Chapter 12
…" – Speaking
'… …' – Thoughts
"… …" – Spoke Mentally/Telepathically
...
The world was dyed white. The forest had become shrouded in thick mist with the setting of the sun. Snowflakes fluttered down from the cloudy sky, coating the landscape in a blanket of frost. With uncertain steps, a lone figure walked down the frigid, powdery path. She was young—six, perhaps seven years old—and bore a striking visage. Illuminated by the fleeting rays of sun, her cheeks were as pale as the breaths trickling from her modest lips.
She wore a baggy coat much too large for her stature, but she was beautiful nonetheless. And yet, with her lips so tightly pursed, the look on her face was nowhere near as innocent as her apparent age would indicate. Disregarding the pain in her chilled fingers, the girl continued to walk in silence. Her large eyes, which gave no hint toward her emotions, looked like beautifully crafted glass.
A young woman dressed in priestess attire was leading the emotionless girl by the hand. Though mindful of the young girl's endurance, the woman advanced down the dusky mountain path without hesitation, heedless of the poor visibility.
Over her shoulder, she was carrying a black musical instrument case that clashed with her traditional clothing. Neither exchanged a word as they walked amid the falling snow. How long did they continue walking like that? Finally, the woman came to a halt. She looked behind her, as if sensing some malevolent presence pressing upon them. Thanks to the fresh snow dancing in the wild, the pair left no footprints behind. It should have been difficult to track them by scent. Even so, her senses told her loud and clear that someone was pursuing them.
The woman in priestess attire squatted, looking into the girl's eyes, and gently stated,
"If you continue straight down this path, there is a shrine. Go— I shall impede them." That instant, for the first time, a look of concern floated into the girl's previously impassive eyes. Strength entered her slender fingers, as if to keep a firm hold of the woman's hand. Her reaction made the woman in priestess attire exhale and smile gently. The quiet girl possessed excellent Spirit Sight. Perhaps, in that instant, she had seen the fate that now awaited her.
"You will be all right on your own. Take this—a protective charm." Speaking these words, the woman snapped a low-lying branch beside her and gently used it to decorate the breast of the girl's coat.
The branch, bearing what looked like sharp thorns, had a twig with red, ripe berries attached. It was a hime hiiragi branch—holly Osmanthus—said to possess the power to ward off evil. Using what little ritual energy remained to her, the woman cast a spell upon the branch. Though it was a makeshift talisman, it would surely lead the girl true. At least until she could reach High God Forest's barrier…
"The Lion King Agency shall protect you. Now go." Speaking the words with strength in her voice, the woman in priestess garb stretched her hand to the case on her back, inside of which was a weapon: a naginata cast in silver-colored metal. The countless chips marring the blade illustrated the ferocious combat the two had faced up to that point. From behind, the woman coaxed the girl forward, who then bit her lip and silently broke into a run. Though tripped up by the storm numerous times, she desperately continued onward. As the strong wind blew her hair about, her tears were as white as the falling snow. And the snow fell ever fiercer…
A forest in the middle of summer. A sweltering tropical rain forest. The atmosphere was stiflingly humid. The sun's rays were powerful. The ground was covered with densely packed trees, denying entry to would-be invaders. Richly colored birds danced in the sky. Under the fallen leaves, insects roamed in search of carrion. The atmosphere was pungent with the aromas of ripened fruits and dazzling flowers, their names obscure. The entire dense forest was immersed in the vivid, raw presence of life and death.
From atop an altar, old and fashioned from stone, she gazed at the scenery. In a small temple hidden deep in the dense forest, a lone girl was connected to the altar at its center. She had smooth brown skin and honey-colored hair. She had a beautiful face with vestiges of childhood. Her ornate clothes were colored silver, somehow seeming well suited to the ruler of a temple. However, her expression was frozen in fear and despair. An abundance of fresh blood filled her entire field of vision.
The corpses of the priests rightfully protecting the temple were cruelly heaped together in her surroundings. Soldiers in military uniforms had been the ones to slaughter the priests. Moving as one, they rushed toward the altar room where she was, seizing control of the temple. The few surviving priests desperately continued to resist, but it was clear that their efforts were futile.
There was nothing they could do, crushed by the small group of soldiers armed with powerful firearms and sorcery. However, she did not budge. Her entire body remained as still as a statue, not moving a single fingertip of her own will. Unable to even close her eyelids, she simply gazed dumbfounded at the spectacle displayed before her. Finally, one of the soldiers assaulting the temple found her. The soldier approached the altar, a rugged anti-demon rifle in his hands. Then, the rifle barrel turned toward her breast. A moment later, a figure with a majestic golden mane came leaping in with an angry roar.
"You insoooleeent—!" The figure was a demon—a leopard-headed beast man wearing priestly vestments. He had doubtlessly arrived at the altar through fierce combat. Both of the beast man's arms were drenched in blood spatter, and countless wounds covered his own body as well. "Keep your hands off her, invaderrr!"
"—?!"
Noticing the beast man's approach, the soldier instantly repositioned his rifle. However, the beast man's attack came first. Making full use of his overwhelming physical strength, he slammed the soldier's head into the altar wall. His helmet shattered with an unpleasant sound. It was a scathing attack, one that might have easily smashed the man's skull as well. Surely no proper human being could live through that mighty blow. Yet, heedless of this, the soldier still moved. Rather, he was laughing.
Tearing off his cracked goggles, he continued ferociously cackling with a bloodied face. Realizing this, the beast man froze. Then, with the two in close proximity, the soldier fired his rifle.
"Guoh—" Thick blood poured out of the beast man's mouth. With the interloper blown all the way back to the altar, the soldier mercilessly pumped him full of bullets. The gruesome battle spreading before her very eyes filled the girl's mind with despair. Even so, she did not move. Powerless to raise a cry, or even to avert her eyes, she was governed by fear alone.
Unable to maintain his animalistic form, the wounded beast man reverted to the stature of an old man. No matter how great a demon's regenerative powers were, suffering such serious wounds meant death was only a matter of time. It was no longer possible for him to stand—let alone fight. Confirming his opponent's grave state with his own eyes, the soldier slowly rose to his feet. Then he turned his gun toward the girl atop the altar once more.
"—Awaken." The soldier's half-broken face contorted as he uttered the strange word. The girl, still as stiff as a doll, stared at the surreal sight.
"Awaken, Zazalamagiu!" Strength gathered in the soldier's trigger finger. The girl resigned herself to certain death. However, the inevitable impact that filled the girl with so much fear… never came. Without any warning, the rifle that was pointed toward the girl and the arms of the man holding it vanished completely.
"Wha—?!" the solider blurted out in shock. His entire body was enveloped in a golden glow. That gleaming light was, in fact, from countless serpents with sharp fangs, entwining the man's entire body silently. By the time the soldier had noticed this, he had been completely engulfed. The serpents, numerous beyond counting, ate him alive and then vanished. It had all happened in an instant. Having consumed the soldier's entire body with not even a single drop of blood remaining, they melted back into the thin air from which they had appeared. As strength left the girl's rigid body, she fell upon the altar.
What she then heard were purposeful, dignified footsteps—and flippant laughter that was out of place.
"—Well, isn't this pathetic, monsieur chieftain. To think you would permit such brutes to tread upon holy ground. The Priests of Zazalamagiu have fallen low."
Walking in from a temple corridor was a young man in a stark-white, three-piece suit that looked wholly unsuited for a tropical rain forest. He was a handsome blond, blue-eyed youth. He smiled sympathetically as he looked down upon the old man in priestly attire, lying in a pool of blood.
"Dimitrie Vattler… To think we would come…to depend upon…you," the old man murmured ruefully, continuing to have difficulty breathing. The younger man forced a pained smile, shaking his head as he gazed silently at the old man.
Meanwhile, the fighting around the temple had apparently come to an end. Gunfire could no longer be heard. The scent of death that hovered in the air only seemed to grow thicker.
"…What of…them?" the old man asked, his voice breaking. Turning his gaze to outside the temple, Vattler bluntly shook his head. "My subordinates have assumed control. However, your people protecting this holy ground were wiped out. Most unfortunate."
"Is that so…?" The old man coughed up a clump of blood. His life had already met its end. With the last of his remaining strength, he weakly extended his arm and reached toward the girl on the altar—
"Please…Vattler… Take her… Take the bride with you…" He spoke those last words in a raspy voice, just before his death. Vattler gazed expressionless at the priest's passing. The temple shuddered, accompanied by the sounds of explosives.
They were, no doubt, exploding bombs that had been set by the soldiers.
Stone pillars collapsed as the entire temple became engulfed in fire.
Lying on her side upon the altar, the girl looked up at the face of the young, blond, blue-eyed aristocrat against the backdrop of flickering flames.
Her gaze was stolen by the beautiful, frightening sight of the young man as her voice trickled out the words: "Dimitrie…Vattler…"
(At Itogami Island)
"Hey, . Isn't that girl…?" With Asagi Aiba calling his attention, Ayato muttered "Hmm?" and glanced over. It was the third week of June—the last day of school before Summer break. Amid a restless, unfocused atmosphere, the boring afternoon classes had ended, and the students of Saikai Academy had begun leaving school in droves. A single girl was standing at the school gate, apparently trying to resist the human tide.
She was an elementary schooler wearing a white, one-piece sailor suit uniform. The school-mandated beret she wore went very well with her brightly colored, catlike hair. An adorable girl with an adult-looking face, she very much evoked a temperamental kitten. When she caught sight of Ayato leaving school, her big eyes opened wide as she flashed a dazzling smile. Then, she waved without restraint as she broke into a little run toward Kojou and Asagi.
"Mister Ayato!"
"Yume? You were waiting for me?" Ayato stood still in surprise. Her name was Yume Eguchi. One week earlier, Ayato and the others had met her at a resort called Blue Elysium. Yume was being used for the power of Lilith that she possessed, whereupon they had ended up saving her.
Ever since, Yume had become oddly attached to Kojou. The girl's behavior led Asagi to be periodically wary of her—beyond what Ayato thought necessary.
"I am sorry. Enrollment procedures were over quickly, so I had a little time on my hands… Am I being a bother?" Yume asked, mildly concerned as she pulled her beret down with one hand. "Nah, it's not like you're bothering me, but—" Ayato quickly shook his head, but a thin, cold sweat broke out over his brow. After all, leaving school was the only time of day when there was a large crowd by the school gates.
Ayato being greeted there by an adorable elementary schooler was abnormal enough to make them really stand out. So, too, was the sight of Yume's admiration for Ayato, which attracted attention with incredible force. That didn't mean he could just shoo Yume away, so Ayato could only talk around it with vague language. Motoki Yaze, standing beside Ayato, ruffled Yume's hair as he said,
"That's right, it ain't your fault at all. It's the result of Kojou's everyday actions, y'see. Well, don't worry 'bout it, li'l Yume." Yume brushed off Yaze's hand, her cheeks puffing up in visible dismay as she put her tilted hat back in order.
"Please do not give me strange nicknames whenever you see fit. And do not touch me so casually. I find it unpleasant."
"Ghh…" You little brat, Yaze seemed to say with a spontaneous twist of his lips. As if to chide the girl, Asagi wedged herself between Yume and Kojou. "Enrollment procedures…? Ah, then your wearing that uniform must mean —"
"Ah yes. It is the uniform for Tensou Academy." Yume spoke with a hint of pride on her face. Yume had no doubt come directly to Saikai Academy with the thought of showing Ayato her new uniform straightaway.
"Tensou Academy? Isn't that a super expensive school for elites?" Ayato exhaled in visible admiration. Tensou Academy was a famous school located in Island West that offered elementary, middle, and high school education under one roof. There were rumors that the attending students included vampire nobility and upper-crust beast people. The others all had fine pedigrees and excellent grades.
The entire campus was said to be a top-class ladies' school.
"So it would seem. But the Gigafloat Management Corporation and the Joint Demonic Research Institute both recommended it. Thanks to the older brother of that rude person over there, everyday living concerns have also been taken care of." Yume bowed her head superficially to Yaze, who shouted in response,
"You're the rude one!" as he pointed at her. Ayato suspiciously turned to Yaze and stared at his friend's face.
"Oh, right. Your older brother works at DGI, doesn't he?" he asked, shifting his attention to Asagi. She puffed out her chest in a little show of pride.
