Strike the Blood - Volume 17 - Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE 

OUT OF THE DEEP BLUE 

1 

Kojou Akatsuki awoke next to a naked girl. 

She had big eyes and long eyelashes. Her lustrous hair fell to around collarbone length. She still had a faintly childlike look, but the girl had a face pretty enough to make one gasp. 

Her slender body gave off an impression of being exquisite but not fragile. The girl’s flesh, shorn of every bit of excess, was reminiscent of that of a beautiful, whimsical, and ferocious feline predator. 

The swell of her breasts poked out from a gap in the blanket wrapped around her body. Her skin was as white as freshly fallen snow, fair enough that he could faintly make out her veins. 

“…H-Himeragi?” Kojou, bewildered, called out to her. 

Glancing with upturned eyes at the lightly pale look on Kojou’s face, the girl narrowed her eyes with amusement. 

Her cheeks were faintly reddened. Her eyes were wet. Her expression was charming and mischievous. 

Her skin was so smooth, it practically drew you in, and the areas that came in contact with him were faintly warm. 

“Why are you addressing me as if I am a stranger?” 

She curiously tilted her small head slightly as she drew her face closer to his. The unexpected sense of closeness caused Kojou to bend backward, feeling unable to calm down whatsoever. 

“Er… I wouldn’t say like a stranger…” 

“Could it be you think you can escape from me?” The girl lowered her voice, seeing plain as day that Kojou was eager to run for it. She proceeded to sit up, climbing onto Kojou as if to pin him down. “You cannot. I am watching you, always.” 

“H-Himeragi… This is more like you scrutinizing me rather than my simply being seen…,” he murmured. 

As the girl stared down upon him from a mounted position, Kojou gazed up at her. With a slight sound, the blanket slipped from her shoulder, and her nude body became exposed. 

“You are the one who made my body like this, so take proper responsibility, yes?” 

Gently touching a hand to her abdomen, she giggled with a beautiful smile. Kojou’s stiff expression was reflected in her wide, emotionless eyes. 

“R-responsibility…meaning?” 

“Meaning, this.” 

The corners of her grinning lips curled up into a smile. Poking out of her red lips were opposing pairs of sharp, tapered fangs, one on top, one on the bottom. 

“Himeragi, you—?!” 

As Kojou’s cheek twitched, she pressed his shoulders down, drawing their bodies closer together. 

She pressed her lips against Kojou’s bare neck. 

After tickling Kojou’s windpipe with the tip of her tongue, she used her white fangs to mercilessly pierce his skin. The girl sipped up the fresh blood that coursed forth. Indescribable pleasure ran up Kojou’s spine. 

“No…stoooooooooooooooooooop!!” 

Kojou screamed amid pleasure, fear, and sorrow, and this time, he awoke for real. 

“Um, senpai…?” 

Entering his hazy vision was the face of Yukina Himeragi, gazing at Kojou with visible concern. 

She was wearing clothes, of course—a sailor suit with a vivid blue collar. It was the girls’ uniform of Saikai Academy. 

“Hime…ragi…?” 

Kojou called out her name in a raspy voice. Yukina smiled and nodded. 

“Are you all right? Your face is red, and you’re sweating like crazy…” 

“Y-yeah. Er…i-it’s nothing…” 

When Yukina pressed a hand against Kojou’s forehead to check his temperature, Kojou subconsciously averted his eyes from her. Naturally, he felt a little awkward about having stared at her naked body in the dream up until then. 

Nagisa poked her head over Yukina’s shoulder, fully intending to tease him. 

“You were dreaming about Yukina, huh? You were calling out her name in your sleep, and something about responsibility, about being seen—some kind of perverted thing, right?” 

“It wasn’t perverted! Any dream about Himeragi is going to be a nightmare any way you slice it!” Kojou rebutted in desperation. He glared at his little sister. 

At Kojou’s reaction, sullen to a degree seldom seen, Nagisa hmmm’d, watching him with deep interest. 

Yukina’s face twitched, as if she’d been hurt in some unexpected manner. 

“…A dream of me is nothing but a nightmare…? Really now…?” 

“More importantly, what’s Himeragi doing at our place? It’s not time to go to school yet, right?” 

Kojou asked after checking the bedside clock. Yukina, the self-declared observer of the Fourth Primogenitor, came to pick Kojou up every morning, but it was still too early for that. Normally, even Nagisa was asleep at this hour. 

“That’s because today’s the first day of the new school year. Yukina and I got our new uniforms ready together.” 

In place of Yukina, silent in an apparent pout, Nagisa replied to Kojou’s question. 

Kojou blinked with a dubious look. Nagisa and Yukina were wearing Saikai Academy uniforms, just like usual. He didn’t think there were any preparations that required an early wake-up call. 

“Uniform preparations…like what?” 

“You haven’t noticed yet?” 

When Kojou tilted his head, Nagisa exhaled toward him, grumbling “Sheesh!” with visible exasperation. 

“Ties, ties! Now that we’re in high school, the uniforms’ ribbons got swapped. Look!” 

“You’re tellin’ me to look, but…” 

Examining both of the uniforms, this time Kojou sank into serious thought. 

The ties for the uniforms differed in form between Saikai Academy’s middle school and high school. In the middle school case, it was bow ties; in the high school case, neckties. However, in practice, this was purely on paper, and there was tacit acceptance that once you got into high school, you could wear whichever one you preferred. As a matter of fact, Asagi changed her tie on a virtually daily basis in accordance with her whims. 

