Strike the Blood - Volume 12 - Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE 

THE KNIGHT OF THE SINFUL GOD 

1 

Iblisveil Aziz, a second-generation, blood descendant of the royal family ruling the Fallen Dynasty of the Middle East, glared at the instant ramen in a white disposable cup. 

It seemed he found it difficult to believe that a dish existed that was complete as soon as you poured hot water into it. 

“I am supposed to eat this within the container?” 

The prince tried to follow Asagi and Lydianne’s example as he separated his chopsticks before gingerly bringing the noodles to his lips. The peculiar scent of the soup had roused suspicion within him, but… 

“This is…quite good…” 

…his eyes widened in surprise as he slurped a mouthful of noodles. 

Though he was a prince, the cheaply seasoned emergency rations packed into the robot tank had agreed with his palate surprisingly well. 

“Told you. At high altitudes, the boiling point drops, so the trick to enjoying it is to let it sit until the temperature is just right.” 

It was Asagi who spoke those words with a proud look as she dwelled on the finer points of adjusting the water temperature and cooking time. 

In contrast, Lydianne said, “Even though I told the chief mechanic over and over that I most prefer miso broth…” 

She was mumbling complaints in a small voice as she sipped noodle broth made from a soy base with seafood added in. Asagi quietly made a pained smile at Lydianne acting her age for once when she said, “Come to think of it, are you all right with garlic, Your Highness? Many people take issue with its pungent aroma, no?” 

“Only the weaklings of the Warlord’s Empire. There are few of us in the dynasty who mind. Also, you may address me as Iblis. I mind not.” 

“All right, Iblis, how about giving this chocolate a try? And after that, try this juice, too. It’s powdered, though.” 

“You may have my bean jelly if thou prefer. The coffee-flavored one comes highly recommended by yours truly.” 

Asagi and Lydianne continued butting heads over the emergency rations spread out on the vinyl seat. For a time, Iblisveil gazed at the spectacle as if finding it quite mysterious. 

“You said Lydianne and Asagi, did you not…? …You both appear to be rather…eccentric.” 

“Ah? You think?” 

Asagi could not conceal her dismay as she looked back at Iblisveil. Unsurprisingly, she couldn’t quite wrap her head around being treated as an eccentric by a vampire prince. 

“Just to get this out of the way, I’m not wearing this weird outfit because I want to. This girl just twisted my arm into wearing it…” 

“It makes no difference to me what clothing a pair of brats without a shred of sex appeal like you put on.” 

“Hngh…?!” 

Asagi’s face twitched in response to Iblisveil’s cold words. 

Though Iblisveil had the appearance of a child himself, his chronological age surely ran into the centuries. When thinking of it like that, his treating Asagi and Lydianne as anything but little children seemed too great a stretch. 

“However, there are few who address me without fear or favor.” The prince continued, somehow seeming at a loss. “That said, I do not believe you have learned such sorcery that you might be able to oppose me. I am mildly interested in just what your intentions might be.” 

“I’m not really…sure what you’re trying to say, but…” Asagi inclined her head a little as she spoke. “If you have no intention of hurting us, there’s no reason to be afraid of you, is there?” 

“Even though I am a vampire, and a direct descendant of a primogenitor, at that?” 

Something about that seemed to disagree with Iblisveil as he turned his golden eyes toward Asagi. 

“Ahh, that’s what you mean,” said Asagi, shrugging her shoulders as she continued. “Well, I was raised on Itogami Island, so…” 

“I see… So you are a human from a demon sanctuary.” 

This time it was the prince’s turn to understand. 

“Ohh,” went Asagi, displaying her interest in Iblisveil’s reaction. “You know about Itogami Island?” 

“I had visited it once previously. This time, I merely passed through the airport.” 

“Oh, okay,” said Asagi, seeming a little pleased as she nodded. Itogami Island’s central airport was the only place inside Japan from which you could fly nonstop to a demonic Dominion. Naturally, he’d arrived from the Fallen Dynasty by air, entering Japan via Itogami Island. 

“I guess I could say, I’ve had normal contact with vampires since I was a little girl, so why should I be afraid now? After all, there’s a lot of good and bad people out there, humans and demons alike.” 

“I grant thee, ’tis the first time I am meeting a prince, but I have lived near royals, primogenitors, and the like for some time,” Lydianne agreed, having apparently lived on Itogami Island for a long time herself. 

“Goodness,” said Asagi, clicking her tongue. “Ah, right. Iblis, if you came through Itogami Island, are you heading home the same way?” 

“I may well be… But what of it?” 

Asagi’s sudden question put a curious look on Iblisveil’s face. Seeing it, Asagi glared at Iblisveil with renewed vigor as she said: 

“Then, coming to Fighting Ramen at the international border terminal might be worth your while. Itogami Ramen’s thick back fat ramen has its fans, though. Lately, instant stuff is pretty nice, but still, with real ramen, you’re getting the good stuff.” As Asagi began earnestly mulling the issue, she added, “No, wait, Pacific Ramen’s another option.” 

Iblisveil continued gazing at her in amazement, his brows still knit as he said, “You are indeed an eccentric.” 

Finally, able to restrain himself no longer, the prince of the Fallen Dynasty broke into laughter. He had a cheerful, smiling face, which, if seen by his usual subordinates, would have induced abject panic. 

Of course, Asagi had no way of knowing such a thing. 

“Er, did I lose you somewhere…?” 

Asagi twisted her lips in visible dismay, annoyed as Iblisveil continued laughing and laughing. 

2 

“Hey, what was with those demon beasts from before anyway?” 

Shio Hikawa was standing still in the middle of an icy plain when she posed her question to Gajou Akatsuki. 

A Shamanic War Dancer in the field asking Gajou, nothing more than a civilian, for aid was a failure in its own right, but she felt it wasn’t the time to worry about how it looked. 

“Demon beasts…huh? If they really are demon beasts, great, but…” 

However, Gajou had an abnormally pensive look as he replied. That he, with such an air of composure and mystery about him, had such a hesitant reaction only served to worry Shio all the more. 

Shio felt annoyance tinged with resentment at that fact as she asked, “What do you mean by that?” 

“I mean, this area might’ve been some kind of ruin. The old hag’s words about calamity being buried down here might have been right, after all.” 

“Calamity… Could you mean the dragon from earlier…?” 

Shio lowered her voice as she recalled the pitch-black shadow in the mist that she’d only see for a second. 

