Strike the Blood - Volume 8 - Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE 

THE TYRANT AND THE FOOL 

1 

His field of vision was shuddering slightly. As they passed over each seam in the road, the jolts seemed to toss the girl next to him in the air. A low noise, like an animalistic whine, was doubtlessly the sound of the vehicle’s electric motor. 

“This is…?” 

When Kojou realized he was riding in the vehicle’s cargo space, he slowly opened his eyes. 

Displayed in his hazy field of vision was the landscape, scrolling beyond a window with narrow slits. 

He was inside a vehicle encased in thick steel. He was sitting on a flat, uncomfortable seat, which contained dangerous-looking gear like electrified batons. He was apparently inside an Island Guard armored vehicle. 

When Kojou abruptly glanced up, he saw a blond vampire hovering over him, visibly worried. Even though he’d seen many with the same face, he knew who she was from one glance at her eyes. It was Avrora. 

“Heya, you okay…?” 

“I-I am without hindrance.” 

The blond girl hastened to respond to Kojou’s raspy question. She smiled in apparent relief, even though her clothes were a mess, covered in dried blood. Kojou was the same, though. 

Apparently, both had been engulfed in Root Avrora’s attack and had suffered grievous wounds, and both had regenerated after the fact. Had they been normal people, they would without doubt be dead. 

No—even if they could regenerate, they surely would not have remained safe the way things were going. They could have been buried under a pile of falling rubble or attacked by the infected and eaten before ever returning to consciousness. Someone probably rescued Kojou and Avrora while they lay wounded, taking them out of Old Southeast. 

Noticing that Kojou had regained consciousness, someone spoke to him. It was Miwa Tooyama. 

“So you have come to?” 

Her businesslike tone, weak on bedside manner, was the same as before, but her breathing sounded labored. 

“…Tooyama, what happened? You’re the one who saved us?” 

Kojou sat up, turning his eyes toward the voice. Then, his breath caught. 

There were countless wounds over Tooyama’s entire body. They included severe burns and uncountable lacerations. She was covered in wounds to the point that it was hard finding a spot on her that wasn’t bandaged. All over the place, fresh blood was seeping into the bandages, dying them crimson. 

“Tooyama…don’t tell me you got hurt like that for our sake…” 

“First aid has been applied. It is no longer a problem.” 

Tooyama spoke, interrupting Kojou’s shaking voice. Her firmly held belief shone in her eyes. 

Tooyama was not motivated by greed like Zaharias, nor had she acted out of personal gain. Kojou was sure there was some kind of reason behind her incomprehensible actions. 

“Who…the hell are you?!” Kojou gazed at the heavily injured Tooyama. 

Kojou now understood that she was no simple doctor or researcher. No normal human lacking any combat capability ought to have been able to get out of Old Southeast alive while carrying the unconscious Kojou and Avrora, not with infected vampires all over the place. 

“I am an Attack Mage of the Lion King Agency.” 

Judging that there was no point hiding it further, Tooyama readily exposed her affiliation. 

“Lion King…Agency?” 

“A special agency established by the National Public Safety Commission. Please think of me as an investigator for stopping large-scale sorcerous terrorism and magical disasters.” 

“So a special agent…?” 

Tooyama’s explanation was one Kojou could sink his teeth into. He did think her aura suited an undercover investigator, and it explained how she could get her hands on an Island Guard armored vehicle. 

“So MAR…and my mom knew about this from the start?” 

“Yes. We have an agreement. In exchange for the Lion King Agency recognizing MAR’s ownership rights over the sealed Dodekatos, they would accede to a watcher who would provide them with information—and so far as this incident is concerned, our interests aligned almost perfectly with those of Mimori Akatsuki,” Tooyama replied nonchalantly. 

In other words, Tooyama herself was the observer. 

“If your interests are aligned, why’d you cooperate with a guy like Zaharias?” 

Kojou hardened his voice as he pressed the point with Tooyama. Had she not dragged Nagisa with her to the Blazing Banquet, surely she would not have awakened as the Fourth Primogenitor. 

“Of course, the objective was to awaken the Fourth Primogenitor,” Tooyama continued her explanation, her expression unmoved. 

“I’m asking you, why?!” 

“As I said, our purpose is to prevent disasters of a sorcerous nature.” 

“That’s not an answer! What good does it do if you create the disaster?!” 

Tooyama hesitated in silence for a moment, sighing as she shook her head. It looked like she was lamenting their own helplessness. 

“In this case, our mission is akin to earthquake countermeasures.” 

“Earthquake countermeasures?” 

“The science of mankind is incapable of stopping earthquakes from occurring. Therefore, all we can do is to minimize the damage.” 

“You call that minimal damage?!” 

Kojou howled as he remembered the destruction Root Avrora had wrought. In addition, Zaharias’s ritual had caused an outbreak with hundreds of thousands of victims. Was she really going to insist that even this was damage on a reduced scale—? 

“Our top priority is to prevent the influence of the awakened Fourth Primogenitor from spreading outside the Japanese homeland.” Even faced with Kojou’s accusing eyes, Tooyama spoke in a measured voice. She continued. “Just as Zaharias said, the Fourth Primogenitor is a weapon. Were a nation to obtain it, the global military balance would collapse. Accordingly, the only compromise that could be reached was for our nation, boasting specialized defenses, and its Demon Sanctuary at that, to obtain her.” 

Kojou felt cowed by Tooyama’s unwavering gaze. 

Like it or not, having witnessed Root’s power for but a single moment, the terror of the Fourth Primogenitor was carved into his being. Merely releasing her demonic power was so overpowering it had half-wrecked a giant structure like Quartz Gate. She possessed that shocking level of potential for destruction while having only regained half her proper strength. 

Even all the top Attack Mages put together probably couldn’t hold a candle to her. It was a being humans could not equal, a strategic weapon—or a monster rivaling the armed forces of an entire nation. 

Without fail, the existence of the Fourth Primogenitor would spark conflict. An emerging power like Nelapsi would gain the status of a new Dominion merely by inviting the Fourth Primogenitor in. That could easily result in a world war involving the Warlord’s Empire and the Fallen Dynasty. 

No matter which nation or power obtained the Fourth Primogenitor, it would most certainly bring misfortune to the world—with the exception of a single safe zone: Itogami Island. 

In a Demon Sanctuary, with all political use of demons forbidden as enshrined by the Holy Ground Treaty, the Fourth Primogenitor could be safely “isolated.” Nor was there any concern that the Fourth Primogenitor would rule Itogami Island herself and launch wars against other nations of the world. After all, Itogami Island was an artificial island constructed atop the Pacific Ocean; all one needed to do was cut off shipments of food and other necessities and it would shrivel like a prune. That was enough—at least, for appearances’ sake—to convince other nations afraid of the existence of the Fourth Primogenitor. Even Kojou could understand that much. 

But that didn’t mean he accepted that the ends justified the means when it came to making that a reality. 

“So that’s why you sacrificed the people of Old Southeast?” 

Tooyama’s gaze shifted slightly at Kojou’s quiet rebuttal. 

“Old Southeast, slated for dismantlement, has a daytime population of twenty-eight thousand people, which is five percent of Itogami Island’s total population. Compared to the damage in the Nelapsi Autonomous Region, one could call the damage moderate.” 

“You can’t just…compare it with arithmetic like that…” 

Kojou firmly brushed off Tooyama’s earnest excuse. She lowered her eyes, like it was hard even for her. Regardless, she continued frailly: 

“It is not certain that all of those who have become pseudo-vampires will die. Over the course of several days, the infection will subside. This is because Root Avrora seeks not their lives, but their memories.” 

“…Memories?” 

Tooyama’s unexpected words made Kojou pause, thrown off a bit. 

He could understand why the Fourth Primogenitor wanted human sacrifices for her survival. But the idea that she didn’t require lives, but memories, didn’t exactly fit. 

