Strike the Blood - Volume 13 - Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE 

IN HER SIGHTS 

1 

The morning sun illuminated the sea’s surface, shining upon the hull of a tilting ship. 

Sayaka Kirasaka and Shio Hikawa were sitting on a corner of the deck, each wordlessly gazing out at the sea. Dozens of other ship passengers were also assembled on the deck. 

The combined freight and passenger ship upon which Sayaka and the others were aboard had collided with a freighter right around a full day earlier. It was an unfortunate accident, a combination of the sudden onset of fog, radar trouble, and carelessness by the helmsman. 

Fortunately, no one had been injured, and the hulls had not sustained fatal damage either, but both ships had lost their ability to sail. The internal flooding was pretty bad, too. As a result, the passengers had ended up on top of a tilted deck to spend an anxious night. 

“I brought some freshly made onigiri.” 

Yuiri Haba had come back from the ship’s cafeteria with enough food to feed four. Following behind her with a tottering, unsteady-looking gait was Glenda. She carried a steaming kettle and paper cups for multiple people in both her arms. 

“Ta-daa!” 

“Ah, such a good girl, Glenda. Thank you, too, Yuiri.” 

Shio took the kettle from Glenda and gave her head a gentle pat. Shio somehow gave off an unsociable image, but surprisingly, she was quite attentive to children and her junior student. She was probably the type to fawn over pets when no one was looking. 

“Hey, Kirasaka. Thank Yuiri and Glenda and have a bite.” 

“Th-thank you… Wait, what are you talking so high and mighty for?!” 

Sayaka felt an exasperated twinge as she glared at Shio while taking her ration of food. 

The simple menu consisted of only hand-pressed and pickled food plus smoked mango, but with the situation being what it was, she couldn’t complain. 

The emergency stores aboard the ship probably weren’t that plentiful. 

“They said search and rescue would be coming tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. The emergency stocks of food and drinks will be just enough, it seems.” 

Yuiri poured tea into the paper cups as she conveyed to Sayaka and Shio the information she’d obtained. 

Shio seemed a little surprised. She stopped eating and looked up at Yuiri. 

“Tomorrow afternoon? That’s an awful long time, isn’t it…?” 

“Apparently, there are around thirty other ships unable to sail near here, so search and rescue can’t keep up.” 

“Thirty ships…” 

Shio uttered an “Mm” as she touched her own lips. Shio and Sayaka had confirmed eight other ships adrift, and that was just within their visual range. 

The causes of their going adrift varied: engine trouble, colliding with obstacles, and so forth. All incidents occurred without warning and without any visible trace of sabotage. However, there were just too many incidents to pass them off as mere coincidence. Given the circumstances, maritime trade with Itogami Island had to be pretty much completely paralyzed. 

“You borrowed the ship’s radio, right? Did the Lion King Agency say anything?” Yuiri asked Shio. 

“They said they’re still investigating the cause. But apparently, there’s been assassinations of important people on Itogami Island. The chance of it being sorcerous terrorism is pretty high.” 

The information was vague, but clearly, the Gigafloat Management Corporation and Itogami Island police had fallen into a state of confusion. Thanks to that, apparently even Lion King Agency HQ couldn’t get its hands on precise intel. 

“Sorcerous terrorism, huh…?” 

A worried look came over Yuiri as she turned toward Itogami Island. 

“There’s no way this incident isn’t connected. Should we really be sitting in a place like this?” 

“Right or wrong, if the ship won’t move, there’s not much we can do…” 

Shio gave a frail sigh. 

“What do you think, Kirasaka?” 

“Mm? This smoked mango is really delicious… Is there any more?” 

To Shio, posing the question in a sober tone, Sayaka gave a laid-back reply, acting like she was off somewhere in the sky above. Glenda, likewise stuffing her cheeks with mango, agreed with a “Dah!” and nodded. 

“Who said we were talking about food?!” Shio shouted, unwittingly projecting an antagonistic aura. 

“Ah, yes, yes. This incident is probably someone’s ritual spell attack, right?” 

Sayaka grudgingly lifted her face. Spread atop her knees was an open notebook with methodical handwriting and fine mathematical formulas densely written upon it. As she conducted her calculations, she glanced at a stout military wristwatch and an electric compass for reading precise directions. 

“I think it’s pretty much beyond doubt an Eight Trigrams Formation, but the numbers just don’t add up. Even if you placed the taijitu on Itogami Island, impeding approach to the island, the gate in this part of the sea should be open. But with the location of the Liu Yi, the Six Detachments, in this time zone, that should be impossible, so…” Sayaka exhaled with clear chagrin. “This would be a lot easier if we at least knew the practitioner’s school.” 

Shio stared at the side of her face in what seemed like a daze. “Don’t tell me you plan on breaking the enemy’s ritual from inside? Kirasaka, you’ve been doing the calculations all by yourself…?” 

“Yes, and? I mean, a Shamanic War Dancer of the Lion King Agency caught by an enemy’s spell can’t just sit around and get stomped on, can she?” Sayaka shrugged, speaking like it was no big deal. 

Shamanic War Dancers of the Lion King Agency were specialists in ritual spells and assassination. Naturally, feng shui was among the skills drilled into them. If, in spite of that, she spent two days being a punching bag for an enemy’s attack spell, she’d become a laughingstock. 

“Besides, Kojou Akatsuki and Yukina are on Itogami Island. If we leave it to those two, it’s guaranteed they’ll poke their noses into the incident and do something reckless…” 

Sayaka murmured in a tone infused with a whiff of urgency. The current situation, not being able to go to Yukina’s rescue no matter how much she wanted to, no doubt burned at her. 

Yuiri, who’d been listening in silence, looked sidelong at Shio and said, “…We owe Kojou and Yukii, too, don’t we?” 

She seemed to be urging Shio to cooperate with what Sayaka was doing. 

“Besides, Shio, Kojou’s father is still in the hospital.” 

“G-Gajou Akatsuki has nothing to do with this!” 

“Even though he got hurt protecting you, Shio?” 

“U…gh…!” Shio coughed. When Yuiri pointed out the painful truth, a bit of Shio’s food got stuck in her throat. 

In the incident at Kannawa Lake practically the day before, Kojou Akatsuki’s father had saved her life several times over. In the process, Gajou had been wounded and had been taken to a hospital on Itogami Island. Naturally, if Itogami Island was the stage for large-scale sorcerous terrorism, he would also be in danger. 

“Hey, maybe the numbers are off because the placement method’s been randomized?” Shio suggested, straightening her posture as she gave Sayaka verbal support. 

Sayaka visibly gasped as she looked at Shio. 

“You mean like the code changing according to the moon-phase correction? I see now… If that’s the case, I have to redo the calculation from the start before even getting into the Qimen Liu Yi.” 

“Well, it’s like Kirasaka said. At this rate, we’ll get dragged down, and the Shamanic War Dancers of the Lion King Agency will lose face. I’ll help, too. See, this is how you calculate it.” 

With that justification as her preamble, Shio moved to Sayaka’s side. 

Even as they openly disputed about every little thing, the two began analyzing the ritual spell attack together. Yuiri gazed at the sight of the pair as she grinned pleasantly. After all, Shio and Sayaka were the two most stellar Shamanic War Dancer candidates of their generation. Nothing was more reassuring in their situation than the two combining their strengths. 

“But assuming we do decipher the Eight Trigrams Formation, what do we do next?” Shio asked while they continued the complex calculations without a pause. 

An Eight Trigrams Formation constructed via feng shui was a proverbial ritual spell labyrinth. Using the energy flows of the Earth, its barriers were stout and complex, but if one could decode the ritual, it wasn’t hard at all to find a way to slip through. The real problem was that they were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. 

“From this ritual, I’m imagining a barrier enveloping Itogami Island, the type that changes according to the time of day. Even if we decode the Eight Trigrams Formation and find a way to get to Itogami Island, after a certain amount of time, the formation will change, and the escape route will be cut off. We’ll have to find a way through it somehow before that—” 

“Yeah, that’s the problem.” Sayaka tapered her lips as she twirled a lead pencil around in her hand. “Hmm… I think we could use our authority from the Lion King Agency to commandeer a lifeboat from this ship, but a motorboat isn’t fast enough to make it in time until the next change in the formation’s shape…” 

“I suppose not. I’m worried it’s out of the boat’s range anyway.” 

For once, Shio had no counterargument to Sayaka’s point of view. 

An Eight Trigrams Formation developed for military use changed formations in random patterns—and at a rapid pace at that. It was highly likely that a lifeboat aboard the combined freight and passenger ship would be unable to cope with those changes. Sayaka and Shio clutched their heads at that fact when— 

“Um… Can I have a moment?” 

—Yuiri raised a hand. 

Sayaka and Shio stared at her dubiously. Yuiri was a Sword Shaman who specialized in direct combat versus demons; large-scale ritual spells such as those employed with feng shui were outside her specialty. 