Though Shio was an Attack Mage, a genuine dragon was uncharted territory for her. It was said that they were already on the verge of extinction, with only a tiny handful remaining in the Chaos Zone and Africa, but she didn’t know if it was true. It was said that the species, said to achieve greater intellect than human beings over the course of their long lives, occupied a place at the upper extremity of demons and demon beasts. They were known to possess incredible combat capabilities rivaling that of Old Guard vampires. 

If a dragon truly had appeared in Kamioda District, she didn’t think the Lion King Organization and the Self-Defense Forces’ encirclement were enough to fend it off. Certainly, calamity was a fitting moniker. 

However, in response to Shio’s murmur, Gajou bluntly shook his head. 

“Nah, I’m pretty sure you’re wrong about that.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Dragons are guardians, y’see.” 

“Guardians…?” 

Gajou’s vague, evasive words made Shio turn a perplexed gaze toward him. As she did, he turned straight toward her, giving her the same fishy smile he always did. 

“Anyway, we’d best pull back for now. Either way, quelling demon beasts ain’t a specialty of either of us.” 

“I suppose you’re… Yeah…” 

Shio accepted Gajou’s suggestion with good grace—not because she bought his ambiguous explanation, but because the unconscious Nagisa Akatsuki’s physical endurance tugged at her mind. 

The temperature of the cold air shrouding the surface of the lake was clearly below the freezing point. If she continued her defenseless sleep, she was in danger of hypothermia; worst case, she’d freeze to death. 

“The mist is…lifting…?” 

Just as Shio and Gajou set out, walking toward the nearest riverbank, Gajou murmured thusly with visible displeasure. Still carrying his sleeping, beloved daughter in his arms, his feet came to a halt as he slowly surveyed the surrounding area. 

Certainly, Shio sensed that the mist covering the environs of the lake had thinned out, just as Gajou had said. The landscape was still nothing but white mist in the distance, but they were just barely able to make things out on the opposite shore of the lake. I don’t like this, Gajou’s little snort seemed to say, and he added: 

“It’s quiet all of a sudden… This ambiance ain’t good.” 

The self-described archeologist stared at the ice stretching up above them. 

The top of the icy hill he stared at was scarred in an irregular manner. The slope was covered with countless diagonal cracks, marred by bits and pieces with metallic coloring. When Shio realized that this was no mere marring, but the remains of demon beasts ripped to shreds, she made a tiny gasp. 

“Who…did this…?!” 

It wasn’t simply one or two demon beast corpses. There were forty or fifty, or perhaps even more—the swarm of steel-colored monsters had been slaughtered in one-sided fashion. 

Thanks to being concealed by the mist, she hadn’t realized it previously, but in her mind, the surviving demon beasts had likely all been gathered in that place. Then, they had fought someone, perishing to the last. 

There was a diminutive figure standing still halfway up the icy slope. 

It was a white-haired woman dressed in a dougi uniform. Her hands held a drawn naginata. 

“Lady Hisano?!” 

Perhaps she heard Shio’s surprised voice, for Hisano slowly turned toward them. Seeing Gajou at Shio’s back, she did not seem especially surprised, merely heaving a tired sigh. 

“Shio Hikawa… I see you have rescued Nagisa. You have my thanks.” 

“Ah, no, I didn’t really do anything…” 

When Hisano voiced her thanks to Shio, the latter hastily shook her head. As a matter of fact, Shio had done nothing save take the unconscious Nagisa into her care. 

“Heya, old hag. Is this all your doing?” 

Gajou posed the question to Hisano in a coarse tone of voice. Hisano coldly looked back at her own son, thrusting her naginata before Gajou, apparently to show him the lack of blood spatter upon it. 

“Surely you jest. I only discovered what you see here a short time ago.” 

“…Doesn’t seem to be the SDF’s work, either.” 

So spoke Gajou as he turned over a demon beast corpse with the tip of his shoe. 

The wounds left on the steel-colored demon beasts were all from bladed weapons, or perhaps sharp talons or the like. The attacks were unthinkable from the firearm-reliant Self-Defense Forces. 

“It kind of looks like they were fighting to protect something…” 

Shio seemed to be stating her subconscious thoughts out loud. She felt some kind of firm, unified will behind the annihilated demon beasts’ actions. Like a swarm of bees protecting their queen, they hadn’t once attempted to stop the fight until there were none left standing. 

Hisano, silent as she listened to Shio’s words, lifted her face as if she had realized something. 

“Gajou…” 

He nodded back to her with an anguished expression, not turning his head as he posed a rapid-fire question. 

“Shio, you use physical enchant magic, right?” 

“…I can, but what of it?” 

Shio rebutted in mild annoyance at the instructor-like air with which Gajou had spoken. However, when Gajou looked back at her, his face had lost all of its previous composure and reserve. He pushed the body of the still-unconscious Nagisa Akatsuki into Shio’s arms, practically hurling the girl. 

“Take Nagisa and go. Get as far from here as you can.” 

“Ah?” 

Shio felt bewildered as the sun above their heads seemed to darken. A giant, pitch-black shadow was circling above their heads as it descended. 

Shio was speechless when she realized what it was. 

There was a demon beast above them. A beast far more dangerous and terrifying than mere snake-hornets— 

It had a wingspan of forty to fifty meters. It had armor-like scales, and its hind legs were armed with talons like thick blades. It had a long, whiplike tail and a ferocious maw like a carnivorous lizard— 

“A w-wyvern…?!” 

Dumbfounded, Shio murmured as she looked up at the enormous demon beast descending from the sky. 

Once employed as tools of war, a wyvern’s combat capabilities were unquestionably the top class of all flying demon beasts. Though not on par with a true dragon, they were in a different league than other demon beasts. Even a Priestess of the Six Blades from the Bureau of Astrology probably could not destroy it alone. 

What rocked Shio even further was the knight’s saddle resting over the wyvern’s back. 

Atop the saddle sat a cavalryman with a poised lance—a knight in an iron suit of armor wearing a pitch-black mantle. 

“So that’s the guy who slaughtered all the demon beasts, huh?” 

Gajou spoke as he raised the machine gun he’d pulled out from the Land of the Dead. Boasting high firepower, it was a brutal-looking heavy machine gun for military use, but it felt terribly inadequate against the enormity of the malevolent wyvern before them. 

“…Not one of the good guys, I take it?” he asked, glaring at the iron knight. 

