Strike the Blood - Volume 8 - Chapter Pr

INTRO 

The room was cold and dark. 

It was bleak and underground with exposed metal framework. Countless tubes and insulated cables crawled across the walls and floor like snakes, creating a chaotic picture that resembled a living being’s circulatory system. 

The facility was probably a cutting-edge lab—but isolated, a secret block that no sane researcher would ever set foot in. Viewed up close, the tranquil sight was either a mausoleum to preserve a highly valuable corpse or perhaps a cage to seal an abominable demon. 

The density of the mist suddenly increased. 

The thick fog swirled and grew even heavier, finally solidifying into the form of a lone girl: a vampiress wearing a black leather coat. Based on her appearance, she was seventeen or eighteen with glossy brown hair. Her face bore a child’s innocence, giving the impression that she didn’t have a violent bone in her body. Her singular casual motions exuded a faint sense of refinement. 

Yet the expression on her face was stiff from tension. 

Her crimson eyes focused on the center of the underground lab. There, atop a metal pedestal, sat a block of transparent ice, probably over six meters in diameter. It looked like a beautifully cut gemstone, with complex facets seemingly crafted by a practiced hand. 

Inside the ice was the silhouette of a small human girl, hugging her knees as she continued to sleep. 

She had a beautiful face, like a fairy’s. Her long, faintly blond hair resembled a rainbow, with changing colors at different angles. 

She was a stunning sprite that somehow gave off an air of malevolence. She slumbered on quietly inside the cold, icy coffin—a sleeping princess who’d been cursed by a witch… 

“…” 

The brown-haired vampiress glared at the frozen tomb, slowly raising her right hand. 

That hand gripped a black, foldable crossbow. 

Its barrel was already loaded with a bolt—a metal one that glowed silver. With a diameter of some four centimeters, it was less of a bolt than a stake. Its surface was packed with finely engraved magic symbols, and each one emitted a pale glow. 

“…Forgive us…” 

The vampiress shut her eyes and weakly murmured, as if seeking forgiveness. 

“Avrora Florestina, the twelfth Kaleid Blood…please… We are sorry for awakening you…” 

She bit her lip as she set her finger on the crossbow’s trigger. 

Her arm jerked slightly, and the string gave a savage cry. 

The silver bolt she had fired ripped through the chilly air and impaled the icy coffin. That instant, a brilliant flash blotted out her field of vision. 

The explosive demonic energy she had just unleashed went wild, scattering and bursting the tubes and cables. The concrete ceiling began to crumble. 

With a great roar, the ice block shattered. The girl’s hair gently danced in a pure, white whirlwind of freezing air. And her rainbow hair glowed like billowing flames— 

He awoke to the sensation of chains around him. 

When he closely examined his surroundings, which looked like the scene of an industrial accident, Kojou Akatsuki found himself confined to a cheap, metal pipe chair, with slightly rusted steel shackles binding his arms behind him. 

“The hell…is this…?” 

Kojou blinked his uncooperative eyelids, raising his head with a confused look. 

The room was antique, like something straight out of the dungeon of a castle from the Middle Ages. The walls were built from uneven, natural stones, but they were so thick he had trouble breathing. A small window had been carved out of the stone wall, letting the rays of the evening sun pour in, red like the color of blood. There was an orange carpet spread over the floor. He’d never seen this room before. 

“Manacles?” 

Kojou let out a low groan as he felt the cold metal bite into his skin. Apparently, not only were both arms chained behind his back, but his wrists were secured to the chair as well. He’d seen this in plenty of Hollywood movies—a captured hoodlum being interrogated to turn on his organization. 

The hell’s going on? Kojou thought, his brain in a jumble as he desperately twisted his body. However, the metal did not show the slightest sign of releasing him. Even Kojou’s upper body strength couldn’t break them off, and he was the World’s Mightiest Vampire. 

Even so, Kojou did not give up, stubbornly continuing to thrash around—and then he sensed someone behind him, waking up in a foul mood, probably annoyed by the sounds of straining chains. 

“Mm…? What? What’s that sound?” 

“Asagi? Asagi, is that you?!” 

Kojou forced his neck to turn as he shifted toward the voice. He saw a girl sitting in a chair, positioned back-to-back with him. Her hair was dyed a cheerfully bright color and styled in a showy manner; her school uniform was tastefully decked out. The familiar back belonged to Asagi Aiba. 