"Yes. That's why I told Motoki to have him make the recommendation. I figured Yume is a shoo-in for a Demon Mentorship Program scholarship." Kazuma, Motoki Yaze's older brother, was a genius who'd graduated from a major North American Union university with flying colors. In spite of being midway through his twenties, he'd been assigned a crucial role in the Gigafloat Management Corporation.
Asagi was acquainted with Kazuma because Motoki was her childhood friend. Itogami Island, a Demon Sanctuary, was replete with government programs to support demons without families to care for them. The Joint Demonic Research Institute scholarship was one such program.
As the World's Mightiest Succubus, Yume, of course, met the qualifications. At the very least, she would surely be able to live a comfortable life so long as she remained on Itogami Island. Yaze murmured in a blunt tone,
"Well, that's fine, isn't it? His motto is to use anything that's worth using, after all. I'm sure he'll roll out the red carpet for li'l Yume." His expression seemed peeved somehow, like he really didn't enjoy being indebted to his biological older brother. Yume had the same look on her face from being addressed by Yaze's weird nickname. It wasn't clear to Ayato if they were getting along or not. Ayato's shoulders wearily fell as he looked down at Yume and said,
"That so…? Anyway, I'm glad. Now you can stay on Itogami Island on the up-andup, right?"
Yume's eyes glimmered as she looked up at Ayato. The directness and purity of her gaze somehow made Ayato feel overwhelmed. "Huh? Wait for…what?"
"You promised, you know—that you would make me happy for the rest of my life. It is still some five years before I am old enough to marry, but…," Yume murmured, touching her left hand's ring finger and fidgeting with a blushing face. Asagi was listening to this from right beside them; the words made her face tense.
"Wai…wait! You're wrong! I mean, you're not wrong, but that's not what I meant when I said…" Ayato's expression turned nervous. To save Yume, who had chosen her own death to seal the soul of Lilith, the Witch of the Night—akin to a curse on her—Ayato had said he would make her happy.
But Yume seemed to have taken it in a somewhat different light than Ayato had intended… The girl was now lost in her own little world; the words with which Ayato tried to clear up the misunderstanding never reached her ears. Clenching a tiny fist in front of her chest, she stated in a strong tone:
"I do not intend to remain a child forever, so… I will do my very best!"
"You don't need to do your best! Just act normal!" Ayato was desperately continuing to try to explain as other students leaving school—ones he didn't even know—were giving him dirty looks as they passed. Feeling the prickling of their gazes upon his back and hearing their murmurs, Ayato's pained stomach pleaded for mercy. On top of that, Asagi, who surely knew the situation perfectly well, glared at him with half-lidded eyes.
"Ayato…does this mean you really do have a thing for little girls…?!"
"How'd this turn into that?! Don't go twisting it into something it's not!" Ayato, his eyes unwittingly tearful, shouted at Asagi. Even as a look of relief came over Asagi's face, she made no move to conceal the suspicious look in her eyes. Watching this, Yaze audibly cleared his throat and stepped between the two.
"Yes. So please wait for me, okay?"
"Now, now, this isn't really the place to talk about it, so how 'bout we go somewhere we can settle down?" he proposed. "Ahh, well, I don't mind, but is that fine for you, Yume? I mean, curfew, or something—"
"Yes, it is all right. I will go anywhere if it is with Mister Ayato." Speaking those words, Yume snuggled right into Ayato's side. Watching that, Asagi exhibited an even graver expression. Yaze seemed excited as he drew his face close to Ayato's and said,
"Hey, Ayato…she said she'd go with you anywhere. It means anywhere's good!" "
Geez! Don't go reading deep things into stuff on your own like that!"
"No, I will go! I will do my very best!"
"I said you don't need to do that!" Looking up at the vast blue sky above him, Ayato muttered to himself,
"Gimme a break."
At any rate, that is how winter vacation began for Ayato Hiryu, the Fifth Primogenitor—the World's Mightiest Hybrid Vampire.
Itogami Island was an island of eternal summer floating smack-dab in the Pacific Ocean. Even in so-called winter, the temperatures breached 20 degrees Celsius, and the sun shining down on everyone was still intense. The trees lining the city streets were vibrant and full of leaves, sending thick shadows falling upon the sidewalks. It was behind the trunk of one such roadside tree that a suspicious figure was concealing her presence.
This person wore a middle school uniform and carried a case for a bass guitar on her back. Her facial features were as shapely as a doll's, and her physique looked delicate, but the effortless way she moved made her seem strong and supple as well. She was Yukina Himeragi, Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency.
"Oh, good grief… What does that person think he's doing?" Poking only her head out through a gap in the branches, Yukina murmured to herself in visible dismay. The object of her gaze was Ayato Hosokawa on his way out of school.
Pressed right against his flank was Yume Eguchi, dressed in a brand-new school uniform. Asagi Aiba was sticking right behind them as if to keep that girl in check. A short distance away, Motoki Yaze was watching the strained relationship among the three from a safe location. Furthermore, even completely unrelated people leaving school couldn't help looking on in interest.
Properly speaking, it was Yukina, Ayato's observer, who ought to have been at his side. However, with all eyes upon him like this, it was difficult for her to wedge herself in. Thanks to that, Yukina could only watch in irritation.
"Even if it is Yume, how can he act so lovey-dovey with a little kid—?!" Naturally, Yukina's anger was directed at Ayato. Even when Yume blatantly tried to seduce him, all Yukina's eyes could see was the Fifth Primogenitor being a doormat for an elementary school girl casually clinging to him. Yukina's grip grew stronger without her realizing it, causing the poor roadside tree's branches to audibly creak. Then, she heard a somewhat pitying voice from behind.
"Well, I'm here wondering what you think you're doing, Yukina."
The speaker was Shizuku Hiryu, one of Ayato's biological sisters and Yukina's classmate. Watching Yukina quietly tail Ayato, she made a pained smile mixed with a sigh.
"You know, if you have something to say to Kojou and the rest of them, you can just walk up to them and say it."
"Y-yeah…but doing it at a time like this would be a little…" Yukina made a frail excuse in the face of Shizuku's exceedingly sound advice. Of course, Yume wearing the elementary school uniform of a famous school attracted great attention—but so did Asagi's extravagant, beautiful appearance. Furthermore, they were both making a show of fighting over Ayato. It was unthinkable that they wouldn't stand out. If Yukina inserted herself into that, it would inevitably court even greater chaos.
As the watcher of the Fifth Primogenitor, Yukina had to strenuously avoid such behavior. All the same, she thought it would be dangerous to simply abandon Ayato to Yume's seductions. With amusement, Shizuku observed Yukina, who was stricken with the mental anguish over her current dilemma, and said, "Well, I'm fine with it, really. Plus, it's fun watching you like this, Yukina."
"Er… Ah, I'm sorry. This is a little…" Yukina meekly lowered her head to Nagisa, who'd ended up tagging along with her surveillance. However, Shizuku shook her head with a carefree smile on her face.
"It's totally fine. More importantly, look! It seems as if Ayato and the others are going into Murakumo! I really like the chocolate they make with brown sugar over there. But we'll be totally busted if we go into the same store, huh. Hey, instead of that, let's at least buy something to drink at a corner store. What do you want, Yukina? A sports drink? Soda? Fruit juice?"
"Er… Then, ah, some kind of iced tea—"
"Okay, leave it to me!" Still keeping her body posture low, Nagisa broke into a run to the nearest convenience store. Yukina made a weak, strained smile as she watched Shizuku go. She'd intended to become more accustomed to Shizuku's wordiness of late, but she still found herself suddenly overwhelmed. For their part, Ayato and the others entered the park-side café just as Shizuku had predicted.
Yukina hid behind the park's YOU ARE HERE sign and continued monitoring Ayato and the others when…
"Ah… Excuse me, you over there—miss schoolgirl?"
"Eh?" Yukina, suddenly hearing a voice from behind, immediately turned around. Standing there was a tall, middle-aged man who looks like Kagami Hiryu in a casual-looking, worn-out shirt. His posture was rather good for his age, and his physique was honed with no hint of excess fat.
However, his chin was covered with thin stubble, and an air of listlessness hovered all around him. The man was carefree, with no coercive presence whatsoever. But that very observation threw Yukina off. The distance between them didn't even amount to three meters—close combat range, which was Yukina's specialty.
The man had stepped inside that space without Yukina sensing his presence.
"Is this seat taken?" he asked, pointing at the flat bench next to the sign. He seemed to be asking out of consideration for Yukina before sitting down and taking a breather.
"Ah, no. Help yourself." With those words, Yukina offered the bench to the man. His lack of an aura threw her off, but she could sense no hostile intent from the man. If anything, Yukina's sneaking around was the more suspicious action between them.
"Thanks. Ahh, that's a big help. It's tough wanderin' around in this crappy heat when you get to be my age…" The man settled down on the bench, flicking up the rim of the oldfashioned fedora hat he wore. Yukina felt an odd sense of déjà vu when she saw his now-exposed face. He should have been a simple passerby, but she didn't think this was their first meeting. He greatly resembled someone Yukina knew.
"So you're not sitting down, miss schoolgirl?" he asked without any amount of tension—a complete contrast to Yukina's bewilderment.
"Correct," said Yukina, nodding with a stiff expression. "I am all right. Please pay no heed."
"Hmm. Incidentally, that case…the one on your back. What's in it?" The man casually rested his chin on a hand as he asked another question. Thanks to his casual manner of speech, Yukina couldn't find the right moment to brush the question away. Yukina awkwardly shifted a hand to the gig bag on her back and said, "
Th-this is a musical instrument. Er…what they call a bass guitar."
"Heh…bass, huh? Do you like music, miss schoolgirl? What genre?" The man bit on the topic with unexpected fervor. Yukina felt a cold sweat on her back. Naturally, it was not a bass guitar or the like in the case on her back. In truth, it was the Lion King Agency's Schneewaltzer—a purging spear, dubbed Snowdrift Wolf.
"E-er… I, ah, haven't really kept up with musical trends of late…" That was all Yukina could manage to say as she tried to somehow conceal her inner nervousness. The man laughed in delight, smiling as he said,
"Nice answer there. I suppose the youngins are into punk these days, huh?" Even as Yukina wondered what puncture had to do with music, she made an appropriate sound and nod of agreement. The man in the fedora hat nodded twice, crossing his arms in apparent satisfaction.
"Is that so? Have you…come to enjoy…punk?" Yukina asked a question to prevent the man from prying into the object in her case any further. Though she would have liked to flee without a moment to lose, she couldn't leave that place until Shizuku returned from her trip to the convenience store. Until then, she had no choice but to somehow put up with the middle-aged man's chummy ways.
Whether he knew what Yukina was up to or not, the man fondly narrowed his eyes and said, "Ahh, I'm into those underground idols. Like, the Gristle Fairy Hoods or Aromatic Megaterium. Do you know them? Maybe you don't."
"I—I am sorry." Yukina apologized for no clear reason. Internally, she was seriously conflicted about whether these were really the names of idol groups. Taking advantage of the momentary lapse in Yukina's thoughts, the man slipped in a question. "Incidentally, miss schoolgirl—what's your relationship to Ayato Hiryu?"
"Eh?!" Yukina let out a little voice. Oh no, she thought, but it was too late. There was no longer any way to gloss things over. The man clearly knew she was monitoring Ayato.
"Wh-why do you know Hiryu-senpai's name…?!" Yukina exclaimed, her voice going shrill. A leering smile came over the man, playing innocent as he said, "Well, I mean, you've been glaring at Ayato with an incredible look all this time, miss schoolgirl. I thought maybe it was envy…or rather, jealousy. Am I right?"
"You are not!" Yukina glared at the man, confused as to why he'd go out of his way to "correct" himself like that.
"I—I am simply observing Hiryu-senpai. It is not j-jealousy or anything of the sort!"
"Observing? Observing, you say. In other words, stalking the object of your unrequited love?" He chuckled to himself in apparent admiration.
Yukina momentarily froze at his unexpected reaction before blurting out, "E-excuse me?!"
"'Observing,' so nice. Ahh, the springtime of youth. Ack, it's so innocent, so…bittersweeeet!"
"H-how did the conversation come to this?! More importantly, who are you…?!" Yukina, her face red to her ears, pressed the man for answers. That was when she sensed someone standing right behind them.
"G-Gajou?!" Shizuku was carrying PET bottles when she looked at the middle-aged man in the fedora hat—her eyes going wide. It was the sort of expression players made when encountering a super-rare monster in an online video game.