The grave expression on Hisano’s face remained as she nodded, glancing toward Shio, with Nagisa Akatsuki in the girl’s arms, and said, “No. Having revealed himself here and now, his objective is most likely—” 

“The calamity of Kannawa Lake, huh…? Shit, my worst prediction just had to come true!” 

The knight of iron went into motion at the same time that Gajou cursed. All at once, he charged at Shio and the others from above, controlling the wyvern as nimbly as his own hands and feet. 

“Gajou, I leave the wyvern to you. I shall deal with the rider—” 

“Hey, don’t push it, you’re no spring chicken!” 

Hisano and Gajou readied and unleashed their respective weapons. 

Gajou’s heavy machine gun roared and spewed flames to intercept the approaching wyvern. The machine gun was loaded with anti-demon, electrum-tipped bullets. However, the rounds that had penetrated the houda scales with ease did nothing against the gunmetal wyvern. 

For her part, Hisano unleashed offensive shikigami toward the iron knight. 

Silver birds of prey resembling peregrine falcons attacked the knight with the velocity of speeding bullets. It was such an impressive offensive shikigami that it made Shio, a specialist in ritual magic, get chills just from watching. 

But Hisano’s shikigami, numbering over a dozen, shattered and dissipated the instant they struck the knight of iron. 

He had neither blocked them nor struck them down. The shikigami had been completely nullified and had simply ceased to be. 

“What the…?! What’s going on?!” 

Bewildered, Shio stared at the sight of Gajou and Hisano’s difficult battle. 

However resilient it might be, Shio didn’t think electrum-tipped bullets would just bounce off a wyvern, a mere living creature, leaving it unscathed. A mere human nullifying Hisano’s shikigami without the use of sorcery was even less likely. 

Somehow, the resilience of knight and steed alike was uncanny…and unnatural. Furthermore, neither Gajou nor Hisano had any way of overcoming that unnatural nature— 

Gajou and Hisano both had likely realized that from the beginning. That was why Gajou had told Shio to go. Run, while we buy as much time as we can… 

“Li’l Shio, run!” 

Gajou discarded the machine gun and its melted barrel, raising a new weapon: an anti-materiel rifle. Normally, you’d only fire such a huge firearm from a prone position, but Gajou hip-fired it out of sheer stubbornness. 

The round, accurately striking right between the wyvern’s eyes, scattered and exploded with incredible magical energy. He had fired a spell gun round: special, precious, and densely packed with magical energy. 

The wyvern recoiled greatly, its movements coming to a halt, but this, too, lasted for a mere second. Seeing that it was largely unharmed, Gajou gloomily shook his head, howling with laughter at his own expense. 

“A spell gun round…didn’t work…?!” 

The unbelievable sight before Shio caused her to unwittingly stop in her tracks. 

A moment later, the naginata swung down by Hisano made a metallic, high-pitched creak as it shattered. Hisano, so skilled that the Special Attack Mages employed her as an instructor, was being utterly dominated in combat. It was not that she was weak. Hisano’s attacks were being completely thwarted by the iron knight’s armaments. 

“Lady Hisano?!” 

Shio could not help but let out a cry at the sight of blood spurting from Hisano. Shio laid Nagisa Akatsuki upon the surface of the frozen lake and lifted up her silver recurve bow. 

“—Certify request! Freikugel Plus Proto Three—unlock!” 

“Shio, don’t!” 

Gajou, covered in blood, shouted at Shio. However, Shio ignored his warning. Under the circumstances present, only Freikugel Plus had any hope of saving Gajou and Hisano. This cutting-edge area suppression weapon, the pride of the Lion King Agency, ought to have been able to annihilate even a wyvern with a single blow— 

“I, Dancer of the Lion, Archer of the High God, beseech thee! Let there be light—!” 

Shio poured in the last of her ritual energy and unleashed a maximum power attack. 

The spell arrow she had nocked let out a whistle, tracing a high-density magic circle beyond human limits. This generated an enormous, magical cannonball with vast magical energy rivaling vampiric Beast Vassals. 

The iron knight took the blazing beam on his own mantle. 

The knight’s mantle ate away at thin air like ink on the surface of water, changing into a pitch-black aura lacking any thickness that enveloped Shio’s attack. 

Then Shio’s ritual spell cannon attack was swallowed up by the darkness and vanished. 

Without a sound, vast magical energy that could burn even a wyvern to a crisp in a single blow…disappeared. 

It was almost as if the attack had never existed in the first place— 

“N…no way…” 

Shio was still in her shooting follow-through as her entire body cringed. 

The knight of iron calmly looked back in Shio’s direction. Without a sound, the flying wyvern swooped toward her. 

The knight aimed the tip of the lance toward Shio’s heart. Even so, Shio did not move. She’d unleashed ritual energy beyond her limits. Her entire body was completely drained of spiritual strength. 

Shio’s eyes watched the glimmering lance approach her heart in slow motion. 

Thud! went the dull impact. 

Shio’s face twisted in sharp pain as she was knocked onto the icy plain from behind. 

Warm, fresh blood fell onto her cheek. 

It was not Shio’s blood that had been shed. Shio was not wounded……for someone had shielded her—and was impaled by the lance in her place. 

With an impudent smile, the stubble-faced middle-aged man fell on top of Shio, drenched in fresh blood. 

“Uugh… Aagh…” 

Shio’s voice trickled out from her throat. Gajou remained motionless, eyes closed. An incredible amount of blood was flowing out of his back. He had shielded Shio, taking the iron knight’s attack in her place. 

“No… No, this wasn’t what I… This can’t be happening…” 

Shio weakly shook her head. But she, too, already knew the truth: This was her fault. Ignoring Gajou’s warning, she’d attacked the knight of iron—and thanks to that, Gajou had been grievously wounded. 

It was Shio’s reckless act that had put Gajou and Hisano in this position. 

As a result, even Nagisa Akatsuki had been exposed to danger—the very girl Gajou was trying to protect, even at the risk of his own life. 

In a raspy voice, Gajou said to Shio… 

“R…un…Shio… Even if it’s just you…!” 

Shio made a wordless scream. She truly desired to save him, even if that meant sacrificing her own life. And yet, as she was in that moment, there was nothing Shio could do. 

The wyvern’s cold eyes gazed down at them from above. 

The wyvern’s talons, resembling thick scythes, swung downward toward Gajou and Shio as they lay motionless. 

It was an instant later that she felt vast demonic energy coursing nearby. 

“—Shakala!” 

She heard a beautiful voice full of composure and majesty. 

