Strike the Blood - Volume 12 - Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR 

THE PRIMOGENITOR AND THE DRAGON 

1 

“Yukina…” 

Yuiri, the girl in the school uniform, murmured as she gazed dumbfounded at Yukina. 

Kojou gave a little smile and thought, I get it. Yukina’s words were true—this girl really was a Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency. Siding with her was the right call after all. 

“Is that the golems’ boss…? She sure looks like it, but…” 

Kojou slightly knit his brows, glaring at the woman who wore her silver charcoal robe like a true magician. It didn’t look as if she was cosplaying, and he didn’t think someone would go out in that getup without an actual reason. 

“Fourth Primogenitor…” 

The magic user gazed at Kojou in annoyance as she spoke. Her gaze was cold, as if looking at garbage by the roadside. 

“You know about me…?” Kojou inquired back in surprise. 

However, the silver charcoal magic user said nothing in return. 

A moment after the woman wordlessly hoisted her rod, an enormous roar made Kojou’s skin tremble. 

“What the—?!” 

“Senpai, behind you!” 

Yukina shouted at the confused Kojou. When Kojou looked back, his eyes beheld the sight of an enormous demon beast beating the trees down as it advanced. It was a two-legged, pterosaur-like creature with a wingspan reaching tens of meters. 

“Wha?! The heck is that?!” 

“A wyvern—!” 

Yukina thrust Kojou aside as the wyvern’s talons raced past, barely missing the top of Kojou’s head. He’d nearly had his head taken off. 

“Shit…! C’mon over, Regulus Aurum!” 

Kojou commanded his own Beast Vassal to strike back. As the lion materialized via vast demonic energy, it moved to swipe a foreleg down right before the wyvern’s eyes. 

But the gunmetal magic user went on the move before it connected. A black aura filtering out from the inside of the woman’s robe spread like ink covering the water’s surface, obstructing Kojou’s Demon Beast’s path. 

Heedless, the lightning lion tried to rip it asunder, but— 

“What?!” 

The instant it touched the pitch-black aura, the lion’s foreleg bounced off without a sound. The thunder and lightning surrounding the Beast Vassal dissipated and vanished; not even a spark remained. 

The wyvern enveloped by the aura was unharmed. It had merely been knocked off-balance from the shock of the collision. 

Yukina’s eyes went wide, like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “It…withstood an attack from the Fourth Primogenitor’s Beast Vassal?!” 

A Beast Vassal was a condensed amalgamation of demonic energy; no living being could withstand a blow from such a thing. It was said that nothing could defeat a Beast Vassal save smashing it with even greater magical energy—but there was a single exception. 

“Himeragi, just now…!” 

“Yes. It is the same as during the Black Bible Incident…!” 

Yukina clenched her silver spear as a grave expression came over her. 

There was one other way to oppose a Beast Vassal: complete nullification of its demonic energy. That was why Yukina, the observer of the Fourth Primogenitor, had been granted a Schneewaltzer, which possessed that very ability. 

So far as Kojou and Yukina knew, there was but a single way to nullify demonic energy other than with a Schneewaltzer—the Black Bible once employed by Aya Tokoyogi. With it, she had rendered Kojou’s Beast Vassals powerless by turning Itogami Island into a world where supernatural power did not exist. 

The black energy employed by the silver charcoal magic user greatly resembled the ability of the Black Bible. 

“Glenda…” 

When the wyvern swooped down, the silver charcoal magic user murmured bitterly, gazing at the fallen dragon as she leaped on the wyvern’s back. 

“Wait………!” 

When Kojou attempted to summon a new Beast Vassal to strike down the retreating wyvern, his face grimaced with pain. His right hand was pleading for mercy, feeling a pain as if it had been burned. It was his wound from where Paper Noise had stabbed him with Snowdrift Wolf back on Itogami Island. 

“Senpai…your hand…” 

Noticing something was wrong with Kojou, Yukina’s face went pale as she rushed over. He’d instantly meant to hide it, but she’d noticed too soon. 

“Yeah, it’s a bit messed up.” He smiled as he broke into a sweat from the fierce pain. “It’s no biggie.” There was Yuiri and a fallen dragon right beside them. He didn’t think giving Yukina extra worries was a good idea. 

“Backlash from summoning the Beast Vassal?” 

“Could be.” 

Crack-like scars had spread over the back of his right hand. The exact cause was unclear, but the combat a moment ago seemed to have made his symptoms worse. 

“More importantly, Himeragi, these girls are—” 

Seeing for himself that the immediate danger had passed, Kojou looked behind him. Yuiri, with her long sword, should have been right there with the wounded, fallen dragon, but… 

“D-don’t look—!” 

Nervousness came over the girl’s face as she stared at Kojou and shrieked. 

The dragon was changing shape within the school-uniformed Sword Shaman’s very arms—from an enormous dragon to a small, silver-haired girl. She looked about thirteen or fourteen, and she had an adorable face. 

And of course, the girl was not wearing anything. The clothes she’d originally been wearing had most likely been ripped into shreds when she’d transformed into a dragon. 

“Ah?” Yukina exclaimed, less surprised by the dragon changing form than by the fact she was naked. 

“Huh…?!” 

Kojou was just as surprised as she was. He was frozen with shock as he stared at the dragon girl’s naked human body. Yuiri was desperately trying to shield her, but her efforts were largely futile; perhaps she was in a panic herself. 

“Senpai, how long are you going to stare?” 

Yukina, the first to regain her composure, obstructed Kojou’s vision with a hand as she glared at him. 

“S-sorry! My bad!” 

Kojou gasped and snapped back to his senses, turning his face aside as he spoke. 

It was then that the malicious whispers of multiple people rode a cold wind to reach Kojou’s ears. 

“H-hey.” 

“Yeah, it’s a vampire… What’s a demon doing here…?” 

“And that girl—is she…a beast person?” 

Wounded SDF troops were staring at Kojou as they surrounded him from a distance. The troops were meeting one another’s eyes as they continued to whisper in low voices. Kojou was unused to their hostile, inquisitive gazes. It was an emotion largely unexperienced by him to date. 

Hostility and fear toward demons— 

“Senpai…” 

Yukina gently moved her body close to Kojou’s, almost as if lending him support. 

Kojou felt her warmth as he slowly looked up at the sky. It was covered with low, thin, gray clouds in the dead of winter, a season never to intrude on Itogami Island’s endless summer— 

“Ah…yeah.” 

That’s right, thought Kojou as it finally hit him. 

“This isn’t a Demon Sanctuary, I guess.” 

2 

Still held aloft by the robot tank’s manipulator arm, Shio Hikawa returned to the rampart of Kamioda Dam. The wounded Hisano Akatsuki, Gajou, and the still-sleeping Nagisa were with them as well. 

“Japan’s defense forces were brutalized, I see.” 