It was probably her own awareness of that fact that made Yuiri’s gaze wander, seeming somewhat lacking in confidence as she said, “Well, I can think of one way to travel a long distance faster than a boat could…” 

These words spoken, she shifted her eyes right beside her, where a girl with long, silver hair was sitting. 

“…Dah?” 

Perhaps noticing that she was suddenly the center of attention, Glenda, cheeks stretched from the onigiri she’d stuffed in her mouth, inclined her head with a visibly mystified look. 

2 

A giant television screen filling up an entire wall displayed the scorched state of the warehouse district. It was an image from the site of the terror bombing that took place at Itogami Island’s Great Pile the night before. 

The fires caused by the explosion spread, fanned by powerful winds at the time, and even with the passing of the night, it didn’t feel like things had yet come under control. 

The Gigafloat Management Corporation estimated that the food lost to the current sorcerous terrorism amounted to sixty days’ worth per Itogami City citizen. The losses were said to amount to ten or even twenty billion yen. 

“My, my, scorched in quite a spectacular manner.” 

Nina Adelard voiced irresponsible admiration as she gazed at the broadcast from the site of the fire. She was a beauty of the East not amounting to thirty centimeters tall, a liquid-metal life-form—and self-proclaimed Great Alchemist of Yore. More precisely, one might call her a lesser version of her former self. 

“You sure are optimistic about this. Like it’s got nothin’ to do with you.” Exhausted, Kojou glared at Nina. 

The mansion in Natsuki Minamiya’s possession had a particularly large living room. Carrying with them the body of Natsuki Minamiya that had been wounded—no, damaged—the night before by the Tartarus Lapse sniping attack, Kojou and Yukina remained at the mansion as morning came. 

Neither Kojou nor Yukina had slept a wink the night before. With various tasks pressing upon them, such as first aid to Natsuki and contacting the Island Guard and so forth, there had been no time to take a break. Even so, the state of the still-burning warehouse district weighed on their minds, leaving neither in a mood to sleep at that point. 

“Regrets over burnt supplies shall resolve nothing now.” Nina seemed to be speaking sarcastically as she bluntly made that assertion to the pair. “However, Tartarus Lapse should have paid finer care to the degree of flames. Had they cooked the frozen meat a trifle better, they would not have earned a grudge to this extent.” 

“Ain’t like anyone was gonna thank them for frying the meat along with the warehouses.” Kojou grimaced. “They weren’t having a barbecue.” Then he let out a languid breath. “Because you’re saying weird stuff like that, now I’m getting really hungry…” 

“Ah…” 

Sitting next to Nina, Kanon Kanase stood up in a minor show of haste. 

At that moment, Kanon was dressed in light-blue pajamas. Thanks to Kojou and Yukina having imposed just before she was about to go to bed, she’d probably lost track of the right time to change clothes. 

“Sorry, Akatsuki. I shall prepare breakfast at once.” 

“Ah… That’s not what I meant, Kanase. I didn’t say it to make you do that.” 

Kojou tried to call Kanon back as she hurried to the kitchen. Even if she was a houseguest at Natsuki’s place, Kanon was unrelated to the incident, so making her prepare breakfast on top of interfering with her restful sleep naturally tugged on his conscience. 

However, Kanon simply smiled and shook her head before proceeding on her way in silence. 

“I’d like to help you with that.” 

“Yeah, wait. I’ll go, too.” 

Speaking those words, Yukina and Kojou seemed set to go after Kanon, but Nina stopped them. 

“Wait, wait. ’Tis fine, let Kanon do as she pleases. Allowing her to cook shall surely set some of her worries at ease. Besides, Kanon shall be delighted to eat with both of you. After all, neither Natsuki nor I can grasp the taste of human food.” 

“I see… Come to think of it, both your bodies are…” 

As Nina smiled at her own expense, Kojou returned the glance, albeit stiffly. 

Nina was a metal life-form. Even if it was possible to bring food into her body via transmutation, she had no idea how that cooking tasted. It must have been the same for Natsuki. 

Natsuki’s real flesh-and-blood body continued to sleep inside her own dream, the place that had been dubbed the Prison Barrier. The Natsuki in the real world was an offshoot she animated through the use of magical energy. 

He understood the logic of it, but the shock of seeing it with his own eyes was great nonetheless. Natsuki’s body, freshly destroyed by a direct hit from a spell round, had been an inorganic doll. 

“I wonder if Ms. Minamiya is safe and sound…,” said Yukina, consumed with worry. 

Neither Kojou nor Yukina possessed any means of healing Natsuki. The only ones who had actually examined Natsuki’s damaged body were Nina and Astarte. In the first place, neither could repair magical avatars, and Natsuki would probably be ticked off if they’d been staring at her in such a wounded state. 

“Well, she herself is likely unharmed. After all, it is no small thing to wound the true body of the Witch of the Void while she is held captive in her own dream,” Nina reassured them, albeit bluntly. 

“That said, to think she could turn a doll into a magical avatar in that state. No doubt it shall take a fair amount of time until she is able to move within the real world again. The shock of her avatar being destroyed was likely conveyed to her as well.” 

“Guess that figures…” Kojou’s mood was gloomy as he nodded. 

To Natsuki, that avatar doll was probably like a musician’s favorite instrument—at least, that was how he envisioned it. To have one’s instrument break mid-performance delivered proportional damage to the performer. Of course, so long as the instrument remained broken, the musician could not play it, even if the musician was unharmed themselves; nor was it something that could be immediately replaced. 

“Can’t you do something with your own power? You’re the Great Alchemist of Yore, right?” 

“Simply repairing the avatar is a trifling matter,” Nina readily replied. 

To her, able to freely manipulate matter at an atomic level, there was no way she couldn’t restore a broken doll to its original state. 

“Regardless, repairing it would be meaningless. Even if one sews up the wound of a human being, that does not mean they can immediately move the same as before. ’Tis a similar thing. Just like severed arteries and nerves must be mended, it must be Natsuki’s own magical energy that courses through it, and that shall take time.” 

“Meaning that stuff in this world just ain’t that convenient, huh?” 

Visibly dejected, Kojou slumped against the sofa. 

Nina nodded her head in agreement. 

“Though spellcraft and alchemy are things to be proud of,” she said, “they cannot violate the principles of the world. In that sense, it is no different than science. ’Tis truly an inconvenient thing.” 

“Well, I get that… To be honest, I’m just shocked…” 

He hadn’t intended to underestimate Tartarus Lapse, but with Natsuki there, he figured they’d scrape by—a notion in his mind with no basis in fact. He’d relied on her for everything. He felt like Tartarus Lapse had thrust his softness into his own face. 

“I apologize… This is because I did not stop the sniping attack…” 

Yukina remained downcast as she murmured in a small voice. Though she possessed Spirit Sight—which peered an instant into the future—she had been unable to save Natsuki, which surely made her feel responsible. 

“The Spirit Sight of a Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency, yes?” Nina raised her eyebrows as if remembering a past piece of interest. “However, even if one can peer an instant into the future, is it not ineffective against what you cannot see with the naked eye? To begin with, it is impossible to strike down a bullet flying at over twice the speed of sound from a place over a kilometer away. Even for you.” 

“But…” Yukina bit her lip, unable to retort. 

A Sword Shaman could evade a bullet from a normal rifle with ease. Even if she could not see the bullet, her instantaneous vision of where the bullet would land allowed her to estimate its arc. 

However, Tartarus Lapse had employed an anti-materiel rifle for ultra-long-range sniping. Furthermore, the bullet used was a spell round. Just as Nina had pointed out, Yukina bore no responsibility for Natsuki’s wounds. There was nothing she could have done. Still, from Yukina’s point of view, having her own limits as a Sword Shaman thrust into her face was no real consolation. 

“Well, truly, Tartarus Lapse was correct to snipe Natsuki straightaway. Natsuki, employing teleportation, is something of a sniper’s mortal enemy.” Nina snorted, displaying her admiration. 

Even if the person was hidden in a place several kilometers removed, Natsuki could cross that distance in the blink of an eye. To a sniper, there was no more formidable foe. Therefore, Tartarus Lapse had aimed at Natsuki, inflicting maximum damage to remove her before Kojou and the others realized the sniper was even there. 

“I guess so… This ain’t good…” 

Kojou, too, realized the gravity of the situation. With Natsuki unable to engage in combat, they had no way to stop Tartarus Lapse’s sniping. Even Kojou, supposedly immortal, would need a fair amount of time to revive if he was gravely wounded, like if half his body was blown away. Furthermore, with Yukina unable to evade even with her Spirit Sight, she and Kojou had no means left with which to resist. 

“In the first place, against terrorist opponents, there is no hope of victory if one loses the initiative. It would take engaging from your side, or at minimum, maneuvering ahead of them and lying in ambush.” 

“Easier said than done, though…” 

The advice and knowing look Nina gave annoyed Kojou as he stared her down. It was just then that the living room door opened, and the other guest of the Minamiya household emerged. 

This was a petite homunculus with indigo hair—Astarte. Perhaps because she was attending to the damaged Natsuki, she wore not her usual maid outfit, but pink nurse’s attire instead. 