“Did you know that in the world of magic, things are stronger the older they are?” 

“…No. Is that so?” 

“Yes. After all, among vampires, it is the oldest among them, the primogenitors, who boast enormous power. It is the vast personal histories that they, the unaging and undying, have accumulated that is the source of their might. However…” 

“I see… The Fourth Primogenitor doesn’t have any of that…” 

“Yes. The Fourth Primogenitor, one who was constructed, has memories, but…no accumulation of past history. Therefore, by consuming the memories of others, she obtains the demonic power required for her awakening.” 

Kojou subconsciously looked at the side of Avrora’s face. Root had been sealed away with Avrora for hundreds—maybe thousands of years. Just as Avrora lacked any memory of her past, Root lacked a personal history as a source of demonic energy. 

To the Fourth Primogenitor, built to be the World’s Mightiest Vampire, this was a fatal weakness; hence, why Root wanted human sacrifices to obtain the memories of others to use in place of her own. 

“So that’s what the Blazing Banquet really is… Then, the people being sacrificed…” 

“The persons concerned will surely lose many memories that they consider precious. Nor will we ourselves be exceptions to this.” 

“What…?” 

“Even if we are not pseudo-vampires, the human beings that come into contact with Root do not remember her because their memories have been stolen. In other words, memories related to the Fourth Primogenitor are mostly lost. The Fourth Primogenitor has remained a vampire myth because of her ability to exploit memory.” 

“Then…everyone’s gonna forget about Nagisa? And Avrora, too…?!” 

Kojou felt a chill run up his spine. 

Those who had come in contact with the Fourth Primogenitor would forget about her— 

If that was so, both Nagisa, who had become the Fourth Primogenitor herself, and Avrora, a Kaleid Blood, would be the prime victims. And Kojou had spent a great deal of time with both. Would it mean he would lose all those memories? 

“Yes. I estimate it will occur some two or three days hence.” 

Tooyama’s words mercilessly slammed into Kojou. 

She continued, “Have you not noticed that both your parents, Professor Gajou and Chief Mimori, have each carefully avoided contact with Nagisa? Since they were working to save Nagisa, they absolutely could not afford to lose their memories of her. That is why they chose to live apart from her.” 

“…What the…hell… Don’t mess with me here…!” 

His father lived overseas for most of the year; his mother slept at work, rarely returning home. Kojou and Nagisa were used to that. They’d seen each of their parents as stuck in their ways and had given up; the two children were wrong. 

Both their mother and father were always aware of the possibility that their memories of Nagisa might be taken away. 

And Kojou alone was left out of the loop— 

“Please do not find fault with your parents. They thought that even if your memories might be stolen, it would only mean you would not have to suffer. You would not have to bear the heavy burden of continuing to blame yourself for not being able to protect your little sister.” 

“Do you think I can just accept that?!” 

Kojou violently pounded the armored vehicle’s wall. Avrora yelped “Uu!” and cowered at the sound. Tooyama sighed softly as she watched the boy, painful and haggard. 

“…These last three years, Chief Mimori exhausted every means available in her attempt to hold Nagisa’s debilitation in check. Only lately did she learn that Nagisa could be saved if the soul of Root was transferred to Dodekatos’s body instead. However, our attempt did not succeed.” 

Only now did Kojou understand; of course it failed, for the simple reason that Avrora was Root’s watcher, a prototype constructed to seal her away and prevent her revival. There was no way that Root, having finally escaped the seal by contacting Nagisa, wanted any part of returning to her slumber. 

“Breaking the seal of Dodekatos, sleeping within the Fairy’s Coffin, was our final gamble. Nagisa had little time remaining. We thought that we might be able to transplant Root’s soul into an awakened Dodekatos, though this, too, ended in failure.” 

“So you made Nagisa into the Fourth Primogenitor…?” 

“Yes,” said Tooyama with a nod. “Even if she ceased to be human, even if she erased the memories of many people in the process…if she awakened as the complete Fourth Primogenitor, her safety would be assured… Also, the possibility that Nagisa’s soul could overcome Root’s was not zero.” 

“…‘Cannibalism’…or overwriting her, yeah?” 

“Correct. A vampire whose essence is consumed but who ends up taking over the being who consumed it. Normally, such a thing only occurs between vampires, but with both girls sharing the same body, perhaps… Though, the chances are despairingly low.” 

Tooyama coldly conveyed the facts. 

If Root did not dominate Nagisa, but instead the young priestess robbed Root of her abilities, then Nagisa would become the Fourth Primogenitor while retaining her own consciousness. Under the circumstances, it was the best result Kojou and the others could hope for. 

Yet, without a miracle, it was a future that would absolutely not become reality. No matter how exceptional a priestess Nagisa might be, there was no way she could win against the Fourth Primogenitor’s Cursed Soul. 

“…What are you gonna do about Avrora from here on?” 

Kojou abruptly looked up, shifting his gaze to the blond girl standing at his side. Avrora was biting her lip and holding the hem of her skirt; she appeared to be wracked with guilt. 

“The Kaleid Bloods taken in by the Fourth Primogenitor were the ones under Zaharias’s possession: Protte, Deutra, Hebdomos, Ogdoos, Enatos, and Hendekatos. Once she fully acquires their rights of lordship, she shall surely come for the seventh—for Dodekatos.” 

“So Avrora would end up being taken in, just like Enatos and the others…” 

Kojou agreed with Tooyama’s guess as he painfully clicked his tongue. 

On the inside, Kojou held a tenuous hope that being a Blood Servant would keep him from forgetting about Nagisa, but he’d been naive. Having so easily disposed of Protte’s Blood Servant, Zaharias, Root would probably see Kojou the same way—as excess baggage. Even if that wasn’t the case, Kojou would lose his qualifications as a blood vassal when Root took Avrora into her. 

“One might think of Dodekatos as originally being one part of the Fourth Primogenitor. However, we believe it is desirable to use her as a bargaining chip.” 

“…Bargaining?” 

Kojou put his guard up as he glared at Tooyama. The thought of their plan to use Avrora stirred up distrust and annoyance within him. 

Yet, even Kojou could grasp that logic. As she was now, Root wasn’t interested in negotiating for anything other than Kaleid Bloods, the keys to regaining her power. 

“—We intend to negotiate a peace treaty with the Fourth Primogenitor. Envoys from the Warlord’s Empire and the Fallen Dynasty have already landed on Itogami Island, along with the remaining five Kaleid Bloods in their possession.” 

“A peace treaty…huh…” 

I’m sure that’s their goal, thought Kojou. From Tooyama’s position, working in a special agency for the government, maintaining national security was the top priority. If sacrificing Avrora by herself would achieve that, Tooyama would hand her over without hesitation. But… 

“What if negotiations fail?” 

“We shall destroy the Fourth Primogenitor.” Tooyama’s declaration came without the slightest hesitation. 

Her scuffed-up cheeks warped as she smiled with pride. 

“The Lion King Agency has a trump card that can destroy a vampiric primogenitor. That is why we were chosen to be the Bookmaker.” 

2 

Tooyama lost consciousness before they arrived back on Itogami Island proper. Her incredible willpower allowed her to feign that she was all right, but her body had reached its limit. Kojou and Avrora cut through the throng of Island Guard personnel transferring Tooyama to the hospital as they exited the vehicle. From there, they headed to Kojou’s home. 

Most likely, the Island Guard hadn’t been informed whatsoever of Avrora’s true identity. Otherwise, there was no way they’d let the pair pass through without being tailed. 

Most of Itogami Island’s residents were staying indoors due to the infection tumult, which was a stroke of good fortune for Kojou and Avrora. With no one to point out their bloody clothes, they reached the Akatsuki family apartment. And then… 

“…So this is thy abode!” 

After Kojou led Avrora through the living room, the girl’s inquisitive eyes glimmered as she surveyed the interior of his bedroom. The sight made him fondly remember how she’d acted after they’d met. 