For that reason, even though Yukina and Nagisa had changed their uniforms, Kojou couldn’t tell them apart. Since ties were set as a single color in accordance with the school year, both of their ties remained blue. That, too, made it look exactly the same to his eyes, to the point that he wondered if it wasn’t some kind of trick question. 

“Ahh, sorry. I can’t tell the difference at all.” 

“Ugh, you’re the worst!” Nagisa yelled. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Let him be, Yukina. Kojou’s happy seeing perverted dreams all by his lonesome! Anyway, go eat breakfast, ’kay? I’m not responsible if you’re late after all this!” 

Taking a breath, Nagisa spun, turning her back as she headed out of Kojou’s room. Kojou watched her go, still at a loss as to how he’d gotten her angry. 

Yukina stared at him, letting out a deep exhale of resignation. 

“Um, senpai? Are you really all right?” she asked, recovering from her sour mood. 

“Y-yeah. It was just a bad dream, that’s all.” He smiled weakly toward her. 

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Kojou sat up, drawing his face close to Yukina, who was inches away. Kojou’s abrupt motion made Yukina widen her eyes in visible surprise. 

“S-senpai? Um, is something…?” 

“Himeragi.” 

“Y-yes?” 

Kojou touched her cheek with his right hand. 

Even as Yukina’s body tensed, she made no move to resist. 

The two exchanged gazes at point-blank range. Kojou’s finger gently touched her glossy lips. 

Then, Kojou suddenly thrust the tip of that finger into Yukina’s mouth. 

The finger proceeded to yank her lips far to the side as he checked her rows of teeth. They were so white, you could almost see through them. The size of her canine teeth did not stand out in any particular way. They were so pretty, you could use them for dental plan commercials. Her breath carried the scent of fresh mint. 

“Um…senpai? What is this about?” 

Yukina asked Kojou in such bewilderment at what was happening, she completely forgot to be angry about it. 

With his index finger still thrust into her mouth, Kojou spoke in a voice thick with relief. 

“You’re the same as usual, huh? I’m so glad.” 

“Huh?” 

When Kojou sat, exhaling in relief, Yukina blinked hard and stared. Then, when she gasped loudly and came back to her senses, she grabbed a tissue and hastily wiped Kojou’s index finger, drenched from her own saliva. 

“Just what kind of dream did you have…?!” 

Yukina glared at Kojou resentfully, the expression coming over her angry and bewildered in equal measure. 

Kojou’s shoulders shuddered as he vaguely shook his head. 

“Er, ah… Even if you ask me to categorize the dream, it’s kinda…” 

“…Senpai? Why are you averting your eyes, senpai?!” 

Perhaps feeling uneasy due to Kojou’s blatantly suspicious behavior, Yukina pressed close with a serious look on her face. 

Gingerly backing away, Kojou awkwardly shifted his eyes beyond the window. 

Spreading overhead was a sky so blue, it got on his nerves. The summer clouds hovering near the water’s horizon glimmered silver as powerful sunrays showered down upon them. The wind blowing in through the open window carried the musk of saltwater. 

It was the morning of the first day of the new school year—as expected, as usual, a day on the artificial isle as hot as any other. 

2 

On that day, Saikai Academy was quite a bit more boisterous than usual. 

There were announcements plastered over the campus entrance, divvying up the new year’s classes according to the registry of names, and the students, harboring hopes, worries, and a mixture of sadness and joy, were moving to their new classes. Each classmate’s face and the name of the homeroom teacher brought joy or sorrow, their heads anguishing over the contents of annoying personal introductions. 

Even if he was called the World’s Mightiest Vampire, Kojou’s feelings about those things did not differ from any other student’s. If anything, the fact that he had to hide his own true nature increased his stress about the shifting environs by an extra notch. 

But when he arrived at school, the actual results made Kojou want to lower his shoulders. His expectations had been dashed. 

In the new classroom on the third floor of the campus, Kojou pressed his cheek against his palm and murmured ruefully, “Even though it’s a new school year, not a whole lot has changed.” 

Though there were numerous changes in the positions of the desks, for some reason, the scenery he could see from his seat was largely unchanged. 

Due to how their seat numbers matched up, sitting in front of Kojou was Asagi Aiba, exactly the same as before. 

With her chair tilted sideways, she rested her cheek on her palm, her elbow against Kojou’s desk. 

“We supposedly changed classes, but it’s mostly familiar faces, huh? They left Natsuki as the homeroom teacher, too.” 

“In other words, it’s, you know, that. They figured they’d gather all the troublesome types into one bunch to keep better tabs on ’em,” another voice said. 

Speaking those words was none other than Motoki Yaze, standing at Kojou’s side with nothing better to do. That year, too, he was in the same class as Kojou like it was the most natural thing in the world. For an instant, Kojou wondered if he’d pulled strings as Chairman of the Gigafloat Management Corporation to set it up that way, but apparently not. 

As if to underline that very fact, Kojou and the others suddenly heard a voice behind them. It was a youthful voice with a lisp, but in spite of that, it had a strangely grandiose ring to it. 

“Very perceptive of you, Yaze. That’s precisely it.” 

“Geh, Natsuki…?” 

Looking down at the diminutive homeroom teacher suddenly appearing from his blind spot, Yaze backed away in apparent surprise. 