Iblisveil made the icy declaration as he gazed upon the wreckage of demolished armored vehicles. 

With the arrival of medical platoon troops on the rampart, aid was being rendered to those wounded in action. When the robot tank stopped a short distance away, Shio began administering first aid to Gajou and Hisano. The disappearance of Yuiri Haba weighed upon her, but treating the wounded came first. 

Raised to be assassins, the Shamanic War Dancers of the Lion King Agency were exceedingly well versed in the layout of the human body. They also received considerable training in life-saving treatments due to frequently being assigned VIP escort missions. Borrowing a first-aid kit stuffed into a tank, Shio somehow managed to finish treating their injuries. 

Hisano’s and Gajou’s wounds ran deep, but fortunately, they did not appear to be life-threatening. Even in such a perilous situation, they had been able to protect their vital spots. That said, it was, of course, impossible for them to fight any further. 

“It would seem you are the only one present capable of proper conversation, girl.” 

It was the prince of the Fallen Dynasty who addressed the meek-of-spirit, half-beside-herself Shio. 

“First, allow me to ask your name. You would appear to be a human Attack Mage, but why is a child such as yourself here?” 

Shio slowly turned to him. You’re the child here, she was in danger of saying out loud, but she swallowed the words. 

She’d recovered a little of her depleted willpower, likely from adrenaline secretions from her anger. 

“Your Highness Iblisveil Aziz, I am Shio Hikawa, a Shamanic War Dancer of the Lion King Agency.” 

Shio rose to her feet and looked straight toward the vampire prince. Oh, went Iblisveil, raising an eyebrow in amusement at Shio’s spirited demeanor. 

A girl with an extravagant hairstyle poked her head out of the tank’s hatch and asked Shio from above, “The Lion King Agency… You’re with Himeragi?” 

She had the spectacular face of a magazine model, and her name was written on a name space over her breasts. Her outfit seemed rather provocative, and Shio had no idea why she was wearing it. Shio was thinking this was a person who lived in a different world than she did, leaving her somewhat surprised at the name coming from the girl’s lips. 

“You know Yukina Himeragi, er… Asagi…Aiba?” 

“Huh? How do you know my name…?” 

For an instant, the beautiful girl with model-grade beauty tilted her head with a questioning look, then gasped and looked down at her breasts. Her cheeks went scarlet as she quickly covered up the space upon which her name had been written. 

“I-it’s not what you think! I was forced to wear this stupid thing to get in the tank, so—” 

“R-right.” 

First impressions aside, she’s kinda cute, thought Shio, all tension draining away. 

Contrary to her appearance, she was quick with her wits. If she was in plainer clothes, she’d probably have boys falling all over her, she thought with a twinge of pity, not that it was really her problem. Either way, the fact that she knew Yukina Himeragi made it likely she, too, was connected to the Fourth Primogenitor. If that was the case, Shio could understand the girl being here. 

“Well then, Shio and company, I would ask of you the circumstances. What is your objective, and why have the Cleansers appeared in this land?” Iblisveil resumed his cross-examination of Shio. 

Shio bit her lip a little, unsure just what to say. 

The boy before her eyes was a prince of another country—furthermore, a vampire of the Fallen Dynasty. Unable to determine whether he was the Lion King Agency’s ally, Shio couldn’t divulge details of the operation to him on her own authority—even if the result was to court Iblisveil’s anger. 

“I am…not authorized to speak about—” Shio’s lips trembled as she replied. 

“Oh, so you refuse to answer my question, Shio Hikawa. There is value in a faithful hound.” 

Iblisveil smiled ferociously. The raw bloodlust emanating from him chilled Shio’s entire body. 

“However, if you have no intention of informing he who saved your lives, you are already beneath any beast. Therefore, I must administer appropriate discipline. Perhaps you will be more forthcoming with information after I have torn off one of your limbs—” 

Shio could not avert her eyes from the gleaming-white fangs bared by Iblisveil’s smile. 

She had a premonition: If she let her guard down for a split second, she would be killed. Cold sweat rose from her every pore. Asagi Aiba is no normal person if she’s fine working with a monster like this, thought Shio. 

The fact that Shio still did not bend to Iblisveil’s coercion was due to competitiveness toward her junior, Yukina Himeragi. It was said that Yukina monitored the Fourth Primogenitor, even more of a monster than Iblisveil, twenty-four hours a day. Shio, wanting with all her heart not to lose to her own junior, endured his intimidation. 

Seeing Shio like that, Iblisveil grinned with even greater amusement, his ghastly, oppressive might increasing in turn, when… 

“Hold up, Your Highness. That’s a little too much teasing for an earnest girl like this. I’m a civilian, so I don’t mind bringing you up to speed on the circumstances.” 

Gajou, lying on an army cot, sat up and addressed Iblisveil. In no time at all, the oppressive energy binding Shio in place vanished like it had never existed. 

“Gajou?! Are you fit enough to be talking?!” 

Asagi stared at the gravely wounded Gajou as she posed her question. 

“Ohh, Asagi, huh? The outfits you high schoolers are wearing these days sure are daring. You’re wasted on that fool Kojou.” 

“Gyaaa!” went Asagi, letting out a cry as she sank back into the tank. 

If only I was only ten years younger, thought Gajou with genuine regret. However, even as he casually shot the breeze, his blood loss caught up with him and his face went pale. 

“It’s a tough haul, but I’m managing somehow, thanks to the first aid you gave me, Shio. And to be blunt, I’m gonna pass out if I keep talkin’ like this.” 

“…Gajou Akatsuki, the Death Returnee, is it? I heard you were at Dodekatos’s excavation site, but just as rumor would have it, you are a most frivolous man.” Iblisveil cast his eyes on Gajou in minimal admiration. “However, I do not mind if it is you instead. Answer me, then, Gajou Akatsuki. What is the Cleansers’ objective? And what are you doing at this lake?” 

“To be blunt, I don’t know for sure what the terrorists want. But what I can say for certain is that the Lion King Agency’s goal is to seal Avalon. So before I knew it, the lake was all frozen like this, and the demon beasts appeared out of the blue—” 

“Avalon? What is that?” Iblisveil furrowed his brows as he redirected the witness. 

“A relic of The Cleansing. That’s the cover story, at least. Supposedly, a god-killing weapon sealed by the Devas, just like the Fourth Primogenitor.” 

“Hmph, I see… You used Dodekatos’s demonic energy to try to seal a relic of The Cleansing, did you not? Only short-lived humans would think of coming up with names for god-killing weapons.” 

Iblisveil slowly surveyed the frozen Kannawa Lake. Vast demonic energy that could freeze over sixty million cubic tons of artificial lake water was surely a threat to Iblisveil as well. A look of awe mixed with exasperation came over him. 