"Uncle Ga…jou?" Yukina gasped at her friend's murmur. She finally had confirmation on the man's identity.
"Oh, Shizuku! How you been?" The man in the fedora hat rose to his feet with a grandiose spread of his arms as he beamed at her, smiling. The sudden transformation left Yukina shocked that human beings were capable of such love-struck expressions.
"You're as adorable as ever! You'd think you're some kind of goddess! Ahh, I saw you run off to the convenience store, so I thought I'd introduce myself to miss schoolgirl here while I was waiting around."
"Ah, so that's it… Incidentally, what are you doing here, Uncle Gajou? When did you get back to Japan? What about work? Have you met Auntie Mimori yet? What'd you talk to Yukina about?" Shizuku casually parried the man's exaggerated flattery like she was accustomed to it. For some reason, Shizuku's rapid-fire questions made him proudly raise his chin as he answered:
"I basically just arrived on Itogami Island. I went on a ruins excavation in the Caribbean, but a civil war suddenly broke out, y'see. Ha-ha, that was a pain. I went to see Mimori at work, but she said I was in the way and kicked me out, and since then, I've been talking to miss schoolgirl here about romance."
"Talking about romance?!" Shizuku stared at Yukina with a starry look in her eyes and said,
"No fair." Yukina desperately shook her head as she retorted, "W-we did not…!"
"Ah, that's right. I haven't introduced myself yet, have I…? Oh?"
Then the man, the architect of that false accusation, suddenly raised a hand for reasons only apparent to him. He was staring at a chair on the terrace of the park-side café. There, being seated after ordering, were Ayato and the others with him. Yukina was nervous about the group realizing she'd tailed them, but the man waved to them right out in the open and said: "Hey, Ayato. Over here!"
"Geh, Uncle…?! What are you doing here, you old geezer?!"
Ayato, noticing the man's presence, spat the insult as an involuntary reflex. Hearing Ayato's words, Yukina was dumbfounded as she compared the faces of the pair. It was Ayato Hiryu, none other than the target Yukina watched over, whom the middle-aged man in the fedora hat greatly resembled—not only in their faces but in their gestures and the listless air about them.
"Y-you are…Hiryu-senpai's…Uncle…?" Yukina's voice conveyed some doubts.
Now she could understand the reason for Shizuku's surprise. They didn't know why they were encountering such an individual at this time. Then, the man gazed at the petrified Yukina with apparent amusement as he made an impetuous smile, his intonation somehow seeming suspicious as he said: "Gajou Hiryu. Ayato and Shizuku's Paternal Uncle. Nice to meet ya!"
(Ayato's Apartment)
"My, my, to think you'd lay a hand even on a little girl just because you can't land a woman—" Lying on the living room sofa, Gajou Hiryu shook his shoulders as he laughed.
They were in the Hiryu family's own apartment. It had actually been a year and several months since Gajou had last returned. Thanks to that, the atmosphere in the room seemed to revolve around him alone.
"I didn't lay a hand on her! That's just Yume misunderstanding a bunch of things!" Ayato insisted, making a sullen face like a sulking child.
It hadn't even been thirty minutes since Ayato and the others had encountered Gajou Hiryu in the park. However, as soon as Ayato saw his uncle's face, he decided to return home immediately. He was fearful of Gajou coming into contact with his friends. Even setting Yaze and Asagi aside, the real danger lay with Yume. If he carelessly let those two meet, there was no telling what ideas Gajou might put into her head.
However, by the time Gajou raised his voice to Ayato and the others, he'd apparently already finished gathering all kinds of information, not only about his connection to Yume but all kinds of other blackmail material to tease Ayato, which accounted for the disheartened look that overcame Ayato.
"…Misunderstanding, you say." Gajou slurped on the delicious-looking soba noodles Nagisa had brought him and gave a suggestive smile.
"Well, don't worry about it. I mean, Mimori and I are over ten years apart. Even if they call you a criminal, just put up with it for a decade and it's cool."
"Who's a criminal…?! And you shut up—you're making this more complicated!" Ayato's lips twisted in annoyance at his father's off-the-wall consolation.
However, Gajou paid no heed to his Nephew's objections, shifting an amiable gaze toward Yukina. For some reason, Gajou seemed to have taken a liking to Yukina. He'd overruled her polite refusal, insisting she join them at their residence. "Incidentally, Himeragi, was it? Sorry for earlier. I said all sorts of rude things, like jealousy, stalking, and so on."
"N-not at all. I did not mind, so please." Yukina looked a little tense as she shook her head at Gajou's words.
"What the hell were you saying to a girl you just met?" Ayato complained, clutching his head.
Even so, Gajou displayed not even a single smidgen of remorse as he warmly patted Ayato's shoulder and said, "I really am sorry. I didn't think an idiot like this would have a girlfriend as cute as you."
"Eh?!" Yukina stiffened, unable to react to Gajou's brazen was just as frozen. Gajou, off on his own, seemed in high spirits.
"I really have to say, though, what do you see in a guy like Ayato?" Gajou asked, narrowing his eyes. "A pretty girl like you should have any number of better choices to pick from—"
"Hey, Himeragi's not my girlfriend! Lay off with the stupid delusions, you old fart!" Ayato yelled right back at his Uncle. Gajou continued sipping soba noodles, pretending not to hear a word.
"D-delusions…" Yukina, hearing Ayato's statement, narrowed the corners of her eyes in a grimace. However, Ayato did not notice the change in Yukina as he said,
"Himeragi's just my junior at school. She coincidentally lives next door to us. You didn't know because you haven't been back here!"
"Hmm. Just your junior, huh…" A leering grin came over Gajou as he crossed his legs. He shooed away Ayato, glaring at him at point-blank range, like an annoyance as he said:
"Incidentally, Himeragi, have you done it with Ayato yet?"
"Eh?!"
"Listen to what people are saying, dammit—!" Already on a short string, Ayato snapped and launched a mighty right hook straight at his father's face. It was an attack largely bereft of restraint.
With a solid hit, Gajou's skull would shatter. However, Gajou evaded his nephew's attack, launched with the raw strength of a hybrid generation vampire, with room to spare. "Whoa now… Scary, scary. That was a close one."
"You middle-aged perv—!" Even with his body heavily off-balance, Ayato launched a string of left jabs. Gajou's movements made the powerful string of attacks flail fruitlessly in the air. In spite of that, Gajou's lips curled up in a minor show of admiration. "
Huh… I leave for a little while and your attacks get much sharper, don't they? That's my nephew for ya. Well, still got a long way to go, though."
"Wha—?!" Yukina had a delayed reaction, utterly shocked by Gajou's unexpected dodges. At some point during the scuffle, Gajou had gotten ahold of the bottle of tabasco sauce, supposedly at the far corner of the table. Then, Gajou blindsided Ayato, giving his Nephew a hearty face full of the bottle's contents. The timing was so calculated that even his mixed vampiric reaction speed could fully evade the flying liquid.
Ayato yelled, "Shiiit… What the hell did you come over here for anyway?! Normally, you won't come back even if we ask!"
"I said, I'm here to pick up Shizuku." After stating that, Gajou plopped his hand onto his Nephew's head. It remained there as Shizuku looked up at her uncle, cheeks puffing up in an obvious sulk.
"Sheesh, if you're going to come, say so sooner. I have all kinds of plans, after all. Now I have to buy food to cover you, too."
"…Where do you plan on taking Shizuku?" Ayato, having somehow regained his vision, glared up at Gajou as he asked the question in a low voice. To date, Gajou had used Shizuku in his own work a number of times.
Previously, Shizuku had been wrapped up in an incident for which Gajou was the underlying cause. Naturally, Shizuku's hospitalization had diminished his high-handedness, but that didn't mean Ayato could be careless. He had reasons to be wary of his Uncle. However, Gajou gazed with exasperation at the naked antagonism on his own Nephew's face and said,
"Hey, think of the season for a minute. It's for homecoming."
"…Homecoming?" Ayato fell silent, feeling like Gajou's unexpected words were somehow dodging the question. Certainly, the end of the old year and the start of the new was cause for celebration all over the world. On Itogami Island, far removed from the mainland, the homecoming rush had to have already begun in earnest.
"It'll be New Year's soon. Your granny back in Tanzawa's vocal about us going back once in a couldn't do it last year with Nagisa still in the hospital and all. The flight's first thing tomorrow morning."
"What the hell…? That's out of the blue. I'm not ready at all," Ayato complained with a sour look on his face. Kagami and Gajou's mother—in other words, Ayato, Keiko and Shizuku's grandmother—was a resident of Kansai. She worked as a Shinigami Blazer in a little shrine deep in the Tanzawa Mountains. He wasn't unhappy at the prospect of going to see her, but he couldn't shake the impression that the visit was abrupt.
However— "Huh? Who said you're coming?" Gajou replied, casually brushing off his own son's objections.
"It's just me and Shizuku going back. Mimori doesn't exactly get along with Granny, you know."
"Just Shizuku?!"
"Of course. What do you think a plane ticket to the mainland costs at this time of year? It's not cheap to get a permit to leave Itogami Island, either."
"G-gnnn…" Gajou's pragmatic explanation left Ayato at a loss of words to refute him. Flights in and out of the airport were restricted, and transit costs were high for flights from Itogami Island to the mainland—made all the worse by the busy season.
On top of that, since it was a Demon Sanctuary, annoying paperwork was required to leave or enter Itogami Island, and the commission fees required served as an additional expense. Gajou's point was entirely valid.
"Besides, there's a reason for bringing Shizuku back with me. I figured I'd have Granny give her a purification rite. It's best to have her carefully look over Shizuku to see why she lost her spiritual powers, right?"
"Y-yeah… Yeah, I suppose." Ayato grudgingly accepted his uncle's words. Though virtually unknown beyond Ayato, Gajou, and other family, Shizuku was once a powerful spiritualist—in the top five nationally. Shizuku lost her Shinigami powers in a demon-instigated incident some four years earlier.
Somehow, they'd managed to heal her wounds from the incident, and Shizuku had come out of the hospital safe and sound, but her powers had remained lost for reasons that were still unclear. Shizuku herself paid no attention to the fact she'd lost that ability, but on the other hand, she was afflicted by poor health from time to time for reasons unknown. Ayato, too, supported having a trustworthy spiritualist give Shizuku a look.
In a tiny voice, Yukina whispered into Ayato's ear,
"Senpai, please wait. If you seriously want Nagisa checked, the Lion King Agency would be a better—" Her expression was unusually serious. Yukina, an exceedingly gifted spiritualist herself, knew the dangers of exorcism well. She was concerned that an amateur trying her hand might have negative effects on Nagisa.
"Ahh, nah, I think it's probably fine. I'm glad you're concerned, but I told you before, right? Our granny's an unregistered Attack Mage. She's used to this kind of work."
"…Then that might mean all the more danger. I have an ill premonition. If I am not mistaken, what is possessing Nagisa might be senpai's—"
"Mm? Something with Ayato's what?" Gajou butted into the conversation, forcing himself between Yukina's words. "Um," Yukina said, surprised into silence. Even so, Gajou insistently peered into Yukina's face.
"What, what? Won't you let me in on it, too?"
"E-er… No, I am sorry. It is nothing." Ayato grabbed the back of Gajou's neck to stop him from backing Yukina further into a corner. "
Quit it already," he snapped, to which Gajou clicked his tongue, his shoulders sinking in visible disappointment.
"Well, no need to worry. Setting aside the strength of Grandma's own Spirit Sight, it's New Year's. The apprentices will probably come to play, too. Maybe that baldy Tokimikado, maybe Pops Shidosawa…"
"I-Instructor Tokimikado…?! And Chairman
Shidosawa?" Yukina's expression stiffened the moment she heard both names.
"You know them?" Ayato asked in a dubious tone. Yukina hurriedly shook her head and said,
"The former chief instructor of the Lion King Agency and the chairman of the Attack Mage Association. They are men far beyond my station for me to have met them, but—"
"Huh… So those old guys are big shots, then?" Ayato murmured in admiration.
Yukina could only nod in amazement. However, her unease over Nagisa's exorcism had apparently been assuaged. With people of such competence close at hand, even Yukina could not summon any reason to object to the rite. Gajou gazed at the exchange between Kojou and Yukina, looking like something didn't quite sit right with him.