Perhaps annoyed at being addressed by her given name, Natsuki struck the tip of Yaze’s nose with the fan in her hand. Soaking up the invisible shockwave unleashed by that fan, Yaze’s forehead rang out with a painful-sounding bop. 

“Though it is not my preference to deal with you lot for a second year running, none of the other teachers want to be handed this class. Even I could not refuse after the principal wept and prostrated himself before me.” 

“The principal cried on his hands and knees…? Just how hated are we around here…?” 

Natsuki’s words, mixed in with a sigh, brought a fervent grimace onto Kojou’s face. She wasn’t the type to joke about that sort of thing. If she said the principal bowed his head to the floor, it was probably true. 

What, you didn’t know? said the gaze Natsuki turned toward Kojou. 

“Well, fine. More to the point, Akatsuki. Speaking of self-awareness, you do understand that you advanced a grade truly by the barest of margins, yes?” 

“Y-yeah. I’m grateful for all the help from everyone where that’s concerned…” 

Ugh. There was a tightness in Kojou’s throat as he bowed his head to Natsuki. 

Though he was all but guaranteed to repeat a year due to woefully insufficient days attended and poor grades, Kojou managed to squeak by thanks to Natsuki’s supplemental lessons and Asagi’s dedicated personal tutoring, plus some sweet-talking by the Yaze family. 

Of course, this was also for the political reason that it would sound really bad if the Fourth Primogenitor, ruler of Itogami city-state, was a dropout, and on the school’s side of things, they no doubt wanted to get such a troublesome student to graduate as soon as possible… 

“Since you are well aware, here is the abridged version: This year, have a change of heart and devote yourself to serious study. I do not want to see any more trouble from you.” 

“I get it already…” Kojou tossed a hand up and waved, annoyed. “Well, I’m sure there’s nothin’ to worry about. That bastard Vattler went off to Nod, Avrora’s condition is stable, the political stuff has calmed down, and chaotic events like Tartarus Lapse, the war of the primogenitors, and Onrai Island don’t exactly pop up every day.” 

“I can only hope that remains true.” Natsuki grimaced and nodded. 

Considering the vast number of troubles involving Kojou over a span not even amounting to one year, he kind of understood why she felt tempted to doubt. 

“Hey, hey, Natsuki, incidentally, what’s up with the Dem-Club?” Asagi asked, abruptly giving Natsuki’s dress a little tug. 

“Dem-Club?” unwittingly echoed Kojou. This was his first time hearing of it. 

“Do not address your homeroom teacher by her first name,” Natsuki scolded. 

She thrust a document folded in two back toward Asagi. Kojou glanced over at it and saw the heading read NEW CLUB APPLICATION FORM. In Asagi’s handwriting, Natsuki had been written in as the club’s advisor. 

“Huh? What’s this? Hasn’t gotten its seal of approval…” 

Taking the form, Asagi sourly knitted her brows. Natsuki gave off a rather chilly sigh. 

“It’s been rejected.” 

“Huh? Why…?!” 

“Read the student council regulations, would you? Establishing a new club requires a minimum of five dedicated members.” 

“You mean people in multiple clubs don’t count toward that…?” 

Asagi’s shoulders sank. But Natsuki didn’t twitch an eyebrow. Turning her back, she headed off to the staff room as if to say, Don’t cause me any more trouble. 

“Asagi? What, you wanted to do something in a club?” 

Kinda late, second year in high school and all, said Kojou’s dubious look as he asked. 

Asagi seemed slightly peeved as she raised her eyelashes. 

“Don’t speak as if it doesn’t concern you. You’re doing this, too.” 

“I am?” 

“Yes. The Demon Sanctuary Research Club, or Dem-Club for short. It’s a club to investigate and research the management of the Demon Sanctuary and the actual state of demons’ lives.” 

Kojou made no attempt to hide his annoyance. “…Who the hell wants to be part of a pain-in-the-ass club like that?” 

Asagi smiled, as if proud of some kind of victory. 

“Well, aren’t you an idiot? People not wanting to join is a good thing.” 

“Huh?” 

“…Now look here, Kojou,” Yaze cut in. “You might’ve forgotten, but you are technically the head of an independent country; ruler of a Dominion. There’s only four people like you in the whole world.” 

He muttered a quiet “good grief” as his shoulders languidly sank. 

“Y-yeah…” He tried to wrap his head around what Yaze was saying. “What of it?” 

“Normally, Itogami Island’s being run by the Gigafloat Management Corporation, but all that said, if trouble pops up, you’re the one who’s gotta head out and deal with it. I mean, in the end, Itogami’s defensive power rests in the strength of the Fourth Primogenitor.” 

“R-really?” 

Of course, he understood the rationality. Unlike the other three “proper” primogenitors, the Fourth Primogenitor had neither vampires of the same bloodline nor demons under his command. If not for small-scale criminal incidents, if large-scale combat broke out, Kojou had no option except to head out personally. That was the unfortunate role he had as ruler of a Dominion. 

“So that’s why I thought it’d be convenient to have a relay base inside school grounds with a direct line to the Gigafloat Management Corporation,” Asagi explained. “I wanted something that outsiders wouldn’t butt into, and that wouldn’t draw suspicion even if we’re heading in and out pretty often.” 

“…What does this have to do with this Demon Sanctuary Research Club?” 

“Because if we’re formally recognized as a club, we’ll get our own room on campus.” 