She was also secured to her chair, not by chains but with some kind of slender rope. Of course, Asagi, a powerless high school girl, lacked the strength necessary to rip it apart. 

She looked down at her own bound body for a few moments. 

“Kojou? What is this? What’s going on? Don’t tell me you get off on tying up girls…?” 

Asagi made an exasperated face as she glared half-lidded back at Kojou. Apparently, she’d decided their current situation was the result of Kojou playing a prank on her. 

Faced with false accusations, Kojou furiously shook his head. 

“I don’t have any twisted fetishes like that! I was tied up when I awoke, same as you!” 

“Tied up…?” 

Asagi looked frightened as she confirmed that the ropes really weren’t coming off. It was only natural for her to be concerned, waking up in a strange place with her entire body restrained. 

“Come to think of it, where is this? And why was I asleep, anyway?” 

“Lemme see, I heard that Nagisa collapsed back at school and…” 

Kojou’s head was littered with the cobwebs of sleep as he rummaged through vague memories. 

During lunch, Kojou had been told that his little sister, Nagisa Akatsuki, had fainted. He’d hurried to the hospital, which, in turn, was attacked by the Chaos Bride—the Third Primogenitor, ruler of Central America. 

The black lightning cloud. The burning torrent. And then, the skeletal giant filled with a dark void—she freely employed such Beast Vassals, rivaling natural disasters, and had tried to destroy the hospital. Kojou barely stopped her. 

Or more accurately, she’d accomplished her objective and retreated of her own volition. 

Either way, the menace of the Third Primogenitor had passed, and they were left behind at the half-destroyed hospital. Afterward— 

Asagi violently shook her metal pipe chair, turning around with great force. 

“I remember now…! Hey, Kojou! What’s the big idea, turning into a vampire?!” 

“Uh…” 

She starts with that, Kojou thought as he sighed listlessly. Now that she mentioned it, the turmoil of the Third Primogenitor’s attack had exposed the truth—that he was a vampire—to Asagi. 

“What the hell, you’re the Fourth Primogenitor?! How dare you keep that from me all this time… and on top of that, Himeragi’s your watcher, and you’ve been drinking her blood left and right!” 

“W-well… I don’t really think that last part is true…” Cowed by Asagi’s verbal onslaught, Kojou could only manage a mumbled retort. 

Apparently, as far as Asagi was concerned, Kojou’s non-human status was greatly overshadowed by it being a secret known only to Yukina. 

And so, Asagi greeted Kojou’s excuse with an inhospitable, “Oh, really…?” Then she continued, “So at the very least, you acknowledge being a vampire. After all, you’ve put your hands on other girls, too, like that Kirasaka girl, or that Aldegian princess!” 

“H-how do you know that…?!” 

It was only after his unwitting exclamation that Kojou realized his mistake. Asagi’s unemotional eyes glared coldly at Kojou. His palms were thoroughly drenched with sweat. 

“W-wait, you’re wrong. There were…various circumstances, and it couldn’t be avoided…” 

“If I recall correctly, isn’t lust what drives a vampire to drink blood?” Asagi asked casually, seeming to suppress her rage. 

Ugh, Kojou groaned, his throat tightening. Besides demonic power replenishment under emergency circumstances, lust was the trigger for vampiric impulses. Of course, this was regularly unknown to someone raised in a Demon Sanctuary like Asagi. 

Actually, Kojou had engaged in far more physical contact with Yukina and the others than had been necessary for mere drinking of blood, so he couldn’t justify himself if pressed, but… 

“…Man, this is really throwin’ me off.” 

A stale look came over Kojou as his still-bound shoulders slumped. 

“What is?” 

“Er, normally, wouldn’t someone be more scared of a vampire primogenitor…?” 

“Huh? Why do I have to be scared of you after all this time?” 

The truly mystified rejoinder put Kojou at a loss for words. 

Asagi had known him for ages, beginning shortly after he’d arrived on Itogami Island. Being so used to demons, she wasn’t scared to find out that her old friend was a vampire. 

“Well, I suppose it’s kinda hard by now…” 

“Of course. But I do want you to explain why all this happened.” 

Asagi stared at Kojou, her face suddenly serious. 

Certainly, Kojou had been an ordinary human when he and Asagi had first met. And it was considered impossible for someone born human to turn into a vampire along the way. 