Then, with some object in mind, he suddenly leaned forward, staring straight into Yukina's face.
"Incidentally, Himeragi. I have something serious to discuss with you—"
"Y-yes?" Overwhelmed by the serious look coming from Gajou, Yukina subconsciously straightened her posture. That instant, Gajou broke into a leering gaze and said, "I want to see the faces of my grandchildren sooner rather than later. Maybe a girl, if you can swing it—"
"Pardon?" With Yukina frozen in place, unable to comprehend the meaning of the words, something came rushing over from right beside her with the force of a cannonball. Ayato had hurled a cushion at his father's face full-on. Thud, went the cushion, connecting squarely, sending the wide-open Gajou reeling back.
"…That's dangerous, brat. Don't raise a hand against your own uncle," Gajou casually objected as he rubbed his reddened forehead. Ayato followed up with a leaping kick at his complacent uncle.
"Shut up, you middle-aged lecher! I'll kill you!" Ayato yelled.
"It's ten years too soon for you to pull that off." Gajou calmly sidestepped his own nephew's kick and proceeded to give Ayato's ankle a very hard twist. Overcome with terrible pain, Ayato fell helplessly to the floor. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!"
"Wait a…?! Ayato, Gajou, what are you doing?!" Noticing the sudden, violent exchange between the two men, Nagisa hurried to put a stop to it. "Th…this is senpai's…father…" Yukina could only manage a frail murmur to herself, still half-frozen and overwhelmed by the spectacle.
The next day— In the early morning, Ayato Hiryu, dressed in street clothes, let out a heavy yawn at Itogami Island's central airport. The time was just before seven AM, the harshest time of day for a nocturnal vampire. Naturally, he'd gone all the way to the airport in that state to see Shizuku off, as she was heading for the mainland on an early morning flight, and to keep an eye on his untrustworthy uncle.
The sun was peeking over the water's horizon, shining dazzlingly upon the glass-covered airport lobby. Even at that hour, Itogami Island was hot. "Well, we're headin' off for a little while. Get along nice with Himeragi, 'kay?"
"Oh, shut up and get going already." Gajou, wearing a vibrant trench coat, spoke to his son in a half-frigid tone. Ayato glared sullenly back at his uncle in kind. The flight was scheduled to depart in less than an hour. Considering the troublesome customs inspections peculiar to Demon Sanctuaries, it was right about time to head over to the baggage inspection gate. Shizuku exchanged a warm and cordial good-bye with Yukina, who'd gone with Ayato to see them off.
"Do watch out. It seems to be cold on the mainland, after all," Yukina said, concerned. In her arms, Shizuku clutched a large number of souvenirs for her grandmother. Yukina owed the exhausted expression on her face to joining Nagisa from one airport shop to the next as she picked out those souvenirs.
"Thanks," said Shizuku with a cheery smile. "I'm more worried about you, Yukina. I hope Ayato doesn't cause you too much trouble."
"Mm, I'll be all right. Don't worry, I'll keep a close watch on senpai and make sure he doesn't bother Aiba and Yume," Yukina answered in a strong, determined tone.
Ayato Hiryu, the Fifth Primogenitor, was a hybrid vampire who became acquainted with unfamiliar girls, drinking their blood and risking his life for them the moment Yukina let him out of her sight. She had made a heartfelt pledge to redouble her observation efforts. However, seeing Yukina's zeal only made Shizuku's concern deepen. "
…You know, Yukina. Have you heard the phrase Those who hunt for mummies become mummies themselves?"
"Um, er, yes…?" Why is she saying that to me? thought Yukina, somewhat perplexed. Ayato, watching Yukina's oblivious reaction, sighed in apparent resignation. An announcement came over the airport lobby for passengers to proceed to baggage inspection.
"Well, we're off. See you soon! Don't spoil Ayato too much, Yukina. And don't either of you try to force any funny business!"
"I—I will not spoil him!"
"Like hell she will!" With flustered, spontaneous retorts, Ayato and Yukina saw Shizuku and Gajou off to the security gate. When the boisterous father and daughter were out of sight, the airport's atmosphere suddenly seemed far quieter around them.
"Sheesh. Sorry to drag you out for this so early in the morning, Himeragi," Ayato said, listlessly stretching his back. Yukina shook her head with her usual overly serious look and replied, "Not at all, senpai. It is my duty to watch over you."
"Well, that might be the case, but it seems like my dad teased you pretty hard about stuff."
"I suppose so… No matter how you look at it, him making it seem like I am your girlfriend is a little, ah…" Yukina looked down a bit with a light flush to her cheeks, almost like she was blushing. But Ayato, for his part, clicked his tongue a little, deeply annoyed.
"His jokes haven't been funny since way back. This one's way too stupid."
"A joke? …I see… Stupid, you say…" Light vanished from Yukina's eyes as her expression became dark and cold. Ayato, not noticing the change in Yukina, smiled brightly. "Sorry that he put you through all that. When he gets back, I'll drill into his thick skull that you're not my girlfriend, so forgive him for this time, 'kay?"
"Is that so? I understand very well now."
"Ah, what?"
"I am sorry that my being only your junior rather than your girlfriend has caused you such annoyance."
"Ah, er. Himeragi…?" Yukina suddenly hastened her pace, leaving Kojou in her dust and making him catch up in a hurry.
"By any chance, are you…angry?"
"No, not at all." Yukina stopped in place and shot Ayato a look that somehow seemed resentful. Of course, Ayato had no clue what had brought it on. Maybe she really hated how Gajou poured cold water on everything, he thought, almost like it was someone else's problem.
"Anyway, maybe I'm just imagining this, but it seems like everyone's on edge today."
"I said I am not angry."
"No, not you, Himeragi. Look at those airport security guys."
"Eh…?" Hearing Ayato's murmur, Yukina finally stopped walking altogether. Ayato had actually noticed a difference in the security right after arriving at the airport. Yukina had probably taken note of it, too. The number of airport staff watching the departure gate and the airport entrance was well above the norm. Their expressions and actions gave off an air of strict vigilance.
"I…see. Perhaps that might be the cause…" Yukina pointed toward a large television placed in the airport's waiting area. There was a grainy satellite image being displayed on the TV screen. The image was from overseas news footage with no Japanese text apparent. It was the scene of some overseas city he didn't recognize; Kojou could see damaged buildings and people injured by bombs and shells.
"What is that…? A war?" Standing beside Ayato, Yukina replied, "Yes," nodding with a grave look. Having received a specialized education from the Lion King Agency, Yukina's scholastics were already up to a high school graduate level. Apparently, she could easily read English at the degree used in a typical news broadcast.
"It seems that a civil war has broken out in the Chaos Zone. Apparently, a military unit deployed near the Confederate States of America launched an armed uprising and is demanding its own autonomous region."
"The Chaos Zone…?" Ayato's brows rose as he recognized the region's name. "That's the country of that Giada woman, right?"
"Yes. It is the Dominion in Central America, ruled by the Third Primogenitor, the Chaos Bride."
"…Oh yeah? …I'm kinda surprised, somehow." Ayato murmured to himself as he recalled the sight of the beautiful, emerald-haired, jade-eyed vampiress. Kojou had encountered Giada Kukulkin, one of the three publicly recognized primogenitors, only a month earlier. She oozed off-the-charts combat capability and exceptional charisma. "Surprised?"
"Yeah. I mean, if there's a revolt, doesn't that mean her people are unhappy with her somehow? Or is she what you'd call, well, a tyrant?" Ayatosaid, tilting his head.
"It didn't look that way to me." The Third Primogenitor whom Ayato had met came with overwhelming power and majesty befitting the title, but she didn't seem like an unreasonable individual. If anything, she felt like a very humanlike vampiress, coming off as calculating but playful. The charming personality she'd displayed shouldn't have been that far off the mark.
"No, certainly the primogenitors rule the Dominions in name, but they do not directly govern their nations. There are elected legislatures and qualified bureaucrats, and besides, the First and Second Primogenitors have not appeared before their populaces in decades."
"Really?" Ayato felt even more mystified. But now that he thought of it, he didn't know what the First or Second Primogenitors looked like. He didn't even remember seeing photographs of them.
"Among them, only the Chaos Bride is known to ordinarily prowl ab—er, travel around her Dominion, observing her people and speaking to them about their concerns, so she should enjoy zealous support from the population. Nor should law and order or the domestic economy be in a poor state. It seems all this places considerable stress on those tasked with watching her, but…," Yukina politely explained, even letting her own private thoughts slip in midway.
"I see," said Ayato in agreement. Apparently, his first impression of Giada wasn't that far off after all. That made the current state of the Chaos Zone all that more suspicious.
"So why's there a revolt, then?"
"That is probably—," Yukina began, but her words suddenly stopped when she seemed to notice something. Ayato, following her surprised gaze, blithely turned his head around. In that direction was a corridor leading from the arrival lobby to the airport's central entrance. Furthermore, standing there was a silver-haired man wearing a demon registration bracelet on his left arm. He was handsome and young, his demeanor evoking a cold, edged weapon. He was also someone Ayato knew quite well—and was on his list of individuals he never wanted to meet again.
"Huh?! You're—"
"Senpai, stand back!" Yukina advanced to the fore, as if to shield the shocked Ayato. She reached a hand toward the guitar case on her back, poised to draw her spear out at any moment. The silver-haired youth gazed at Ayato's and Yukina's reactions with a scornful sigh.
"Oh, it's you, Ayato Hiryu. Just like you to be fondling a little girl's butt." He spoke in a challenging tone. Hearing this, Ayato and Yukina barked back at the same time.
"I ain't fondling her!"
"He is not fondling me!" Seeing the two in perfect sync, the silver-haired youth exhaled and laughed indifferently. As he did so, Atato glared at him with naked animosity. "You're the vampire on Vattler's ship, Kira's partner—"
"Tobias Jagan! Remember it already!" This time, it was the blond youth's turn to make an angry retort. Tobias Jagan was an aristocrat born in the Warlord's Empire in Western Europe. He was an Old Guard vampire, a direct descendant of the First Primogenitor, the Lost Warlord. He resided on Itogami Island as a confidant to Dimitrie Vattler, Duke of Ardeal and also Warlord's Empire nobility, but his position was closer to an enemy of Ayato's.
Furthermore, for some reason, he acted like he hated Ayato for personal reasons. At any rate, he wasn't a vampire to take lightly. Ayato, glaring at Jagan across Yukina's shoulder, yelled, "What the hell are you doing here?!"
Jagan snorted in visible scorn. "I am under no obligation to answer questions from you, fool."
"Oh yeah?!" Indignant, Ayato closed the distance with Jagan. Yukina hastily held the angry Ayato back. "Senpai, please calm down a little!"
"…You're in the arrival lobby… So you're here waiting for someone?" Ayato asked. "Well, well…" went Jagan at Ayato's unexpectedly calm observation. He wore an expression seemingly wary of Ayato's sharp eyes.
"Hmph. So even you possess intelligence equal to a kindergartener's… Color me impressed."
"Well, don't be!" Jagan's tone, as if expressing heartfelt admiration, only irritated Ayato further. However, it seemed Jagan was not in any mood to humor Ayato.
"Begone, pest." Pushing past Ayato and Yukina, who were obstructing his path, Jagan walked straight down the corridor. But as if remembering something, he stopped, looked back, and opened his mouth with a grudging expression. With emotion and reason in conflict, reason seemed to have barely won out.
"Listen up, Ayato Hiryu. My business does not include unproductive combat with you. Nor is it of direct import with this island."
"Huh?"
"So don't bother worrying and carry on…until His Excellency returns at least!" With that one-sided statement, he ignored Ayato and Yukina and walked off, that time for good. "
What's with him?" Ayato muttered, shrugging his shoulders as he glared at the departing man's back.
"His Excellency means Vattler, right? What does he mean, until the guy's back?"
"I do not know… However, he spoke as if the Duke of Ardeal is not on Itogami Island…" Yukina closed her eyes and quietly sank into thought. Then, lifting her face as if remembering something, she ran outside the building. Ayato, having no idea what was going on, chased after her. She headed to an open space inside the airport with a view overlooking the sea.
"Senpai, look there."
As Yukina spoke, she pointed to a pier in the harbor district. Built alongside the central airport, the giant international passenger ship terminal served with the airport as the entrance to Itogami Island, twin symbols for the man-made island's eastern district. That very moment, numerous cruise ships were moored there. Even among such company, the Oceanus Grave II, the mega-yacht owned by Dimitrie Vattler, stood out.