Simultaneously, the enormous frame of the gunmetal wyvern was blown away as it sustained a blow backed by incredible demonic energy. 

In actuality, this explosive power reminiscent of a natural disaster was a sentient mass of demonic energy taking physical form. It was a vampire’s Beast Vassal with the form of a giant snake. 

The blond, blue-eyed vampire who had dragged the summoned beast in from another world stood at Shio’s and Gajou’s side. 

“Who…are…?” 

Shio looked up at the young man as she asked. However, the vampire noble did not reply. 

“Kira, Tobias—you take care of that. At long last, I have found a lead. I must offer suitable hospitality.” 

The young aristocrat glared at the iron knight he himself had sent flying as he addressed his subordinates. Then, ignoring him and Shio alike, he approached Nagisa Akatsuki, lying atop the ice. 

“Though somewhat sooner than I expected…this is our third meeting, yes?” 

Saying this, he picked up Nagisa Akatsuki in what somehow seemed like a very casual manner. 

3 

Around that time, Asagi and Iblisveil were riding Lydianne’s robot tank as it breached Kamioda Temple. The expected SDF checkpoints were nowhere to be found, and the three climbed the long stone stairway to reach the temple grounds. 

However, thanks to the demon beast assault, there was no sign of anyone on the devastated grounds. There were signs left over of a fierce battle; it was as if a bomb had gone off. 

Asagi and the others had no time to dwell on that, for they heard a loud alarm coming from the tank’s pilot compartments. The instruments installed into the robot tank were warning they had detected demonic energy. 

“Master Iblis, that demonic energy just now—” 

“Yes. A vampire’s Beast Vassal.” 

Iblisveil grimaced as he continued sitting atop the tank’s heavy armor with ease. 

The demonic energy had been detected over two kilometers from the temple from the very center of Kannawa Lake. The density of the demonic energy had to be crazy for the tank’s relatively low sensitivity sensor to detect and warn of danger at that range. 

“This power, it comes from the Warlord Empire’s Master of Serpents… Damn him, just what is he fighting? Lydianne!” 

“As you command!” 

Lydianne did as Iblisveil ordered, launching the robot tank forward. The crimson vehicle urgently raced down the mountain slope, barreling toward Kannawa Lake. 

Asagi emerged from the copilot seat hatch to gaze ahead with binoculars. The obstructive mist had largely thinned out, so she could see the surface of the lake even from that range. 

“I found her! It’s Nagisa!” 

Asagi could barely breathe as she shouted against the strong headwinds. 

She was near the center of the frozen lake. There was a vampire nobleman wearing a pure-white coat standing against an icy wall, like a cliff jutting out from the lake. He was carrying Nagisa Akatsuki, who was dressed in white priestess attire. She looked like she was still asleep, practically sleeping like the dead. 

And at the vampire aristocrat’s feet lay a blood-soaked Gajou Akatsuki and a girl she didn’t know wearing a school uniform. 

It had taken less than five minutes for the robot tank to arrive at the center of the lake. The ice made cracking noises as the tank decelerated. Asagi poked her head out of the stopped robot tank, launching a question Vattler’s way. 

“Vattler?! What did you do to Nagisa…?!” 

With Nagisa in Dimitrie Vattler’s arms, Iblisveil shot him an antagonistic look. 

“Nagisa Akatsuki…the Fourth Primogenitor’s little sister?” 

Vattler looked back at those intruding upon the scene, laughing sarcastically as he said, “My, my, Your Highness, Iblisveil Aziz… To think the Priestess of Cain would arrive with the likes of you in attendance. This comes as quite a surprise.” 

Then he bowed with great courtesy. 

“The Priestess of Cain… You cannot mean…?!” 

Iblisveil looked at Asagi. Asagi shot a questioning look back at him. The surprised vampire prince could not conceal his shock, clicking his tongue and shaking his head as he said: 

“Well, fine. It seems this was fated to be. But I shall have you divulge the details, Vattler!” 

“Fate… It would be good if it ended simply as that… Now, then.” 

Vattler let Iblisveil’s provocation slide as his gaze shifted toward his own back. 

The next moment, there was an explosive roar, and the wall of ice fell away. 

As the frozen shards scattered about, an ironclad knight riding a wyvern emerged from within. 

Two Beast Vassals—an incandescent bird of prey and a spider spewing threads of magma—encircled their foe, resuming their battle with the man in archaic armor who seemed more than up to the task. 

“Vattler… Is that…?” 

Iblisveil narrowed his eyes, ferociously baring his fangs as he looked up at the iron knight. 

“Yes. An armed operative of the Cleansers.” 

“The Knight of Cain, then…… I see, so that is why you stepped to the fore.” 

“I suppose it works out that way.” 

Vattler casually shrugged his shoulders as Iblisveil began to understand. 

The iron knight’s deadly duel with the Beast Vassals was progressively drawing closer to Asagi and the others. Noticing this, Iblisveil leaped off the robot tank and gave a quick order, “Asagi, take those humans with you and withdraw. The safest place for them is likely at your side. He shall do you no harm.” 

“R-right… I don’t really get it, but sure! Tanker!” 

“At your command!!” 

Deftly controlling the robot tank’s manipulator arm, she recovered the wounded Gajou Akatsuki, the girl in the school uniform, and the old woman in the dougi uniform. 

“Take Nagisa Akatsuki as well. You have no complaints with this, Vattler?” 

Iblisveil glared at the young aristocrat from the Warlord’s Empire as he spoke, seemingly to preempt any move on his part. 

“Of course not,” Vattler replied, readily handing off the still-sleeping Nagisa to the robot tank’s manipulator. His demeanor was almost surprisingly cool, without a trace of opposition. 

The knight and his opponents continued their attacks. 

The knight of iron repelled the bird of prey, a mass of incandescent demonic energy, as the wyvern tore loose from the magma threads entwining its entire body. It was clear by that point that the Beast Vassals were being overwhelmed. 

“So Kira Voltisvala and Tobias Jagan are being repelled…… It would seem that is no ordinary demon beast. And that armor… It employs the power of the true Nod. Intriguing…” 

Iblisveil smiled ferociously as he gazed at Kira and Jagan’s dire straits. The chance encounter with an unexpectedly powerful opponent had kindled his demonic fighting instincts. 

“If possible, I would prefer to capture him alive, but…” 

Vattler gently chided the prince from the Fallen Dynasty. However, Iblisveil laughed loudly at the young aristocrat’s words of wisdom. 