“Hey, Astarte. How’s Natsuki doing? Is she all right? She didn’t tell you anything, did she? In a case like this, I’d take anything…” 

Kojou poured faint hope into his barrage of questions. 

Astarte’s expression remained neutral as she inclined her head slightly and said, “As the search parameters are unclear, I am unable to answer.” 

“R-right… Sorry.” 

Implication didn’t work well on her. Somehow, the very Astarte-like reply left Kojou feeling apologetic. 

In his place, it was Yukina who continued the questions. 

“Did Ms. Minamiya leave you with any kind of instructions?” 

“A single result fits that parameter. She requested that I investigate the Roses.” 

“…The Roses?” 

“Affirmative. She said, ‘Investigate the Roses of Tartarus.” 

Kojou and Yukina met each other’s faces with conflicted looks. Neither recognized the term. But judging from how the words come off, it’s probably connected to Tartarus Lapse, Kojou thought. Clinging to hope, he shifted his gaze Nina’s way, but she merely shook her head, apparently knowing nothing of it. 

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” 

As Kojou and Yukina mulled over the true nature of these mysterious Roses, Kanon returned, dressed in an apron. She’d finished making breakfast. The lovely scent of fresh-baked bread was wafting in from the dining hall. 

“Ah. Thanks, Kanase.” 

“Sorry we didn’t lend a hand. I’m sure it will be quite a feast.” 

Kojou and Yukina stood up, seemingly seduced by the scent of food. Seeing Kojou like that, Kanon looked up and smiled with delight as she said, “Please eat as much as you like. After all, no one knows how long the remaining food on this island will last.” 

“……” 

Well, that was morbid, Kojou thought, grimacing. 

3 

A light morning haze hung in the air as Asagi Aiba, wearing her school uniform, lazily climbed a hilly road. 

She yawned a great “Fwah” as she wiped moisture from the corners of her eyes. Thanks to the Island Guard server repair work having strayed until late in the night, she’d had almost no sleep the night before. 

“If you’re gonna cancel school, get in touch with people faster, would you? I got up early for nothing.” 

Irritated, Asagi fired off complaints at the smartphone resting in her hand. In response to the terror bombing occurring in Island East, all public schools within Itogami City had temporarily suspended classes. Saikai Academy, attended by Asagi and her classmates, was no exception. 

Having long left her house, Asagi didn’t get the news until she arrived at the nearest train station. If it was going to be like this, I should have just skipped classes to start with, thought Asagi with a modest amount of regret. 

“Keh-keh, looks like those teachers are pretty confused themselves.” 

Coursing out from the smartphone’s speaker was the echo of a synthetic yet oddly humanlike voice. This was the voice of the avatar of the five supercomputers that administered the entirety of Itogami Island—the AI that Asagi had dubbed Mogwai. 

“Yeah, really. Well, in this situation, it’s no surprise…” 

Asagi glanced sidelong at the stiff-faced policemen standing at this and that intersection, shrugging a bit. 

Even armed Island Guard personnel had been positioned at monorail stations and bus stops. However, the security network of surveillance cameras and sensors stretching all over Itogami Island made such primitive security and patrol work largely meaningless. 

The fact that police were standing in such conspicuous places was less a countermeasure against terrorism than to ward off a citizen riot. On top of the supply of foodstuffs from beyond the island being cut, even the Great Pile had been destroyed. Worry and distrust among the citizenry was, if anything, quite natural. 

“So should you really be walkin’ around like that, li’l miss?” 

Asagi shot Mogwai a casual smile in response to his sarcastic-sounding question. 

“No problem, right? The Island Guard seems to have its reserve guardsmen and even demon mercenaries on full mobilization, searching around for the culprits. We have the island’s surveillance network back, so that Tartar-whatever bunch won’t be able to move very freely.” 

“Lot of guts for someone who almost got killed a little ways back.” 

“It’s not like they were targeting me specifically.” 

When Mogwai raised an exasperated voice, Asagi retorted with a firm expression. 

Certainly, the car bomb the day before had shocked her. But Asagi couldn’t think of any reason she’d be targeted by a terror organization. It was more natural to think she’d just happened to come across the site of an indiscriminate terror attack. Unlucky coincidences like that wouldn’t keep happening again and again—such thoughts put her firmly at ease. 

“Well, I’ll just see Motoki’s face and go right back home. Kojou’s probably thinking about him, too, y’know,” Asagi said, curving her way onto a dreary street. 

Yaze’s father, wrapped up in the terror bombing at Keystone Gate, was still listed as missing. Half a day had already passed since the incident had occurred; there was already little hope of finding him alive. Though Asagi was worried about the progress of the rescue work, she was even more worried about Yaze’s state of mind. They’d known each other for ages through thick and thin before even entering elementary school. He felt closer to an unreliable older brother than any mere friend, and she knew Yaze’s personality through and through. 

He had to be incredibly depressed and withdrawn all by himself. As much as he behaved frivolously, he could sink into some very dark short-term funks. In this situation, I can’t do much to console him, but I should at least go see his face, she thought as she headed to Yaze’s boarding house. 

It was then the smartphone in Asagi’s hand shook with a minute buzz. Mogwai arbitrarily informed Asagi of the contents before she could even check the screen. 

“It’s a message, li’l miss. From my bro Kojou.” 

“From Kojou? What’d he say…?” 

Without her intending it, Asagi’s voice leaped. It was very rare for Kojou to get in touch so early in the morning. 

“He wants you to look up the Roses of Tartarus.” 

“—That idiot, what does he think I am? With Itogami Island in this state, he should spare a little more consideration for how I’m doing…” 

“Keh-keh… It’s soooo bad being relied on, li’l miss.” 

“Oh, shut up!” 

The smartphone cracked under Asagi’s grip as she shouted. 

“More importantly, do you know something about it? The Roses of Tartarus?” 

“Who knows… I tried searching just now, but seems there ain’t any data related to it on this island.” 

Mogwai’s reply was prompt. Perhaps he’d expected Asagi would ask him that. 

“And the Gigafloat Management Corporation archives?” 

“Not a peep. I could rummage through outside information agencies, but that’s obviously gonna take some time.” 

“Do it anyway. With a name like that, it has to be related to that Demon Sanctuary wrecking crew, right? Why does he always do stupid, dangerous things without so much as a word to me? It pisses me off!” 

Asagi sighed, irritated. This was Kojou and Yukina, so there was no doubt in her mind they’d been wrapped up in the Great Pile incident the night before. 

“Tell Kojou to wait a bit; I’ll look into it. I’m visiting Motoki’s place right now, and when he has time, he should come, too.” 

“Sure thing.” 

Asagi ignored Mogwai’s laughing reply and stuffed the smartphone into her uniform’s pocket. Yaze’s boarding house had just come into view. 

It was a small, two-story apartment building constructed of wood, a rarity on Itogami Island. A large nuclear family lived on the first floor, and Yaze lived in a room he was renting on the second floor. 

A female student wearing a Saikai Academy uniform was standing in front of the apartment building’s steps. When Asagi noticed that, her feet came to a halt. 

“That person… I’m pretty sure that’s…” Asagi knit her brows. “Hmm.” 

The girl wore glasses and gave off a rather plain air. Asagi had never spoken directly to her but did remember having seen her. It had to be the third-year senior who had begun dating Yaze as a result of his passionate onslaught several months prior. 

That senior was standing still in front of the steps, staring at Yaze’s apartment with a neutral expression. 

In front of her chest, the girl was hugging a basket filled with fruits. It was the sort of extravagant fruit basket one took when visiting someone who was sick. 

“Um…if you’re looking for Motoki’s room, it’s on the second floor, number three.” 

Asagi tried addressing the bespectacled girl from behind. She imagined the girl was in a bind from not actually knowing where Yaze’s room was. However, when she looked at Asagi, her eyes seem to waver in fear; she broke into a run as she tried to make her escape. That made Asagi the nervous one. 

“Ah, wait… Wait, please! Er… You’re Yaze’s senior, aren’t you?” 

Maybe Asagi had gotten through to her, for the girl trying to run away stopped in place. Then she looked at Asagi with an extremely worried look. She had the face of a fainthearted heroine in a romance manga, particularly in a scene where she’d just stumbled upon her boyfriend flirting with another girl. 

“Ah, you have it all wrong! I’m just a classmate of Motoki’s, just a childhood friend here to see how he’s doing. If I’m in the way, I can go home right now!” 

Asagi explained rapid-fire to the senior-class girl who was trembling like a small animal. She wouldn’t be able to stand it if she got involved in something troublesome because of some kind of weird misunderstanding. 

“Um, there’s really nothing going on between Motoki and me. I have a boyfriend of my— Well, not quite, but anyway, someone like that.” 

“……” 

The bespectacled girl looked back in silence as Asagi continued her earnest explanation. Then, she held out the fruit basket she was clutching to her breast in front of Asagi. Acting on reflex, Asagi took it without a thought. 

“Ah…!” 

While Asagi was distracted by the fruit, the girl broke off into a run once more. The scene was over in a second; there was no time to stop her. All Asagi could do was stand in a daze as she watched the girl go, receding in the distance. 