“Ah!” 

So that’s what this is about, Kojou thought, finally getting it. 

Meaning, Asagi’s goal wasn’t the club itself, but the room that came with it. She no doubt meant to stuff communications gear for direct contact with the Corporation and electronic instruments into it, or maybe even quietly stuff that robotic tank of hers inside. 

“But five people… If people in another club can’t be included, that’s pretty strict.” 

“Recruiting people for the club is simple enough, but ones that’d cooperate with us once they know Kojou’s real identity, that’s kinda…,” Yaze said. 

Asagi and Yaze clutched their heads as they gazed at the application form thrust back in their faces. 

Itogami Island was a Demon Sanctuary. No one was discriminated against in public merely for being demons. Saikai Academy had its own demon students, and their homeroom teacher, Natsuki, was a powerful witch, known to some as “The Demonslayer.” Kojou concealing his having become a vampire was driven by an extremely personal reason: He didn’t want to be hated by his little sister, afflicted by demonophobia as she was. 

And even if someone suggested, now that his secret had been exposed to Nagisa, that Kojou hiding his identity had lost all meaning…it wasn’t as simple a story as that. 

After all, the Fourth Primogenitor was the World’s Mightiest Vampire—and the most notorious. There was no telling what grudges might be held against that being in places all across the globe. Even on Itogami Island, the repeated instances of his Beast Vassals running amok amounted to damages conservatively estimated at over a trillion yen. 

Up to that point, publicly denying the Fourth Primogenitor’s existence had somehow pulled the wool over people’s eyes, but the day Kojou’s true nature leaked and became public knowledge would be the day his existing life was ruined. 

Thus, even at present, Kojou continued to conceal his own identity. In the sense of having troublesome circumstances, Asagi, the Priestess of Cain, and Yaze, new Chairman of the Yaze corporate conglomerate, were in much the same boat. 

That said, given the objectives of the Demon Sanctuary Research Club, sooner or later, their secrets would surely be exposed to other members of the club. Members would need to know, yet strictly protect, the secrets of Kojou and the others’ identities, and cooperate in club activities that might well put them in peril. He didn’t think there were many students who would fit the bill. 

“Wait a minute, so why did you think it’d be easy getting members for a weird-sounding club like this?” Kojou asked, voicing the doubt he felt toward Yaze’s mysterious confidence. 

His friend made a leering grin, narrowing his eyes with amusement. “Well, I figured we’d have Asagi and Himeragi cosplay anime characters if we had to, so invitations would be a cinch. It’d have to be something skintight, with lots of exposure and erotic ambiance—” 

“Why does it have to be anime cosplay…?” Asagi’s cheek twitched as she glared at Yaze, looking utterly displeased. 

He blinked, nonplussed. “Of course, I don’t mind if it’s race queen or bunny-girl outfits, either…” 

“I’m not doing any of them! If you’re gonna say that, why not have you and Kojou wear bunny suits or do a strip show or something?!” 

“What are you involving me in this for…?! And who decided Himeragi would be in the club to begin with…?” 

Kojou attempted a composed comical jab, but Yaze and Asagi coldly ignored him. Apparently, the two of them took for granted that Yukina would be one of the club members. 

“I thought about asking Rin, but she’s on the student council this year.” 

“Nagisa’s in the C-Club, and Kanase’s in the V-Club…” 

“Man, this Fourth Primogenitor guy is surprisingly unpopular.” 

“Oh, shaddap!” 

Kojou curtly rebutted Yaze and Asagi’s self-centered arguments. Incidentally, C-Club was short for Cheerleading Club, and V-Club was short for Volunteer Club. 

“…Wait. For members, it doesn’t matter if they’re in middle school?” 

Kojou lifted his head as if he had just remembered something very important. 

“I suppose so. I mean, it shouldn’t…” 

Asagi nodded as she looked down at the regulations on the application form. Yaze raised his brows at the unexpected development. 

“You have someone in mind?” 

“Well, kinda, yeah.” 

Kojou vaguely nodded. He shifted his gaze toward the middle school campus. 

“Whether the person will agree to joining the club, dunno…” 

3 

On the first day of the school term, classes ended in the morning. Under the powerful rays of the midday sun, the students were all astir as they passed through the school gate on their way home. 

Amid that group, like any of its ilk in the modern era, a single girl stood out. 

She had a comely, deeply chiseled face, and distinctive, large eyes. 

She was a demon of an endangered species, an Ogre, and the final surviving Paladin of Gisella—Shizuri Kasugaya Castiella. 

Walking alongside Shizuri were two girls that seemed to be in the same grade. Perhaps they were returning home in different directions, because they waved good-bye to Shizuri right around the time they exited the gate. 

“Shizurin, thanks for the help.” 

“Later, Shizurin. See you tomorrow!” 

“Do have a nice day.” 

Waving her hand to the two grinning, sociable girls, Shizuri set out, walking in the direction of the monorail station. 

Something suddenly brought her legs to a halt, eyes bulging—Kojou was there, waiting for her. 

“Hey, Cas. You seem to be in good shape.” 

“Kojou Akatsuki…? Y-you were waiting here for me?” 

For an instant, Shizuri’s expression seemed radiant, eyes sparkling, but her voice held a particular bluntness, as if to paper over her own nervousness. Kojou did not notice Shizuri’s inner melancholy, gazing at the girls from her grade heading off in the distance with what seemed like an expression of relief. 