“I’ll let you have the lizard. Let’s have some fun, Vattler.” 

A vast, ghastly aura scattered about as Iblisveil spread wings of demonic energy and leaped. He didn’t even bother to summon a Beast Vassal. Iblisveil simply pounded the wyvern with a demonic blow of his own, sending its huge frame crashing down. 

The iron knight was thrown from the wyvern’s back, but the tip of his lance was aimed at Iblisveil. The vampire prince’s face twisted in delight. 

“You are a witless fool to turn your blade on me! Rip out his entrails, Meretseger!” 

Iblisveil summoned his own Beast Vassal—an enormous cobra rivaling the wyvern in size. The wyvern roared in anguish as it came into contact with the fiercely poisonous miasma wrapped around its serpentine body. 

No living flesh of a mere demon beast could fend off an attack from a Beast Vassal—a collection of pure demonic energy. By rights, it would hardly have been strange for the wyvern to perish from the initial blow alone. 

Yet, the wyvern endured. Having landed atop the ice, the iron knight deployed his pitch-black mantle, absorbing the Beast Vassal’s attack like a skilled matador. 

The mantle’s hem spread what seemed like an all-consuming void, blocking the approach of Iblisveil’s cobra. The aura had no thickness, a thin membrane of nothingness. Even the miasma, able to lead any living creature to its doom through mere touch, could not destroy that wall of void. 

It was surely that ability of the knight that had caused Kira and Jagan such difficulty. The bizarre aura he deployed included the effect of annihilating demonic energy unleashed by a Beast Vassal. But. 

“Is that all, filthy peon—?!” 

Iblisveil laughed deeply, seemingly mocking the knight of iron. 

The long, serpentine body of the vampire’s Beast Vassal circled around the knight as if to hem it in. The next moment, a sudden change occurred in the very air. The entire space enveloped by the Beast Vassal was tinted a ghastly shade of purple; when the wyvern came into contact with that purple air, it convulsed, seemingly writhing. Its steel scales spewed white steam, as if melting from too high a temperature. 

Iblisveil’s Beast Vassal had transformed the air itself into a powerfully acidic poison. Even annihilating the demonic energy could not halt the air that had become thick with virulent toxins. 

“That cobra… Was Meretseger not the Beast Vassal of Mavia, Second Crown Princess…? Your Highness, you…” 

“Did you believe that consuming your brethren was your own exclusive privilege, Master of Serpents?” 

In response to Vattler’s side glare, Iblisveil continued with venom in his voice. 

“Because of the humiliation that damned Zaharias inflicted on me during the Blazing Banquet, I exposed and struck down the traitor who sold me out to that arms merchant. No more than was due!” 

“I see…” 

Vattler smiled with visible satisfaction as he gazed at the prince of a rival nation that had raised his demonic energy to such impossible heights. He was like a hungry carnivore licking his chops as a feast was laid out before his eyes— 

At the height of the incident that brought about the revival of the Fourth Primogenitor, Iblisveil had tasted a humiliating defeat from a surprise attack by three Kaleid Bloods. In the span of less than a year, he had exacted his revenge upon the mastermind of the plot—his own biological sister—and in so doing, had increased his own combat capabilities. This gave Vattler great joy. 

“What is wrong, Knight of Cain? Are you done?” 

For his part, Iblisveil trained a cold gaze upon the iron knight he had wreathed in crippling poison. Though the iron armor was barely managing to protect him for the moment, it was only a matter of time until its durability was exhausted. Even its bizarre power could not destroy the Beast Vassal’s barrier. That was what everyone thought when, in the next moment… 

The knight of iron plunged his lance into the icy plain. 

A heavy machine gun for military use lay in that spot. Iblisveil had no way of knowing it, but it had been employed—and discarded—by Gajou Akatsuki. The instant the machine gun was pierced, the contours of the gunmetal lance contorted. 

The sharply tipped lance seemed to melt, coursing like jelly as it changed form, transforming into a brutal-looking firearm. 

“What…?!” 

The unnatural spectacle caused Iblisveil’s face to twitch. 

It resembled the transmutation employed by alchemists, but it was of a fundamentally different nature. Alchemists freely manipulated the structure of matter, but they could not copy complex mechanisms operating on principles they did not understand. 

In contrast, the composition of the iron knight’s lance had not changed; it had copied the bullet-firing function alone. All it had stolen from the heavy machine gun was the weapon’s “information.” 

The new gun barrel set into the tip of the lance opened fire with jet-black bullets. These penetrated the barrier of poisonous air, striking Iblisveil’s Beast Vassal. 

The Beast Vassal recoiled, its movements halting for but a single second. Thus, a gap in the encirclement around the knight was formed— 

The injured wyvern took flight. It picked up the knight of iron as it soared high into the sky, escaping beyond the Beast Vassal’s barrier with incredible acceleration. 

In the blink of an eye, the sight of them shrank as they slipped into the cold, lingering mists and vanished. 

“So he ran… No, he retreated in search of a more favorable battleground. Impudent knave.” 

Iblisveil murmured with pointed annoyance. 

The knight of iron had copied the capabilities of a modern-age weapon. Consequently, there were better places to fight than on an icy plain with nothing around him—places with numerous employable weapons where he could fight at an overwhelming advantage. Iblisveil had no way of knowing if he would have been at a disadvantage had the battle been in an urban area from the beginning. 

“Can you tail him, Kira?” 

Vattler spoke, seemingly, to empty space. Then, silver mist coalesced in that space, and from it, a handsome boy stepped forth. His fingertips had amber threads resembling magma tied around them that stretched high into the sky. 

“Rest easy, Your Excellency. I have him.” 

Kira Lebedev respectfully replied. 

Eavesdropping on their exchange, Iblisveil let out a quiet “hmm” before giving a snort of dissatisfaction. “So your goal was to smoke the Cleansers out of their hiding place from the very beginning. What a crafty man you are, Master of Serpents.” 

“Our Warlord commanded as much, you see.” Vattler shrugged his shoulders with a look of feigned ignorance. “As descendants of our Warlord, it is our earnest desire to see a certain sinful god destroyed. The Holy Grounds Treaty was forged for this purpose.” 

“For now, I shall allow myself to believe those words.” Iblisveil met Vattler with an icy stare. 

Though their words had an amiable tone, behind them lay an atmosphere of tension flowing between the pair that was as sharp as drawn knives. 

It was Asagi, returning aboard the robot tank, who wedged herself into that atmosphere. 

