frightened Avrora to reassure her, stepping forward as if to shield her. 

“Sorry, she’s not a weapon, and I’m not inclined to treat her like one.” 

“Is that so?—” 

Zaharias’s eyes sharpened. The figures in black at his sides seemed to become just a little more wary. They appeared poised to move at a moment’s notice. 

Gajou, leisurely leaning against the boat’s guardrail, audibly removed the safety of his rifle. 

It was only the girl named Enatos who gazed at Kojou without blinking. Then… 

“That is unfortunate. However, please let me know if you change your mind, and by all means, do so before it is too late.” 

Surprisingly, Zaharias did not coerce the trade, instead retreating easily. Kojou, thinking that the man might take her by force, was nonplussed by his reaction. 

Yet, the feeling of tension, like a taut string, did not ease. 

Kojou resisted the grain of the oppressive atmosphere and looked at the girl behind Zaharias and said, “Enatos…was it? If you don’t like being treated like a weapon, either, come with us. I can’t pay you any money, but I can give you some delicious ice cream to eat—” 

The blond girl in the protective suit hesitated just a little. 

That instant, Enatos was enveloped by an incredible gust of wind. The shrieking gale was on par with a mini-tornado. Perhaps it was anger toward Kojou, or perhaps fear of the unknown, but it adopted the form of a powerful shock wave. 

A vibration rippled out—a destructive supersonic wave that indiscriminately wreaked havoc on the surrounding area. The surface of the sea thrashed violently, rocking the boat as it slammed into the pier, ruthlessly tearing off and smashing apart the planks. 

The most frightening thing was that Enatos had not attacked. She had not summoned her own Beast Vassal. That slight stirring of her emotions had sent out a tiny fraction of her demonic power as the wave that had caused such destruction. Had her anger been trained on Kojou, he would have been annihilated in an instant. He knew that without anyone having to tell him. This was the power of the ninth Kaleid Blood, one element of the Fourth Primogenitor. 

Abruptly, a figure stood in the path of Enatos’s gaze. A small girl with blond hair like a billowing flame—Avrora. 

She stood in front of Enatos, arms wide, as if she was shielding Kojou. 

Zaharias scolded the girl in the protective suit enveloped by the gale. “—Enatos!” 

It was not clear if his voice even reached her. But in that moment, the vibrating wall that enveloped Enatos vanished as if it had never existed. 

The wild, chaotic air returned to its previous calm. The surface of the sea continued to undulate fiercely, rocking the boats tied to the dock, but it seemed they had escaped any further threat of fatal damage. 

“Phew,” exhaled Gajou with a weary look. The black-outfitted men had an aura of relief hovering about them as well. 

Avrora’s legs gave out; she would have collapsed on the spot had Kojou not supported her from behind just in time. 

“Your pardon for this great discourtesy. However, I believe you now comprehend just how dangerous these prototypes are.” 

Zaharias, the only one with a calm expression, bowed respectfully. 

“I am certain that we will meet again someday. I hope, when that time comes, you will make a positive reply. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” said Zaharias, turning his back to Kojou and the others. 

Kojou said nothing as he watched them depart. Thanks to the destruction of the lamppost, the surroundings were dark. The weapons merchant and the others mingled with the darkness, immediately lost to his sight. 

The only thing he saw was the reflected light of Enatos’s hair, still burning into Kojou’s eyes. 

The shimmering vibrant blond hair that changed colors like a rainbow. 

5 

“Whew…” 

Kojou flopped onto the sofa on Gajou’s boat and exhaled, devoid of energy. His entire body felt as heavy as lead. 

His shock toward Enatos had not yet faded. Kojou hadn’t meant to provoke her, but a single careless comment stirred her emotions, sending her demonic energy nearly out of control. He was still berating himself for his carelessness. 

Even though they had such vast power, they were still but elements of the whole. Kojou couldn’t even imagine what an incredible monster one would evolve into after obtaining the complete power of the Fourth Primogenitor. He felt like he understood why Zaharias, an arms dealer, was so hung up on them. 

On the other hand, Avrora, supposedly another of those elements, was sitting calmly right at Kojou’s side, leaning forward like a domesticated dog. 

“I-I praise thee!” 

Haltingly and tense, the girl spoke in a falsetto. 

Kojou shifted his suspicious gaze toward her bright red face. 

“…Ah?” 

As Avrora hung her head in silence, Gajou tossed out his own explanation. 

“The princess must be happy you didn’t sell her to Zaharias.” 

“Ahh, what, that?” 