In the first place, vampire primogenitors were the oldest vampires of each bloodline. Naturally, Asagi doubted how a mere human could straddle the line between man and demon and inherit such power. 

“Yeah, you see, that Avrora girl, she…” 

He trailed off, assailed by dizziness. He felt a sharp pain, like his brain was cracking. Something felt eerie, like his limbs were going to fall off. 

It was just like when he’d tried to explain things to Yukina. He couldn’t form the words. A memory of the past, on the brink of surfacing, sank back into the darkness. 

Asagi, finding Kojou’s silence suspicious, prodded him again. 

“Avrora—you mean the girl under the hospital? The one sleeping in a block of i…” 

But her words, too, trailed off midway. Her bound body bent over as she exhaled in apparent anguish. 

“That hurt… What’s with this headache?” 

“…Asagi?” 

Kojou looked back in surprise. He did a double take when he realized what had just happened to her. 

Even if he didn’t know the reason, Kojou could accept that he’d lost his memory. After all, he was a mere human who’d laid his hands on a primogenitor’s power. Surely that must have strained his body. If losing part of his memory was the price to pay, he thought he’d gotten off easy. 

Yet, Asagi’s missing memories were a different story. If that happened to her, a girl with no known connection, it would no longer be Kojou’s personal problem. Surely they hadn’t both lost their memories by coincidence from the same incident. It meant someone intentionally took them away. 

That might mean that Asagi herself was somehow involved in the incident surrounding the Fourth Primogenitor. Probably, because she’d been right at Kojou’s side— 

“—So you really can’t remember.” 

As Kojou was wracked with unease, a gentle voice echoed from behind. 

Her presence undetected, a small, black-haired girl wearing a middle school uniform was standing in a shadow along a stone wall. 

“Himeragi?!” 

“I have always harbored this question. Why did no one around senpai notice that he had become the Fourth Primogenitor? Well, setting aside senpai himself forgetting, it is most unnatural for those closest to him, such as Aiba, to not notice the change.” 

Yukina Himeragi stepped forward without a sound, gripping a silver spear. 

Kojou was a bit thrown off at her presence, somewhat different from the norm. 

She was supple and tenacious, with a beautiful, graceful visage that retained traces of childhood. Her tightly pursed lips made him recall how she looked just after he’d met her. She seemed tough and unapproachable, which was appropriate to her title of Sword Shaman. 

As Kojou and Asagi sat bound, Yukina looked down at them, continuing to speak in a cold, businesslike manner. 

“However, that mystery has been resolved. It is not only senpai, but true for others as well.” 

“Y’mean, having our memories manipulated…?” 

“Yes. Though, they have not been merely sealed away, but rather, stolen…” 

For some reason, seeing Yukina casually reply to that question made Kojou distinctly apprehensive. 

If Kojou and Asagi were tied up, why was Yukina the only one free? In the first place, why wasn’t she surprised to see them both bound…? 

“Well, whatever. At any rate, could you tell us where we are, Himeragi? What are we doing tied up in a place like this, anyway?” 

Kojou asked the question as gently as he could, trying not to provoke Yukina any more than necessary. Yukina gazed at Kojou unemotionally; after a brief, uncomfortable pause, she finally gave a halting reply. 

“You…both fainted, right after seeing the vampire frozen in ice at the MAR hospital.” 

“Fainted?” 

“Yes. Perhaps because you were on the verge of remembering her.” 

“Avrora, you mean…” 

So that was her, thought Kojou, biting his lip. The installation under the MAR hospital housed a giant coffin of ice, and the previous Fourth Primogenitor—Avrora Florestina—slept within. 

When Kojou saw her, he regained his memory for but a brief moment. And apparently, the next moment, he’d lost consciousness and collapsed. So he hadn’t been wrong to think that she was deeply connected to his and Asagi’s memory loss. 

“So you’re the one who brought us here, Himeragi?” 

“Well, yes. I’m sorry. There were no beds, so I had to use the chairs.” Yukina’s apology lacked any emotion. 

Kojou grimaced as he looked up at her. “I get the basics, but what’s with the chains and manacles?” 

Get ’em off already! was Kojou’s unvoiced plea, but Yukina bluntly shook her head. 

“I am sorry, but you both must remain like this for a while longer.” 

“What for?!” 