“Oh, right. This is actually the first time you’ve been in here.” 

He’d never invited Avrora to his room before due to his fear of the consequences of running into Nagisa or Mimori. Now, he somewhat regretted that fact. If she was going to be that happy about it, I oughta have brought her here lots of times, Kojou mused. 

“I-I smell thy scent.” 

“Well, duh.” 

As he gazed at Avrora burying her head into his bed, he forced a smile as he thought, She’s like a puppy. It probably wasn’t pleasant, and yet she did not look bothered by it. 

“And that is…?” 

“Ahh, that’s Nagisa’s room. She’ll be pissed if you go in without asking.” 

When Avrora pointed out the next room over, he replied and then gently bit his lip. He remembered that Nagisa might never return. 

With such thoughts running through Kojou’s head, Avrora stared at him, smiling fleetingly. 

“You have spent long months and years together.” 

“Well, we are siblings.” 

“Kojou.” 

Avrora still sat on top of the bed, but she stretched her back up as much as she could to watch Kojou. 

“…I ask thee. Wh-who am I?” 

“Hm?” 

Kojou looked back at the silent Avrora, not understanding. With an expression that lacked confidence, she seemed frightened as she continued. 

“I am not a primogenitor. I am not a Beast Vassal. I have no memory, no soul. I have been addressed as a doll, a false vessel.” 

“…You’re Avrora Florestina. You said it yourself, didn’t you?” 

Kojou’s prompt reply froze Avrora. She averted her eyes as she forced a smile, threatening to burst into tears at any moment. As she did so, Kojou put his own palm atop one of her cool hands and held it tightly. Avrora’s blue eyes opened wide, meeting Kojou’s in visible surprise. 

As usual, her fairylike beauty didn’t seem real. And yet— 

“See, you’re right here, just like I am. Nothing’s changed at all. In the first place, even homunculi have been accepted as having rights equal to demons. Call yourself an artificial vampire or a Beast Vassal or whatever you want.” 

“Kojou…” 

A little sob escaped Avrora; it seemed she was so overcome with emotion that her throat had grown tight. 

Now I’ve really opened my big mouth. Kojou grimaced and nearly blushed as he scratched his head. He went to the closet. Without fanfare, he dove in and pulled a paper bag out, tossing it at Avrora’s chest. 

“I almost forgot. Here, use this.” 

“…Attire…for me…?” 

Avrora busily rummaged in the bag and fished it out: a brand-new sailor uniform, still wrapped in plastic. It was a Saikai Academy girl’s uniform. 

It was the same style uniform he’d given Avrora the day that they met. Unlike that one, this wasn’t anything borrowed. The uniform was well and truly for Avrora. 

“I had Asagi order it. Of course, I couldn’t get you into the same school as us, so it’s the middle school one. You’ll be formally enrolled soon enough, so go ahead. Wear it.” 

Kojou stripped out of his bloody uniform and put a parka over a T-shirt. He’d have to cross open water. It was best to have more than one layer on his upper body. 

“Stay in this room till I get back. I’ll let Dad and Mom know. I’ll borrow that boat for a bit in the meantime.” 

“…So you will go to her…to Nagisa.” 

“Yeah. At this rate, I’ll forget about her, so I can’t just sit and wait here like an idiot. Besides, no way I’m handing you over to Root. Well, I’ll keep up the fight as long as I can.” 

He paused and gently placed a hand on Avrora’s head. 

Tooyama had said that Kojou would forget about Nagisa. Possibly, Root might come for Avrora before that. Kojou would lose a precious blood relative either way. As long as he sat and twiddled his thumbs, that fate was certain. 

So he’d go on the attack first. 

Kojou was a former basketball player. High-speed comebacks were second nature to him. He’d return to Old Southeast immediately. This time, he’d get Nagisa back. 

The problem was, he couldn’t think of a single decisive means of attack. After all, even if she wasn’t complete, his opponent was the World’s Mightiest Vampire. He couldn’t possibly beat her in a straight-up fight. But— 

“…Avrora?” 

Kojou was a little thrown off as she suddenly begin to rip apart the plastic wrapped around the uniform. Absentmindedly, he mused that she must have liked the uniform a lot. 

“Wait, what are you doing?!” 

Then, Avrora’s next action jolted Kojou out of his stupor. She stripped off her clothes, even though Kojou was right there. 

Ignoring the shell-shocked boy, Avrora slipped her arms through the sleeves of the uniform in earnest seriousness, leaving it unbuttoned in front. She let out a meek, little “Uu!” and for some reason, pushed out her chest. 

“…I-I permit thee to fasten these abominable buttons!” 

She addressed Kojou timidly. He was still working through his distress as he looked back at her. 

“Don’t tell me you’re planning on coming with me…?” 

His bewilderment was greater than his surprise. He was heading off to meet Root. And to Avrora, Root was higher up on the food chain. She was after the Beast Vassal sleeping inside of Avrora so that she could take it for herself. The next time the two girls faced off, the odds she’d be consumed like Enatos and the others was high. And yet… 

“I-I shall grant thy wish…of salvation for Nagisa…!” 

“Avrora… All right…” 

Kojou realized what she was saying. There was one—and only one—means of attack remaining. One way to save Nagisa without letting Avrora be wiped out in the process. 

It would put Avrora in danger. The odds of success were not high. Still, it beat the hell out of doing nothing save praying for a miracle. It was worth a shot. 

“Let’s go, then.” 

“I-indeed.” 

Their hands seemed to find each other’s as Kojou brought Avrora to her feet. He straightened out her outfit before heading to the entrance. 

Then Kojou stopped. At some point, someone had left a high-quality cardboard box outside the front door. He was pretty sure it wasn’t there when he and Avrora had arrived. 

As he reached toward the box, he thought this was kind of creepy. The box looked suspicious; it had a whole bunch of international shipping stickers on it. Well, it’s probably not a bomb at least, he thought, vigorously breaking the seals and peering inside. 

“…What the heck is this?” 

Kojou became even more confused. 

The contents of the box revealed a slender silver stake with strange characters engraved upon its surface— 

And a metal cartridge with three stabilizer fins on it. 

3 

A strange group stood atop the anchorage structure of a suspension bridge. 

One was a green-haired girl with amber eyes. Another was a tall, young man wearing a white coat. And there were three girls dressed in armor, all possessing blond hair that undulated like a blaze. 

“So Zaharias is dead, and the Fourth Primogenitor has awakened—,” said the amber-eyed girl without hiding her displeasure. 

She was the Third Primogenitor, Giada Kukulkin, also known as the Chaos Bride, ruler of her own Dominion. 

The object of her gaze was Island Old Southeast. Via the magical ritual Blazing Banquet, nearly twenty thousand souls had been transformed into pseudo-vampires, and the panic and mania still prevailed within the district. 

On the other hand, the area around the artificial island’s clock tower had returned to incomprehensible tranquility. None approached it, as if a majestic barrier had been deployed all around it. 

Even the hyperviolent pseudo-vampires, bereft of higher reason, instinctively understood. 

In that place, their sovereign had descended to Earth— 

“It irritates me that everyone is dancing atop the Bookmaker’s palm.” 

Behind her majesty-filled voice, Giada pouted much like a child who’d had her favorite toy confiscated. 

Root Avrora’s awakening, her bringing the Beast Vassals into herself, Zaharias being killed at her hands—all could be tolerated. The number of outbreak victims was under half the hypothesized worst case. These were tiny numbers, not even approaching a tenth of Itogami City’s total population. 

She was not dissatisfied about that, but she could not conceal her boredom. To a primogenitor afflicted with the curse of never aging, never dying, the awakening of the Fourth Primogenitor was like the finest of wine, fermented over the course of millennia. One might call it the ultimate amusement left by the Devas, the ancient superhuman race destroyed in the distant past. 