“What the heck was with that guy in the black mantle?” 

Asagi posed the question to Iblisveil, her demeanor not timid whatsoever. Though she showed Vattler and Kira due respect, she did not show a single shred of fear. Her attitude drained the poison out of the air. 

“He comes from the Cleansers…terrorists that worship Cain,” Iblisveil explained. 

“Terrorists…? What are people like that doing way out here…?” Asagi tapered her lips, perplexed. 

Iblisveil paid her a slightly mischievous smile as he said, “Their objective is to re-create The Cleansing—to destroy all Demonkind and return humanity to its proper place: a world where demons and sorcery do not exist. The key to achieving this objective likely sleeps within this land.” 

“Destroy…all demons…?” 

Asagi widened her eyes in horror. However, she remained shaken for only a second. Though her face was pale, Asagi raised her brows as she glared right at Iblisveil. 

“How can you be so calm about this, Iblis?! If we don’t make them stop now—!” 

“Make them stop…? Why would an unrelated human being like you think such a thing?” 

A bewildered expression came over Iblisveil. No doubt, in his life to date, a human being shouting at no less than a direct descendant of Fallgazer was simply unthinkable. Furthermore, he could not comprehend why Asagi, a mere human being, would be concerned for the future of Demonkind. 

Iblisveil’s demeanor irritated Asagi more and more. She banged a fist onto the tank’s armor and yelled, “Any normal human being would think you have to stop something like that!” 

“…Any normal human being…you say?” 

Asagi’s blunt assertion made Iblisveil break into laughter. Those who knew him from when he was back in his home nation would likely be greatly surprised. For him, well-known for his wild temperament, to laugh off a lecture from a little human girl was nothing short of miraculous. 

“Vattler… I’m sorry. My mood has changed somewhat. I will crush the Knight of Cain.” 

The prince of the Fallen Dynasty glared at the young aristocrat from the Warlord’s Empire as he issued his statement. Iblisveil’s imposing words, sounding much like a declaration of war, caused Vattler’s beautiful lips to curl up. 

“Of course, Your Highness, you may do as please—however, victory belongs to the swift.” 

The young aristocrat had not even finished his taunt before transforming into golden mist and vanishing. 

Iblisveil, silent as he watched the man go, turned to face the robot tank carrying the wounded. 

“Perhaps that was too temperamental of me… But I suppose that will be just fine.” 

“What will?” Asagi asked. Iblisveil seemed to be murmuring to himself. 

“Pay no heed,” said Iblisveil with a shake of his head, smiling again. 

4 

The cargo truck that Yuiri Haba was aboard ran along a narrow mountain road. She was accompanying the retreating Self-Defense Forces unit in the name of protecting those wounded in action. 

On top of the coarse road surface, the tires had chains on them to deal with accumulated snow, making the ride in the back of the truck distinctly uncomfortable. If she was careless, she might end up suddenly flung from her provisional bench seat. 

“It will be rocky for a while, Attack Mage Haba. I am very sorry. This was the only vehicle available.” 

The young special staff sergeant sitting opposite her in back of the truck apologized in an earnest voice. Likely, his polite treatment of her was not because Yuiri was an Attack Mage, but because her status as Hisano’s subordinate carried weight. It wasn’t like he respected Yuiri for her official position. 

Painfully aware of that fact, Yuiri’s shoulders felt very cramped as she shook her head and said, “Ah, yes, we’re all right. After all, we were stuffed in here like excess baggage… Ah-ha-ha.” 

“Not at all. We are counting on you, Miss Sword Shaman.” 

With Yuiri acting so self-deprecating, the staff sergeant smiled at her. Perhaps he was simply being considerate. 

The truck that Yuiri and the sergeant were riding in was at the tail end of the convoy. Because her cover story was that she was their escort, guarding against demon-beast pursuit, it made sense to make Yuiri the rear guard. In that sense, the staff sergeant’s words to Yuiri may have been no more than mere flattery. 

Though, of course, that didn’t feel bad from Yuiri’s perspective. She had been stuck with her own share of problems—namely, the girl with steel-colored hair who was sitting right next to her. 

“Yuiri, Yuiri!” 

The girl, her cheeks stretched from stuffing her face with ration biscuits, tendered both hands toward Yuiri. The Attack Mage inclined her head, desperately trying to wrap her brain around just what the girl’s mysterious words and gestures were trying to convey. The looks the SDF troops were giving her were painful—she felt like a rookie day care worker having little kids run circles around her. 

“Uh, umm… You want seconds?” 

“Sec…onds?” 

The girl curiously blinked her eyes as if she did not understand the meaning of the word. But her face lit up when she saw Yuiri taking out a fresh biscuit. 

“Seconds! Seconds!” 

“A-are they tasty?” 

“Tasty!” 

The sight of the girl chomping the biscuit straight out of Yuiri’s hand made them look like an owner and her beloved pet. It felt less like goodwill and more like she was brimming with affectionate attachment. Yuiri thought it looked as if she was feeding a stray. 

“Hey, what’s your name…?” 

With great perseverance, Yuiri waited for the girl to finish eating before posing the question. 

“You see… I’m Yuiri. And you are?” 

She switched poses and hand gestures, asking the question several times, when a light seemed to go on in the girl’s head as she said “Ohh,” her eyes sparkling. 

“Glenda.” 

“Glenda? That’s your name?” 

“Daa, Glenda!” 

The girl looked back at Yuiri as she nodded several times. 

“Glenda…” 

The girl winced as her cheeks widened into a big smile. Yuiri wondered whether Glenda was pleased that Yuiri had addressed her by name. The rhythmic swaying of Glenda’s body resembled a puppy cheerfully wagging its tail back and forth. 

“—?!” 

The moment her eyes met Glenda’s, Yuiri was struck by a strange hallucination. Her breath caught as powerful sadness and regret coursed through her. 

“…Ah…!” 

The instant those raw emotions threatened to crush Yuiri, she awakened from the vision. 

It took a little time for her to remember how to breathe. For a while, her entire body shuddered as she raggedly inhaled the bitter, cold air. There was sweat on her palms. She could even tell that her lips had gone pale. 

Amid intense dizziness and the ringing in her ears, the bizarre image emerged freshly in the back of her mind. 

The scene was of a small city left in a sea of redness that looked like blood. 

It was an artificial isle, produced out of metal and carbon fiber, constructed with unfamiliar technologies from another world. 