“So this glacier is the work of Alrescha Glacies, then. Even removed from the blood and flesh of the host, what incredible strength! …Though it irritates me to speak the words, it is not called a primogenitor’s Beast Vassal for nothing. Were Avalon a simple god-killing weapon, this might well be able to seal it away.” 

“Then, why…?” Shio murmured, unwittingly speaking aloud. 

Truthfully, the resealing of Avalon had failed, and a great number of demon beasts had spawned. This had invited the pernicious terrorists known as the Cleansers to intervene. The Lion King Agency’s operation had failed. 

“That is self-evident. This Avalon you attempted to seal was not a god-killing weapon at all. I am skeptical that it was even sealed away to begin with.” 

Iblisveil made the assertion in a scornful tone. His words left Shio reeling. 

“B-but…if what we tried to seal wasn’t a god-killing weapon, then what exactly is Avalon…?” 

“Why, when you heard it was a relic of The Cleansing, did you assume it was a weapon?” 

“Huh?” 

Iblisveil’s question struck Shio like a sucker punch. 

She’d accepted the explanations from Shirona Kuraki and the others without a single doubt, so she’d never realized it, but now that someone had brought it up, the link between relic and weapon was a dubious one. Why did I trust that it was a dangerous weapon hidden inside Avalon without question? regretfully thought Shio. 

There hadn’t been a single shred of evidence to prove such a thing; none, save the vague folklore that calamity slept within. 

“The first thing people think of when they hear the word relic is some kind of treasure. If it was, say, a divine treasure granted to the one qualified to succeed the Sinful God—well, that would be under some serious protection.” 

“So it was being protected rather than sealed away… Then, don’t tell me, the dragon we saw earlier was…” 

“A dragon…you say?” 

When Shio spoke, it was Iblisveil’s turn to be taken aback. 

“Shio Hikawa. You saw a dragon?” 

“Y-yes. But it was for only a second, and because the mist is in the way, I don’t know where it is now…” 

Shio’s voice went shrill under the scrutiny of Iblisveil’s glare. 

The enormous crevice left in the frozen surface of the lake came to the back of her mind. It was an unnatural fissure—as if some enormous creature had crawled out of it. Perhaps that was a trace left behind by a dragon sleeping at the bottom of the lake. 

Poking her head out from the tank’s hatch, Asagi Aiba skeptically murmured, “A dragon… A real, live dragon?” 

“If it was flying around, we’d catch sight of it pretty fast, I’d think… I mean, there’s still a ton of SDF troops around.” 

Hearing this, Gajou, still on top of the army cot, leaped to his feet as he suddenly realized something. “The SDF…! I see… So that’s how it is… Ow!!” 

“Ah, Gajou Akatsuki?” 

“My, my,” said Iblisveil, shaking his head in exasperation, when his gaze suddenly sharpened. “Asagi, Lydianne…take shelter inside the tank for the time being.” 

“What?” 

Iblisveil’s sudden warning confused Asagi. 

The vampire prince was glaring at a group of soldiers walking across the embankment. The armed men were heading straight toward Shio and company. 

“Keep your heads down. You do not wish for trouble with the local authorities, I trust?” 

“Ah, yeah. Sorry, we’ll let you handle this.” 

“I am in your debt, Lord Iblis.” 

“Hmph.” 

The pair in the robot tank closed the pilot-seat hatch. Civilians like Lydianne Didier and Asagi Aiba riding a tank in an area closed by the Self-Defense Forces was an issue, but if they looked like retainers of Iblisveil, the SDF couldn’t lay a finger on them—that was most likely the basis of Iblisveil’s thinking. Shio found it surprising that Iblisveil would show such consideration toward the two girls. 

“Who are they, Shio Hikawa?” Iblisveil asked the girl. 

His attention was on the man with the soldiers who looked like a commanding officer. The man’s entire body was wrapped in fresh bandages; perhaps he’d been involved in combat with the demon beasts. 

“Major Azama of the SDF, the officer in command of this operation…” 

“Hmm… I see.” Iblisveil smirked suggestively. 

When Shio saw that smile, another light went on in her mind. Asagi’s words, Gajou’s reaction, and now the doubts inside Shio herself—her doubts only piled higher. 

Special Major Azama’s feet came to a halt in front of Shio and the others as he inquired, “Attack Mage Hikawa, who are these people? And is High Priest Akatsuki injured?” 

Gajou Akatsuki replied to the question in a joking tone, “She ain’t hurt all that bad. That hag’s in stupidly good shape.” 

“Are you a civilian…? It seems you are gravely wounded,” Azama said as he examined the blood-covered Gajou. Then he glanced at Iblisveil and said, “And that is a demon? I want to hear about this in detail afterward… But treating the wounded takes priority. First, please hand over the girl…Nagisa Akatsuki.” 

Azama’s gaze shifted to the still sleeping girl in a priestess outfit. 

The next moment, Shio went to Nagisa Akatsuki’s side, seemingly shielding her as she glared at Azama, who slightly knit his brows at Shio’s inexplicable behavior. 

“Attack Mage Hikawa?” 

“Unfortunately, I cannot obey that order.” 

Shio stretched a hand to her hip holster, gripping the silver recurve bow mounted therein. “Freikugel Plus Proto Three—unlock.” 

She nocked a fresh arrow to her bow, silently pulling the drawstring. 

“Please stay where you are, Major Azama.” 

With that statement, Shio angled the tip of her arrow, pointing it at Azama’s heart. 

3 

“The prince…of the Fallen Dynasty?” 

Sitting on the shoulder of a winding mountain road, Kojou peered at the screen of a modified smartphone. He was speaking to an avatar resembling a badly sewn teddy bear. 

“The heck? Why is a guy like that with Asagi?” 

“It seems that Li’l Miss Asagi and company managed to reel him in with a cup of ramen.” 

“Wait—reel him in?” 

Reeling a vampire prince in with a cup of ramen—Kojou had no idea what that meant. But it seemed Asagi was not in any imminent peril. 

“I don’t really get it, but anyway, seems like Nagisa and the others are safe. For now, I’ll let your side take care of it. Tell Asagi it’s gonna take a little more time to meet up with her.” 

“Roger that.” 

Leaving those words behind, Mogwai vanished from the screen. Kojou let out a sigh as he returned the smartphone to his parka’s pocket. The modified smartphone’s battery charge was finally reaching a worrisome state. 

“Nagisa is safe and sound, I take it?” 

Yukina, sitting opposite Kojou, seemed to have posed the question to remind him of the fact. Seeing her look of relief, Kojou mixed a pained smile with a nod. 

“Yeah, everyone seems more or less all right.” 

Seems Dad almost bought it, though, he added in his mind. 

It was then that the girl called Yuiri rushed to Kojou’s and Yukina’s side, bowing her head. She was practically prostrating herself before them. 