Kojou sat his sluggish body up and put his hand on Avrora’s head to say, You’re welcome. 

Now that he knew just how dangerous the elements of the Fourth Primogenitor were, Kojou couldn’t state with confidence that he’d made the right decision. He felt like the fact Avrora herself was happy about it was a considerable saving grace. 

But Kojou’s faint sense of relief was soundly wrecked as Gajou made a deep sigh and said, “You’re a real idiot, too, though. That’s sixty billion yen, you know. You could live off that for the rest of your life with room to spare, and you blew it off just like that.” 

“You don’t need to tell me. I’ve got a bit of regret about it,” Kojou bluntly confessed. 

However, the vast sum that Zaharias had offered was too large for it to feel real. Kojou would have taken it far more seriously if it’d been more the size of a local lottery jackpot. 

Gajou mused, “Well, I have my doubts Zaharias would’ve actually paid the money after you handed Avrora over. In a case like that, you might get killed and buried the moment you’re no longer useful.” 

“Y-yeah…you have a point.” 

“Well, before it could come to that, if you turned out to be the sly kind of brat who’d go for that kind of sweetheart deal, I would’ve shot you in the back and run off with the money myself…” 

“Ugh, are you really my father?!” 

Kojou’s eyes were half-lidded as he murmured. It had sounded too genuine to be a joke, but that was Gajou Akatsuki being Gajou Akatsuki. 

Gajou fished through some baggage inside the boat by himself for a while, finally standing up carrying a ridiculously large golf bag containing his rifle. 

“Let’s see… Kojou, take this.” 

Gajou tossed something as he spoke. It was a cheap, rust-covered key chain. 

“What’s…this?” 

“The key to the boat. As for how to use everything, well, you’ll get the gist of it. Or rather, you’d better.” 

With that self-serving advice, Gajou stepped off the boat, leaving Kojou and Avrora behind. 

“Hold on a sec, Dad. Where do you think you’re going?” 

“I’ve got things to do. Setting Mimori aside, I’d better make sure Nagisa’s completely safe… Geez, now I’m buried with more work because some brat had to pick a fight with Zaharias without thinking,” Gajou explained, annoyed. 

Kojou pursed his lips. 

Certainly, Gajou had a point. In the first place, Gajou had orchestrated Avrora’s awakening for the sake of Nagisa’s treatment. His daughter falling into even greater danger because an arms dealer was pursuing Avrora would be the opposite of what he intended to do. But… 

“What are we going to do about Avrora…?” 

“I’ll leave that to you.” 

“What?!” 

“I’ll lend you this boat for the time being. Well, just the fact he broke character and offered you a deal means that bastard Zaharias can’t get too out of line. To him, Itogami Island is completely foreign territory.” 

“Er, but…” 

Naturally, Kojou was less than satisfied with his father’s irresponsible statement. At any rate, the black-robed figures under Zaharias had nearly killed him mere hours before. He suspected he couldn’t trust the “can’t get too out of line” part very far. 

However, Gajou laughed flippantly, not a trace of tension visible on his face. 

“Relax. Avrora’s a prototype in the same league as little Ena from earlier. That bastard Zaharias knows well enough how dangerous that princess can be. Now that he knows she’s fond of you, he can’t lay a finger on ya.” 

“Th-that so…” 

Kojou grudgingly accepted his father’s point of view. Gajou seemed to have at least some basis for declaring that they were safe. “Looks like you get it,” Gajou said, puffing up with pride at his victory. “More important is her memories. It’ll be faster to just get those back rather than worrying about every little thing.” 

“Well, I’m sure you’re right about that…” 

Kojou was a bit at a loss as he gazed at Avrora, who wore a surprised expression. 

“But how am I supposed to get her memory back…?” 

“Hell if I know. I’m an archaeologist, not a doctor. Think for yourself for once.” 

Kojou resentfully clicked his tongue and vented, “Do you have any sense of responsibility?!” 

Of course, he hadn’t been stupid enough to expect Gajou to say, Just leave everything to me, but that advice was way too sketchy without an actual plan to retrieve her memory, even for him. 

Despite this, Gajou said without a hint of shame, “It might not be much to go on, but giving you useless advice? Now that would be irresponsible. Why don’t you just try giving her lots to experience? Show her this and that, get her to meet people?” 

“And that’s not irresponsible advice?” 

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. Anyway, Zaharias won’t make a serious move yet. Get along with Avrora in the time before he does, ’kay?” 

“…Yeah.” 

Kojou nodded, serious now. 