Mayhem had left the buildings in ruin, turning the island into a barren wasteland. 

A single boy stood atop a mountain of rubble. 

He looked up at the crimson sky in wordless lament. 

Soot-black blood coursed from a deep wound in his chest. 

He clutched a broken spear— 

“Wh-what is that scene…? This girl’s—memories…?” 

Yuiri murmured as her ragged breaths came one after another. Her head was jumbled, and it irritated her how her thoughts were in a frenzy. The one and only thing she knew for certain was this girl had shown her the vision. Yuiri’s priestess powers had no doubt reacted to the vestiges of some memory Glenda was tinged with. 

“Yuiri?” 

Glenda peered into Yuiri’s blank face with a look of concern. With a gasp, Yuiri came back to her senses. 

Yuiri forced a smile. “S-sorry. It’s nothing, really.” 

“Mrmm…” 

Suspicious, Glenda made a low sound. Yuiri laughed with the same feeble grin. 

The frame of the truck rattled, bouncing up and down as the vehicle seemed to roll over a small rock. 

That instant, Glenda gasped and gaped at the sight in front of her. Yuiri was a little surprised at the girl’s grave expression. 

“Glenda?” 

“Coming…” 

“Huh? What do you…? What’s coming…?” 

A moment after the perplexed Yuiri pressed the issue, they were struck by a powerful jolt that sent them lurching forward. The truck they were riding in had suddenly hit the brakes. After a powerful slide to the side that threatened to roll them over, they finally came to a stop safe and sound against the barricade at the shoulder of the road. 

Glenda had nearly been thrown from her seat, but Yuiri had just managed to hold her in place. Even so, Glenda’s expression remained unchanged as she looked outside through a small, shuttered window. 

“Attack Mage Haba, there!” shouted the staff sergeant in the seat opposite to hers as he glared at the truck’s rear. 

There stood a monster. 

A humanoid creature resembling a skeleton was closing in, seemingly in pursuit of Yuiri and the others. It was between three and four meters tall. Its internal organs had a machinelike quality; its exposed veins pulsed rhythmically. However you looked at it, this was not a living creature from the natural world. In Yuiri’s mind, it looked as if one had fashioned a living object from little more than a car frame. 

The truck had rammed itself into the shoulder of the road to evade the monster’s attack. 

“Automata… No, a golem…? But what’s this…icky feeling I’m getting?!” 

Yuiri’s cheek twitched from the bizarre magical energy she felt swirling around the monster. The power was plainly of a different nature than any sorcery Yuiri knew of. Just looking at it gave rise to disgust, on par with looking at a wriggling swarm of noxious pests. 

“Ah… Aaaaaah!” 

One of the SDF troops opened fire. He had used a large caliber, anti-demon shotgun. The gunshot had been at close range, but the monster simply shrugged it off. Its cartilage-like frame squished and bent, but she didn’t sense that it was in any pain. 

“This is bad—!” 

The humanoid monster stretched forth its unnaturally long right arm, ripping the truck’s canopy off with ease and groping its way into the steel flatbed. The monstrous hand was pursuing Glenda. 

The silver-haired girl shrank back in visible fear as Yuiri leaped in to cover her. 

“Rosen Chevalier Plus, activate—!” 

The silver long sword was shrouded in a shimmering ray of light as it sliced down toward the monster’s arm. With a great, weighty sound, the enormous metal arm rolled onto the truck’s flatbed. 

Even if it couldn’t feel pain, that had to have made it lose its balance. The huge monster wobbled, staggering down to one knee. 

“Run! Please—run while you still can!” 

Yuiri shouted to the SDF troops remaining in the back of the truck. Despite being Special Attack Mage Unit troops, their current status was that of casualties. It was Yuiri’s assigned duty to buy time until they could complete their evacuation. Fortunately, Yuiri’s Rosen Chevalier Plus was a pretty good match against golems. This was because the bulwark created by pseudo-spatial slicing could completely nullify an enemy’s physical attacks, and Rosen Chevalier Plus’s blade was able to effortlessly cleave metal in two. 

“A-Attack Mage Haba!!” 

The voice of the staff sergeant, last to leave the truck, was distorted from fright. The frame of the truck Yuiri and the others had been riding was dissolving like quicksilver. The large truck’s matter was rearranging itself into the form of a new skeletal humanoid. 

“Wha—?! What…is this? Is this alchemy…?!” 

Yuiri could not conceal her distress over the strange spectacle before her. 

Sorcery to turn a truck into a humanoid monster—it resembled the Make Golem spells alchemists employed. However, the effects of alchemy were unsuited to complex machinery, and in the first place, Make Golem could only make objects move if they were constructed to mimic the forms of living creatures. 

However, these monsters were different. Their weight, speed, power, and automated movements—all had the character of machines. 

The information contained in the man-made object known as a truck remained. Only its form had changed. 

A human being living in another world would probably characterize a truck as a monster upon seeing one for the first time. That’s what I’m feeling right now, thought Yuiri. 

“Yuiri!” 

As Yuiri stood still, Glenda leaped to her and embraced her. With raw physical strength unimaginable for such a small frame, she jumped straight over the head of the first monster. Then, she landed gently some distance from the truck with all the grace of a bird. 

A moment later, the object that had once been a truck completed its transformation into a monster. Had Glenda not pulled her away, Yuiri would surely have been trapped inside. 

Behind Yuiri and Glenda, the young staff sergeant in danger of being swallowed by the transformation himself dropped to the ground. Other SDF troops were lying on the ground nearby, but the monsters cared nothing for them. The SDF troops were not the monsters’ target. The hollow eyes of the two monsters were trained upon Glenda alone. 

“We have found you…Glenda.” 

Then, from behind the monsters, Yuiri heard a voice pass between them. It was a machine-modulated female voice. 

The individual was shrouded in a gunmetal-colored robe, standing behind the monsters as she glared at Glenda. Yuiri couldn’t see the woman’s face under the robe because she wore a mask over it, but the sight of the woman holding a metal rod made her look like a sorceress straight out of a fairy tale. 

“Glenda, could she be an…acquaintance of yours?” 

Yuiri posed the question as she brandished her long sword. Glenda vigorously shook her head side to side. Yuiri had expected as much. She didn’t think a woman making monsters attack them would be on Glenda’s side. 

Yuiri kept her guard up as she glared at the woman in the gunmetal robe. Even if her enemy’s numbers increased, Yuiri still held the advantage. The woman’s technique of turning a truck into a monster might have been a pain, but the monster created as a result was no match for Rosen Chevalier Plus. 