“I’m very sorry!” 

“Eh?” 

Kojou was taken aback as he looked at the girl. 

Yuiri was a bit taller than Yukina. Her hair reached her shoulders, and she gave off the impression of an honors student, perhaps because of the forelocks framing the sides of her face. Quite unlike his initial perception of her, she was overly serious and prone to fiercely set her mind on something. He couldn’t help but be reminded of Yukina. 

In self-reproach, Yuiri said, “Really, I was the one who was supposed to be protecting your little sister, but I lost sight of her…and Nagisa faced danger because of that—” 

“Y-yeah… But she ended up safe and sound, so…,” Kojou replied, a little perplexed. 

“No, I was woefully insufficient. I am very sorry.” 

Yuiri bowed her head deeply. Conflicted, Kojou shook his own head as he turned to Yukina. 

“Hey, Himeragi… Is she really in the Lion King Agency?” 

“Yes. She is in the year above me, a particularly exceptional Sword Shaman candidate.” 

“Oh. That’s kinda surprising.” 

“In what way?” Yukina inclined her head a little, blinking curiously as she stared. 

“Hmmm,” went Kojou, seriously mulling the issue over when he said, “Nah, I was just thinking, she has her head screwed on pretty straight for someone involved with the Lion King Agency.” 

“I’m sorry?” 

He felt like there was an audible krik as Yukina’s cheek twitched. 

“Are you somehow implying…I have some kind of personality issue?” 

When Yukina replied with half-lidded eyes, Kojou stuttered a “Well, you know” as he twisted his lips and gave an assenting nod. 

“The people in the Lion King Agency who I know pretty much all tried to kill me the first time they met me, you know? First you, then Kirasaka, then that Paper Noise chick just the other day—” 

“A-at the time, it was because you looked at me with indecent eyes, senpai—!” 

“I did not! That was an accident—a total accident!” 

Yuiri watched the raggedly voiced argument between Kojou and Yukina, her face full of surprise. Her mental image of the watcher of the Fourth Primogenitor crumbled away—so said her face, at least. 

As Yuiri, at a loss, stood rooted to the spot, a tiny figure rushed toward her. It was the dragon girl, her long silver hair fluttering behind her. 

“Yuiriii!” 

“Glenda? What happened? Where did you get those clothes…?” 

Yuiri’s eyes widened as Glenda leaped and embraced her, nearly bowling her over. 

Glenda was wearing a large military jacket and combat boots, accentuated by earmuffs. 

“We went ahead and had her pick from the stuff we had left over.” 

Along with Glenda, the Oceanus Girls had returned. Yuiri had an almost frightened look, bowing her head to the troupe of beautiful girls of uncertain nationality. 

“Th-thank you very much,” Yuiri said. “They look good on you, Glenda.” 

“Eh-heh-heh.” 

Praised by Yuiri, Glenda narrowed her eyes and smiled happily. It was an unbelievably adorable smiling face for a girl who’d been an enormous dragon not long ago. 

“Um, incidentally, who are all of you…?” 

With the dragon girl still coiled all about her, Yuiri regarded the Oceanus Girls. It was an obvious question to ask. 

“I have been most rude,” said the beautiful blonde in the red bandanna, elegantly curtseying in her military fatigues. “Forgive my late introduction. I am the Fourth Primogenitor’s wife.” 

“What?!” 

Yuiri blinked hard and her jaw dropped open, the unexpected answer rendering her speechless. 

With calm, collected faces, the four remaining foreign-born girls smiled and revealed their relationships with Kojou one after the other: 

“Similarly, I am his concubine.” 

“Lover.” 

“Sex buddy.” 

“Harem member, you could say…” 

“Huh?! Wha…?!” 

Yuiri was so surprised that her head was like a swivel as she looked between the girls’ faces and Kojou’s. 

Kojou, unexpectedly finding himself the victim of slander, hastily wedged himself into Yuiri’s exchange with the Oceanus Girls and insisted, “Don’t believe them! It’s not like that, not one little bit!!” 

“B-but the Fourth Primogenitor could have five or six wives or lovers, and no one would—” 

“I said it’s not like that! Himeragi, say something, please!” 

Kojou sought aid from Yukina, believing she should establish his innocence. However, Yukina simply shook her head in an emotionless sulk. 

“I am merely your observer. I have an abnormal personality after all.” 

“You’re still mad about that?!” 

His last hope cut away, Kojou clutched his head and made an exaggerated wail. 

For a while, Yuiri stared at the panicked Kojou in amazement until finally, unable to bear it any longer, she let out laughter in a giggly voice. 

“Yuiri?” Yukina meekly addressed Yuiri out of apparent concern. 

Yuiri laughed as she shook her head and said, “Nothing, I was just thinking, Kojou really is like him. He really is Gajou’s son.” 

In an instant, the corners of Kojou’s lips twisted in deep annoyance. 

“Ah?!” 

“Wahh, I’m sorry. B-but if I call you by your family names, I’ll mix you up with Gajou so, ah… Sorry.” 

Yuiri hastily apologized. She apparently misunderstood, thinking Kojou was angry she had addressed him by his first name in an overly familiar manner. 

“No, no,” said Kojou, waving a hand in front of his face. “Nah, I just mean, I’m nothing like that guy. I’m not worried about how you say my name at all.” 

“Is—is that so? Ah, er, I see. Sorry. You can address me by my given name as well, so…” 

When Yuiri immediately gave a proper apology, Kojou muttered “Ahhh,” making a lukewarm nod. “She really is super normal…in spite of being in the Lion King Agency.” 

Yukina simply stared. “Just what, exactly, do I seem like to you?” 

I’d better change the subject before her mood gets even worse, thought Kojou, instantly averting his eyes and looking toward Glenda as she clung onto Yuiri. 

“So we have some questions, too, like…who is that girl?” 

“I do not know the details myself. I only learned just earlier that she calls herself Glenda…” 

Yuiri furrowed her brows as she spoke. She herself seemed perplexed as to why the mystery girl had become so fond of her, seemingly for no reason. 

However, Glenda had approached and granted Yuiri her unconditional trust. Perhaps it was because she detected no hostility, and when their eyes met, she returned Kojou and the others’ looks with smiles, too. Kojou felt like he was watching a friendly little critter. 

It was this Glenda who twitched her ears and began making a low growl. She was glaring in the direction of the mountain road that continued to Kannawa Lake. 

“Yuiri, they’re coming. Again.” 

“Eh?” 

Glenda’s words were followed by a short pause; then Kojou heard a deep sound of engines. Three SDF armored vehicles were heading toward Kojou and the others. When the armored vehicles stopped, an armed group in camouflage fatigues disembarked. Yuiri moved to shield Glenda as the apparent squad leader approached. 

“Attack Mage Haba of the Lion King Agency, I presume?” 