“Surprisingly, it looks like you’re fitting right in with the class. I was worried you’d stick out like a sore thumb.” 

“That is none of your business! I will have you know I have taken socializing to heart as much as the average person!” Shizuri sighed after shooting a glare at Kojou, who genuinely seemed relieved. 

Then, Shizuri’s eyes casually came to rest behind Kojou. There, standing without any hint of presence, was a small-statured girl with a black guitar case on her back. 

“Y-Yukina Himeragi—!” 

Shizuri, her cheeks twitching as she attempted to hide her fear, instantly touched a hand to her own hip to draw the crimson long sword that would normally be resting upon it. However, a girl returning home from middle school would not be wearing a sword on her hip. Despair hovered in Shizuri’s eyes when she realized she was unarmed. 

In response, Yukina reflexively lowered her center of gravity, moving a hand to the guitar case on her back. She was moving to draw the silver spear stored inside. 

“W-wait! Calm down! It’s not like I came here to start a fight! And Himeragi, don’t take the bait!” 

Kojou hastily wedged himself between the two girls, chiding their hostile behavior. The grudging standoff gradually eased, but both Yukina and Shizuri respectively remained wary and on guard. 

“I am not,” Yukina awkwardly rebutted. “I merely…sensed hostility, and so, I just—” 

Without missing a beat, Shizuri stepped in, still harboring a defiant attitude ever since Yukina had defeated her soundly in a serious fight. “I am simply practicing self-defense…! That is because this woman suddenly came out trying to intimidate me—” 

“Ahem. So…if conflict was not your objective, what is it you wish of me?” Shizuri cleared her throat, somehow managing to regain her calm and composure. 

Kojou was a bit unsure of just where to begin. 

“Erm, well, we wanted to ask you to join our club. It’ll take a little while to explain, but…” 

“…What precisely are you scheming?” 

Naturally, the expression Shizuri turned toward Kojou was one she used when she discovered something suspicious. The reaction was truly easy to understand. Kojou, conflicted, scratched his cheek. 

“Anyway, let’s change locations. We stand out way too much out here.” 

“…Perhaps it is something you cannot discuss in front of other people?” 

“I told you, it’s about a club!” Kojou remained desperate in the face of Shizuri’s guarded demeanor. 

People’s eyes were drawn to Shizuri naturally, and when it came to attracting attention, the same went for Yukina. He could not fathom what rumors might spread by being spotted together with both of them in the same place. 

“If you cannot tell me here, fine. Where shall we head?” 

Perhaps even she was aware of just how much she stood out, for Shizuri reluctantly allowed him to persuade her. 

Kojou hadn’t put any particular thought into it. Yeah, where should we go? he mulled briefly. “Dunno. The cafeteria on campus isn’t open today.” 

Yukina offered in a reserved fashion, “How about Goetia Coffee at the north entrance of the station? There should still be plenty of open tables at this time of day.” 

“I see. That might be good, then—” 

Shizuri seemed displeased at the sight, tapering her lips as she gazed at the interaction between the pair. “I desire to go to a tea shop. I do not wish to drink anything as crude as coffee…!” 

“Er, didn’t you glug coffee down all the time back at Onrai Island…?” 

Kojou’s calm verbal thrust elicited a quick reply from a reddened Shizuri. “Th-that was because it was coffee Kojou poured for my sake, so I could not simply refuse it!” 

As Yukina listened to this, her expression gently fell from her face. Quietly pressing close against Kojou, she opened her mouth as if something had suddenly leaped to the forefront of her mind. “Senpai, you like the pancakes at Goetia, don’t you? The ones with cream and nuts.” 

“Yeah. Those are delicious. Man, I’m surprised you remembered, Himeragi.” 

“That is because previously, we went in and ate a rather tasty meal—just the two of us.” 

Shizuri grumbled, sullenly glaring as the smiling Yukina nonchalantly landed the first blow. To defy her, Shizuri grabbed hold of Kojou’s right arm. 

“I firmly insist on tea.” 

“No, it will be coffee!” 

Yukina was equally and oddly stubborn from the other side of Kojou, who was caught in the middle. 

“Either’s fine, geez…” 

With the pair pressing close from behind, Kojou spontaneously turned his face toward the clouds. With lukewarm eyes, passing students gazed at the bizarre sight of Kojou sandwiched between two eye-catching girls. 

“So in the end, it’s a vending machine…” 

Sitting on the bench of a public park near the school, Kojou gave the heavy sigh of one weary of life. 

His right hand was gripping a partially consumed soda. Because both Yukina and Shizuri stubbornly refused to concede any ground, they’d ended up going to the park’s vending machine and buying their own preferred drinks. 

“This is because Himeragi, who I might remind you is my upperclassman, was so childishly stubborn,” Shizuri said while she leaned against a fence, sipping tea from a PET bottle as she spoke. Any amount of respect she aimed toward Yukina somehow had a ring of sarcasm to it. 

“Th-that is because you…!” 

When Yukina reflexively tried to say something in return, Kojou offered a conciliatory “Now, now,” somehow holding her back. Kojou and Yukina were there to give Shizuri an invitation, after all. 

“So, about the Demon Sanctuary Research Club I was talkin’ about—Cas, you in?” 