“Awww. She totally misunderstood, didn’t she?” Mogwai laughed with a muffled voice. 

“Hey, hold on a…! I’m not at fault here!” 

Asagi, standing there completely at a loss, finally sighed deeply. 

4 

An old basketball, abandoned and forgotten, gently traced an arc before dropping into the rusted hoop. 

In a corner of a seemingly deserted public park, Kojou was practicing free throws over and over in silence. Immersing himself in free throws when hitting some kind of impasse was a trait of Kojou’s, a basketball player since elementary school. Even when he became the so-called World’s Mightiest Vampire, that hadn’t changed. 

It was about an hour since he’d devoured the breakfast Kanon had made and had departed from Natsuki’s place. At the moment, Kojou and Yukina were waiting for Asagi to reply to the message he’d sent. They couldn’t think of anyone they could rely on to look into the Roses of Tartarus besides Asagi. 

“It’s like there’s a…bad whiff in the air. Like calm before a panic breaks out or bloodlust floatin’ around.” 

Finally putting his free throws to rest, Kojou murmured as he washed his sweaty face at a water fountain. 

Maybe he was just imagining it, but he saw very few people walking around. Thanks to that, seeing only patrol cars, police vans, and Island Guard armored cars really stood out. 

On the other hand, the supermarkets and convenience stores continued normal operations, but somehow, the imbalance seemed eerie. It felt like people stubbornly insisting on living their normal lives was actually pushing society to the brink. 

“The fault is mine…,” Yukina weakly replied as she tendered a towel in front of Kojou. 

Her abrupt words made him feel a little constrained. He wondered if the flow of water had caused him to mishear her. 

“Huh?” 

“If I had only protected the Great Pile, this would not be…” 

“No, no, no… Why you gotta talk like that? Protecting the warehouses wasn’t your job, Himeragi.” 

“I am a Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency, and yet…” 

Yukina was deeply dejected. Kojou had thought that she’d said very few words since the night before; apparently, her fretting about this was the reason why. 

From what he’d heard, the main mission of the Lion King Agency was to stop large-scale sorcerous disasters and sorcerous terrorism. It was because the Fourth Primogenitor was a viewed as a danger on par with international terrorist organizations and large-scale natural disasters that Yukina had been dispatched to observe Kojou. 

Seeing Yukina like that, not having been able to stop the Great Pile from being blown up had been a far more shocking ordeal to her than Kojou had thought. But… 

“Apprentice Sword Shaman, right?” 

Kojou corrected her as he grasped both of Yukina’s cheeks. He proceeded to pull both outward, forcing her face into a smile. 

“Um… Senpai…?” 

A perplexed look came over Yukina, but she left Kojou’s hands where they were. 

Even surprised like this, Yukina was indeed a pretty girl. At the very least, Kojou thought this was better than seeing her brood over things all by herself. 

“A while back, I told you about me getting beat in a basketball match, right?” 

“Yes…” 

Kojou’s abrupt murmur made Yukina nod with a meek look. 

Determined to win the match on his own, he’d caused misfortune for teammate and opponent alike. The feeling Yukina harbored that moment greatly resembled Kojou’s gloom from back then. 

“I thought about that when December’s Beast Vassal took me over.” 

“Eh…?” 

“Even after Natsuki told me to butt out, I got a big head from being called this World’s Mightiest Vampire and thought I could save the island all by myself. And look at us now.” 

“But…that’s…” 

…not your responsibility alone, Yukina was going to say, but she swallowed her words. 

There had been nothing Kojou could have done at the time; the same went for Yukina. Even if they’d had a way to know about December’s ability beforehand, they had no way to stop the sniping or the explosion. 

Even with the power of the Fourth Primogenitor, Kojou himself was nothing more than a mere high schooler. And Yukina was Kojou’s watcher. Getting a leg up on a wrecking crew that even the Island Guard couldn’t stop had been an absurdity from the start. 

Yukina’s face softened. She’d no doubt finally realized it for herself. 

“Senpai…but…” 

“Yeah, I get it. I don’t know about this Demon Sanctuary wrecking crew thing, but if we used our powers however we wanted, we’d end up the same as Tartarus Lapse.” 

Kojou said that as he let go of Yukina’s cheeks. Shifting his gaze toward the black smoke plume rising from the warehouse district, Kojou pressed his right fist against his left palm. 

Somewhere in his heart, Kojou’s pride had dictated that he could stop Tartarus Lapse. Yukina was motivated by her sense of duty as a Sword Shaman. Still, it hadn’t been enough. 

December had a power that let her control even the Beast Vassals of the Fourth Primogenitor. She and her people had hurt Natsuki right before Kojou’s and Yukina’s eyes. From that point on, it was no longer a war between Tartarus Lapse and Itogami Island. 

December and her comrades had picked a personal fight with Kojou and Yukina. Thus, they had to stop Tartarus Lapse. The two now had a reason to go and stop them. 

“Gotta do unto others as they do unto you, right?” 

“Yes!” 

Yukina nodded with a powerful glint in her eyes. She looked like a loyal puppy staring at her owner. 

Seeing Yukina dead serious with that easy-to-read expression brought a small, wry smile over Kojou. 

“—All that said, the problem is December’s Beast Vassal. What the hell is that power anyway…?” 

With a bitter look, Kojou recalled the silhouette of the Beast Vassal that December had summoned the night before. 

They’d thought that Takehito Senga’s feng shui was the greatest menace Tartarus Lapse posed, but they’d been wrong. The sniper named Carly and the homunculus controlling pyrokinesis were plenty dangerous opponents by themselves; however, to Kojou, the truly difficult foe was none other than December’s Beast Vassal. 

A Beast Vassal that could control other Beast Vassals; in one sense, that made it the mightiest servant of all. 

Above all else, she could control even the Beast Vassals of Kojou, the Fourth Primogenitor. If he didn’t do something about that, he’d have no chance of beating her no matter how many times they fought. However… 

“—I have a…hunch about just what that Beast Vassal is… And also, a way to defend against Miss December’s attack.” 

For some reason, Yukina appeared melancholy, but she spoke crisply nonetheless. 

Kojou looked at Yukina in surprise. “You do?” 

“Yes. But it is already proven that Snowdrift Wolf can cancel her mind control. Knowing this, I must wonder if Miss December will politely engage you in frontal combat again, senpai…” 

“That so…? I suppose you’re right…” 

December’s objective was the destruction of Itogami Island. She had no reason to go out of her way to fight Kojou. 

“But if that’s true, that means she has a way to destroy Itogami Island without using my Beast Vassals?” 

“Eh? Ah yes… It would mean that, wouldn’t it…?” 

Seemingly caught off guard, Yukina sank into thought. 

Each of the Fourth Primogenitor’s Beast Vassals possessed enough destructive power to burn away a city or two with ease. If December wanted to control another’s Beast Vassals and use them to destroy Itogami Island, the quickest and surest way was to control Kojou’s. And yet, she had made no real effort to use Kojou in that fashion to date. 

“Meaning that they have some other way they can destroy the island?” 

“I do not know,” said Yukina, shaking her head. “The Lion King Agency is supposedly reinvestigating the case of the Iroise Demon Sanctuary’s destruction, but it seems that there are few records remaining…” 

“I’ve gotta say, Himeragi, it’s hard to tell if that organization of yours is reliable…” 

“I suppose you have a point…” 

Yukina clearly felt responsible and lowered her face. 

This is rough, Kojou thought, letting out a sigh as he said, “So the only lead we’ve got left is that phrase, Roses of Tartarus…” 

At almost the same time Kojou said that, his cell phone vibrated. A text had just arrived. 

“Is it from Aiba?” Yukina asked, her expression tinged with anticipation. 

However, when Kojou gazed at the brief message on the screen, he shrugged at her. 

“Yeah, she says she’s trying to look into the Roses, but it’s gonna take a while. Also, she wants us to come along while she goes and visits Yaze’s place.” 

“Is Yaze’s father—?” 

“They still haven’t said anything on the news. For now, let’s go and see, I guess?” 

“Yes.” 

Seeing Yukina nod, Kojou shifted his gaze in the direction of the station. 

That instant, when the corner of his gaze caught sight of a strange silhouette, Kojou’s breath caught, and he adopted a guarded stance. 

A small-statured teenage boy with an androgynous figure had suddenly appeared, seemingly melting out of midair. 

Just like Astarte, his hair was indigo, a color impossible in the natural world. This demonstrated that he was a homunculus—a product of alchemy and genetic manipulation. 

“Sorry, Fourth Primogenitor, but I need you to come with us first.” 

His voice had not cracked yet, sounding like a clear, boyish soprano. All around him were shimmers that wavered in the air. He’d used refraction from differences in air temperature to conceal all sight of him. 

“You’re…the guy who blew up the warehouse district yesterday…!” 

“Logi is fine, Kojou Akatsuki. Our teacher…Takehito Senga, would like a word with both of you.” 

The pyrokinetic homunculus made the statement to Kojou in a nearly monotone voice. 