The privately owned vessel was an ocean liner of such stature that it rivaled a naval destroyer in size. However, at the moment, that majestic floating castle was nowhere to be seen. The utterly unmistakable sight of the huge ship had vanished from Itogami Harbor. The Oceanus Grave II had departed without either Ayato or Yukina realizing it. Where had it sailed off to and its owner, Vattler, with it…?
"Vattler's ship is…gone?" Ayato murmured, dumbfounded. The civil war in the Chaos Zone, Jagan's mysterious behavior—that series of ill portents made Ayato, who would normally be glad for Vattler's absence, all the more concerned. The timing seemed especially poor. That said, Ayato possessed no means of discerning Vattler's true intent.
"…" He and Yukina, standing beside him, held each other's gaze, the two seemingly sharing a sigh. Apparently, Ayato and Yukina were fated to be led around by Vattler even when he was nowhere to be found.
(3 hours later)
In the end, Ayato and Yukina arrived back at their apartment building close to ten AM. They'd spent the excess time searching for Jagan at the airport to check on the whereabouts of the Oceanus Grave II, absent from its pier. However, in the end, they were unable to gain any leads on Vattler's location. Even checking the Net—and with the Lion King Agency—had yielded no details. As a result, Ayato and Yukina had spent all that time for naught. And back in the present— Ayato was staring at Yukina, wielding a rugged combat knife in the Akatsuki residence kitchen, with a dubious look on his face.
"I shall handle this. Senpai, please go on ahead—" With those words, Yukina violently swung down with the knife. The polished blade sank deeply into the mass of meat, severing it without a sound.
"No way. I can't leave this to you all by yourself, Himeragi!" Ayato earnestly attempted to stop her. Ayato's right hand was gripping a sharp blade in its own right—a stainless steel, multipurpose chef's knife.
"Why can you not entrust this to me?!" For once, Yukina glared at Ayato with visible emotion on her face. Right beside her was a metallic-colored, two-handed pot, making a soft sound as it simmered over a gas-burner flame.
"Well, what exactly do you plan to do with that mayonnaise in your hand?!"
"Th-this is to add flavor!" Yukina, dressed in an apron, hid the mayonnaise in her hand behind her back as her shoulders shuddered a little. With a practiced hand, Ayato lightly peeled daikon radishes as he insisted, "No, that's not right! This is meat we're talking about!"
"Mayonnaise has many nutritional benefits. After all, there are cases of stranded mountain climbers having survived hunger thanks to licking the mayonnaise they had on hand!"
"That hypothetical situation's got nothing to do with this!" Having tried and failed to desperately explain it away, Yukina grudgingly put the condiment down. Seeing this, Ayato audibly exhaled in relief. The time was 12:40 PM. They were preparing a slightly late lunch. With Shizuku absent for the time being, Ayato had meant to stock up on grub and convenience store bento boxes, but Yukina had voiced opposition to this.
She claimed ready-made food was lacking in nutrition; apparently, with Shizuku gone, Yukina had taken on responsibility for Ayato's dietary regimen herself. Of course, Ayato had little objection to home cooking per se, but— "That doesn't mean you need to force yourself to help me, Himeragi. Lately, Shizuku's been taking care of it, but I was cooking for myself a lot during elementary school and Junior League."
"No, I can cook, too. I received survival training from the Lion King Agency, after all." She proudly added,
"Leave it to me." Apparently, that very training was the culprit behind her waving around a combat knife in place of a chef's. "Oh, fine, then. Setting aside flavoring the meat, go ahead and set the sashimi, Himeragi."
"Understood. Well, then…" With one hand, Yukina received the plate Ayato offered her as she set the combat knife down. For a moment, Ayato doubted his own eyes when he saw what she had picked up in its place. "Wait a sec! Why are you picking up the mayo now…?!"
"…Are you saying that ketchup would be better?"
"This ain't sunny-side up eggs, so cut both out! At least don't put any on my por—"
"Tee-hee, I am kidding. I am not so bereft of taste for that." Seeing Ayato seriously nervous sent Yukina giggling with a teasing smile.
"…Gimme a break." Ayato weakly exhaled, drained of strength. As usual, he couldn't put his finger on Yukina's sense of humor.
Yukina focused on earnestly setting the plates for a while, perhaps thinking she'd gone just a trifle too far. Ayato silently peeled the daikon radishes in the meantime. With calm returning to the kitchen, the only sounds were of boiling meat and the two performing their respective tasks. It was that serenity, with both in close, crowded quarters, that suddenly made each of them conscious of their situation. For some reason, Yukina's tone was awkward as she commented,
"Y-you know, it's very quiet without Shizuku around." Perhaps she was trying to ease the tension in her own way. However, thanks to her saying Shizuku isn't here, that fact came into even sharper relief in both of their minds.
Yes—Shizuku would not be returning home that day. They were alone with each other till nightfall. Stay frosty, Ayato told himself. There ought not to have been anything odd about being alone with Yukina; she was the watcher of the Fifth Primogenitor. It was her duty to be at his side like that.
Ayato had no reason to be tense. The fact that he had Yukina on his mind more than usual was, in his opinion, Gajou's fault for having run his mouth the day before about wanting to see the faces of his grandkids.
"Geez, kids, my ass. That moron…"Ayato subconsciously murmured it to himself. Yukina shuddered, her body going rigid in apparent fright as she said: "K-kids…?"
"Er, n-nope! I definitely didn't say that! I meant…eggs! We've got some eggs left in the fridge, so I was thinking, best to use 'em up ASAP."
"I—I see." Yukina's smiling face was tense as she nodded. He seemed to have lowered her guard a bit, but the uncomfortable, awkward atmosphere still remained. The more he noticed the awkwardness, the more nervous he became. "Ah, sorry." When Ayato went to take the same napkin Yukina was reaching for, his fingertips brushed her hand. Both Ayato and Yukina stopped moving with their hands remaining overlapped.
"I—I am sorry!"
"No, my bad."Ayato and Yukina forced their frozen bodies to move, pulling their hands away. It was one brief moment, but it had felt unusually long. The silence that assailed them once more felt heavy.
"H-how about we turn on the TV?"
"L-let us do that." Unable to endure the serenity, both spoke to that effect as they shifted to the living room. It just so happened that the first channel to be displayed was airing the same overseas news service they'd seen at the airport.
"Civil war, huh…" Setting his eyes upon that cruel reality made Ayato finally feel like his head had cooled off. Even if the events were taking place in a far-off nation, it was a war involving a fellow vampire primogenitor. Ayato couldn't manage to feel like it didn't concern him. Apparently, the silver lining was that the civil war had yet to escalate into a fully-fledged armed conflict. There had yet to be reports of civilian fatalities.
"Come to think of it, we were talking about this before, but why are they rebelling anyway?" Ayato continued watching the screen as he posed the question. Yukina had been on the verge of divulging the information back at the airport.
"It is probably…a border dispute, but…"
"…Border dispute?"
"Yes. Besides the Chaos Zone, the continent of North America contains two large nations, the Confederate States of America and the North American Union. It is the CSA that directly borders the Chaos Zone, however."
"Ahh… Come to think of it, I think we had a geography lesson on that." Ayato vaguely remembered the countries on a world map. The NAU was composed of everything from Alaska to the Great Lakes region, and the interior of the continent was covered by the CSA. From there, the southern part of North America and the Caribbean Sea were governed by the Chaos Zone—such were the three major countries comprising most of North America.
"It is said that the border between the Chaos Zone and the CSA is a vast treasure trove of mineral wealth. Accordingly, there have been repeated disputes between the two nations over the border territories belonging to them. However, because it has the NAU at its back, the CSA cannot engage in large-scale hostilities."
"Meaning it's bad if they got trapped in a pincer, huh?" Ayato understood the gist of Yukina's explanation. The powerful NAU was lurking behind the CSA's back. Depleting itself in a conflict with the Chaos Zone would only be to the CSA's disadvantage.
"Yes. Therefore, I believe the CSA has instigated rebellious elements within the Chaos Zone. No matter how great the Chaos Bride's popularity, there are still beast-men supremacists chafing under the rule of vampires and ethnic minorities seeking autonomy."
"So the CSA next door is pulling the rebel army's strings… Come to think of it, that makes a lot of sense." Ayato made a heavy grimace as he nodded. With that reasoning, he, too, could understand why there was a revolt in the Chaos Zone ruled by the Third Primogenitor. Malcontents were bound to appear, no matter how benign the monarch. If an enemy nation approached such people—and provided weapons and financing—inciting a revolt was surely no difficult task.
"I suppose so. But there is one thing that bothers me—"
"What?"
"No matter how much weaponry and financial support the CSA might provide, if the Third Primogenitor was serious, she ought to be able to wipe out an entire regional capital garrison single-handedly. Surely the soldiers of a Dominion are not ignorant about how terrifying a primogenitor is, and yet —" Yukina's expression grew quiet and concerned. Her words made Ayato catch on to what she meant, too.
"If they've started a revolt despite all that…that means…"
"Yes. That they might have obtained some kind of trump card with which they can oppose even a primogenitor."
"O…kay…" Ayato suddenly remembered a man named Kristof Gardos. The remnants of the so-called Black Death Emperor Front had plotted to obtain the ancient weapons known as Nalakuvera in order to oppose the First Primogenitor who ruled the Warlord's Empire. Gardos's plan failed in the end, but the Nalakuvera's combat capability had indeed been a menace. It was no mere boast that they were capable of opposing a primogenitor. Had Asagi Aiba not turned the tables, Itogami Island would surely have been destroyed by a mere handful of them.
It wasn't much of a stretch that a rebel army in the Chaos Zone plotting insurrection against a primogenitor like Gardos had weapons on par with the Nalakuvera for its own. That was likely what worried Yukina. But—
"S-senpai, the pot!" As Ayato was indulging in such reverie, Yukina shouted from beside him. When he suddenly looked, the pot filled with meat simmering over a propane flame was starting to boil over.
"Uh-oh…! …Yeowch, hot!"
"Senpai?!" Ayato rushed over to the burner to weaken the flame, inadvertently touching the pot lid in the process. Yukina, seeing this, drew in her breath and said, "Are you all right?! If we do not cool that immediately—"
"Ah…er, it's probably all right. A little burn like this should heal in no time…"
"That will not do. Even if you are a Abomination, proper application of first aid will reduce the time it takes to heal, so—" She took the hesitant Ayato by the hand and dragged him over to the sink. Ayato, in unexpectedly close quarters with her, was stricken once again by the same tension as before.
"Senpai? What is the matter?" Yukina asked, confused by Ayato's stiffness. With her at very close range, he subconsciously looked away from her big eyes and said:
"Er, I was just thinking, Himeragi, it's a funny feeling standing here in the kitchen, just the two of us…"
"J-just the two of us…" Realizing that she was, in fact, embracing Ayato from behind, Yukina's face flushed a deep red. However, having proclaimed she was administering first aid, she could not thrust him aside partway. Before Ayato's eyes, with black hair hanging over it, was the back of Yukina's pale neck. The pleasant scent of Yukina's hair pricked at Ayato's nostrils. He felt the beat of her heart through his back. Even though she was nervous, Yukina made no move of resistance. Ayato swallowed, his throat feeling incredibly dry.
And then— Ding-dong—
"Wh-whoa?!"
"Hyaa?!" At the sudden ring of the doorbell, Ayato and Yukina separated as if feeling an electric jolt. Simultaneously, the pair deeply exhaled, liberated from the tension. The beats of Ayato's pounding heart were very noisy. As if to conceal his flushed cheeks, he glared in the direction of the entrance in visible consternation. "Who is it at a time like this?"
"It seems to be a package delivery. Shall I go out?"
"Nah, that's fine. I'll go." When Yukina moved to take off her apron,Ayato stopped her and headed for the entrance. When he opened the front door, barely checking first, a male deliveryman was standing there in a uniform he didn't recognize. At his feet rested a large suitcase with a packing slip plastered on it—the kind used for international shipping.
"Package for delivery. Sign here to indicate receipt, please."
"Ah, right, right." The description of the contents of the package on the packing slip the deliveryman tendered was in flowing, handwritten English. Ayato could only make out his own name and the apartment's address. He imagined that Gajou must have been the one who had sent it. He couldn't think of anyone else who'd send a suspicious international package like that.