Who is this Cas? Shizuri’s fervent glare toward Kojou seemed to say. Then, she let out a brief sigh. “Well, I have a general grasp of your circumstances, and I’m not particularly opposed to becoming a member of this club…” 

“Really? Thank you, seriously.” Kojou breathed with relief that the troublesome invitation had been resolved so easily. 

“However, in tangible terms, what is it precisely that I should be doing?” 

Kojou answered Shizuri’s sensible question rather irresponsibly. “Normally you wouldn’t have to do anything, I suppose. The gist being, unless problems come up, it’s no big deal.” 

“Problems arising would mean Itogami Island being exposed to danger, would it not?” 

“Pretty much, yeah. The Demon Sanctuary Research Club was made in case something happens to Itogami Island in the first place.” 

“And in an extreme scenario, combat is also possible?” Shizuri asked, though not without glaring at Yukina. 

“Naturally,” Yukina replied, not averting her eyes even as she nodded. 

Kojou grew a little worried that the atmosphere might begin flowing in a negative direction once more. “Er, it’s not that Cas actually has to fight, but—” 

“As the former captain of the Kasugaya Squad, ’tis my duty to look after Kojou, and as a Paladin of Gisela, I will offer my cooperation, of course,” Shizuri interrupted crisply and firmly. 

“R-right.” Kojou couldn’t help being overwhelmed by the sheer force of her words. Put bluntly, he was conflicted by her dragging out her old title from within virtual space, but if Shizuri was enthusiastic about club activities, that was all well and good. 

“Now that you mention the Kasugaya Squad, how are Amase and Miyazumi doing lately?” he asked, suddenly remembering his teammates from his days on Onrai Island. 

Ever since being freed from Onrai Island’s barrier, Shizuri had been living with Yuno as roommates in a housing complex built in New Itogami Island for returners like them. 

“Yuno and Rui began work as civilian Attack Mages a few weeks ago,” she said, making a pattern in the ground with the tip of her shoe as she spoke. Kojou got the sense she was annoyed. 

“…Civilian Attack Mages?” He tilted his head at word of the unfamiliar work title. 

Yukina answered, “An occupation where one receives contracts from corporations and individuals to resolve trouble related to demons and spellcraft. It includes exorcism, removal of curses, and bodyguard-related work as well.” 

“Makes me think of a private detective, magician version. Sounds like something they’d be good at.” 

Kojou made a low and rather envious growl. Yuno had a close-range, hand-to-hand fighting style and was highly skilled in combat—plus, she had an agility distinctive to beast people that made her an excellent explorer. Rui was an excellent magic-gunner and a well-rounded caster. There were few magical fields he did not excel in. They were both far more suited to civilian Attack Mage work than someone like the Fourth Primogenitor, with no talent for anything short of large-scale demolition. 

Besides, more than anything, the image of being independent professionals with your very own business tugged at his heart and came off as just plain cool. Kojou couldn’t help but yearn for such a life. 

Furthermore, it probably wasn’t much fun for Shizuri to be the one left out. 

“Were it not for the age restrictions in the Attack Mage Labor Laws, I would be working with them…!” she murmured with a sulk. 

Even though she acted very adult due to her Onrai Island experiences, Shizuri was still only fourteen. Thanks to that, she couldn’t get a license to work as a civilian Attack Mage. 

“Goodness, why require that one needs to have graduated from middle school to get a license?!” 

“Well, if you have to ask why, that’s because education’s compulsory until the end of middle school…but thanks to that, you ended up coming to my campus, so I’m kinda happy about that.” 

“Wh-what do you mean? Are you saying you wished for the two of us to attend school together…?” Shizuri’s voice went shrill, her cheeks red. In response, Yukina gave Kojou an emotionless stare. 

Kojou, finding the girls’ reactions surprising, looked right back at them. “No, I mean it makes it a lot easier to get enough people for the Dem-Club.” 

“Ah… Yes, that is exactly the kind of person you are…” 

Embarrassed at having harbored hopes for even a single instant, Shizuri hung her head, thoroughly deflated. Yukina shook her head a little in sympathy. 

It was the very next moment that a sound like a synthesized xylophone coursed from nowhere in particular. Annoyed, Shizuri took a smartphone out from her bag. 

“’Tis from Yuno…” 

Looking at the name displayed on the screen, Shizuri murmured in apparent skepticism. After all, the timing of the call was so spot-on, it was like the saying, Speak of the devil and— 

“Yes. Hello…Ah?” Her voice suddenly hardened. “Yes, this is Shizuri Kasugaya…” 

From the odd shift in her tone, Kojou had a pretty good idea that it wasn’t Yuno on the line. The small fingers with which Shizuri gripped the smartphone grew tense as they trembled. 

“Please wait a moment. What is the meaning of…? Y…yes…” 

Shizuri wobbled backward with the smartphone still pressed to her ear. 

Seeing her dramatic reaction, Kojou and Yukina soberly got to their feet. 

“What’s wrong, Cas?” Kojou propped her up as she was on the verge of collapse. 

Shizuri tried to give him some kind of reply, but her voice caught in her throat, unable to form words. Her lips had lost all trace of blood, pale as if they had been frozen. 

“I have been told…Rui and Yuno… They encountered a demon beast during their work…and are both in comas and in critical condition…” 

“Those two…? No way…” 

“A demon beast…?” 

Kojou was dumbfounded. Yukina’s expression shifted to something graver still. 

Right in front of the two, Shizuri’s body swayed visibly. She was dizzy from shock. 