“What’s there to talk about—?” 

Kojou’s face twisted in anger. 

There was no reason to respond to the request for dialogue. If they needed info on Tartarus Lapse, they could just capture the boy calling himself Logi and ask him. Kojou took a step forward to narrow the distance when— 

“Senpai, don’t!” 

It was Yukina who stopped Kojou. 

Logi breathed out a huu, unmoved as he slowly surveyed the people walking to and fro in the surrounding area. Even if there was less foot traffic than usual, they were still close to a station. There were certainly pedestrians to be seen. 

“I think you understand already, but our sniper is aiming at you. It would be good if stray rounds do not strike innocent people…,” Logi announced. Though his voice was calm and composed, his suggestion was pure extortion. 

“Why you…!” 

“I understand how you feel, Fourth Primogenitor, but if you prefer we kill each other, we can do that after we talk, yes?” 

Logi’s expression did not shift. Kojou audibly gritted his teeth. 

“Where do we need to go?” he asked, trying to restrain his emotions. 

Logi turned his back toward Kojou and Yukina. He proceeded to walk forward, defenseless. 

“You’ll find out soon enough. It is rather humble, so do not expect much for hospitality.” 

“I won’t,” Kojou spit under his breath. 

5 

The building had been quietly constructed in a back alley of Island West. The billboard was stamped with a cartoonish paw print. Senga Pet Clinic—that was the building’s name. 

“…An animal hospital?” 

Kojou and Yukina, led there by Logi, looked up at the billboard, their feet halting in visible confusion. 

It was a very normal veterinary hospital building. The compact building was all pastel colors, and a variety of cute animals made with colored paper were plastered over the window. 

“You don’t seriously mean that Takehito Senga is here…?” 

“Yes. This is Tartarus Lapse’s safe house.” 

Logi replied to Kojou’s half-incredulous question. Written on the entrance was a sign reading NO EXAMINATIONS TODAY. Without reserve, Logi opened the door and made his way inside. 

Though Kojou and Yukina were hesitant, they reluctantly followed him. 

The atmosphere in the hospital’s waiting room was exactly that of any other animal hospital. 

“To think they were lurking in the middle of the city like this…” 

Unbelievable, seemed the tone of the murmur Yukina let slip. 

A slight whiff of pride wafted around Logi as he looked back and said, “At a hospital, unfamiliar people entering and leaving garners no suspicion, and it’s an easy place to gather dangerous chemicals. It has a fair number of social uses, too. Convenient, isn’t it?” 

“Should you really be bringing us to a place like this?” 

Kojou voiced the simple doubt that came to mind. Logi made what looked like a casual shrug. 

“Teacher decided, so there.” 

“Teacher?” 

I see, Kojou thought. If he’s a veterinarian who supervises younger vets, calling him Teacher wouldn’t be too strange. 

Logi went to the examination room in the back of the building, beckoning Kojou and Yukina to follow. 

The cutesy, handwritten logos and posters covering the hospital’s interior lent a child-friendly air, making Kojou feel really stupid for being on guard, wondering if it was all a trap. 

When Kojou and Yukina arrived at the examination room, a middle-aged man sitting in a plain office chair greeted them. The gray jacket he wore and his long hair made him look like the sensitive artist type. 

Noticing the pair had entered the room, the man’s eyes narrowed in delight. His face was alive with curiosity, like a man appraising the pupils of an acquaintance. 

“Fourth Primogenitor and Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency, yes? I thank you for having come all this way.” 

The man spoke in a quiet voice. His demeanor, with no ill will evident, threw Kojou off a little. 

“You’re…Takehito Senga?” 

“That’s right.” 

“The one who used feng shui to blockade Itogami Island…” 

“Well, you could say that is my job.” Senga replied to Kojou’s rude questioning in an aloof manner without any hint of irritation. 

A light-pink curtain right behind Senga swayed. Poking her head out from it was a girl wearing a rather thick, puffy coat. She had a cute, refined face, but there was a foul, emotionless look in her eyes. There was a long scarf wrapped around her neck. She seemed to be around the same age as Logi—mid-teens, thereabout. 

On a tray, she presented ice cream cups. She served vanilla and chocolate to Kojou and Yukina respectively, taking the last one for herself. 

“Eat.” 

“Th-thank you very much.” 

Prompted by the girl with the scarf, Yukina spoke politely by reflex. 

For his part, a conflicted expression came over Kojou as he looked down at the ice cream offered to him. After all, it had a warning written on the lid in black magic marker that read DECEMBER’S! 

“Er, ah, but this is…” 

“It is all right. No one minds.” 

“R-really?” 

Kojou gloomily bounced between two social norms: concern about eating something that belonged to someone else and the rudeness of not eating something offered to him. The development chipped away at his sense of tension. 

“Are you so surprised the operatives of Tartarus Lapse are all children?” 

Senga waited until the scarf girl left the room before posing the question. 

Well sure, said Kojou’s wordless glare at Senga. Setting December, a vampire, aside, Logi and the girl from before were clearly minors. They were both probably younger than Yukina. 

Who would think they had any motive to destroy a Demon Sanctuary? But Senga showed Kojou and Yukina a wry, self-deprecating smile. 

“This might sound like an excuse, but I have not forced them into Tartarus Lapse in any way. Destroying the Demon Sanctuary is their very own desire.” 

“Was it not you who instilled that desire in them…?” Yukina rebuked. 

“Taking children who know nothing, nurturing the abilities that make them valuable as terrorists—” 

“I do not think you, raised to be a tool of the Lion King Agency, are in any position to criticize.” 

“…!!” 

Senga’s dispassionate comment made Yukina’s breath catch. As a Sword Shaman candidate, Yukina had repeatedly undergone combat training from a young age; though their circumstances differed like light and shadow, comparing herself to Logi and the others was like looking in the mirror. 

Yukina just happened to be scooped up by a special government agency—and Logi and the others by Tartarus Lapse. That was the only difference between them. 

They are the same as you are, Sword Shaman. For instance, Logi—he was a military experiment in producing a homunculus pyrokineticist.” 

“An experiment…” 

Yukina’s face went pale as she looked at Logi. 

The Holy Grounds Treaty had granted homunculi the same rights as ordinary demons. Biological alteration for military purposes was beyond doubt a grave breach of the treaty that would be internationally condemned. 

“It goes without saying that it was an illegal experiment. When this was exposed, December saved him before he was disposed of. This was in the city that used to be known as the Iroise Demon Sanctuary. The other children—well, their circumstances are all similar.” 

“Then, that’s why they want to destroy Itogami Island? Because it’s another Demon Sanctuary…” 

“No.” Senga bluntly refuted Kojou’s suspicion. 

“Certainly, to them, Demon Sanctuaries are symbols of oppression, but they are not destroying this place out of revenge. Besides, they do not intend to destroy all Demon Sanctuaries.” 

“Meaning that there’s a special reason why they singled out Itogami Island as their target?” 

“Well, yes, indeed.” 

Senga trained a smiling face toward Kojou. He seemed tired and worn. 

“That is why I thought I would speak with you, Fourth Primogenitor—I hoped that once you learn the reason why we are destroying Itogami Island, the two of you might cooperate with us.” 

“December said the same thing, y’know. Join us.” 

Shaking his head with a sigh, Kojou gazed at Senga with a hostile look. 

“Ask as many times as you want, the answer’s the same. I don’t intend to lend murderers a hand.” 

“Murderers, you say? Well, we certainly are.” Senga laughed out of the blue. “But the same goes for those who constructed Itogami Island. The casualties from the devastation that this island has inflicted shall dwarf the number of humans we have killed to date.” 

“Devastation…inflicted by this island…?” 

“In truth, the artificial isle known as Itogami Island is an altar for the purpose of resurrecting Cain, the Sinful God.” Senga’s voice was quiet and lacked emotion. 

The name of the god spoken so abruptly on Senga’s lips left Kojou at a loss for words. Only a few scant days before, he’d nearly been killed by followers of that same sinful god. 

Seemingly satisfied by Kojou’s reaction, Senga gently cast his eyes downward. 

“The designer of Itogami Island—Senra Itogami—desired the resurrection of Cain. The man himself is dead, but even now, those carrying on his ideals remain the nucleus of Itogami Island.” 

“Then, your assassinations of Gigafloat Management Corporation upper management have been due to—” 

“Yes. They are in league with the designer of Itogami Island.” Senga nodded in response to Yukina’s question. “Their purpose is not the same as the crude terrorists known as the Cleansers. They are seekers of true sorcerous truths that have prepared for the Sinful God’s resurrection over a period of decades.” 

“So you’re telling us to believe that wild story without one shred of proof?” 

Kojou retorted in a brash manner. However, from his expression, Senga actually seemed mystified as he faced Kojou. 

“Surely, you are both aware that the man known as Senra Itogami was willing to employ any means to complete his objectives, no matter how heretical?” 

“You mean the relic of Lotharingia’s Saint, don’t you…?” Kojou’s brows contorted inward. 