However, the gunmetal magic user’s next action was beyond Yuiri’s expectations. 

The woman continued to stare at Glenda as she made a statement of odd words. 

“—Glenda, acknowledge code: 49 72657175657374 72656c6963 6173 737563636573736f72. We demand the relic as the rightful inheritors.” 

When the woman uttered those words, she fell silent, seemingly awaiting Glenda’s response. A strange silence befell them. 

“…Mii?” 

Finally, Glenda shook her head, saying that while looking at Yuiri, seemingly seeking her aid. 

Of course, Yuiri had no idea what was going on, either. She set her jumbled breaths in order and her eyes shifted between Glenda and the woman. 

“4772656e641 646f 796f7572 64757479! Glenda! Fulfill your duty!” 

Finally, the woman shouted. Glenda shrank away in fear. 

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but—!” 

Having finally settled on what to do, Yuiri began to act. She kept the tip of her long sword trained on the woman as she fished out her Attack Mage license and thrust it toward the gunmetal magic user. 

“Under the Attack Mage Special Measures Act, I hereby place you under arrest for illegal use of magic in assault, battery, and the destruction of property! Lay down your weapon and surrender!” 

“You are in my way, Sword Shaman.” 

The woman ignored Yuiri’s warning and brandished her rod high. The monsters resounded with a metallic roar and, with the ground echoing beneath them, they leaped. One went for Yuiri from overhead; the other targeted Glenda. 

“Why you—!” 

Yuiri made a great upward swing with her sword, aiming at the monster coming at her. The silver long sword was enveloped in the dazzling radiance of ritual energy, shrouded in a pseudo-spatial severing blade. 

There was no need for complicated swordsmanship. A single blow released from Rosen Chevalier Plus at maximum power easily cleaved the huge monster in two. Or rather—it should have. 

Just before Yuiri’s sword made contact, the monster’s entire body was enveloped in a pitch-black aura. 

“What?!” 

With a sound like that of glass cracking, the pseudo-spatial severing blade shattered. Yuiri’s attack, now turned into a simple sword blow, bounced fruitlessly off the bones of the monster’s upper arm. 

“It blocked Rosen Chevalier Plus…?!” Yuiri frailly murmured as she somehow regained her poise upon landing. 

The source of the black aura surrounding the monsters was the robe worn by the gunmetal magic user. The darkness trickling out from the robe’s sleeves completely cloaked the monsters’ flesh, nullifying Rosen Chevalier Plus’s abilities. It was as if the sword’s supernatural power had never existed to begin with. 

“Yuiri!” 

There was no time to gawk, for Glenda’s cry beat against Yuiri’s eardrums. The girl, running in a panic from the other monster, had been driven to the edge of a precipice. 

“Glenda, run!” 

Yuiri readied her long sword once more, this time slicing into the back of the monster attacking Glenda. 

Even so, the result was the same. Rosen Chevalier Plus’s abilities could not penetrate the jet-black otherworldly barrier covering the monsters. 

“In that case—!!” 

Yuiri horizontally sliced through thin air, rending space itself. She used the spatial dislocation as a barricade to halt the monster’s progress. 

However, the gunmetal magic user’s aura destroyed even this spatial dislocation instantly. 

“Wha—?!” 

Yuiri’s face twisted in despair. The huge monster created from the truck was lumbering toward Yuiri. With her bulwark destroyed, Yuiri had no way to fend off the attack. 

I’ll be crushed— 

Thinking this, Yuiri resigned herself to her own death. 

It was the next instant that something in Glenda…changed. 

“Yuiriiiiii!” 

Glenda made a high-pitched scream that gradually transformed into the roar of a beast. 

Her coat was sent flying. The hide that appeared underneath was covered in beautiful scales. The tiny girl was changing into the form of an enormous beast with four malevolent limbs and fantastical wings. Her body was serpentine, reminiscent of the dinosaurs of old. 

All sight of Glenda had vanished, leaving nothing but an enormous dragon with a mane the color of steel. It was an overwhelming shift that could not be written off as the transformation of a beast person. 

“…Glenda… What are you…?!” 

Yuiri’s thoughts ground to a halt. 

The silver dragon sent the humanoid monster flying. Even if the monsters surrounded Glenda, now in dragon form, Yuiri didn’t think they could overcome her. 

However, the gunmetal magic user was unfazed. She’d probably known Glenda’s true nature from the beginning. 

The gunmetal robe seemed to move of its own will, spreading around the dragon’s enormous body. The transformed Glenda trembled, seemingly buckling under the agony. The dragon’s four limbs slackened, and she fell onto her side. The gunmetal magic user’s ability worked even on dragons. 

“Seize her,” the woman commanded the metal monsters. 

I have to save Glenda, thought Yuiri. After all, that girl had transformed into a dragon to save her. However, Yuiri had no idea how to help her. 

The Sword Shaman martial arts techniques developed to battle demons were ineffective against monsters of metal. Even Rosen Chevalier Plus was ineffective against the gunmetal magic user. 

Someone, save us… 

Forgetting her Sword Shaman status, Yuiri prayed like a helpless child. 

A moment later… 

A silver flash tore through the pitch-black membrane stretching from the gunmetal magic user’s robe. 

In truth, the flash was a metallic spear. The pale glow of the Divine Oscillation Effect split the aura from the magic user’s robe as easily as if it were paper. 

And then, dazzling golden lightning mowed the huge monsters down, leaving not even a single trace behind. 

The difference in power was overwhelming. It was a one-sided beatdown that could not even be called combat. 

Before Yuiri’s eyes, a dense mass of demonic energy took physical form, landing in the form of a lightning lion. 

“Ah…,” Yuiri murmured, dumbfounded. 

Along with the lightning lion stood a boy wearing a parka and a languid expression. Standing right beside him was a girl in a school uniform holding a silver spear. She had both delicate beauty and the supple ferocity of a feline beast. 

“Yuiri, are you all right?!” 

This girl called out Yuiri’s name. 

Of course, Yuiri knew her name as well—as well as the name of the silver spear she wielded. 

I’m so glad, thought Yuiri in relief. It’s going to be okay now, she said to Glenda inside her own mind. 

They had come. The World’s Mightiest Vampire and his observer. 

Fatigued beyond belief, Yuiri used the last of her strength to call out the girl’s name: 

“Yukii…” 

Then, Yuiri blacked out.