A demon beast had attacked, and her friends were wounded—perhaps that fact had made her recall the fear carved into her in the Carceri of Onrai Island. 

“Miss Kasugaya!” 

“Cas!” 

As Shizuri collapsed, Yukina and Kojou both held her up. 

The two embraced her strongly. Even so, Shizuri’s shivering did not cease. 

4 

Word that Yuno had regained consciousness came right before Kojou and the others reached the hospital. 

She and Rui had been admitted to an emergency hospital on Island North that specialized in treating demons. After getting their visitor passes, Kojou and the others headed straight to Yuno’s room. 

“Yuno! Are you all right?!” 

Shizuri was the first one to head into the room. After confirming the patient name on the plate attached to the door, she opened the door without knocking, still short of breath as she raced into the room. 

Then, Shizuri gasped in shock, hardening as if she had been turned to stone. 

Partly because she was a demon, Yuno had been assigned her own individual room. A female doctor who seemed thirty years old, give or take, and a young nurse were visible beside the patient bed. 

Upon that bed was a topless Yuno, who was sandwiched between medical thermometers on her flanks, and the doctor was touching a stethoscope to her back. She was right in the middle of an examination. 

Sticking out through the gap made by bandages and gauzes was the swell of the ample breasts that clashed with the small size of her body. 

“Amase, you’re awake already…? Er…ehh?!” 

Kojou entered the patient room through the open door, his eyes instantly bulging in surprise. 

“—Hey, d-don’t loooooooook!” 

Spinning around then and there, Shizuri delivered a full-force lariat to Kojou’s neck. Unable to soften the blow from the sudden assault, Kojou was blown straight into the corridor, landing face-up. It was all over in one brief instant. 

Yuno and the others gazed dumbfounded and wide-eyed at the tragedy that had occurred in the patient room without the slightest forewarning. 

“—Sorry to worry you, Shizurin. Kojikoji, thanks for coming all this way, too.” 

Several minutes after that event, having finished her examination without further incident, Yuno was giving Kojou and the others a proper greeting. 

Both of her arms were bandaged, and her right leg had been put into a thick cast, but the color of her face was not all that bad. If anything, Kojou looked far worse than she did, thanks to that powerful pro-wrestling move used upon him. 

“Are you all…friends of the patient?” asked the female physician with a chilly glare firmly directed at Kojou and the others. Her strict attitude was no doubt related to Shizuri’s earlier act of violence. 

Yukina took the opportunity to rectify the situation; she stepped before the physician and displayed her Attack Mage license, which made the doctor narrow her eyes. 

“I am a Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency—a federal Attack Mage. Please explain the situation.” 

“I see… So you are a federal Attack Mage as well.” The doctor gave a short sigh. She showed no particular surprise at a young girl like Yukina telling her this news. To the contrary, she came off as rather accepting of it. “Explain, you say, but this is a hospital, nothing more. I can only answer as to the condition of the patient.” 

“Then please do so.” 

The physician’s odd reaction left Yukina perplexed. The doctor met Yuno’s eyes, seemingly confirming the patient’s intent for herself, waiting for Yuno to nod before speaking in a businesslike tone of voice. 

“Her— Miss Amase has sustained internal organ damage from powerful blunt trauma. In addition, four ribs and one femur are fractured. A normal person would require six months to fully heal. Well, in her case, being a species of beast person, we can discharge her in a week with no ill effects.” 

“And Miyazumi?” Kojou inquired about the condition of the absent Rui. This had to be important to Yuno, too. 

“The boy brought in with her?” 

“Yeah.” 

“The severity of his wounds was far lighter than hers, enough that no surgery is required.” 

“O-okay.” 

Kojou’s expression brightened. Shizuri also looked visibly relieved as she patted her chest. However, in contrast to her words, the tenor of the physician’s face was not so sunny. 

“However, his blood loss was severe; he has yet to regain consciousness.” 

“Blood loss…?” 

“Can you not simply give him a transfusion?” 

Kojou and Yukina, both surprised, pressed the doctor for more information. For a moment, the doctor broke off her words, seemingly overwhelmed by the force of their questions. 

“Ahh, I’m sorry. ‘Blood loss’ is a slip of the tongue on my part. It is not that he has insufficient blood plasma. The problem is not the amount of blood flowing through him, but that the vital energy within his blood is parched. Perhaps it’s easier if I put it like this… His condition is similar to having a large amount of life force drained by a D-type.” 

“D-type… You mean a vampire?” 

The gravity of Kojou’s expression increased. Given what he knew, he couldn’t help but panic at the thought of Rui’s blood having been drained. 

The physician spoke with a dismissive tone of voice. “It is simply an example. I am merely stating that we are searching for something with similar symptoms. I cannot say anything more until we have results from more precise tests.” 

“I understand. Thank you for your cooperation,” Yukina said and lowered her head in a proper, formal bow. The doctor shrugged her shoulders without a word. Yukina proceeded to shift her eyes to Yuno atop the bed. “May we speak to Yuno for a short while?” 

Once the doctor had consented, Yuno leaned against the recliner bed as she replied, “I’m fine with it, but there’s not a whole lot I can tell you. I had my hands full taking on some tentacle-ish things. In the end, I never got a good look at the opponent’s real body.” 

To Kojou and the others, this was unexpected information. They never expected people as skilled as Yuno and Rui to have so much trouble fighting tentacles that were not even the demon beast’s true body. 