When Zaharias invaded the Fallen Dynasty, she had hoped this would get a little interesting, but when she opened the lid and glanced inside, she saw only a disappointingly neat and tidy resolution. This had left her in a sour mood. 

As if to console her, the tall, young aristocrat boldly grinned. “There is no need to be so pessimistic at this juncture—” 

“Of what do you speak, Vattler?” 

Giada lifted an eyebrow and sullenly glared at the young aristocrat. Dimitrie Vattler dramatically shrugged, smiling at Giada as if to annoy her. 

“The wild card the Lion King Agency overlooked appears to be on the move.” 

“Mmm… Dodekatos’s Blood Servant, then…” 

Giada grinned as she gazed at a tiny cruiser moored at the harbor, her interest apparently piqued. 

By all rationality, the vessel for a single Beast Vassal and her mere servant could never defeat the Fourth Primogenitor. Surely they fully understood the foolishness of their actions. However, should they challenge Root Avrora, an opponent they had no business defeating, it was worth seeing that choice through to the very end. 

After all, such foolish actions were in the Fourth Primogenitor’s true nature. 

The Fourth Primogenitor was a deity-killing weapon, an anomaly built to kill an unkillable “God.” If someone existed that could defeat the World’s Mightiest Vampire, that person would truly be a rarity to defy all logic. 

Giada continued to smile wryly beside Vattler, and her mood improved. 

“Well, setting that aside, where do you think you’re going…?” Vattler asked, glancing over his shoulder. 

Behind him were the three girls clad in armor. Apparently walking in the direction of Old Southeast, they stopped as soon as Vattler posed his question. 

Giada giggled in amusement and then exhaled. 

“Tritos, Tetartos, Pemptos—so you would run loose as the Kaleid Bloods of the Warlord’s Empire…?” 

Vattler glared at the blond girls as a ferocious smile appeared on his face. His intense hostility froze all three girls stiff. 

“You are bargaining chips for negotiations with the Fourth Primogenitor. You are free to sympathize with Nagisa Akatsuki, but I would prefer that you cease your nighttime frolicking.” 

“…!” 

The three girls, shaking their heads in defiance, tried to summon their respective Beast Vassals, but before they could, serpents appeared out of thin air, entwining themselves around the girls’ entire bodies. 

When they gawked in shock, they saw a pitch-black vortex, shrouded in infinite night. The maelstrom, dozens of meters in diameter, was a collection of thousands of intertwined serpents. The countless snakes wrapped around the girls as if intending to engulf them within the swirling mass. 

Vattler stated, as if pitying the girls, “Unfortunately, you girls cannot defeat me as you are.” 

The girls could not call forth their Beast Vassals due to the countless serpents devouring their demonic energy. Nor could the powerless girls shake them off by brute force. 

Even in that life-and-death crisis, the girls did not lose their will to fight. Full of hostility, they scowled at Vattler, as their gazes seemed to command, Do not interfere. 

“Ha-ha-ha-ha…! A fine show of spirit. That is why there is value in letting you go free.” 

Showered by the girl’s hostile gazes, an expression of delight came over Vattler. He was grateful to the bottom of his heart toward the beings radiating such enmity toward him. 

“If Grandfather had not forbidden it, I would find it amusing to consume you before the Fourth Primogenitor, but it is tedious to fight a battle I know I will win.” 

Vattler released the summons of his Beast Vassal. The girls, freed from the serpents’ bondage, were launched into the air. Unable to break their fall, all three landed hard on the road, groaning painfully. 

“Do as you like. Let us resume this once you have regained your proper power.” 

As if to forsake them, Vattler turned his back upon the three. Giada watched him with deep interest. 

“Hee-hee… What a pleasant man you are, Dimitrie Vattler… Thanks to you, it seems I shall be able to enjoy this banquet a while longer. I shall remember you.” 

The figure of the girl with green hair faded and vanished, as if it had been swallowed into thin air. Vattler watched her go with amusement as he bowed. 

“You honor me, Your Excellency—we shall meet again.” 

Transforming into golden mist, he, too, vanished. 

The spectators melted into the darkness as the banquet approached its conclusion. 

4 

The folded limbs opened, drawing a string taut, and the stock resembled that of a rifle. The folding fins of the cartridge fit neatly into the flight groove. 

“Just as I thought…” 

Kojou gripped the metal crossbow as he murmured. 

It was the crossbow Veldiana had handed to him in the MAR medical wing. He’d completely forgotten about it, but the silver stake delivered to the Akatsuki residence was apparently a bolt meant for that crossbow. Or, it might be more precise to state that the crossbow was a tool meant to fire that stake. 

“’T-tis the Key to that accursed coffin.” 

Avrora glared distastefully at the silver stake from a distance. There was a look of raw uncertainty in her eyes. 

“You know what this is, Avrora?” 

“A primogenitor-slaying holy lance. It nullifies demonic power and may rend any barrier.” 

“…I see… This is what Vel used to break the seal on you… Sounds pretty useful.” 

Due to Avrora’s typically grandiose manner of speaking, he wasn’t sure how much he could rely on her words. Even so, a stake that smashed the coffin of ice, half-wrecking the hospital building in the process—he thought it safe to assume it was indeed that powerful. Whether or not it was effective against Root Avrora, he figured it might have some use. 

Kojou folded the crossbow once more, sticking it and the stake under his belt. The tension around his waist made it harder to walk, but it was better than hauling it in a bulky bag. 

“So…how do we get this boat moving, anyway?” 

As Kojou spoke, his gaze shifted to the helm of the cruiser. 

This was The Liana, which Avrora and Veldiana had used as their home. With the connecting bridges now sealed, they had no way to cross to Old Southeast except getting that boat moving. 

Regardless, Kojou naturally had neither a boating license nor any experience steering a boat whatsoever. The area around the steering wheel was filled with instruments and levers he’d never seen before; to be blunt, he was at a total loss. The user’s manual was all in a foreign language, so he didn’t have the faintest idea what was written in it. 

“—Th-this product of iron culture is beyond my understanding.” 

Avrora was just as confounded as he was. She’d only slept on the boat. She’d never seen it actually piloted even once. Since it’d been sitting there for over half a year, Kojou wondered whether the engine would even start. But… 

“My goodness, you make a sorry sight. Did you really think you could make it to Old Southeast like this?” 

They suddenly heard a voice with a bitter laugh. Kojou and Avrora turned around in surprise. 

There stood Veldiana Caruana. The brown-haired vampiress was wearing blood-stained clothing as she limply reclined against a pillar on the deck. 

“…Vel…?! You’re alive?” Kojou stared in astonishment. 

Even with the woman herself in front of him, he couldn’t believe Veldiana had made it out of Quartz Gate alive after suffering such serious injuries. 

“Do not underestimate a vampire’s life force. It’ll take more than that to kill me.” 

Veldiana spoke in a strong voice that suited her proud personality, yet it was clear that she was weak. Her lips were pale, and she could not stand without something to support her. It looked like it took everything she had just to remain conscious. 

“…Veldiana…thy spring of blood is already…” 

“It’s all right, Avrora. I’ll be all right.” 

As Avrora addressed her in a trembling voice, Veldiana gently shook her head. 

“Zaharias is gone. What do you want with Avrora now?” Kojou asked in a low voice, having recovered from his initial surprise. 

It wasn’t that he was unhappy Veldiana was alive, but she’d tried to kill Kojou, so he harbored a grudge. Furthermore, he hadn’t forgotten how she’d dragged Avrora away against her will. 

“…I will not say I desire forgiveness. I could not excuse Zaharias for what he had done. I thought, if I could kill him, losing everything was fine, but…” 

Veldiana squarely met Kojou’s glaring eyes and smiled weakly. 

“But once I learned that I was only being used by Zaharias and Nelapsi, I lost my way—what I’ve lived for until now… Therefore, I can at least see this through to the end.” 