When Itogami Island was designed, Senra Itogami chose the forbidden use of a sacrificial material to resolve the need to shore up the cornerstone’s insufficient strength. Thus, the designers had constructed the island with the relic of the Saint usurped from Lotharingia Cathedral as its foundation. 

“Did you really think that man would design an artificial Demon Sanctuary with no objective in mind?” 

“So what? How’s that related to the people living on Itogami Island now…?!” Kojou could barely manage his retort. “If what you say is true, just make it public, dammit! Why do you need to destroy Itogami Island, then?!” 

“I’ll ask you this. How much do the two of you know about the Iroise Demon Sanctuary? Did you know that Tartarus Lapse destroyed that city?” 

For the first time that Kojou was hearing, anger slipped into Senga’s voice. Kojou and Yukina fell into silence, unable to refute him. 

“What you said is just, Fourth Primogenitor. Simply asking people to believe our words is an unreasonable demand. Therefore we, Tartarus Lapse, will prove it by our own hand. Through destroying Demon Sanctuaries, our exploits shall no doubt lend weight to our assertions.” 

“So that’s why you’re on a warpath…” 

Kojou’s eyes fell to the cup of ice cream he gripped in his hand. The letters spelling the name DECEMBER upon it burned distinctly into his eyes. 

“If you knew Tartarus Lapse’s objective, I’m sure you’d understand.” That was what December had told Kojou—and she’d been right. 

At the very least, he was forced to recognize that Tartarus Lapse’s actions had a fairly weighty cause behind them. There was no sign that Senga was lying, either. 

“It was the same when the Iroise Demon Sanctuary sank six years ago. Even before then, December destroyed a number of other Demon Sanctuaries…with the Tartarus Lapse members who preceded us.” 

“Right… December’s a vampire and all…,” Kojou murmured haltingly, as if he’d only just remembered. 

Finally, he could truly appreciate why Senga was not Tartarus Lapse’s leader. December might have looked like she was in her mid-teens, but she must be many years older than Senga. 

“A vampire…?” 

Although, when Senga heard Kojou’s murmur, he knitted his brows. 

“You surprise me. You have not realized it yet, Fourth Primogenitor?” 

“Realized what?” 

“Well, it’s fine. You will know soon enough. More importantly…” He straightened his posture before continuing. “That is all I have to say, but I would still like to hear your reply, Fourth Primogenitor.” 

“Reply?” 

“Do you have a mind to cooperate with us?” 

“Cooperate, huh?” 

Kojou realized that he’d unwittingly broken into a strained smile. It was because Yukina, standing silently at his side, was worriedly watching him. 

“Sheesh. Boiled down, it’s the same damn thing—” 

Kojou exhaled in visible exasperation. “Senpai?” called Yukina, a perplexed murmur trickling out. 

“Exactly what do you mean?” Senga asked as he grimaced. 

A plainly dejected expression came over Kojou’s eyes. 

“Why do you people have to be all Let’s put the whole world on our shoulders…? I’m fed up with it. It’s embarrassing, like I’m having the old me shoved into my face.” 

“I do not know what you are trying to say, Fourth Primogenitor.” 

Senga’s previously unemotional voice began to be tinged with annoyance. 

Kojou curled up the corners of his lips and coolly stared at him. “Do you really think people don’t believe you just because there’s no proof? That’s not it, is it? Isn’t the reason no one trusts you because you don’t trust anyone?” 

“What…?” 

“You said that resurrecting Cain will hurt a bunch of people. If so, wrecking Demon Sanctuaries isn’t what you should be doing. You should be saving the people who’ll become those casualties!” 

Kojou’s low voice echoed. Senga’s cheek twitched as if he’d been slapped across the face. 

“You’re on your own because you don’t even get something like that!” Kojou continued. “You’re going out of your way to make enemies of the people you should be saving!” 

“To be perfectly transparent…we’ve tried that, over and over!” 

For the first time, Senga’s voice was ragged. 

“But look at where we are as a result. The world hasn’t changed! And the plan to resurrect Cain is the only thing proceeding—” 

“Then why didn’t you go lookin’ for help? If you had time to go around smashing Demon Sanctuaries, you should’ve scoured around for people who’d believe you!” 

Kojou had only pity for the man. 

“A hacker I know told me this. Hackers are the sort of people who find stuff that people want to hide and then expose every last bit of their secrets. If you got help from people like that, there would’ve been other ways! Even now, you—” 

“How dare you…!” 

Surprisingly, it was not Senga with anger visible on his face, but Logi. A hot wind was blowing toward Kojou and Yukina, heat simmering all around him. 

“Logi, stop it.” 

Senga held the homunculus boy in check. Perhaps his comrade’s emotional outburst had snapped him back to his own senses. Senga had already discarded his previous irritation. 

Then he quietly shook his head, sending a coldhearted gaze Kojou’s way. 

“If you are speaking of Asagi Aiba, I am afraid you are too late.” 

“Huh…?!” 

Kojou’s eyes widened in astonishment. Kojou had brought up the topic of hackers, but Asagi’s name coming out of Senga’s mouth was completely outside his expectations. 

“Why do you know about Asagi…?!” 

“It couldn’t be…” Yukina trembled. “Calling us here was to keep us from meeting up with Aiba…?!” 

“Senga—!!” 

The fear that struck Kojou seemed to make all the blood in his body freeze over. 

Logi had spoken to them in the public park just before they were about to meet Asagi. It was as if he had appeared before them at exactly the right time to prevent their rendezvous. 

He should have suspected it sooner. Why were Carly the sniper and December absent from the site of such an important conversation? Now he understood; they were after Asagi. 

Keeping Kojou and Yukina tied up until December and Carly could assassinate Asagi—that was Tartarus Lapse’s real objective. That was why Senga had gone so far as to put their safe house at risk to bring the pair to that place. 

“I will not ask you to forgive me, Fourth Primogenitor.” 

“Wait!” 

A ragged torrent of magical energy reminiscent of a typhoon blew toward Kojou and Yukina. They abruptly realized that a complex magical symbol had appeared on the surface of the examination room’s floor. 

“Feng shui—!” 

“Senpai, please get down!” 

It was Yukina who advanced to shield Kojou, who was buffeted by the ritual energy. Drawing her silver spear from the guitar case, she thrust the tip into the floor in the course of a single flash. 

The beam of light surging from the tip of the spear’s blade rent Senga’s magic circle apart. 

Its vast magical energy suddenly vanished; the recoil sent Kojou dropping to his knees. Tranquility returned to the examination room as the typhoon of magical energy up to that moment vanished, almost like it was never there. 

However, there was no sight of Senga. Logi and the girl in the scarf had vanished, too. They’d abandoned the safe house. 

“Asagi…!” 

Powerless, Kojou stared at the gently swaying curtain. 

6 

“I said I’m sorry already, sheesh!” 

Asagi fumed while stuffing her cheeks with a fresh mango in a tiny yard surrounded by a home vegetable garden. 

Sitting in front of Asagi, wearing a seemingly sulky expression, was Yaze. 

The yard in front of his apartment building had a wooden garden table for people to eat outside on days when the weather was nice. Everyone living there was free to make use of the table. 

“I never imagined I’d bump into your upperclassman…Hiina, yeah? I tried to prevent her from getting the wrong idea, you know. Ah, sorry, Mrs. Asako. Thank you very much.” 

Asagi spoke warm words of thanks to the woman in the apron bringing over some tea. 

“It’s fine, Miss Asagi. It’s been a while. Please take your time.” 

The mysterious air around the lady made it hard to determine her age. She had a daughter in elementary school, but she didn’t look any older than a student herself. Apparently, she managed the apartment building part-time and did various other jobs for the tenants, but Asagi didn’t know the details. She might have been the influence on Yaze to like girls older than him, though, thought Asagi. 

It seemed like Yaze purposefully waited until the landlady was out of sight before letting out a large sigh. 

“Just wonderin’, why are you eating the fruit that my upperclassman brought for me?” 

“Well, you weren’t touching it. But isn’t this kinda like waiting to visit a sick person in the hospital? Not that I’d really know.” 

“Is that something you should say while stuffing your face?” 

Yaze glared resentfully at Asagi, languidly keeping his cheek pressed to his palm. 

“Well, you did come ’cause you were worried about me, so I’ll thank you for that at least.” 

“Yes, yes, you should thank me.” Asagi, speaking in a patronizing tone, reached her hand toward the second mango. “So the rescue op for your dad. What’s up with that?” 

“Not one damned word. The rescue probably isn’t totally stalled, but right now the Gigafloat Management Corporation probably has its hands full putting the Great Pile back in order.” 

“Worried, huh…?” 

Even as she sliced the mango with a fruit knife, Asagi appeared conflicted. 

“Not really.” Yaze smiled—a blatant bluff—as he shook his head and said, “Not that I care what happens to that guy, but if he dies, there’ll be a bitter war of succession for sure, y’see. If I’m worried, it’s more about that than over him. If this goes bad, there could be a bunch more dead people to come.” 