The squad leader posed the question to Yuiri in a nominal show of politeness. 

“I am First Lieutenant Ueyanagi, Second Company, SDF Special Attack Mage Regiment. Major Azama ordered us to escort you due to receiving a report that a unit retreating while carrying wounded came under attack by a dragon.” 

“Attack by a dragon…?” 

Yuiri’s eyes widened in visible surprise. 

“No, that’s wrong. It wasn’t the dragon who attacked us. If anything, I’d say it was she who saved us—” 

“Yuiri…” 

Glenda called out to Yuiri in a frightened voice. 

Without a word, the troops behind First Lieutenant Ueyanagi raised their firearms. These were Personal Defense Weapons used exclusively by Special Attack Mages. As this made Yuiri’s face stiffen, Ueyanagi stated to her with a highly coercive tone: 

“We are in command here, Attack Mage Haba. Please hand Glenda over to us.” 

His voice was filled with hostility. 

4 

“What do you think you are doing, Attack Mage Hikawa?” 

Azama calmly posed the question right back at Shio, still aiming at him with her recurve bow. It was valor worthy of the field commander of the Special Attack Mages. 

But even so, Shio’s aim did not waver. 

“I had a bad feeling from the start. Everything about this operation was strange.” 

Shio made the statement with calmness in her voice that surprised even her. 

Iblisveil gazed at the exchange between Shio and the officer with an expression of delight. 

“The Lion King Agency seals sorcerous disasters away every day before breakfast. Even a single Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency possesses the power to destroy the World’s Mightiest Vampire—yet, I find it strange why, this time only, we needed to borrow the strength of the Self-Defense Forces out of fear of demon beasts that have never appeared before. I don’t understand the reason you were involved in such a dangerous operation.” 

“…We are merely cooperating with the Lion King Agency. In point of fact, even the Lion King Agency’s Attack Mages cannot cope with the large numbers of houda that have appeared, yes?” 

Azama was composed as he rebutted. Shio could accept that the explanation made sense. That was why Shio had not harbored any doubts about the presence of the SDF up to that point. 

“I suppose not. At first, I thought that myself, so I accepted it. But, Major Azama, your unit was fragile against the demon beasts. No, rather, it was too fragile.” 

Shio kept an eye on the wounded soldiers as she spoke. 

The houda were powerful demon beasts, but not beyond the capabilities of Shio and the others to deal with. She certainly didn’t think they were powerful enough to overwhelm SDF Special Attack Mages to such an extent. But that would only remain true if the Special Attack Mages in question were in tip-top shape. 

“The reason is simple. Your unit was not equipped with enough gear to deal with a swarm of houda. Thanks to that, you were simply overwhelmed by superior firepower. Is that not unnatural? Even though you were encircling Kannawa Lake, on guard for the appearance of demon beasts, you had a visible lack of equipment to deal with them.” 

“Unfortunately…our activities are constantly under budgetary constraints, and the plan came with uncertain elements. It was never anticipated that there would be such a large outbreak of houda.” 

“If that is the case, what, exactly, did you expect to come out, Major Azama?” Shio rebutted in a gentle voice. 

That instant, Shio detected that Azama’s expression had gone faintly awry. 

The houda were demon beasts that had appeared with the dragon. The swarm of houda nested around Avalon like birds gathering on the backs of elephants and water buffalo, seeking the protection of the mighty beast. 

That was what had thrown Azama’s plan into chaos. The large outbreak of houda was a wild card to Azama and the Lion King Agency alike. 

“Or rather, did you know from the very beginning that there was a dragon sleeping inside Avalon? That is why you had your subordinates on standby around Kannawa Lake—to determine the position where the dragon would emerge faster than the Lion King Agency could.” 

Azama did not reply to Shio’s assertion, merely shifting a dark gaze toward her instead. 

Had there not been the large houda outbreak, Azama would likely have determined the dragon’s whereabouts with ease. Furthermore, his comrades were no doubt attempting to capture the dragon. After all, the Special Attack Mages had not been granted weapons with which to take down a dragon. It was none other than Azama who had equipped them as such. 

“I get it now. You didn’t equip your troops with powerful anti-demon beast weapons…and that’s why the SDF was in such a hard fight with small-fry demon beasts. It wouldn’t do for your men to steal your prey before you captured the dragon yourself.” 

“Heh-heh.” A laugh rose from the back of Gajou Akatsuki’s throat. “Pursuing the dragon from the start explains why you dragged Nagisa along to be the sacrifice this time around. It just happened that Nagisa was the only one who fit the bill for the sacrifice that’d wake the dragon up. Mind finally telling us who was pulling the strings and feeding you that info?” 

Gajou spoke in a defiant tone, perhaps having a very good idea who the mastermind was. 

Shio nodded a little, in agreement. Even within the government, there were few people with the clout to put the Lion King Agency into motion against a blood relation of Kojou Akatsuki, the “Fourth Primogenitor.” Through Azama, this individual had used not only the Self-Defense Forces, but the Lion King Agency as well. If they put Azama in irons, finding that individual ought to not be such a difficult task. 

“I genuinely do not understand what you two are trying to say, but…” 

However, Azama gave Shio a look of visible scorn. Shio’s words were speculation without any tangible proof behind them. Knowing this, his expression seemed one of mocking laughter. 

“I, too, have heard the eyewitness reports of a dragon. However, even if I was to capture it, just what would I do with it?” 

“That is obvious.” 

It was not Shio who replied to Azama’s question, but Iblisveil. 

“A dragon is the guardian of a treasure. It has always been the job of a knight to slay the dragon and take its treasure—is that not so, Knight of Cain?” 

“I’ve had quite enough of this—” 

Azama spoke, interrupting Iblisveil’s words. “If you wish to make a complaint, file it in accordance with proper procedure, but I am the operational commander here. Here and now, Attack Mage Hikawa, you will obey my commands—if you resist, I will simply have you all arrested.” 

Even if she distrusted Azama’s true motives, the orders of a commanding officer were absolute. The troops surrounding Shio and the others followed Azama’s instructions, training their personal defense weapons on them all at once. 

Shio clenched her teeth as she lowered her bow. She feared that engaging in foolish defiance would drag the wounded Gajou into it. 

“A mere human—arrest me, you say? A poor attempt at humor. You are more suitable for the role of jester than knight.” Iblisveil’s shoulders shook as he laughed. 

Azama drew his pistol and trained its barrel upon the vampire prince. 

The ammunition of a pistol wielded by a Special Attack Mage was likely to be a silver and gold alloy of electrum anti-demon bullets. Even a vampire would not escape a direct hit unscathed. Even so, Iblisveil’s raucous laughter did not cease. 

“You will stay where you are. Or would a vampire of the Warlord’s Empire launch an attack on Japan’s Self-Defense Forces?” 