“…You’re going to get us to Old Southeast?” 

Once Kojou understood what Veldiana was implying, he felt conflicted. It wasn’t that he doubted her. Even when she’d absconded with Avrora, even when she’d flown off the handle, it just wasn’t in Veldiana’s nature to deceive others. He was grateful for her proposal, simple as that. It was her wounds that worried him. 

“At the very least, I can steer better than you two.” 

“But you’ve lost so much blood…” 

“There’s no time, is there? If we flounder around, you’ll lose your chance to save Nagisa.” 

Veldiana’s words silenced Kojou. She seemed well aware of just what he and Avrora were trying to do. 

“…I permit it.” 

In place of the hesitant Kojou, it was Avrora who murmured. She gently handed Veldiana the key to the cruiser that she’d been holding. 

“Leave it to me.” 

Veldiana took the key and wobbled her way to the boat’s helm, sitting before it. With an unpracticed hand, she started the engine, switched on the headlights, and made the other preparations for departure. 

“The rope?” 

“I pulled it aboard just now.” 

“Okay. Let’s go, then!” 

Veldiana, speaking with an oddly enthusiastic tone, roughly operated a lever. Instantly, the boat moved in an unexpected direction, slamming right into one moored beside it. 

“Hey…Vel?! Can you really steer this thing?!” Kojou shouted, dangerously close to being tossed off the deck. 

Avrora desperately clung to the guardrail, her face blanched. 

“It’s just a little bump. As long as we don’t sink, it’s all good!” Veldiana retorted, agitated, as she spun the wheel hard. The boat emitted a disagreeable sound as it turned, somehow moving out of the marina. 

The shaking was a lot worse than Kojou had expected. It wasn’t so much that the ocean waves were high as the simple fact that Veldiana was bad at steering. Even so, she got the hang of it later on, brought the wobbly boat under control a bit more, and accelerated toward Old Southeast. Even though it hadn’t had any maintenance to speak of, the boat wasn’t in bad shape at all. 

Fortunately, since passage by boat was prohibited, no one else was in the water. If not for that, they might have smashed into another boat and ended up in Davy Jones’s Locker. 

However, as their boat ride continued, Old Southeast came fully into view and signaled the end of their good fortune. Noticing that Kojou and the others were approaching without permission, black-painted patrol boats converged on them. 

“Vel, it’s the Island Guard!” 

“We’ll break through! Hang on tight!” 

Veldiana opened the engine to full throttle, paying no heed to how high the boat leaped. Since Veldiana was unafraid of collisions, her reckless piloting gave the Island Guard a hard time. 

—But only for a moment. The patrol boats, getting back into formation, turned as a coordinated group. They approached Kojou and crew, pressing upon them from right and left. Suddenly, pale sparks scattered up onto the boat. A bullet had flown toward them, ripping through the darkness, kicking up droplets of sea spray from the water’s surface. Commands to stop their boat issued over speakers, mixing with the echoes of ceaseless gunfire. 

“—They’re shooting at us?! Seriously?!” 

“I-it’s just warning shots, right?!” 

“Nah… They’re probably aiming for the engine! They’re trying to stop us so they can arrest us!” 

While Kojou and the others wavered, the patrol craft tightened the distance. The accuracy of their automatic weapons increased, ripping a hole in The Liana’s side. It was just a matter of time until they were dead in the water. 

“—Please, Ganglot!” 

Nervously, Veldiana stood up from her seat and abruptly summoned a Beast Vassal. The three-headed dog, manifesting above the sea, pounded fire onto the surface of the water before its paws; the shock wave put plenty of distance between them and the patrol craft. 

“What the—?!” Kojou’s eyes snapped wide as he shouted. “Are you nuts?! You’re using a Beast Vassal on the Island Guard?!” 

“Well, we’d never have gotten away if I hadn’t!” 

“I’m a felon now… They’ll kick me out of school.” 

He uttered the words without thinking; then he suddenly broke into laughter. Here Kojou was, challenging the World’s Mightiest Vampire to battle. He didn’t know if he’d make it back alive. That he was still worried about school struck him as funny. 

“This is fun, huh, Kojou?” 

He saw that Veldiana was laughing, too. She seemed to have lost her obsession. The side of her invigorated face was smeared with blood, and she was in pain, but she looked like she’d never been happier in her life. 

“I really am having fun. I was afraid to admit it until now, but meeting you and Avrora, the time I’ve spent living on Itogami Island, I’ve had fun. I should have accepted that much sooner.” 

“Vel…don’t tell me that…,” Kojou blurted out, staring at Veldiana’s beaming expression. 

The Beast Vassal she’d summoned faded away, leaving a pale glow behind. Cut off from Veldiana’s supply of demonic energy, it was unable to maintain a physical form. 

As Veldiana gripped the steering wheel, her body was shrouded in silver mist as it broke down bit by bit. She couldn’t maintain her form, either. Her body had already sustained a mortal wound from Zaharias’s gunshot. The life that she’d stubbornly clung to using her demonic energy was petering out. 

The shore of Old Southeast was coming into view. It was less than several hundred meters away. But the boat had stopped short of that, its engine killed by Island Guard gunfire. 

Kojou violently pounded the boat and exclaimed, “Shit… After coming this far…!” 

Just a little farther and they would have made it to Old Southeast. If the Island Guard put them in handcuffs, this time they’d completely lose all opportunity to rescue Nagisa. 

What should we do? Kojou clenched his fist once more. When he did, a tiny hand, cool to the touch, embraced it with fleeting strength. 

“Kojou, take my hand…” 

“Avrora?” 

Kojou firmly took the blond vampire girl’s hand into his, their fingers intertwining. Then, the girl thrust their hands toward the surface of the water. 

He felt heat in a rib on his right side as her thoughts and demonic power flowed into it. 

Then, a great chill was unleashed. 

The sea was dyed pure white, with their boat at the very center. The water surface froze solid, its waves intact. The cold was overwhelming, beyond even the freezing magic of sorcerers of the highest caliber— 

This was the power of a Beast Vassal. The power of one of the Fourth Primogenitor’s twelve Beast Vassals, sealed in its vessel, Avrora. That is what this girl unleashed. 

When Kojou looked back, his eyes wide in surprise, Avrora was smiling, and she seemed ready to cry. 

“Kojou, take Avrora’s aid and go…! Quickly…!” Veldiana insisted, still squatting limply on the deck. 

He nodded without a word and led Avrora off the deck by the hand. 

The surface of the sea was completely frozen. The ice was probably several meters thick. If they advanced on top of it, Old Southeast would be right there. 

Avrora looked back at Veldiana and shouted, “…Th-thank you, Veldiana!” 

Veldiana gently watched her go before closing her eyes. 

“That’s my line… Avrora…thank…y…ou…” 

A satisfied smile came over Veldiana as silver mist enveloped her entire body. 

Softly shimmering under the moonlight, the mist finally melted into the darkness, rode a quiet breeze, and vanished. 

5 

Avrora’s chill reached even the coast of Old Southeast, dyeing the surroundings white. It was a beautiful sight, but Kojou had no time to take it in. 

“……” 

There were numerous human silhouettes on the beach. Nearly all were infected pseudo-vampires. Even just the ones within his field of vision numbered over a thousand. 

About 80 percent were wandering around the island in search of new sacrifices, but the remaining 20 percent were curled up on the beach, unmoving. Their powerless eyes remained open, displaying no emotion. Kojou knew the cause. Their memories had been taken by the Fourth Primogenitor—Root Avrora. With their memories ripped out, they didn’t even have the will to live, so they simply stayed there in a daze, waiting for death. 

This was what it meant to be a human sacrifice to the Fourth Primogenitor. This was the reality of the Blazing Banquet. 