“Wait a… Cut that out. That’s not funny where your family’s concerned, geez.” Asagi’s face grimaced in visible disgust at Yaze’s dark humor. “You’ll be okay, right?” 

“Who gets anything from killing little old me?” 

“Even if you don’t have any value yourself, you’re the legitimate son, so there’ll be plenty of people who think you’re worth using, right?” 

“You sure say the nastiest stuff without batting an eyelash…” 

Yaze sounded hurt. If his father died after monopolizing so much wealth and influence, as his son, he couldn’t stay neutral in a succession dispute. Not allowing him to search for his father, perhaps alive and perhaps dead, probably had something to do with political bargaining related to the issue. It was precisely because Yaze was painfully aware of this that he was sulking at his own apartment. 

“Besides, I just can’t wrap my head around it. I feel like, if a little terror bombing like this was enough to kill him, he should’ve kicked the bucket dozens of times, ages ago.” 

“Wouldn’t know about that, but it’s important not to lose hope, right?” Asagi nodded with a knowing look. After all, Akishige Yaze had yet to be confirmed dead. “And hey. The fact that your upperclassman brought you fruit like this means she still has you in her thoughts.” 

“Wait, wait, why are you always talking like I’ve already been dumped by her…?!” he refuted, going shrill. 

Yaze’s assertion that he was dating his upperclassman in the third year was based on his testimony alone; no witnesses who’d actually seen it could be found. Thanks to that, the theory that Yaze had already been dumped was a prominent one, but the man himself stubbornly denied it. 

“Geez, both you and Kojou have zero respect for me.” 

“Come to think of it, Kojou’s late, isn’t he? I told him to visit. There’ll be no melons left for him.” 

“Do you really have to eat the whole damn basket?!” Yaze wailed, realizing that Asagi had laid her hands on those very melons at some point. 

A moment later, Yaze’s expression abruptly changed. His gaze shifted behind Asagi as if he’d heard some kind of ominous sound, whereupon he stood up, his face twisting in fear. 

“Asagi!!” 

“Huh…?!” 

Asagi, suddenly sent flying by Yaze, rolled onto the grass. The melon she’d been eating rolled onto the ground; she scowled at the pain in her back. 

“Wh…what are you doing, idiot?! You don’t have to get that angry over me eating one stupid melon—” 

“Don’t lift your head!” 

“Huh…?!” 

Yaze yelled at Asagi at virtually the same instant that the fruit on top of the table blasted apart. Even the basket containing the fruit burst apart, scattering fragments all around. 

A flock of seagulls was sent into flight by a discordant ripping sound coming from somewhere far-off. 

“Wh-what the…?” 

Asagi was dumbfounded as her gaze wandered about. Yaze, still pinning Asagi down to shield her, clicked his tongue in irritation. 

“Sniper. Some bastard’s aiming an anti-materiel rifle at us.” 

“S-sniper… You don’t mean—I’m the target?!” 

Asagi’s voice quivered. The car bomb from the day before floated into the back of her mind. Someone was trying to kill her—it seemed like an idiotic notion, but the reality of it had just sunk in. 

“Tch…!” 

With Asagi frozen stiff, Yaze yanked her arm. 

Suddenly, Asagi felt something whizz right by her ear. The garden table exploded behind her at about the same time she heard the sound of the gunshot. 

“Someone’s using incendiary rounds in the middle of a city…?! Are they insane?!” 

Blood completely drained from Yaze’s face. 

Incendiary rounds were a type of multipurpose ammunition developed for military use. Following impact with the target, the explosives contained within burst into the surrounding area, causing a large amount of damage. It was possible to fire them using sniper rifles, but they were so powerful their use against humans was banned under international law. 

However, international regulations held no meaning for Tartarus Lapse, a criminal organization to begin with. The sniper after Asagi’s life was simply that fiendish. 

“We have to move, Asagi! Next shot’s incoming!” 

Asagi was petrified as Yaze broke into a run, practically dragging her along. 

In seeming pursuit of the pair, a new round came flying, smashing the apartment building’s fence apart. 

7 

“No good—can’t get through…!” 

Depression was consuming Kojou as he pressed the cell phone to his ear. 

He’d tried calling over and over, but at this point, he didn’t suspect Asagi would answer. An hour had already passed since Logi had met Kojou and Yukina at the park, more than enough time for December and Carly to carry out Asagi’s assassination. 

“Please calm yourself, senpai! It’s all right; we can still make it!” 

Yukina squeezed Kojou’s fiercely trembling hand as she tried to talk him down. 

“Make it?! But December’s already…” 

“Aiba said she was headed to visit Yaze, yes?” 

“Ah…” 

Yukina’s rational words abruptly snapped Kojou out of it. His constricted range of vision expanded, and the gears in his mind finally began to turn a little. 

“I get it. Yaze’s boarding house is in Island West… Close to here…” 

Kojou and Yukina nodded to each other as they left the animal hospital. 

Asagi’s action to go there was on a whim. With school suddenly suspended, she hadn’t gone home, choosing to intrude on Yaze’s boarding house first. There was more than a slight chance that her spontaneous action had caused a delay in December’s assassination plan. He didn’t think even Tartarus Lapse had the low-rent apartment building Yaze stayed at staked out beforehand. 

The downtown residential district was packed with houses, and finding a sniper’s perch would take time. They hadn’t necessarily pulled the assassination off yet. It was no time to fall into a panic. 

“Shit… If only Natsuki were here at a time like this…” 

Kojou unwittingly voiced his lament as he raced through the narrow streets. 

Even if they were in the same area, Yaze’s boarding house was still a good two monorail stations away. Even Kojou’s vampirized leg strength couldn’t cross that distance in five minutes—or even ten. 

Furthermore, with particularly bad timing, the monorail had just left the nearest station. On an elevated track, the silver-colored train was cruelly passing by above Kojou’s and Yukina’s heads. 

At that time of day, it would probably be a ten-minute wait until the next scheduled train. They had no time to wait for the next one. 

“Himeragi!” 

“Y-yes?” 

When Kojou suddenly looked back, Yukina, caught by surprise, came to a halt. As she did, Kojou picked up the small girl without asking first. His unanticipated action left her frozen stiff. 

“S-senpai…?!” 

“Wrooooooooagh—!!” 

And the next instant, the pair was struck by the bizarre sensation of the sky and soil having swapped places. 

With a floaty feeling, as if freed from the laws of gravity, she felt an unpleasant acceleration, like having fallen from a high-up place. Kicking off the the ground, Kojou’s body, with Yukina still in his arms, danced into the city sky above. 

“This power is…?!” Yukina murmured in astonishment as she clung to Kojou’s neck. 

Having become distanced from the surface of the ground with incredible force, they were gently approaching it once more. It was leaping ability impossible by any normal estimation. Kojou’s entire body was enveloped by a pitch-black vortex of demonic energy particles. 

Kojou knew this demonic energy. It was that of the Fourth Primogenitor’s Beast Vassal Number Seven, the intelligent weapon, Kiffa Ater—it was the same demonic energy, with the ability to control gravity, shrouding that enormous sword. 

“That Beast Vassal’s power… You can control it now?!” 

“Control?” 

When a surprised Yukina posed that question, Kojou tilted his head, perplexed. 

“Er, I don’t really get it…but I felt like it was gonna work out!” 

“Y-you can’t just irresponsibly go about…” 

A building’s rooftop approached before Yukina’s astounded eyes. Still holding her in his arms, Kojou was leaping at distances surpassing thirty meters. A large crater formed in the top of the building from the impact of the landing. The more the Beast Vassal used its demonic energy to protect Kojou’s and Yukina’s bodies, the more the damage was shifted to the area around them. 

They had no time to worry about that, though. Heedless of the concrete smashing apart under his feet, Kojou leaped again. His landing point was the roof of a moving monorail train. 

He landed on the monorail with a heavy dent in its aluminum alloy roof. The blow itself sent a heavy creak through the train itself. A single misstep and a great tragedy would have resulted. 

Yukina, about to reproach him for that, looked to him as he rested on one knee. Then she exclaimed out of concern, “Senpai…!” 

“It’s all right… It’s all right…” 

Kojou heaved with ragged breaths as his eyes glowed with blue flame. The pitch-black particles swirling around his entire body spread out in the form of a pair of misshapen wings. Clearly, he was in no normal state. It was the cost of drawing out the demonic energy of a Beast Vassal while remaining in human form. His body was becoming further like that of a vampire. 

“After we’re done saving Asagi, I refuse to do anything this tiring again—not even if you beg me.” 

As Yukina blanched, Kojou shot her a frail smile. 

The Fourth Primogenitor’s watcher pressed closer to him. Her narrow shoulders trembled, like those of a child fearful of being left behind. 

“Yes… I promise…” 

“H-Himeragi, calm down… We’re touching in all…kinds of places…” 

The soft sensation of her body against his unnerved him enough that he forgot his fatigue. 

It was then that a tiny light flashed in the corner of Kojou’s vision. After a second’s delay, a residential yard burst into flames. He could have sworn he faintly heard a gunshot over the sound of the running monorail. 