“Oh-ho,” went Iblisveil, raising his eyebrows with interest when he heard Azama’s warning. “Your mask has slipped, jester. Why do you believe I hail from the Warlord’s Empire?” 

“…That’s because…” 

Azama’s words trailed off as if he realized his own mistake. The hand gripping his pistol trembled. 

Shio was half beside herself as she stared at the bandage wrapped around Azama’s arm. 

“Is it because you saw me with Dimitrie Vattler, perhaps? Unlike that damnable Master of Serpents, I am no showboat, and few know the face of Iblisveil Aziz beyond the borders of my nation. The mistake is understandable—but why did you know I was together with Vattler in the first place?” Iblisveil’s smile widened. “Beyond the two of us, there was but a single eyewitness present—the Cleansers’ Knight of Cain. Perhaps you should reminisce upon who, exactly, carved those wounds into your flesh?” 

“Ugh…” Azama’s expression contorted. His hand subconsciously touched the bandage on his arm. 

This was the scar he had received from Iblisveil’s Beast Vassal—incontrovertible proof that Azama and the Knight of the Sinful God were one and the same. 

“This is my last warning, Attack Mage Hikawa. Drop your weapon and surrender,” Azama commanded, his cheek twitching. 

It was an unexpected individual’s voice that belayed the order: 

“That will not be necessary, Shio Hikawa.” 

The frail voice of a certain girl came from an SDF soldier behind Azama. Simultaneously, the other troops all trained their PDWs on Azama. 

“—?!” 

“That is because the order is invalid. Former Major Azama—I hereby relieve you of duty, along with the other Cleansers under you.” 

“Controlling entire human bodies through spirit threads…Shirona Kuraki?!” 

Whatever composure Azama still had vanished in an instant. 

This was the teokratia of Shirona Kuraki, one of the Three Saints of the Lion King Agency—by pouring down countless invisible spirit threads from the heavens, she cruelly controlled the dozens of SDF troops like marionettes on her strings. 

“How did it feel to use the Lion King Agency, Tatsumi Azama?” 

In unison, the girl’s voice coursed from the mouths of the SDF troops whose flesh she had hijacked. 

“Then, it is only fitting that I return the favor. Beyond removing the threat from Kannawa Lake, I had one additional objective: smoking out the Cleansers who infiltrated the Self-Defense Forces.” 

“Meaning—you used the dragon as bait with the intention of hunting us. So you, too, knew just what was lying inside of Avalon…” 

Azama tossed his raised pistol down to his feet, and Shio thought this was what elicited laughter from Shirona. 

“Any information obtainable by mere Cleansers could never escape the priests serving Kamioda Temple since ancient times. Indeed, it is why Hisano approved of a ceremony bringing such risk to Nagisa Akatsuki.” 

“I see… But none of that matters anymore. Whatever your objective, using a genuine dragon as a decoy was your undoing, Lion King Agency…,” Azama murmured, back to acting composed. 

Shio shuddered. That instant, she felt an instinctive fear and looked behind her back. The pilot of the red robot tank was shouting into the external speakers at maximum volume. 

“Enemy approaching! All hands, protect thyselves!” 

“—What?!” 

In unison, expressions of shock came over the troops under Shirona’s control. 

Along with an ear-splitting roar, two wyverns glided through the air at an extremely low altitude. Sitting on the back of one was Special Captain Mikage Okiyama, supposedly back at the operational HQ. Though she was wearing camouflaged fatigues, she had a strange-looking piece of clothing over it: a gunmetal-colored magic user’s robe— 

“Captain Okiyama?! Don’t tell me you’re involved in this, too—?!” 

Shio shouted as she moved to defend Gajou as he lay on top of the army cot. Apparently, it was not just Azama, the operational commander, with the Cleansers, but Okiyama, his aide-de-camp, as well. 

Before Shio’s panicked eyes, Azama leaped onto a wyvern and receded into the distance. 

“So there are two wyverns… Quite an amusing turn of events.” 

Iblisveil muttered to himself, making a ferocious smile as he watched Azama and Okiyama fly off. From his point of view, Azama’s betrayal and the Lion King Agency’s position were someone else’s problems. 

Asagi Aiba poked her head out of the robot tank’s hatch, stating to the vampire prince, “Iblis, we know where the dragon is. Kojou’s with it, too.” 

She was holding what was apparently her personal pink smartphone in her hand. 

“Understood… After them, then. Lead the way, Asagi.” 

Speaking those words, Iblisveil climbed up one of the tank’s legs. The robot tank turned on a dime, setting off with ferocious speed as it left Shio and Gajou behind. They apparently meant to chase after Azama and Okiyama. 

“Yuiri…” 

Shio, left in the dust, murmured the name of her close friend in a subdued voice. 

Considering the circumstances, the odds of Yuiri being at the dragon’s side was high. As things were, the odds were very high that she would most likely come into contact with Azama. 

However, as she was, Shio had no remaining means by which to help Yuiri. 

“It’s all right. We can leave the rest to them.” 

“Gajou Akatsuki…” 

Gajou stroked Shio’s head, perhaps considerate because of the tearful look that had come over her. 

He was wounded. It would be a trivial matter to brush his hand away, but for some reason, Shio did not. Perhaps it was because his all-too-friendly hand conveyed a warmth that made her feel strangely at ease. 

“You did good, Shio.” 

Gajou spoke with the tone of one consoling a young girl. 

Shio silently nodded, her cheeks reddening in an obvious blush. 

5 

“…Hand Glenda over, you say?” 

Kojou Akatsuki’s shoulders slumped as he looked back at the hulking soldier—First Lieutenant Ueyanagi. 

Yuiri Haba was still shielding the dragon girl, her eyes opening wide in surprise as Kojou wedged himself into the conversation. 

“Hey, I want to ask you one question. Why do you know that the dragon’s name is Glenda? She only finally told her name to the girl looking after her a little while ago, right?” 

Kojou peered into Yuiri’s eyes as if making sure. 

Yuiri bit her lip and nodded. The only ones who knew Glenda’s name were Yuiri and the SDF troops riding the truck that had attacked them. Ueyanagi shouldn’t have had any opportunity to have learned Glenda’s name. 

“Even if you had intel there was a dragon in the form of a girl…there’s a bunch of girls here who look way more suspicious than any dragon. So how did you know which one was Glenda right away?” 

As Kojou spoke, he eyed the various Oceanus Girls—a mysterious group of beautiful girls differing in age, nationality, and hair type. Armed with firearms, the entire bunch were a lot more out of place than Glenda. On top of that, they were wearing the same type of camouflaged military jacket as Glenda. It was a near impossibility to tell the real Glenda from them by appearance alone. 

That they could do so nonetheless meant they knew minute details about Glenda’s appearance from the start. In other words, they were allies of the gunmetal magician. 