“…So all of ’em are pseudo-vamps…” 

Noticing Kojou and Avrora’s approach, the pseudo-vampires, spurred by the urges of the infection, converged their gazes as a group. There were hundreds of infected still able to move. However, the physical capabilities of the infected didn’t hold a candle to those of a Blood Servant like Kojou. It seemed they’d have to break through the encirclement to meet with Root again. 

That said, Avrora couldn’t exactly use her Beast Vassal; it was simply too powerful. If she summoned it in this circumstance, it would mean the slaughter of over a thousand infected. 

“…N-no hindrance. There is no need for concern.” 

With Kojou hesitant, Avrora walked forward, pulling his hand along. 

When the infected saw her, they wavered. With each step Avrora took forward, the human wave parted, making her a path. 

As sacrifices to the Fourth Primogenitor, they were unable to attack Avrora, who was a part of her, even though her timid, quivering demeanor was nothing like a princess’s majesty. 

“Where is Nagisa?” 

Slipping past the pseudo-vampires’ encirclement, Kojou and Avrora headed toward Quartz Gate. As Kojou half expected, there was no sign of any human presence around the half-wrecked glass castle. The barrier around the altar for the Blazing Banquet was still intact. 

“O-over there!” 

Avrora was pointing toward the tall clock tower that resembled a hexagonal crystal. At the top of the tower, Kojou could see the girl who’d adopted Nagisa’s appearance wearing an arrogant expression as she seemed to sneer down at the entirety of the world. 

Kojou stood in the plaza buried in rubble, stared up at her, and shouted: 

“…Root!” 

As if on cue, the clock tower’s bell began tolling, low and heavy. It was like the peals were greeting Kojou and Avrora for a funeral. 

Root coldly gazed down at Avrora. 

“So you have returned, Dodekatos. I had thought you would be pathetically trying to flee in a panic.” 

As Avrora’s hand quivered in apparent fear, Kojou strongly squeezed it and stepped forward. 

Then, he looked up at the black-haired girl and commanded, “Root Avrora…give Nagisa back!” 

“The servant of a doll dares to give me a command?” the girl in his sister’s body murmured, somehow beside herself at this. Then she smiled, beautifully and coldly. 

“’Tis fine. Servant, thy labors have made Dodekatos grow well.” 

“…Grow?” 

Kojou stole a glance at the side of Avrora’s face. It was impossible for a vampire’s unaging, undying body to grow in a mere six months. As a matter of fact, Avrora looked exactly like she did on the day Kojou had met her. 

“Memories lacking strong emotions are akin to watered-down wine. The memories provided to me by the human sacrifices are insufficient. During the time of my long sleep, compelled by that abominable seal, the Beast Vassals were granted vessels in the forms of persons and scattered around the world. But for what purpose?” 

“…So that they could get their own personal histories, huh?” 

Kojou instantly replied to Root’s question. Perhaps she found that unexpected, because the girl taking the form of Nagisa nodded in apparent delight. 

“It is so. However, the mere prolonged passage of time is meaningless. ’Tis the accumulation of powerful emotions and feelings that lends Beast Vassals strength. Feelings strong enough that they would defy even me, their host.” 

“……” 

Avrora did not avert her eyes in fear, continuing to stare straight at Root. 

Beast Vassals were sentient masses of demonic energy, beings summoned from another world. And in turn, the twelve dolls built as vessels for those Beast Vassals were granted free will. The sealed Beast Vassals resonated according to the dolls’ emotions, and those emotions became power. 

Obtaining emotions strong enough to defy the host meant that her Beast Vassal had grown in power; hence, why Root was delighted that Avrora was defying her. After all, an increase in the Beast Vassal’s power meant an increase in the master’s—Root’s—as well. 

“However, your duty is at an end, servant. Leave Dodekatos here and go.” 

The girl taking the form of Nagisa shifted her gaze toward Kojou, looking at him like he was an annoying ant. Her eyes communicated that she was only letting him go on a whim. 

Yet, Kojou locked eyes with her, murmuring with a heavy sigh, “Shut up already.” 

“…What?” 

Root’s face twitched at Kojou’s improbable reaction. 

He grabbed the crossbow hanging from his hip and spread out its folded limbs. With a Blood Servant’s physical strength, he pulled the string taut one-handed, loading the cartridge with the silver stake into the crossbow. 

“I said it once already. Give Nagisa back.” 

Kojou trained the crossbow on Root, crudely baring his canine teeth as he smiled. 

“I’m taking her back. I don’t care if you’re a god-killing weapon! This ain’t just for Avrora’s sake, or for Nagisa’s—from here on, this is my fight!” 

“So that is thy desire, filthy servant…!” 

Root howled in response to Kojou’s challenge. 

Even if Root considered him an underdeveloped Blood Servant, she hadn’t thought a lowly human would pick a fight with her since the day she was constructed. Naturally, she was indignant. 

Wings the color of an aurora sprung from Root’s back one by one, until a giant, illusory beast had formed. Her upper body was a beautiful woman; her lower body, an enormous serpent. Her flowing hair was composed of countless snakes. She was a pale, watery Undine—a naga. 

“A Beast Vassal!” 

Mere contact with the water droplets from the mermaid broke the rubble of Quartz Gate down into sand. 

Kojou was aghast at the bizarrely destructive spectacle. Bathed in the mermaid’s attack, the glass reverted to silica, water, and carbon; the concrete, into clods of earth. Then, the steel girders, wrought by the hands of men, returned to their former state—deconstructed down to the atomic level. Root’s Beast Vassal was a monster that seemed to roll back time itself, reducing civilization to nothingness. 

Even an unaging, undying vampire would surely be annihilated without a trace if it touched that naga. It wasn’t something Kojou could take on by himself. Certainly, on his own, he— 

“Kojou!” 

Avrora thrust her right hand forward; Kojou grasped it. As they reached out, they shouted in unison: 

“C’mon over—Alrescha Glacies!” 

This time, the Beast Vassal sealed within Avrora fully revealed itself. 

It was beautiful, short of ten meters in length. The upper body resembled a human female, but the lower half had the body of a fish. Transparent wings sprang from her back; the nails on her fingertips were like sharp claws. 

The enormous cold that served the monstrous avian—perhaps an icy mermaid, perhaps a Siren—collided with the torrent that surrounded the naga. 

The cold froze the ferocious maelstrom, and the ice became water again. The two Beast Vassals’ abilities were equally matched. But the aftershocks of the vast demonic energy alone made the artificial ground of Old Southeast shudder. 

“So my Beast Vassal follows a mere servant?” the girl taking Nagisa’s form murmured in ridicule. Her fiery eyes glimmered as the wings on her back glowed brighter in turn. “However, it is for naught. Your defeat is inevitable.” 

Using three of her aurora wings, she summoned three new Beast Vassals. One was a divine sheep with a body of diamonds; another was a giant, amber-colored minotaur; and the third was a scarlet bicorn that wavered like a mirage. 

The divine sheep covered in countless gemstones fired the jewels out like shrapnel. The icy, monstrous avian, continuing to battle the naga on equal terms, had no opportunity to respond. Under the deluge of gemstone bullets, it wavered heavily; Avrora exhaled in anguish. 

“Return to me, Dodekatos. The banquet draws to an end—” 

Root commanded the next Beast Vassal to attack. The amber minotaur shook the ground as it hoisted its giant battle-ax high. The battle-ax glowed from the incredible demonic energy with which it was imbued. It, too, must have been some kind of special offensive power. 

The target of the minotaur’s attack was not the avian creature, but Kojou and Avrora. Even had the battle-ax been normal-sized, they would not have escaped unscathed, but the monster’s body was over ten meters tall, with the ax it had swung high more enormous still. Even without a direct hit, the shock wave alone would surely turn them into mincemeat. With their Beast Vassal already occupied, Kojou and Avrora had no means to resist it— 

“What?!” 