"Have a nice day—" When Ayato finished awkwardly signing, the deliveryman forcefully snatched the packing slip back and proceeded to depart. All that was left in front of the entrance was the giant parcel. It was a heavy metallic case. It seemed to be nearly a hundred kilograms in weight. Ayato had a little trouble carrying it one-handed, even with his Hybrid arm strength.
"What's with this huge suitcase…? Errr…?!" Crouching next to the baggage, Ayato checked the packing slip one more time. Then, when Ayato made out the sender's name, he raised a hoarse cry.
"Geh…! Wait a sec! I don't need this package. Rather, I'd like you to take it back…!" Ayato leaped out of the entrance barefoot, calling out to the deliveryman. However, the deliveryman was already nowhere to be seen in the apartment building corridor. He was long gone.
"—Wait, he's not here anymore! Shit!" Ayato fell to his knees, drained of strength. It was Ayato's mistake to have signed the form without having checked the sender. He ought to have rejected the package and insisted it be returned, whatever it took.
"Senpai? Did something happen?" Yukina, noticing Ayato's odd state, called out to him. Ayato, clutching his head in anguish, pointed at the suitcase and said:
"This happened. Look, here."
"…Eh?! Dimitrie Vattler…the Duke of Ardeal is the sender?!" Yukina's expression stiffened as she stared at the attached packing slip. The name of the individual written upon it was simply that unexpected. The sender of the suitcase was Dimitrie Vattler—the battle-maniac vampire native to the Warlord's Empire. The very fact that he'd gone out of his way to send it to Ayato made him imagine that the content was nothing good.
"And I went and signed for it. Aw, shit, I messed up…"
"Th-that does make things difficult. Even if you were to return it, the Duke of Ardeal's ship is not in port…," Yukina murmured, bewildered. The giant cruise ship upon which Vattler lived had already left port—its whereabouts unknown. Considering that the package had been sent by international shipping, it was a safe bet that he was somewhere outside of Japan.
"Well, we can't just let it sit there without looking at it…can we?" Kojou's expression contorted. He genuinely didn't want to know what was in the package Vattler had sent him. However, Yukina nodded in resignation.
"I suppose not. We cannot take countermeasures without checking to see what is inside. There is no guarantee that it is safe so long as it remains unopened."
"Yeah, you have a point… Better not be a bomb that blows up the second you open it…" Ayato shifted an annoyed gaze to the suitcase. As if to console him, Yukina shook her head with an earnest expression.
"I believe there is little need to be concerned about that. After all, senpai, even if your entire body is ripped to pieces, you should return to life immediately, and I can nullify any type of curse or spell with Snowdrift Wolf. Knowing this, I doubt the Duke of Ardeal would do something so futile."
"That makes logical sense, but he'll do pretty much anything if it amuses him."
"Now that you mention it, you have a point…" Yukina, influenced by Ayato's blunt statement, bit her lip, as if she feared that as well. "But waffling about won't solve anything. Himeragi, please."
"Yes." His resolve apparently hardened, Ayato stood up and carried the suitcase into the living room. In the meantime, Yukina opened up her favorite guitar case, pulling out the silver spear within.
This was a Schneewaltzer, a secret weapon of the Lion King Agency—a purging spear able to rend any barrier and nullify demonic energy. Even if there was a magical trap cast upon the suitcase, so long as Yukina had the spear activated, damage to the surrounding area ought to be minimal at worst. Against physical attacks, she could only pray that Ayato's Beast Vassals could manage somehow.
Checking to see that Yukina's preparations were complete, Ayato stretched a hand toward the suitcase. That was all it took to release the lock; perhaps it had reacted to Kojou's demonic energy. Vattler really had intended for the case to be for Ayato, and Ayato alone.
"Let's do this. Three…two…one…!" Ayato counted
"Zero" and simultaneously yanked open the case. That instant, thick, pure-white mist spewed out of the case. Naturally, he hadn't expected that to happen. Yukina, too, was bewildered, unable to respond.
"It's cold… What the hell is this?! Dry ice?!" The room temperature plunged as the white mist enveloped them. However, he felt no danger. The scent and other stimuli were not particularly strange; it was just very cold. Any careless touch with a bare hand would get the frost that was dancing around inside the suitcase onto one's flesh. It was without doubt that the temperature was lower than a freezer's. Ayato, obstructed by the dense mist, could not tell what was inside the case. He kept his hand on the case's handle, unable to do anything except wait for the mist to clear. And then—
"Get back, senpai. There is a person inside—!" Yukina suddenly turned the tip of her spear toward the case. Ayato peered through a slender break in the cold mist to see the contents within. Amid the cloudy, freezing air, there was a human being stuffed into the case—one with a petite, beautiful figure.
"A w-woman…?!" Ayato murmured, shocked. The stark-white mist filling the case cleared away, completely exposing the figure. She had delicate, light-brown skin and honey-colored hair as dazzling as the sun. Her limbs were supple, and her face looked quite young. She had tight hips and a surprisingly abundant swell to her breasts
— Lying on her side inside the case was this young, foreign-born girl—a beautiful young woman wearing not even a single stitch of clothing.
However, she did not move. She continued her cold sleep, almost as if she were dead. "H-how long are you going to continue looking?!" With Ayato fascinated by the girl, Yukina launched a palm strike at the side of his face.
"Ghoh!" He reeled backward as he held the tip of his nose Ayato couldn't help but feel angry at Yukina's excessive, irrational action. Yes, he was staring at a buck naked girl, but that couldn't be avoided under the circumstances. It was an act of fate, no matter how you sliced it.
"Well, you don't have to put it like— Aaah…!" As Ayato raised his voice to object, fresh blood vigorously flowed out of his nose. Right in front of Ayato was the completely nude foreign girl lying on her side. Yukina glared sullenly at the sight of Ayato getting a nosebleed while looking down at the two of them.
"Senpai…"
"Y-you're wrong. This is because you smacked me in the—" Ayato desperately made excuses as blood flowed from his nose. Yukina stared at Ayato with a cold gaze.
"Indecent." She said it like an afterthought in a voice bereft of emotion. Then, she sighed disparagingly.
"Why meeeee?!" Ayato shouted on the spot. As the two stared at each other like that, the beautiful, foreign girl quietly continued to sleep.
In the nook of a simple room with minimal furniture, there was a bed with an equally simple design. This was Yukina's bedroom in her apartment. On her side, the foreign-born girl sent in a suitcase lay upon the clean, pastel-blue sheets. Asserting that she could not leave an unconscious girl with Ayato, Yukina had brought the girl into her own room. The foreigner was wearing a T-shirt and shorts that Ayato had lent. Yukina was unable to dress the girl in her own clothes, chiefly due to the largeness of her breasts.
Yukina didn't know if it was a difference in ethnicity, or simple individual variation, but in the battle of bust sizes, the foreign-born girl wielded overwhelming superiority. And sitting right beside the mysterious young woman was a smallstatured, blue-haired homunculus, stethoscope in one hand. This was the sole experimental Beast Vassal symbiont homunculus in the entire world—Astarte.
"—Body temperature normal. No abnormal heart rate. No external injuries. Background brain waves detected in theta and beta ranges. Diagnosis, stage three: deep sleep." The homunculus girl spoke those words in a calm tone largely bereft of intonation. That day, the girl was wearing a white gown over her usual maid uniform —a rather sharp clash of attire. Astarte, originally designed as a medical homunculus for a pharmaceutical corporation, apparently had medical knowledge on par with an MD installed by default. That was why Kojou and Yukina had called her over to examine the still-unconscious foreigner. Perplexed, Kojou furrowed his brow and asked the homunculus girl,
"Meaning what, Astarte?" Astarte looked over her shoulder with a neutral expression and haltingly replied,
"She is…sound asleep."
"…That is to say, she is merely asleep?" Yukina looked bewildered. After all, the girl had been frozen, stuffed into a suitcase, and shipped internationally. That she was alive at all was a miracle by any definition. There weren't many "immortal" vampires who could withstand that. However, Astarte calmly conveyed the naked truth:
"Affirmative. It is not a magically or chemically induced coma."
"So what, the case was rigged with something?"
"I suppose so. Most likely." Yukina gazed at the suitcase standing in a corner of the room and agreed with Ayato's comment. A human being, sealed away alive, and revived the instant the seal was opened—though simple at first glance, such a system was built with rather high-level sorcery. It had to have been very expensive. However mad Vattler might be, Yukina didn't think he'd use such an expensive case to send a mere girl to Ayato's address for no reason.
"Astarte, can you tell us anything else about her…? I'd love some info on what she is and where she comes from, like, if she's some kind of special demon or s—"
"Negative. The patient's biological patterns do not fit any known demons whatsoever." Astarte readily shook her head in the face of Ayato's hopeful question. She completely refuted the possibility that the girl was some kind of rare demon like Yume. "Ethnically, I can confirm she shares characteristics of Latin American first nations and European Caucasians. Her physical age is fifteen. She is in excellent health. Her height is one hundred and seventy-one centimeters. Her weight is forty-six kilograms. Beginning with the top, her three sizes are eighty-six—"
"Wait, wait! We don't need those numbers!" Ayato rushed to stop Astarte from divulging more of the girl's personal information. Astarte inclined her head in surprise. "Question: Have you already taken these measurements for yourself?" she asked.
"Like hell…!"
"When did you…?!" even Yukina exclaimed, watching Kojou with a shocked expression.
"I didn't! Don't take her seriously, Himeragi!
"Why would I even check that?!" Ayato shouted, his voice going hoarse. It was true that the girl had a marvelous body that did not match her age, but he was hardly skillful enough to guess her three sizes from a few glimpses.
"Anyway, ain't there any other info?! I mean, besides the size of her breasts and stuff!"
"—I deduce that her individual name is Celesta Ciate." In contrast to the raggedly breathing Ayato, Astarte continued to speak at her own, measured pace. "What?!" Ayato and Yukina blurted out simultaneously, rocked by the unexpected information.
"How did you know that?" Ayato asked. "Answer: It is written on the packing slip."
"Ah…" Ayato spontaneously felt his strength drain from him when he saw Astarte point at the suitcase. Thanks to there being so many things written, it had escaped his sight, but on the declaration of contents on the home delivery packing slip, it indeed stated CELESTA CIATE,
"That's pretty up-front… Well, fine. Anyway, thanks, Astarte. You've been a great help." Kojou's shoulders listlessly fell as he spoke words of appreciation. When Ayato called Astarte out of the blue, she'd come without even asking why.
If not for her medical knowledge, Ayato and Yukina would have probably been carrying the still-sleeping Celesta around with nary a clue between them.
"Gratitude is unnecessary. This is a simplified diagnosis, not an accurate examination. Just to be safe, I recommend obtaining a diagnosis from a proper physician."
"If she was simply some girl who'd fainted, we'd just take her straight to a hospital. But it was that bastard Vattler who sent her, so…" Ayato sullenly flicked up his forelocks as he gazed at Celesta's sleeping face.
That Dimitrie Vattler had sent the girl to Ayato by name. There was no guarantee she was the harmless being she appeared to be. Bringing her to a hospital would potentially put innocent hospital staff and patients in danger. On the other hand, he was worried about continuing to shelter Celesta as Vattler had apparently intended. He had the unpleasant sense of somehow being that man's partner in crime.
"Oh-ho. Dimitrie Vattler…the Master of Serpents of the Warlord's Empire? I have not heard that name in some time. I wonder what he could be up to," said a conflicted, casual voice, one Ayato abruptly heard from behind. It employed a grandiose tone that was somehow larger-than-life.
"Do you know him, director?" Replying to that comment was a silver-haired, blue-eyed girl with an air of gentleness hovering around her like that of a saint. She was Kanon Kanase, Yukina's classmate. And sitting cross-legged on her lap was a beautiful Eastern doll about thirty centimeters tall.
With a jiggle of the doll's bountiful breasts, she inclined her head, as if searching through vague memories and said,
"I met him in person once, about a century ago… No, perhaps it was two centuries…?" With an annoyed look on his face, Ayato stared at the doll and Kanon as he asked,
"…So, Kanase, what's with the getup you two are in?" Kanon was not wearing the familiar uniform of Saikai Academy but rather a pure-white, long-skirted apron dress. The outfit made her look like a military nurse auxiliary from the time of the Great European War. The color made Kanon resemble an angel, suiting her to an almost bizarre degree—but Kojou didn't want to think that she wore cosplay normally.