“Senpai, just now—?!” 

“That’s from Yaze’s apartment building!” 

Grasping that something had happened, Kojou stood, still holding Yukina. It was an anti-material rifle firing from a long range. Tartarus Lapse’s sniper had fired—and Asagi was her target. 

“Please, senpai. Go!” Yukina shouted. 

“On it!” 

With her voice urging him on, Kojou leaped from the monorail’s roof. 

Holding back for fear of causing damage to the train, his jump got him not even ten meters before he landed on top of a nearby building and regained his balance. 

“One more!” 

“Yeah!” 

Spreading his black particle wings, Kojou kicked off a second time. 

That instant, strength drained from Kojou’s entire body. The demonic energy particles dissipated, and he was struck by gravity reasserting itself. 

“—?!” 

“Senpai?!” 

Having lost his gravity control, his balance was greatly thrown awry. Kojou tumbled back-first to shield Yukina. Protected from the fall, she stood up without injury. 

With a quick motion, Yukina drew her spear. 

She pointed its silver tip toward the sight of a small-statured girl wearing goggles. Controlling Kojou’s Beast Vassal, nullifying its gravity control power, was her doing. 

The leader of Tartarus Lapse stood before them, visibly obstructing their path. 

“So you came after all, Kojou Akatsuki. I left it to Takehito to persuade you, but it seems that he failed.” 

Just like the first time they’d met, December spoke in a carefree tone. 

Kojou wiped off the blood coursing from his forehead and got to his feet. 

“Outta my way, December—!” 

“Unfortunately, I can’t do that.” December took off her goggles. In their place emerged blue eyes that shined and flickered like fire. “Asagi Aiba cannot be allowed to live. She is simply too dangerous a being to—” 

“Don’t try to stop me!” 

He didn’t wait for December to finish speaking. That was because he saw Tartarus Lapse’s sniper lining up her shot. The yard in front of Yaze’s apartment building burst into flames. 

He didn’t know if Asagi was dead or alive, but from that one attack, he did have an accurate read on the sniper’s location. 

She was on top of a building with a direct line of sight to Kojou and Yukina, just shy of two kilometers away. If he used one of the Fourth Primogenitor’s Beast Vassals, he could burn away something at that range with ease. 

“C’mon over, Regulus Aurum!” 

Kojou set his eyes on the under-construction building where the sniper was stationed as he unleashed his Beast Vassal. 

His summoned giant lion scattered lightning all about. 

It didn’t matter who this sniper named Carly was. Kojou’s fully unleashed Beast Vassal would mow her down and annihilate her before she could get her next shot off regardless. 

However, December did indeed bar him from doing so. The Beast Vassal she had summoned unleashed its glowing, silver-colored demonic energy, blocking the lightning lion’s path. 

“Withdraw, Regulus Aurum!” 

“Why, you…!!” Kojou growled. Fresh blood flowed from his lips as he bit them. 

The lightning lion’s movements came to a halt, as if caught by some invisible net. Flickering behind December was a huge Beast Vassal radiating light, almost like some kind of crystal. 

A Beast Vassal that controlled the Beast Vassals of others— 

The demonic energy of the transparent Beast Vassal overcame the lightning lion by force. 

However, this did not cause Kojou to hesitate. 

Asagi’s life was in danger that very moment. If that was how December wanted it, Kojou was left with no choice but to move her aside by force. 

“C’mon over—!” 

Kojou swung both arms above his head. Unleashing demonic energy so vast that it was off the charts, the impact made the very air warp. Dense demonic energy swirled around, coalescing into new summoned beasts. 

“C’mon over, Mesarthim Adamas! Al-Nasl Minium! Al-Meissa Mercury—!” 

“Withdraw, Mesarthim Adamas! Al-Nasl Minium! Al-Meissa Mercury!” December shouted over Kojou. 

The radiance from the transparent Beast Vassal’s entire body increased. It seized full control of the three new Beast Vassals Kojou had called forth. 

But the act was reckless, even for her. The demonic energy required to make multiple Beast Vassals obey simultaneously increased by leaps and bounds. Unable to withstand the strain of the demonic energy, December’s flesh was torn asunder. Her lips contorted in pain, and fresh blood coursed from every pore. 

December was being tormented by the backlash from Kojou’s demonic energy. 

“Senpai, you mustn’t! Any more than this and—!” 

Yukina let out an unfettered shriek. Kojou was being damaged by the demonic energy strain in equal measure. Kojou’s flesh was cracking over his entire body, and blood came up with every ragged cough. 

Even so, he smiled ferociously. December’s ability was not all-powerful. She couldn’t control Kojou’s Beast Vassals without paying a price in the process. Knowing that was enough. 

“—C’mon over, Kiffa Ater!” 

Kojou summoned another. A giant sword appeared, its blade over a hundred meters in length. The tip of that blade was turned toward the under-construction building behind December. 

Twisting gravity to its own ends, the giant sword shot out parallel to the ground. December’s Beast Vassal sustained the blow. The collision of enormous demonic energy caused the ground to quake, forcing buildings to collapse around them one after another. 

“Withdraw…my brethren…please…!” 

December screamed out. Unable to withstand the backlash of demonic energy, she wobbled and fell to her knees. 

However, Kojou had already surpassed his own limits. The possession from December’s Beast Vassal affected not only his Beast Vassals, but Kojou, their host and master. The mental damage alone left him far more depleted than she was. 

“Please stand back, senpai! I will deal with—” 

Yukina poised her silver spear and moved to the fore. Even with the power of Snowdrift Wolf, it was no easy feat to rend the vortex of explosive demonic energy whipping around December. 

Even so, Yukina did not falter, closing the distance with her opponent. 

If Kojou’s and December’s demonic energy continued running rampant, neither would walk away unscathed. The only one who could put a stop to that was Yukina. 

“—!!” 

But when she was only a few short steps from reaching December, Yukina reflexively leaped back. A geyser of incredible flames burst up before the Sword Shaman’s eyes. 

It was an incandescent mirage burning thin air itself—a sneak attack using pyrokinesis. 

“Mr. Logi…?!” 

The indigo-haired homunculus was rushing to December’s side. December’s Tartarus Lapse comrade had appeared to assist her. 

Then, as Yukina stood stiffly, the bang of a cruel gunshot rang out. 

Kojou was down on both knees as fresh blood burst from his back. 

Standing behind Kojou, holding a pistol, was Takehito Senga. He had shot Kojou from behind. 

“Takehito Senga—!” 

Silver spear poised, Yukina broke into a sprint. In a single burst of motion, she closed the distance and struck the pistol out of his hands. 

But before she could do so, Senga had pumped Kojou full of every last bullet remaining. 

Kojou had taken six rounds in total, his entire body smeared with blood. Even so, Kojou never tried to stop summoning his Beast Vassals. 

“…C’mon over… Sadalmelik Albus! Cor-tau…ri…!” 

“Gah…!” 

The two Beast Vassals freshly called by Kojou materialized. 

December spat out blood as she tried to control them. 

Unable to withstand the force of the demonic energy surging out of her, the goggles burst apart, and her helmet fell from her head. The long hair she had kept within unraveled, spreading wildly. 

Depending on the refraction of the light, her rainbowlike hair periodically changed color. Golden hair, like billowing flames— 

“December!” 

Logi and Senga both raced to her side. 

Kojou and Yukina stared at the spectacle in astonishment. 

They were not shocked when they set eyes on December’s unadorned, cherubic face for the first time. It was quite the opposite. Both Kojou and Yukina knew her face. They had seen it many times before…from within Kojou’s own memories. 

“…What the…? Why…?” Kojou murmured in a broken voice. Yukina wordlessly bit her lip. 

As they gazed at December in shock, her smile looked so sad. It was a smile drenched in loneliness. 

“You have done well, December—you’ve done enough.” 

Senga held the wounded December in his arms as wooden spell tablets swirled all around them. The markings carved into the spell tablets glowed, forming a simplified magical circle around them. It was a teleportation ritual. 

“Time’s up. Raan—activate the Roses!” 

Senga directed the command toward his earpiece mic. 

Yukina’s expression froze at the echo of the word Roses. 

However, Senga and the others’ forms grew faint before she could ask what that meant. The teleportation ritual had activated. The group vanished, leaving nothing behind but a faint shimmer, like a ripple in thin air. 

“December… What the hell are you…?” 

Kojou, his strength seemingly exhausted, collapsed then and there. 

Fresh blood flowed out of him with no sign of ceasing, pooling all around him. He bore wounds grave enough that it would be unsurprising for a normal person to have died instantly from them. However, Kojou was beside himself, likely not even noticing what agony he was in. 

“Senpai! Please, get ahold of yourself! Senpai…!” 

Yukina took the wounded Kojou in her arms as she shouted. 

Her voice was heartlessly erased by the malevolent gust of wind, infused with demonic energy. 

Once all the Beast Vassals had dissipated, the sky was abnormally silent. 

That day, in the face of its impending destruction, the Demon Sanctuary of Itogami Island was enveloped in frightening tranquility.