It irked him to do as his father said, but he knew from the depths of his heart that he couldn’t abandon Avrora. It wasn’t just that he was her Blood Servant or that she was connected to Nagisa. More than those things, if he walked away from a fainthearted, amnesiac girl, it’d be hard to sleep at night. Way too hard. 

Then Gajou, on the verge of leaving the cabin, looked back and pointed to Avrora’s skirt as if he’d just remembered something. 

“Ahh, one more thing, Kojou. You really need to get some panties on the princess. Even on an island with year-round summer, she’ll catch a cold like that.” 

Kojou coughed loudly. 

“How did you know she’s not wearing any?!” 

“Heh… Don’t underestimate a middle-aged man’s powers of observation.” 

Gajou seemed oddly proud of himself as he spoke, leaving the boat for real this time. 

Kojou slumped back down onto the sofa and sighed deeply. “Geez, I see your face after so long, and then this happens… Shitty dad you are.” 

“I-I sense a troubled bloodline.” 

“You sayin’ I have something in common with that perv?!” 

Kojou glared sideways at Avrora’s red face, putting his chin on his palm in annoyance. 

It wasn’t that there had been no word from the man at all, but it’d been three years since he’d seen his father’s face for any length of time. Gajou was as self-absorbed as ever, and it annoyed him, but Kojou had missed him all the same. 

Regardless, he could accept that the man had been working hard to save Nagisa the whole time. Kojou felt like overlooking most of his frustration. 

“Well…we really need to do something about underwear. You can’t just keep wearing Nagisa’s uniform, either. Well, let’s think about that in the morning.” 

“V-very well.” 

Avrora continued studiously holding down her skirt as she agreed. 

“At any rate, just the fact we have somewhere to sleep at night is a huge help. We’ve got electricity. No worries about toilets or a bathtub from the looks of it, either.” 

Kojou looked around the cabin of The Liana as he spoke. Though it was a small boat, the room was not lacking in basic necessities. It had a table in the kitchen, a sofa and bed, and even a refrigerator and an electric range, everything you’d need to get by day-to-day. The harbor provided the electricity. It might have been a better deal than getting a room at an ultra-cheap hotel. 

Avrora gave an awkward, fleeting smile, apparently satisfied. 

“’Tis clean and orderly.” 

“Yeah, it is… It’s oddly well-kept for a place my dad’s been living in…” 

For a moment, Kojou felt admiration, but he was suddenly captive to his suspicions. 

As far as he could remember, Gajou Akatsuki left no impression of liking things clean. Invariably, be it his own bedroom or office at work, everything was in chaos. Kojou wondered if he had heard that his daughter had become such a neat freak that it had helped put her in the hospital, and this was his response. 

Still, the only time Gajou’s room was clean was when the women in his life did it for him. Now that he thought about it, he did sense the lingering aroma of perfume in the cabin. 

“Well, whatever…” 

Kojou told himself, I didn’t notice nothin’, and closed his eyes to it all. 

She might not have looked it, but Mimori was jealous to a surprising extent. If Gajou inadvertently got too friendly with other women, the woman he married would fly into an indiscriminate rage toward all around her. In an exceptionally troublesome situation such as theirs, he wanted to avoid the breakout of a parental dispute as much as possible. 

“Figures that I’m worn out today. I think I’ll head home and sleep…” 

Kojou checked the boat’s clock as he sluggishly rose to his feet. As he did so, Avrora, playing on the cabin’s bed, lifted her face, looking surprised. 

Comfortable as it might be, it was still a cramped boat. Even if she was a vampire with power beyond a human, he wasn’t comfortable with sleeping under the same roof as a girl he’d essentially just met. If he could trust Gajou’s words, Zaharias ought to keep his hands off Avrora for the time being. Kojou reasoned that she’d be fine even if he wasn’t guarding her around the clock. 

However, Avrora looked up at Kojou with eyes like an abandoned kitten, desperately clinging to his sleeve. Kojou was a bit at a loss at her unexpected, excessive reaction. 

“Avrora?” 

“…F-for the peace of my soul, I shall seal my pact with thee with my palm.” 

“Umm…meaning, you’d like me to hold your hand until you fall asleep?” 

Avrora nodded twice, earnestly assenting. When Kojou saw that, he finally remembered the photograph he saw in Gajou’s scrapbook—one of the girl sleeping, sealed away in a coffin of ice. 

“I see…you’ve been asleep by yourself all this time…” 

The vampire girl meekly lowered her eyes in response to his murmur. 