It was neither Kojou nor Avrora who let out a voice of surprise, but Root. 

Boom! An incredible roar shot above Kojou’s and Avrora’s heads. It was a bullet formed from an incredible shock wave that rivaled the explosive pressure of a thermobaric bomb. The supersonic impact scored a direct hit on the minotaur’s body, sending it flying dozens of meters away. 

“Wh… Why dost thou defy me, Enatos…?!” 

The girl taking Nagisa’s form furrowed her eyebrows in anger as she shouted. She was glaring at the deep scarlet Beast Vassal she herself had summoned, the bicorn with its entire body shrouded in incredible vibrations. It had unleashed a shock wave, attacking the minotaur, and saving Kojou and Avrora in the process. 

Avrora’s breath caught as she gazed up at the huge, majestic bicorn. 

“Al-Nasl Minium…” 

“That’s…Enatos?” 

As if to shield the two, the deep crimson Beast Vassal landed and glared at the minotaur. Kojou gazed at the sight, shaking his head in amazement. 

“Don’t tell me…you’re paying me back for the ice cream?! For that tiny little thing?!” 

The bicorn looked back at the surprised Kojou… He felt like it was giving him a smug smile. 

Seeing that, Kojou remembered. The Kaleid Bloods, built to be vessels for the Beast Vassals, had free will. Furthermore, the Beast Vassals resonated according to the girls’ emotions. 

With those feelings, Enatos had chosen Kojou. She had chosen to protect Kojou, not Root, her proper master. 

It was powerful emotions piled atop one another that increased a Beast Vassal’s power; feelings powerful enough to turn one against its master—Root had said so herself. 

“Very well, Beast Vassals. Then show me how well you protect your precious servant!” 

Root Avrora, standing on top of the block tower, stretched a hand high toward the sky above. Kojou, sensing something strange far above his head, instinctively looked up. 

“What the—?!” 

There, he saw a falling star: a huge meteor enveloped by incandescent flames. Even though it was still above a cloud, he could clearly make out its form with the naked eye. 

The “meteor” was actually a giant weapon: an ancient armament known as a Vajra sword, a sharp, demon-slaying blade said to be used by the gods. The enormous blade easily surpassed a hundred meters in length, but it was falling from the sky, pulled by gravity thousands of meters from the ground. 

Kojou was afraid to even imagine the destruction of its impact. 

Avrora’s expression froze over as she intoned its name. 

“…Kiffa Ater!” 

Even during that time, the Vajra sword’s speed increased, and the distance between it and the ground shrank. 

“You’re…kidding. That’s a Beast Vassal, too…?!” 

Kojou’s face contorted in despair. He was aware of Beast Vassals known as Intelligent Weapons. However, that black sword was far beyond that scale; a far more suitable name would be The Judgment of God. 

The fall of a Sword of Judgment would surely inflict lethal damage in a radius of tens of kilometers—a simple ability, one specialized for destruction. That made it all the harder to defend against. Even with the aid of the icy avian and the bicorn’s strength, could they really intercept it? 

Those two Beast Vassals had their hands full holding Root’s other Beast Vassals at bay, anyway. Kojou and Avrora were out of options. 

The Sword of Judgment accelerated, as if aware of Kojou’s unease. The air eerily vibrated. The glowing sword hurtled toward them from above, making the sky as bright as the sun at high noon. 

That light was falling. It was as if the very sky was crashing down upon their heads— 

Having come that far, it was only a moment before it reached the ground. And yet, the feared moment of destruction for Itogami Island never arrived. 

“Wha…?!” 

Kojou felt as if he clearly made out Root’s voice, shouting in astonishment. 

At first, there was only a golden glow. 

A huge lion of lightning emerged from a spray of gold-colored thunderbolts, and the Beast Vassal of the same color faced the falling black sword and roared. The incredible thunder shot out from the surface changed shape into an enormous electromagnetic field covering the sky above Old Southeast. 

As the sword plunged into the field, its velocity created a powerful magnetic field of its own. 

The lightning lion unleashed another thunderbolt. The sudden change to the field launched the Sword of Judgment away. 

Kojou realized that the sword, falling due to the pull of gravity, had been smacked away by the physics of electromagnetic induction. 

Having been given a new vector, the sword shifted its angle. It was no longer falling, but rather slicing through the air toward the horizon, and it vanished. 

It would fall to earth no more, but that did not mean the shock wave it created had been completely eradicated. The delayed shock wave reached the ground, landing a direct hit on Old Southeast. 

The force was not as great as the falling sword itself, but it possessed more than enough destructive potential to pulverize the Gigafloat’s foundation. 

The surface of the ground, covered by resin and metal, caved in. Even its deepest depths underground were laid bare in one blow. The Gigafloat’s mainframe was severed, and the entire island began splitting apart left and right. Every glass window on every building shattered, and buildings collapsed one after another. It all happened in an instant. 

Old Southeast did not immediately sink, for the design of the Gigafloat was fundamentally sound. Even so, every internal block of the island had begun to flood. The island would sink; it was just a matter of time. 

Despite all this, Kojou and Avrora, who were at ground zero, were unharmed. 

They had been saved by a silver mist. The dense fog, springing up beneath the Sword of Judgment’s fall, had enveloped their bodies and protected them from the explosive impact. 

Root, standing on the tilting clock tower, spoke bitterly as she gazed at the ground. 

“You two are…!” 

The lion shrouded by lightning, and the silver, carapaced beast enveloped in deep mist— 

The two Beast Vassals that had protected Kojou and Avrora from the Sword of Judgment glared at Root with naked enmity. 

Avrora shouted the Beast Vassals’ names with surprise. “Regulus Aurum…! Natra Cinereus…!” 

“What’s goin’ on here?” Kojou was thrown for a loop. Why were Beast Vassals they didn’t know helping them out—? 

Kojou gasped and looked up at Root. At the girl taking Nagisa’s form. 

“Nagisa…?! They’re trying to save Nagisa, too?!” 

There was only one reason that Beast Vassals unknown to either Kojou or Avrora would be facing off against Root. They had to be on Nagisa’s side. 

Kojou didn’t know why—and possibly, even Nagisa herself didn’t know—but they might have been fond of her. And so, they were lending Kojou and Avrora their strength to save her. At the very least, that’s what Kojou believed. In that moment, it was enough. 

“Ugh…!” 

Root’s lips twisted at the unforeseen situation. Having just awakened, she had not yet achieved complete lordship over the Beast Vassals. This had invited rebellion from Enatos and others, putting her at a disadvantage. It had also set the stage for Kojou and Avrora to turn things around. 

Pressed as she was, Root’s footing crumbled beneath her. The hexagonal crystal clock tower’s foundation was erased, as if the very space it occupied had been carved away. 

A pair of intertwined dragons had destroyed it. 

The two-headed creature, covered in scales of mercury, ate the clock tower, dragging Root down to earth. 

“Al-Meissa Mercury!” 

“—Tritos?!” 

Avrora and Root shouted respectively. Root, continuing to fall, plucked out her last remaining wing and summoned a sixth Beast Vassal. 

This was a monster enveloped by incandescent flames, with a shark’s teeth, a lion’s body, a bee-like tail, and bat wings—a mythological beast known as a manticore. 

Even so, the Beast Vassals obeying Root did not exceed those that had allied with Kojou and Avrora. The mercury-colored two-headed dragon wrapped around the manticore and pulled it away from Root. 

“—It’s over, Root Avrora!” 

With the dark-haired girl fallen to the ground, Kojou sprinted at her. Now that she’d released all of her Beast Vassals, Root was defenseless. When she turned around, Kojou restrained her movements by force. 

“Lowly servant! Know thy place!” 

The girl in Nagisa’s body thrust a hand toward Kojou’s flank. No doubt she intended to rip his rib away as she’d done when wiping out Zaharias. However, Kojou had intended for that to happen. 