"I…I am Astarte's assistant," Kanon spoke in a little voice as she looked toward the floor, seemingly blushing as she held down her nurse's cap.
"Assistant?" Ayato nodded, his face vaguely saying Okaaay. Kanon Kanase and Astarte were living as houseguests at Natsuki Minamiya's residence. When Ayato had contacted Astarte, Kanon had delivered his message. That said, he didn't think Kanon, a mere middle schooler, could work as Astarte's assistant, but— "Do not fault Kanon too greatly, Ayato. When she heard you ask Astarte to give an examination, she wrongly believed that you had collapsed, so she got it in her head to nurse you." The doll sitting on Kanon's lap spoke up in her defense. No, properly speaking, she wasn't a doll at all; she was what was left of Nina Adelard, once called the Great Alchemist of Yore.
Nina, having lost most of her physical flesh during the Wiseman's Blood incident, had been the size of a small pet ever since, remaining under Kanon's care. However, even in her diminutive form, her haughty demeanor remained undaunted, but perhaps that was testament to her greatness.
"D-director!" Kanon cried in a panic, her pale, almost translucent skin tinged a deep red. Nina looked up at the flustered Kanon with a dubious look.
"What? Is it not the truth?"
"Really…? Thanks, Kanase." With Kanon shrinking in embarrassment, Kojou gave her his honest thanks. After all, this was Kanon, who'd once tried to care for fourteen stray cats at once, unable to turn her back on a single one. He thought of her as a girl who would never leave a sick acquaintance to rot.
"Not at all… It was for you, after all…" Speaking these words, Kanon smiled, delighted. Yukina, listening to their exchange, cleared her throat. "So what do you intend to do with the girl, senpai?"
"Good question… The trouble is, I'd love to leave her to Natsuki if I could, but…" Ayato grimaced as he spoke.
Put bluntly, managing Celesta was too much for them to handle. He genuinely wanted to shove the whole thing onto a trustworthy, professional Attack Mage without a moment to spare. However— "Master is on a special patrol mission at the request of the Island Guard," Astarte replied in a businesslike tone. Ayato had an unpleasant premonition as he narrowed his eyes and asked, "…Special patrol mission?"
"Affirmative. According to information, signs have been detected of unregistered demons infiltrating the country."
"Infiltrating the… Wait, you're not talking about her, are you…?" Ayato pointed at Celesta as he wondered aloud. After all, she'd been stuffed in a box and sent by way of home delivery. He didn't exactly think proper customs procedures had been followed. That said, did Celesta really pose enough danger to warrant a special patrol? "Unclear. I cannot reply due to insufficient data."
"That figures…" Ayato made no objection to Astarte's simple reply. Yukina, too, merely nodded without a word. "I guess all we can do is wait and see for now. If she…Celesta…is just sleeping, she should wake up sometime soon, right? Maybe Vattler will get in touch before that happens. Sorry, Astarte, could you try to get in touch with Natsuki for me?"
"Accepted." The homunculus girl nodded. Legally speaking, Astarte had been put under Natsuki Minamiya's guardianship. There was surely no one better to entrust with a message while Natsuki was with the Island Guard.
"Well then, Kanon and I shall prepare dinner during that time. As you can see, we have already finished purchasing ingredients," Nina said, albeit in a condescending manner. Apparently, ingredients for supper were inside the numerous bags Kanon had carried in.
"I'm grateful to hear that, but…I'm kinda surprised. Setting Kanon aside, you can cook, too?" asked Ayato in surprise. Certainly, Nina was an excellent alchemist, but the way she typically spoke and acted made Kojou unable to shake the image that she couldn't do proper cooking. Nina responded to Ayato's stark doubts with a ferocious smile. "Do not underestimate me. I am she who has mastered the Magnum Opus. I shall demonstrate the quintessence of cooking from my homeland of Parmia. It has been two centuries. I cannot wait."
"Wait, two centuries, is that all right here?! Is it really?!" exclaimed Kojou as a nervous sweat spread across his back.
"…Himeragi, sorry, but could you watch over Kanase and Nina's cooki… Himeragi?" Ayato addressed her in a quiet voice, but Yukina made no immediate response. Her eyes seemed glazed over as they stared somewhere off in the distance, yet in spite of that, she held her breath with an oddly serious expression. After a brief delay, she finally noticed Ayato and said,
"Ah, senpai. I apologize."
"…Something happen?" Kojou watched her soberly. "No, it is all right. I simply felt as if someone was watching me. I believe it was my imagination. There is an anti-intrusion barrier around this apartment, after all."
"I-is that so?"
"Yes. Therefore, please leave the seasoning of Nina's cooking to me." Yukina raised her face with a look of pride. She pointed toward the kitchen of the Himeragi residence which, for some reason, was stocked with a large quantity of mayonnaise…
"R-right…" As Yukina aggressively rolled up her sleeves, Ayato stared and nodded weakly. Beside them, the foreign girl continued sleeping peacefully, moaning with an expression that suggested she was having a dream.
Natsuki Minamiya picked up the phone call at a viewing lounge on the top floor of the airport. The number displayed on her cell phone's screen was not one she remembered recording. "
Heya, Teacher Girl. How are ya? It's me, me—!" The greeting coming through the speaker was that of a very chummy middle-aged man. She knew that voice. The velvety tone only served to make it all the more irritating.
"…" Natsuki knit her brows indifferently and quietly ended the call. She was about to return the cell phone to her bag, but the incoming ringtone sounded once more.
"Goodness," Natsuki muttered, letting out a long sigh and grudgingly touching the phone to her ear. "Hey now, don't suddenly hang up without one word of greeting. At least let me thank you for taking care of my idiot Nephew."
"…What is it, grave robber? I did not plan for a three-party conversation." Natsuki questioned him back with a chilly tone. The caller was Gajou Akatsuki. From Natsuki's point of view, he was the father of one of her pupils. More precisely, Natsuki knew Gajou Akatsuki before his nephew had ever enrolled in Saikai Academy. The uncle was an archeologist, a field worker who traveled to conflict zones the world over, pilfering excavated goods during the turmoil of combat—a hairbreadth from looting during a fire. It was on one such battlefield that Natsuki had met him.
"I wanted to do a little informing. I'd love it if you followed up, but…" Gajou spoke in a manner that was, for once, sober and serious. A blatant expression of wariness came over Natsuki. According to rumor, Gajou Akatsuki had been out on an excavation on the fringes of the Chaos Zone until a few short days prior. "Informing, you say. Where are you right now?"
"I just landed at Haneda Airport. That civil war–related job got canceled at the last minute, see. I brought my daughter with me for homecoming. But plane tickets to Japan are so expensive. And when did they jack up the price of midflight beers? Real pain in the ass."
"Just get to the point already. If you don't want me to expose the sins of your past to your lovely bride, that is." The barbs in Natsuki's voice increased. She felt like Gajou was smirking on the other end of the line. "Okay, got it. The main topic. You know of a chick named Angelica Hermida?"
"…No, I don't know her." Natsuki shook her head after a brief pause. She possessed confidence in never forgetting the name of a single Attack Mage or sorcerous criminal after hearing it initially over the course of her work. However, this was the first time she'd heard of Angelica Hermida.
"Didn't think so," Gajou said rather bluntly. "Not any fault of yours. She's not your run-of-the-mill sorcerous criminal."
"Who is she?" "
She's the head of Zenforce—CSA Army's special forces company."
"A soldier…?"
"That's right. Rank of major. She participated in military interrogations on the government side in the Andes Commonwealth civil war four years ago. It's said that she commanded a unit of forty-four people, who killed almost two thousand guerillas, earning her the nickname of Bloodstained Angelica— what makes it a little tough is that she's a real babe. In an expensive designer coat, she looks like a celebrity's trophy wife."
"…Why do you know all this, Gajou Akatsuki?" Natsuki's face grew graver still at how Gajou was speaking like he'd seen her in person. "Well," said Gajou, breaking into laughter, his behavior lacking all trace of seriousness, "that's because I walked right past her a few minutes ago."
"What…?!"
"She was waiting for a flight to Itogami Island in the lobby here at Haneda. By now, she's probably landed over on your end. I couldn't confirm who she had with her, but it's probably a four-man squad at absolute minimum," Gajou commented, as if he was discussing idle gossip. Natsuki's lips twisted in distinct displeasure. "And you just watched them go without lifting a finger?" "
Damn right I did. I'm a civilian here—what did you expect? Of course, I put my Niece's safety first."
"Tch," went Natsuki, nastily clicking her tongue. Though it annoyed her to an almost unbelievable degree to admit, Gajou was right. Even if he did possess combat skill on par with a mercenary, Gajou was still a civilian in the end. He had no reason to fight Angelica Hermida.
"The CSA, yes…? There seem to be a lot of fishy movements taking place around the Chaos Zone lately."
"Your understanding the situation makes this a lot quicker. Well, that's how it is, so I'll leave it in your hands," Gajou said.
"Later." His quick farewell was the last thing he said before hanging up unbidden. When the cell phone fell silent, Natsuki glared at it, clicking her tongue once more. Just as Gajou Akatsuki had indicated, a flight from Haneda had been scheduled to arrive at Itogami Island only a few minutes prior. The passengers were probably heading to the customs counter that very moment. She did not know Angelica Hermida's objective.
However, it was hard to believe that a member of a foreign nation's special forces would visit the Far East Demon Sanctuary for no reason. Considering her relationship to the civil war in the Chaos Zone, that much was virtually certain. The Chaos Zone in Central America was the Dominion ruled by the Third Primogenitor, the Chaos Bride. And on Itogami Island lived the Fifth Primogenitor— "
(On that Day after defeating the deity Angelica Hermida)
That day, Asagi Aiba lay slovenly on an expensive, ergonomic chair, her chin resting on her hand in visible displeasure. She was in Keystone Gate's Floor Zero—the special room at the center of the giant building that was itself the center of Itogami Island.
Floor Zero was a place called the server room of the Gigafloat Management Corporation—on the surface, at least.
It was a completely airtight chamber within which were placed the five supercomputer cores that administered Itogami Island, the nerve center to which every network on the island was connected.
The outer shell was said to be tough enough to survive water pressure at 20,000 meters under the sea or even a direct nuclear strike. However, to Asagi, a high schooler working a mere part-time job, such unrealistic specs were worthless pieces of trivia.
"Damn that Motoki… What's the big idea, calling me over here?! I'm… so…bored!" Asagi set her legs up on the desk in unladylike fashion while she grumbled in annoyance.
"It's a rush job so we'll pay, and you can use the supercomputer however you want," Motoki had said. Seduced by her childhood friend's rosy words, Asagi had gone to work, wasting a precious vacation day in the process. But all she'd ended up doing was staring into space at a desk, waiting. Out of great tedium, she'd applied for about a dozen software patents, crushed the world champion in computer chess, and hacked the surveillance cameras at Ayato's apartment building, but naturally, such ways of killing time had their limits.
"Hey, Mogwai. Are you listening? I'm getting hungry here… I'm hungry!" Asagi flailed her limbs around like a child as she called out to the surveillance cameras. Then, with unexpected timing, Asagi's cell phone made a noise—the tone for an arriving message.
The sender of the message was Yaze. The contents were simple. Namely: "Today's business is all done, so you can head on home. Thanks for the hard work—"
"Excuse me?! Geez, what the hell?!" Asagi glared at her cell phone's screen and shouted. Behind her, she heard the sound of air draining away. The airtight lock sealing Asagi in had been released.
"Why that…! Mark my words…you'll pay for this…!" Asagi muttered as she menacingly clenched her fist. Thus, without fanfare, did her day come to an end— In a cabin on the giant cruise ship Oceanus Grave II, Dimitrie Vattler tilted a wineglass. The crimson liquid, with a whiff of iron hovering around it, swayed within his hand. There was a tablet device placed on the table displaying a newspaper company's website.
The top headline proclaimed CIVIL WAR COMES TO AN END. The rebel army in the Chaos Zone had been suppressed without the Chaos Bride needing to take to the field. Combat had ended with a whimper and no major civilian casualties. This had the unintended effect of elevating the Third Primogenitor's stature as a stateswoman.