Even without her memories, the despairing level of isolation must have carved itself in Avrora’s heart like a sort of trauma. He could hardly blame her for being afraid of sleeping alone. 

Kojou wondered if she might harbor anxiety, like, Will I be alone again after I wake up? or Will I ever awaken again? 

“Got it. I’ll spend the night with you. But at least wash up and brush your teeth before bed.” 

“…Nn!” 

Hearing Kojou’s words, Avrora ran into the bathroom with great haste. The unit installed in the small cabin apparently accommodated showers as well. 

“Hiu…!” 

Avrora was trying to wash up when she let out a fleeting cry and fell on her backside. She’d tried to use the soap dish and toothbrush in the lavatory, but Kojou heard them scatter across the floor. Kojou appeared dubious as he approached the bathroom, where he saw a vampire who was now dripping wet. 

“Avrora?” 

“I-I am stricken by the curse of Undine…!” 

“Ahh… You turned the tap for the shower, huh…” 

Apparently, she’d meant to get water out of the faucet, only to be bathed in a cold shower from overhead. It was the kind of mistake made even by modern people not familiar with prefabricated bathrooms. Avrora, sealed in a ruin for many years, had no way to understand its design. It was Kojou’s fault for not explaining. 

“Here, it’ll be all right now.” 

Kojou stopped the water flowing from the showerhead and offered Avrora a hand. Can you get up? he motioned. 

Water dripped from Avrora’s entire body as she rose to her feet, dejected. Kojou swiftly averted his eyes. He could see right through the drenched uniform that clung to her bare skin. 

“Kojou?” 

Avrora, looking up to see Kojou unnerved, curiously blinked her eyes. Then, her gaze dropped to her own wet figure. Her face flushed a boiling hot red to the tips of her ears. 

“W-wait, Avrora…calm down…!” 

“U…uu… Abominable, impure eyes!” Avrora resentfully looked up at Kojou. “May they be cursed!” 

Coming from a girl who might become a vampire primogenitor, the words felt particularly ominous. 

Gimme a break, thought Kojou, twisting his lips. 

“You just exploded all by your lones—aahhh?!” 

“What do you think you’re doing, rank commoner!” 

Kojou, suddenly sustaining a painful kick from behind, was slammed straight into a wall. 

The corner of his vision displayed a seductive brunette vampiress. For some reason, Veldiana was dressed in a maid outfit as she glared down at Kojou with a frightful visage. 

“Ugh… Ow, ow, ow… Vel? What the heck are you doing…?!” 

“Gajou contacted me and said that Avrora was being sheltered here. Gajou lent me the use of this boat first. And yet, what have you put Avrora through, taking advantage of my absence…!” 

Veldiana complained as she used a towel to wipe off Avrora, still soaking wet. Avrora physically shrank, perhaps surprised by the sudden appearance of the vampiress. 

“Ah… I see. Well, then…” 

So there was a woman. Kojou sighed, comprehending why the cabin had been tidied up. 

“So why are you in a maid outfit?” 

“Shut up!” 

Veldiana’s shoulders quivered as she looked down at her attire; perhaps she associated it with some kind of negative experience. 

“And to think Dodekatos’s Blood Servant is a rank commoner. How can my dream of restoring the Caruana family be…? No, do not give up, Veldiana! I must hold myself together for Sister’s sake! I must protect Avrora!” 

Veldiana began mumbling to herself as she became lost in her own world. Avrora, now dry, gazed at her in concern as she shifted toward Kojou. 

“…Kojou?” 

Avrora tilted her head curiously as Kojou laughed. He was clutching his own belly as he guffawed, relieved from the bottom of his heart. 

She might have been the pride and joy of a duke long ago, but the vampiress named Veldiana Caruana, once vampire high society, was a pauper in spite of that. Mentally, she was somewhat naive; nor did her combat ability seem particularly high. However, she seemed to genuinely value Avrora. Now that he thought back to their first meeting, Veldiana made certain Avrora could safely escape, even if that meant putting herself in danger. 

“Nah, I’m just glad, Princess. Looks like I’m not the only one trying to keep you safe.” 

Kojou patted Avrora’s head as he showed her a gentle smile. 

She wasn’t by herself anymore. She didn’t need to sleep alone and afraid any longer. 

Perhaps Kojou’s feelings shone through, for the blond vampire girl shyly looked down and said, “Indeed.” 

She said it in a voice quiet enough to vanish, but her small smile looked happy. 

That was what happened on the day Avrora Florestina met Kojou Akatsuki. It was the beginning of a tale inexorably moving toward its conclusion.