“You little brat.” Ueyanagi’s face contorted in rage as he glared at Kojou. “So you are the Fourth Primogenitor that Captain Okiyama reported about. I was told to avoid engaging you if at all possible, but under the circumstances, we have little choice.” 

In a natural, nonchalant manner, Ueyanagi raised his right hand, as if sending a signal to all present. 

That instant, Yuiri drew her sword from her back. Yuiri could plainly see someone sniping at Kojou’s face, blowing his head away. However, before that premonition could become fact, Yuiri’s sword swatted down the flying bullet. 

This was Yuiri’s Future Sight, the ability to peer a moment into the future that the Sword Shamans of the Lion King Agency possessed— 

“Whoa?!” Kojou exclaimed in surprise as he saw sparks scatter right before his eyes. 

By that time, Yukina had tossed a metallic spell scroll aloft; this changed into a silver wolf that assaulted the sniper. Yukina, seeing into the future that the sniping attack would be blocked, moved ahead of even that. Yuiri curled her tongue at the astounding talent typical of Yukina. 

“Yukii!” 

“Yes, Yuiri!” 

All at once, Ueyanagi’s subordinates put their fingers on their triggers. However, their attacks never reached Kojou or the others, for Yuiri and Yukina had already leaped above Ueyanagi’s men’s heads, launching a simultaneous surprise attack. 

The fact the men had surrounded them made them brittle against attack from within. They could not fire freely out of fear of hitting allies, allowing Yuiri and Yukina to strike them down with the ease of slicing bundles of straw. 

The pair moved in concert, almost as if they knew exactly what the other would do in advance; the troops could not keep up. With the two Sword Shamans’ ferocious attacks showering down on them, the number of Ueyanagi’s men was whittled down in the blink of an eye. 

“S-so strong…,” Kojou muttered in a daze. 

The individual combat capability of an SDF Special Attack Mage unit’s members was far from low. But in addition to the element of surprise, underestimating Yuiri and Yukina as little girls was surely a factor. Unable to resist to the extent they desired, they were neutralized one after another. 

Perhaps Kojou should have seen Ueyanagi being the last to remain unscathed as small surprise. 

“…O God, God of mine, grant unto me the Power of Retribution—” 

Ueyanagi rushed to his wheeled armored vehicle as he pulled an odd-looking device out from his hip pouch. This was a gunmetal gauntlet—the kind of gauntlet a knight from the Middle Ages would be wearing. 

The instant Ueyanagi touched the gauntlet, the contours of the wheeled armored vehicle changed. 

The metallic armor flowed as if melting, transforming into the form of a beetle. It looked just like the humanoid golems the gunmetal magic user had employed. 

“That’s…?!” 

“Yukii, stand back!” 

Yuiri shoved the bewildered Yukina aside, advancing to the front. Yukina’s Schneewaltzer could not breach the defenses of an armored vehicle. Destroying inorganic objects was Rosen Chevalier Plus’s domain. 

“Eh?!” 

But the instant she touched the black membrane enveloping the armored vehicle, an unpleasant sound like glass shattering rang out, and Shio’s sword bounced off. It was indeed the same as against the golems. Rosen Chevalier Plus’s pseudo-spatial severing had been nullified. 

“Oh n—!” 

With Yuiri thrown off-balance, the monster that had once been an armored vehicle rose before her eyes. 

As Yuiri fell, it continued its ascent. Its enormous foreleg swung upward, hurtling down to trample Yuiri. 

She desperately leaped back, but the monster’s movements were far faster than she had expected. The attack’s reach was simply too great. 

“Al-Meissa Mercury—!” 

It was the Beast Vassal summoned by Kojou that saved Yuiri in that moment of mortal peril. 

The intertwined, two-headed quicksilver dragon opened its enormous maws and assailed the gunmetal beetle. However… 

“What the—?!” Kojou cried out, shocked. 

—the two-headed dragon’s attack, supposedly able to gouge out space itself, bounced off just short of reaching the beetle’s armor. 

The impact from the collision sent the giant beetle flying, but its surface was nearly unscathed. Kojou’s Beast Vassal had not consumed it. It had a demonic energy-nullifying ability, just like the gunmetal magic user’s wyvern. 

“Get down, please—!” 

As Kojou and Yuiri were rebuffed, they suddenly heard a lighthearted voice from behind them. Instantly, Kojou ducked, whereupon something raced overhead with incredible force. 

When Kojou turned around, he saw one of the Oceanus Girls, wearing a yellow beret and holding a metal cylinder—an anti-tank rocket launcher. 

“The hell?!” 

Before Yuiri’s and Kojou’s astonished eyes, the resulting explosion engulfed the beetle, sending it tumbling onto its side. 

The black membrane that nullified magical energies had no effect on a pure ranged weapon. The high-explosive, squash-head rocket, intended to blast through tank armor even from the front, easily punched straight through the beetle’s outer shell and exploded within. 

“Ugh… The information… My information…!” 

Ueyanagi, spat out from the beetle’s innards in the process, put a hand onto his own tattered arm to staunch the bleeding. The black fluid coursing from his flesh resembled oil. Pale rays scattered from it, melting into nothingness before they fell to the ground. The gunmetal gauntlet Ueyanagi wore was transforming his flesh into some kind of inhuman thing. 

“What’s with this guy…? Doesn’t he feel pain…?!” 

“He’s from the Cleansers, Fourth Primogenitor.” 

From behind the shaken Kojou, the Oceanus Girl with the white ribbon answered his question. 

“Cleansers?” 

“Please think of them as a terrorist group known to use special sorcerous devices.” 

“Sorcerous devices…! You mean like that Zenforce bunch used…?!” 

Kojou exclaimed in response to the explanation continued by the girl with the black ribbon. 

“Yes. The sorcerous devices they employ are relics of The Cleansing.” 

“Most are crude duplicates and pieces of junk, but please be careful—” 

“Yeah, got it.” He nodded in response to the girls’ warnings. He murmured to himself, “This isn’t good.” 

Once before, Kojou and Yukina had fought soldiers with sorcerous devices implanted within their bodies. They, known as Sorcerous Troopers, had obtained immortal bodies and combat capabilities sufficient to overwhelm any ordinary demon. 

Ueyanagi’s sorcerous device, able to alter machines to create golems, was a vile thing on par with those of the Sorcerous Troopers. Even if Kojou summoned a Beast Vassal, half-hearted attacks wouldn’t bust through. That said, if he launched an attack sufficient to surpass the demonic energy-nullification ability of his sorcerous device, it’d kill Ueyanagi for sure. 

The foe was a tough match for Kojou, whose Beast Vassals were difficult to control at the best of times. 

“Shit… I won’t… I won’t forgive you for this…!” 

“The hell…?!” 