“It seems a little more time is required to prepare.” 

After saying that, Yukina began to walk in a circle around Kojou and Asagi. That was when Kojou noticed: There were odd symbols embossed on the dark orange carpet, directly underneath him and Asagi. The magic circle gave off an acutely malevolent air. 

Yukina remained silent as she gently walked behind Kojou, checking on the pattern. Her bizarre behavior gave him an even creepier feeling about the symbols beneath him. 

“…Preparations…? What the hell for…?” Kojou asked with a broken voice, but Yukina, standing in his blind spot, did not reply. 

Asagi, who had remained silent up to that point, opened her mouth. “Hey… It’s been bugging me since earlier, but those things on the walls, are they…?” 

Asagi was looking straight at some strange metallic devices suspended from the stone wall. They included chairs with sharp barbs on them, wheels, saws, and pincers; one look at the ominous shapes gave way to easily imagining their inhumane purposes. Their rusty cracks had been dyed black, but this only made them creepier. The interior designer had abysmal taste. 

“Torture devices for use on vile criminals. Apparently, devices like these really were used in the Middle Ages.” 

Yukina had said this in a wholly unmoved voice. Her calm was frightening in itself. 

“T-torture devices…?” 

Asagi gulped and swallowed hard. 

While they’d been unconscious, Kojou and Asagi had been locked away and bound in a room far from prying eyes. Now, as for the countless torture devices—Kojou could think of any number of possibilities about how Yukina might use them, and all were terrible. 

“Hey, Kojou, what’s going on here?! I kind of had this sense before, but that girl, is she actually the really obsessive, jealous type?” 

“H-Himeragi is a stalker to the bone, for sure, and I feel like she does get obsessed with things at times, but…” 

“What, she’s going to eliminate me because I know your secret? She thinks she can’t have you to herself anymore, so…? Ah, geez! This is because you laid a hand on a troublesome girl with no thought to the future!” 

“I didn’t do anything! She pushed herself onto me!” 

In low voices, the pair continued their argument of angry whispers, and Kojou became backed into a corner. 

“You have made me well aware of the way you both normally regard me.” 

Yukina, dutifully listening to the exchange, looked somewhat hurt as she murmured. It was a surprisingly calm reaction. She continued: 

“You seem to be making impolite assumptions, but these devices are mere magical catalysts. They are not actually used for torture.” 

Kojou asked, his tone still somewhat uneasy, “Magical catalysts…? Why use things like those for…?” 

Yukina sighed deeply. 

“In the sphere of magic, it is a general rule that the older a device is, the stronger its power. The accumulation of the creator and subsequent owners’ thoughts change it from a mere thing into a magical object—though in a place like this, it might be the hatred of the victims more than the feelings of the owners.” 

I see, Kojou thought, grasping the logic. Just as Old Guard vampires contained vast demonic power within their bodies, many so-called divine objects and demonic devices no doubt held power proportional to their age. However… 

“Uh, what do you plan on using dangerous items like that for, anyway?!” 

“So you do want to keep Kojou all for yourself, and—” 

“I do not!” 

Yukina’s cheeks puffed up as Kojou and Asagi eyed her doubtfully. 

“Umm, well, you say that, but in this kind of situation—” 

With a conflicted expression, Kojou began to speak, but he abruptly trailed off, suddenly realizing the true nature of the room in which Yukina had confined them. 

“…Kojou?” Asagi seemed worried as she called out to him. 

But Kojou kept his mouth shut and said nothing. 

An old, stately stonework structure. The unique atmosphere hovering within. And the fact the surrounding area was teeming with dense magical energy. Kojou had experienced all those things once before. The form of the structure was different, but in that world, such a thing was no great mystery. After all, it was a world inside a dream— 

“Himeragi…don’t tell me that this is…” 

“Yes.” 

Yukina looked back at Kojou and solemnly nodded. 

Certainly, he could understand why repulsive torture tools were placed here. After all, it was a jail for vile people to begin with: a space to confine dangerous criminals no normal prison could hold. 

And in the event Kojou’s demonic power should run amok, no harm would come to Itogami Island. At least, as long as Kojou and the others were shut inside. 

“Senpai, Aiba, you will be regaining those memories…” 

While Kojou and Asagi struggled to respond, Yukina gripped her spear, examining them as she spoke. Then, she added: 

“…here, in the Prison Barrier.”