Evidence of the civil war being a CSA military scheme had been publicly unveiled. There were allegations that this evidence included the name of a commissioned female special forces officer who'd been wounded and taken prisoner. As a result, the CSA had been showered with international condemnation and was instructed to pay reparations to the Chaos Zone.
As Vattler gazed out the window, a youthful vampire with a handsome, androgynous face asked him, "Are you satisfied with the matter…? It would seem that aiding the Chaos Bride has antagonized most of the elders." His jade-green eyes seemed melancholic somehow as they turned toward the article on the tablet. Dimitrie Vattler was an aristocrat native to the Warlord's Empire, a pure blooded vampire directly descended from the First Primogenitor, the Lost Warlord.
His vampiric kin could not be very pleased that he had aided the primogenitor of another bloodline. However…
"I don't mind. My grandfather probably found it funny. We showed him something somewhat amusing, after all." Light shone through the expensive, hand-cut glass as Vattler shook his head with a smile. The look of enjoyment in his eyes seemed to leave the youth, Kira, both pleased and conflicted. In other words, it was the same as usual.
"C, is it?" Kira murmured with a sigh. The corners of Vattler's lips quietly curled up in a smile.
"Had Ayato not stopped Zazalamagiu, the Gigafloat Management Corporation would no doubt have activated the circuit. That is why they placed the Priestess of Tyrant within the chamber. Thanks to this, we saw the other part of Itogami Island, the true form of the Demon Sanctuary, for a brief time."
For a moment, Vattler's blue eyes glowed crimson. Reflected in his eyes was the building at the center of Itogami Island— Keystone Gate.
The sun was just setting over the horizon. The dazzling reflections gave the building a golden hue. "Besides, thanks to treating the Chaos Bride well, I have received such marvelous presents." Drinking the crimson liquid dry, Vattler looked over his shoulder with the expression of a child who'd laid his hands on a new toy. Then, he called out to the girls standing at the edge of the window.
"Is that not so, Hektos, Dekatos—?" The two girls, both with beautiful, fairylike visages, replied to his address with a nod. Depending on the angle, their thin, billowing blond hair seemed to change into the colors of the rainbow. In the evening… Ayato and Yukina were restlessly looking up at the clock in the hospital corridor. It was a medical facility under the Gigafloat Management Corporation, home to a medical wing that specialized in diagnosing demons and Attack Mages in the Demon Sanctuary.
Along the way, the pair had also met up with Kanon and Astarte, who were sitting on a nearby bench. They all held uneasy expressions, save for Nina, who wore a sulk instead. This was because the hospital did not allow pets, forcing her to pretend to be an inanimate doll. Finally, the door that led to the diagnostics lab opened, and Natsuki Minamiya emerged. She was, as usual, wearing an out-of-place outfit— namely, an extravagant dress and a folding fan. Kojou rushed over to her and asked,
"Natsuki…how's Celesta?" The Attack Mage had arranged for Celesta, who immediately lost consciousness after the prior events, to be taken to that hospital. Thereafter, Celesta had undergone testing. Even if she had somehow been rescued, she'd been fused with a dark god. She'd been extremely frail, and there was concern about aftereffects and other reactions. Natsuki looked at the worried faces on those present. "Well, aren't you all worked up?" she remarked with a sigh.
"Though it was basic testing, no signs of lingering divine essence from the dark god were found." She spoke in her usual, composed tone of voice.
"Then that means—," Ayato began. "It means that she is no longer the bride of Zazalamagiu."
"That so…" Ayato leaned weakly against the wall. "I'm so glad." That eliminated the possibility someone else would go after Celesta to sacrifice her. Now, she was free. Overhearing this, Kanon and Astarte also touched their chests in relief.
"I wonder, is Celesta's body all right?" Yukina inquired as she supported Ayato's slumping form before he fell to the floor.
Celesta's flesh and blood had surely borne quite a burden from the sorcery used on her in rituals past and the strain of being bathed in divine essence. That must have affected her mentally, too. "There are residual effects to some degree requiring treatment here on Itogami Island, but it shouldn't be too serious.
After all, unlike Angelica Hermida, she was the proper bride, meaning she had high compatibility with divine essence," Natsuki explained in a perfunctory tone.
Having only completed basic testing, she had nothing more to say about the girl's health.
"Ahh, beyond that, it seems that the Chaos Zone is covering the costs of Celesta Ciate's treatment and her living needs thereafter. The formal paperwork should be on its way in short order," she added.
"The Chaos Zone—you mean Giada…? Why would she…?" Ayato blinked, looking like he'd been slapped in the face. The Chaos Zone was only indirectly connected to the incident. In terms of nationality, Celesta herself was likely a subject of the Chaos Zone, but he didn't think that warranted direct national support to one little girl wrapped up in an incident with another country.
"It's not really that surprising, is it?" Natsuki looked back his way; if anything, she seemed to find his skepticism to be strange. "Thanks to Celesta Ciate's incident, they were able to demand hefty reparations from the CSA. I would think this is the least they could do."
"Ah…you have a point." Put that way, Ayato understood. The Chaos Zone had been the prime beneficiary of Kojou and the others interfering with Angelica Hermida's mission.
"Nothing for me or Himeragi, then… It just doesn't feel right…," Ayato mumbled, his honest opinion trickling out. Regardless of the fact that they'd been involved solely on Vattler's whim, Ayato and the others had faced death several times over in the process. He thought they had a natural right to demand an apology and fair reparations. Of course, he genuinely felt he didn't need a reason to rescue an acquaintance, but this was a separate issue. Overhearing Ayato, Natsuki curiously tilted her head.
"Mmm? I think you gained something quite significant this time around…"
"…I did?" What does she mean? he thought. Of course, he had no idea what she meant. However, that did not seem to be the case with Yukina. Abruptly, she looked up at Ayato as if just remembering something. "Come to think of it, senpai, it seems you were using a new Beast Vassal, so—"
"…Huh?!" Ayato's entire body seized up like a rusted gear. Stiffly rotating his head to look back at Yukina, the hushed voice in which he spoke was the most he could manage. "Th…that so?"
"Yes. During the battle with Zazalamagiu." The look in Yukina's eyes made him feel distinctly uncomfortable. The Fifth Primogenitor was said to be served by thirteen Beast Vassals, but Ayato had not actually tamed them all yet, for bringing a new Beast Vassal under his dominion required acts of vampirism. That meant drinking the blood of a powerful spirit medium, the only feed suitable for a Beast Vassal. Of course Yukina, being Ayato's watcher, knew all this. Engaging in vampiric activities when her back was turned was a big, serious issue between them.
"Ah, come to think of it, didn't you say at the time you had something to talk to me about?" Ayato, feeling cornered by Yukina's suspicious gaze, tried to force a change in subject.
"Er, yes…but…not in a place like this…" Unexpectedly, he easily deflected Yukina. Maybe I can get her to back off, thought Ayato, but when he embraced that slender thread of hope, an unanticipated disturbance in the corridor only added to the chaos.
"—Ayato Hiryu. Is this funny-looking foreigner an acquaintance of yours?" Natsuki asked with an exasperated expression on her face.
"What?" Ayato shifted his gaze. Standing there without any aura about her was a female, silver-haired knight, wearing a military uniform modified to look more like a ninja outfit. Of course Natsuki's outfit stood out, but the lady knight's appearance stood out even more. White-gowned hospital staff were glaring at Ayato and the others, wondering what in blazes was going on.
"J-Justina…what are you doing here?" Ayato looked at her in a fair bit of shock. For some reason, Justina, said to be always covertly guarding Kanon, had come right out into the open. She was carrying a large-screen tablet PC at chest level.
"I, Interceptor Knight Kataya Justina, have been commanded by my liege, h Princess La Folia Rihavein of the kingdom of Aldegia, to visit thee. Sir Ayato, please look at this."
"R-right…" Ayato, nodding despite not understanding, looked down at the tablet's screen. It was a video chat being transmitted over the Net. In front of the camera sat a silver-haired girl who greatly resembled Kanon, but she was wearing an ornate, ceremonial military uniform.
"Tee-hee. It has been a while, Ayato. I am glad you and Yukina are well." Perhaps the silver-haired girl could see Ayato and the others as she spoke with an elegant, highly dignified, smiling face. Ayato's eyes popped wide at the unexpected individual's arrival on the scene. This was a girl whose beauty was said to be the Second Coming of Freya, crown princess of the Aldegian royal family of Northern Europe, La Folia Rihavein— She was beautiful, noble, kind, and wise, boasting enormous popularity among the populace, and basically a storybook princess, but actually, Ayato had a fairly hard time dealing with her. That was because she was so smart, he couldn't tell what she was thinking, and on top of that, her occasional schemes frightened him.
"La…Folia…what are…?!"
"I received a report from Justina. By rights, I should drop everything and join you so that we could celebrate together, but unfortunately that wish cannot be granted." The beautiful princess of the Northern European kingdom of Aldegia spoke those words, lowering her eyes in apparent regret. What is she talking about? Yukina's stare at Ayato seemed to say. A cold sweat broke out on Ayato's back. Interceptor Knight Kataya Justina was always monitoring Kanon from the shadows. So if there was something that she had witnessed, it had to be referring to…
"B-by report, you mean—"
"Why, this video, of course." At La Folia's instruction, one of the princess's waiting ladies operated a terminal. The chat screen cut out, only to be replaced by an already-edited video. It showed a dimly lit cabin—one with piles of sheets, towels, and other linens used aboard a ship. In a narrow pathway between those piles sat a wounded Ayato. Behind him was a half-naked Astarte, and in his arms rested Kanon, dressed only in her underwear. Ayato's mind went blank as the air chilled all around him.
"Wait a… Th-this means… Don't tell me she was peeping?!"
"Justina is an excellent bodyguard, after all. I apologize for the resolution and audio." La Folia appeared on the screen once more with a somewhat proud smile.
"Bodyguard?! Ain't this just being a photographer?!"
"You do realize that this was an illegal act of trespassing on a ship privately owned by the Duke of Ardeal? Surveillance camera footage would appear to remain in the Duke's hands, as well."
"Wha…?!" Ayato was struck speechless. Now that she said it, it made perfect sense. At the time, Ayato and the girls were aboard the Oceanus Grave II. Dimitrie Vattler was the last man to let such an amusing scene slip through his fingers.
"Kanon is my precious relative, so I should count her tying her destiny to yours as a blessing. But I am a little jealous, of course. Tee-hee." La Folia stared at Ayato, speaking in a tone that he couldn't peg as either joking or serious. Ayato felt fiercely anxious about the implied meaning of her roundabout way of speaking. "T-tying her destiny to mine…? Um, La Folia…"
"Also, this is a message from Father. He said, 'I want to meet Ayato—and soon. Tell the bastard to say his prayers.'"
"Wait a— By your dad, you mean the king of Aldegia?! You mean at the head of his entire army…!"
"You really should take responsibility for us, then."
"Uaaaaaaaaa!" Ayato finally screamed. He hadn't even had time to notice that La Folia had deftly inserted herself into the situation. Ayato didn't know why he, who had done nothing he should be ashamed of, should find himself backed against the wall to that degree.
"B-but that was just one act of blood donation— Kanase, come on, say something." If the other party concerned explained things, even La Folia would understand. It was an act of medicine. Ayato called out to Kanon with that belief. But perhaps Kanon did not grasp the situation they found themselves in; her typical, reserved little smile came over her as she lowered her eyes, visibly embarrassed.
"I—I was very clumsy, but…"
"No—! Not that—!" Why did she repeat that of all lines? thought Ayato in despair. With Ayato unnerved, Yukina stared at him, seemingly beside herself as she made a little sigh. He really is incorrigible, said her somewhat sympathetic expression.
"Himeragi—" Seeking rescue, Ayato shifted his gaze toward Yukina. He remembered how the two had felt like one when they struck down the dark god at the end. Yukina knew that Ayato had been injured and that he'd used a new Beast Vassal to rescue Celesta. In the end, one more time, she was the only one left for him to rely on. "
I understand," Yukina said, nodding as she looked back at his pleading eyes. "It is all right. I already knew that you are an indecent person."
"Whyyyyyy?!" shouted Ayato, facing the window. And so the menace of the dark god passed, and the anguish of the Fifth Primogenitor, the World's Mightiest hybrid Vampire, deepened just a little bit more. A peaceful night befell the Demon Sanctuary—
To Be Continued