As Kojou and the others hesitated, Ueyanagi approached the armored vehicles a second time right before their eyes. He fused the two remaining armored vehicles together to create a new golem. He’d likely sacrificed offensive power in favor of a fortified defense. It was a reptile resembling the ankylosaurus of times long past. 

The Oceanus Girl in yellow fired her anti-tank rocket launcher once more. The remaining four fired their respective weapons, anti-materiel rifles and recoilless rifles. All were powerful weapons able to one-shot a normal demon. 

However, Ueyanagi’s ankylosaurus calmly shrugged off their attacks. 

“That guy… He kept the toughness from the armored vehicles, then…” 

Kojou remembered that Ueyanagi had spoken the word information. 

Maybe that sorcerous device isn’t just for turning machines into golems, Kojou pondered. The golems Ueyanagi created possessed the same abilities and characteristics as the armored vehicles—in other words, the newly created creatures were imbued with those properties. 

The sorcerous device transformed manufactured goods into living creatures. Machine had been replaced wholesale with life. The device was well beyond the understanding of human beings. Only the possessions of the gods made such a thing possible. 

That was the truth behind the gunmetal weapons employed by the Cleansers—they were sorcerous devices of the sinful god. One might call the transformation of Ueyanagi’s body into something inhuman the price he paid for using such a device. 

If he continued to use the device, at some point, he would no doubt cease to be human. 

“Senpai.” 

Yukina adopted a familiar pose as she looked at Kojou. 

Yuiri raised an eyebrow. Perhaps she was unable to immediately understand what the younger Sword Shaman meant to do. 

“Himeragi? Oh, I get it.” 

However, Kojou understood everything she had planned the instant their eyes met. There was no need to work out the timing or even give a signal. They used the opening created by the huge ankylosaurus turning about to launch a simultaneous attack. 

“—Snowdrift Wolf!” 

Yukina’s spear dissipated the pitch-black membrane covering the ankylosaurus’s surface. 

It was the same as during the Black Bible Incident. Through the Divine Oscillation Effect of Snowdrift Wolf, able to rend any barrier, the field able to nullify demonic energy was nullified itself. 

“What?!” 

Ueyanagi, his own flesh half-fused with the ankylosaurus, exclaimed in shock as his movements came to a halt. When he did so, a new Beast Vassal emerged right before Ueyanagi’s eyes. This was a scarlet bicorn, a dense, mirage-like distortion in the air that was vibration and blast wind incarnate. 

“C’mon over, Al-Nasl Minium—!” 

The bicorn bellowed, echoing its master’s fighting spirit. 

The super-oscillation of its hooves, able to bring a skyscraper crashing down, pulverized the ankylosaurus’s carapace. Before the might of a Beast Vassal of the Fourth Primogenitor, the two armored vehicles’ defense was as brittle as a candy cane. 

The golem shattered into such fine pieces that it was unrecognizable, leaving the metal-fused Ueyanagi to be thrown to the ground on his own. 

“Ugh… A mere demon, doing this to me…” 

Fluid resembling oil poured out of Ueyanagi as he glared at Kojou. His flesh, half-merged with machinery, seemed no longer able to move on its own power. However he burned with hatred, it was surely beyond him to fight any further. 

“Sheesh,” Kojou grumbled, shaking his head as he moved to release the bicorn from its summons. 

“—Kojou!” Yuiri sharply warned. 

She was staring above the bicorn’s head. 

A gunmetal wyvern spread its wings high above, dive-bombing toward Kojou’s Beast Vassal. 

The collision with the wyvern shrouded in a pitch-black aura greatly staggered the scarlet bicorn. Kojou’s Beast Vassal was not harmed. But thanks to the black veil that nullified demonic energy, it had been rendered unable to move freely. Riding upon the wyvern’s back was the gunmetal magic user who’d assaulted Yuiri and the others to start with. 

“The cosplay lady from earlier!” 

“Not just her, senpai! There’s another one coming!” 

“Huh…?!” 

Just as Yukina had indicated, there were two wyverns flying over. During the time the first wyvern held Kojou’s Beast Vassal in check, the other glided over the surface of the ground to land right at Ueyanagi’s side. The second was ridden by a tall man encased in iron-colored knight’s armor. 

“Major Azama!” 

Ueyanagi let out a cry of delight, seemingly in awe of the knight of iron. His words were a hard jolt to Kojou and the others, for it was the name of the SDF commanding officer who had come out during the negotiations between Yuiri and Ueyanagi. 

“Thank you for the reinforcements, Major! Please, grant me information, stronger information—” 

As Kojou and the others shot them bewildered gazes, Ueyanagi extended a hand toward the iron knight, clinging to him for support. 

Azama, his entire body clad in knightly plate, gazed down at Ueyanagi with vacant eyes. 

“You have done well to halt Glenda in her tracks, First Lieutenant Ueyanagi.” 

His voice bereft of emotion, he turned the lance in his hand toward Ueyanagi. Then, without warning, he plunged the polished tip of his lance through Ueyanagi’s chest. 

“Ah?” 

Ueyanagi looked down at the lance impaling his own chest with a dumbfounded expression. 

Then, his entire body became countless points of glowing light as the lance began to absorb him. 

“Ma…jor? Why…?” 

“The power of your incomplete sorcerous device can do more. I shall now end your suffering.” 

Ueyanagi’s body dissipated before he could hear the last of Azama’s words. Having been transformed into the “information” that their kind referred to, he was consumed by Azama’s lance. 

“Ah… Aaah…” 

Behind Kojou and the others, shock rendered the steel-haired girl speechless before she let out a scream. 

“Nooooooooooooo!!” 

“Glenda?!” 

With a fierce panic seizing the young girl, Yuiri desperately tried to calm her down. Judging that they were both in danger, Kojou and Yukina raced toward the flustered pair. 

“Calm down, Glenda! What has you all—? Whoaaaa!” 

Kojou was struck by a blow of incredible force the instant he put his hand on her shoulder. The military jacket she was wearing ripped apart as Glenda’s body suddenly swelled up and increased in mass dozens of times over—she was transforming into a dragon. 

“S-senpai!” 

“Take my hand, Himeragi!” 

Kojou desperately stretched his arm toward Yukina, who was in danger of being shaken off from Glenda’s back. 

The instant he somehow managed to grasp Yukina’s slender wrist, Kojou and the others were struck by ferocious acceleration that made it feel like their innards would burst out of their chests. 

Enormous wings imbued with magical energy spread above Kojou and company’s heads. Ignoring all laws of physics, the dragon-ized Glenda powerfully accelerated as she soared up into the sky. 

“Nooooo! Glenda, you idioooot!” Yuiri, held by the dragon’s front claw, was half in tears as she shouted. 

His breath caught as he was buffeted by violent winds, Kojou stared at the receding ground below in astonishment.