“Won’t work!” 

Kojou firmly held down Root’s arm. Setting demonic energy aside, even Kojou could restrain her purely based on their difference in physical strength. With the two so close, Root couldn’t use her black wings, either. They were too powerful; attacking with them would hurt Nagisa’s body, too. 

“Nngh?!” 

Root became nervous when she realized she’d been immobilized. On top of that, standing behind her was a blond vampire girl—Avrora. 

“Dodekatos?! Why you—!” Root screamed. 

Avrora nestled against her from behind, touching her lips against Nagisa’s pale neck. Her sharp fangs pierced the soft skin. 

Root’s eyes opened wide in shock. 

“I see…this was your scheme all along! You cannibal!!” 

Fresh blood trickled down her neck. 

The strength drained from Nagisa’s body. Kojou gently let go of her outstretched arms. 

The black-haired girl’s body went limp in the blond girl’s embrace. And then— 

Then, the two became one. 

6 

The bell continued to sound. 

The tolling of the ruined clock tower. 

The two girls were unmoving, almost like statues, as Kojou stood affixed to the spot, watching. 

Cannibalism— 

Or perhaps, overwriting. 

This was what the masses called a vampire drinking another vampire’s blood, taking the other’s “bloodline” and “abilities” into oneself. However, bringing another being inside of oneself posed the risk of being taken over in turn, and having one’s own essence overwritten. 

Tooyama had spoken of such overwriting as one way to save Nagisa. Namely, if she were to take over Root Avrora’s essence, Nagisa would become the Fourth Primogenitor while keeping her own personality intact. 

Although, the chances of that actually happening in reality were basically zero. There was no way that Nagisa, a mere human, could hijack the Fourth Primogenitor. 

Then what if the one doing the overwriting was not a human, but a vampire? 

What if it was one constructed as the Fourth Primogenitor’s watcher, and the vessel for her seal—? 

This was the answer Kojou and Avrora had arrived at. The one and only possibility to save both Nagisa and Avrora. 

Avrora’s fangs remained in Nagisa’s neck. She was inviting Root Avrora, the entity possessing Nagisa’s body, into herself. 

Avrora wasn’t moving, almost like she was frozen. Inside her, the two souls were probably waging a fierce battle for lordship of their abilities that very moment. 

“……” 

Kojou gently trained the silver stake loaded into the crossbow on Avrora’s heart. 

She’d said that the stake was a primogenitor-killing holy lance. If those words were true, it was his ace in the hole for destroying the Fourth Primogenitor. 

If Avrora could overwrite Root’s soul, great. On the other hand, if the time came that she was consumed by Root, Kojou would shoot her. 

Even Kojou didn’t know if he could really shoot Avrora, but if he left Root to her own devices, it would mean certain death for the large number of people caught up in the Blazing Banquet. Nagisa would probably be beyond saving. So Kojou would have to shoot. He had to do it even if he didn’t want to. Then… 

“Avrora…!” 

The clock tower’s bell struck one more time. 

The next moment, the purportedly unconscious Nagisa burst into laughter. 

It was not Nagisa’s. It was clearly filled with scorn. 

“Avrora…! It didn’t work?!” 

Kojou put his finger on the crossbow’s trigger. He felt like he was praying as he awaited Avrora’s answer. Nagisa continued to laugh until her beautiful voice trailed off. 

“Victory is…yours…” 

Haltingly, Nagisa murmured with satisfaction. Then, she closed her eyes as if falling asleep. 

Avrora supported Nagisa’s exhausted body and turned to Kojou. Nagisa’s blood was dripping from the blond girl’s lips. 

Kojou glared at Avrora’s blue, glimmering eyes and asked, “Root…right?” 

Those eyes blinked in apparent surprise as Avrora shook her head. Her gesture seemed timid somehow, just like the Avrora Kojou knew well. 

“I-I fulfill my promise to thee…” 

Avrora murmured with a hint of pride as she set Nagisa’s body on the ground. 

Kojou recalled her promise. Nagisa’s salvation—she said to Kojou that she would fulfill that wish. And she had done that, perhaps knowing full well what it meant. 

“You…fused with Root, didn’t you, Avrora?” 

“……” 

Avrora’s silence was its own reply. 

“I see.” Kojou lowered the crossbow. He took a step toward her. 

She backed away without a word. 

Snowflakes had begun dancing in the air around her. Snow never fell on the artificial island with never-ending summer. The cold air, enveloping the area around her, formed thick frost under her feet. 

As Avrora tried to distance herself, Kojou drew close, taking her hand. 

“Kojou…” 

Avrora’s mouth opened, as if the girl wanted to say something. When she hesitated, Kojou spoke. 

“You’re planning to sleep again, aren’t you?” 

“…!” 

Avrora bit her lip in surprise. From her reaction, Kojou knew he’d hit the mark. 

She had indeed succeeded in overwriting Root, but that was probably only temporary. Avrora, no more than a vessel for a Beast Vassal, could not defeat the Cursed Soul created by the Devas. One day, Root would return; and next time, Avrora would probably fall completely under her domination. 

Hence, she would seal herself away. 

She would use the power of her Beast Vassal to encase herself in ice, just like in the ruin where she had slept for so long. She no doubt meant to continue to sleep alone, for hundreds, even thousands of years. 

I won’t let that happen, thought Kojou. I won’t let her be alone again. 

“I’m sticking with you. I’d be worried if I took my eyes off you.” 

“…Kojou?” 

“You’ll be in a bind without me next time you wake up, right? What’ll you do when you’ve gotta fasten a button?” 

Kojou laughed. Avrora looked up at him, ready to cry. 

Then her gaze fell to Kojou’s hand. After that, she suddenly chuckled softly. As she stared into Kojou’s eyes, her pupils held the quaint warmth peculiar to those who had resolved to face their fate. 

“…I have granted thy wish… Now it is…your turn, Kojou…” 

“Huh?” 

Avrora’s indecipherable words suddenly terrified Kojou. 

Against his will, his right hand rose—the hand grasping the metal crossbow. The silver stake loaded into it gently shifted toward Avrora’s heart. 

“Avrora?!” 

Seeing the glow in Avrora’s eyes made Kojou realize what was happening. Kojou was her—the Fourth Primogenitor’s—Blood Servant. She was controlling Kojou’s body. 

And she was commanding it to shoot her. 

“Stop…! Stop this, Avrora!” 

Kojou desperately resisted, but his body would not listen. He could not defy the curse of the blood. 

Yes. There was one other way to stop Root from reviving. Avrora would have to be wiped away while carrying Root’s soul within her. Vampire primogenitors were said to have been cursed with immortality. However, loaded in Kojou’s crossbow was a purging holy lance for killing those very primogenitors. 

“The Cursed Soul, constructed as a weapon, shall vanish here, along with me…but…” 

With Kojou unable to move, Avrora pierced his neck with her fangs. From there, Kojou felt something flowing into him. It was “power” in and of itself. To completely destroy the Cursed Soul, Avrora was splitting off the Fourth Primogenitor’s power and passing that on to Kojou. Then she and Root would disappear together to save Itogami Island, Kojou’s world— 

“I entrust thee with all of the Fourth Primogenitor’s power. Take it.” 

“Stop, Avrora!” 

Avrora subtly licked Kojou’s blood as something like a tearful smile came over her. 

Then, her eyes gently closed. In accordance with her will, Kojou’s finger pulled the trigger. 

“Kojou…” 

What were the last words from her lips—? 

The silver holy lance made a sound as light as a feather as it was fired, impaling her through the chest. 

Kojou’s vision was blotted out by a bright white light. White snowflakes danced amid the raging torrent of demonic energy. 

And then, Kojou fell asleep. 

A deep, deep slumber of oblivion. 

The last thing Kojou saw was his own eyes, reflected by a piece of broken glass— 

Crimson eyes, wet with tears.