“Tentacles… You mean like an octopus’s arms?” Kojou asked. 

“Hmm,” Yuno quietly murmured, a bit hesitant before shaking her head. “They’re more like individual eels than the tentacles of an octopus… At first, we thought those were main bodies, though.” 

“You are saying that the tentacles alone were as large as an average demon beast?” Shizuri asked, shocked. 

“I don’t know about ‘average,’ but they were big enough to trade blows. The ones I ran into were around fourteen or fifteen meters long.” 

“Wha…?” 

This time, Shizuri gawked. Apparently, what Yuno and Rui had encountered was no simple demon beast, but a monster that far exceeded her expectations, with dozens of tentacles each on par with a demon beast themselves. Small wonder Yuno and Rui had been hard pressed. 

The doctor, perhaps concerned about Yuno’s fatigue, interrupted Kojou and the others’ questions. “If you want more details about the incident, maybe you should go ask the man from the construction firm?” 

“What do you mean, the man from the construction firm?” Shizuri asked. 

The doctor gave the reposing Yuno a glance. “Miss Amase’s client, yes? His injuries are minor. At the moment, he might be in the waiting room on the second floor. Your comrade said she wanted to ask him about the circumstances, after all.” 

Yukina formally bowed her head to the doctor. “…Thank you very much.” 

Certainly, it was cruel to make the injured Yuno recall the circumstances of the incident, and Kojou didn’t think they could get any new information out of her beyond what they already had. Kojou and Yukina nodded to each other and left the room. 

Shizuri was a little unsure whether she should remain close to Yuno, but in the end, she apparently settled on sticking with Kojou and Yukina. No doubt the nature of the demon beast that had hurt Yuno and Rui was gnawing at her. 

As they headed down the hospital wing stairs, Kojou looked back at Yukina and posed a question. “Himeragi, who did she mean by ‘your comrade’?” 

“I have no idea,” said Yukina, shaking her head. “Dispatching demon beasts is not within the Lion King Agency’s jurisdiction… Perhaps it is an Island Guard Attack Mage?” 

“I care not who it is. ’Tis none of her business!” said Shizuri, aggressively clenching her teeth to the point it made a sound. “It is my duty to avenge Miss Yuno!” 

“No, no, you should look after Amase, Cas. I’m worried about Miyazumi, too, and hospital paperwork and stuff is a pretty big deal. You can leave the monster smacking to us,” Kojou said, concerned by Shizuri’s aggression. 

Yukina hastily moved to reproach Kojou for his last phrase. “No, senpai. Do you intend to use the Beast Vassals of the Fourth Primogenitor against a demon beast? Do you understand just how much damage the city would incur from—” 

“It’s a demon beast that could send those two to the hospital, though. Who knows what kind of huge mess we’ll have if we let it run wild?” 

“Then I shall investigate in senpai’s place,” Yukina firmly declared, knowing full well what he was going to say. 

Hearing this from the side, Shizuri gawked at her. “Excuse me?! How did we reach this point?!” 

“As senpai’s observer, it is the only natural decision. It is my duty as a Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency to prevent large-scale destructive activities by the Fourth Primogenitor before they might occur.” 

“That has nothing to do with it! The ones that came to harm are my friends! Letting you address the problem of this dangerous demon beast would bring shame to the name of the Paladins of Gisella!” 

“Miss Kasugaya, you are a civilian, so please go to school!” 

“You’re a student in the same school as I am, are you not?! In the first place, is this not precisely what the Demon Sanctuary Research Club was intended for?!” 

“Ahh… Hey, Himeragi. Settle down, okay…? Cas, you, too.” 

Kojou called out from the side as the pair glared at each other, but… 

“I am completely calm!” 

“Kojou, please be silent!” 

Having caused the girls to shout louder instead, Kojou meekly backed away. In place of the so-called World’s Mightiest Vampire, a voice that sounded languid and cold scolded Yukina and Shizuri instead. 

“You two are being somewhat loud. Were you not taught as children to keep your voices down in a hospital?” 

“Huh…?” The familiar-sounding voice made Kojou gasp and turn around. 

Standing against a bone-white wall was a slender figure. 

She had long, black hair in an old-fashioned hairstyle and wore an equally old-fashioned black sailor outfit. The girl had a pretty face, but the look in her eyes, seemingly mocking the world around her, somehow left an unapproachable impression. 

“You’re…!” 

“Miss Kisaki?!” 

The sudden appearance of Kiriha Kisaki—Priestess of the Six Blades of the Bureau of Astrology—made Kojou and Yukina freeze in place like computers visited by the blue screen of death. 

Shizuri, the only one of them meeting Kiriha for the first time, was completely at a loss as she gazed at Kojou and Yukina standing stiff. 

“…Who is she?” she asked with a mystified tilt of her head. 

5 

Kiriha was carrying a small camera bag in her right hand with a large tripod case slung over her left shoulder. To people unaware of the circumstances, she looked like nothing more than a high school girl with an interest in photography. Of course, they would have no idea that her tripod case contained a forked spear, a specialized armament of the Priestesses of the Six Blades. 

In particular, Shizuri, not being from Itogami Island, probably hadn’t even heard of the Bureau of Astrology. 

Even so, her gut instinct had likely made her discern that Kiriha was no ordinary person. Like a wild wolf encountering an unfamiliar human being, she glared at Kiriha from a safe distance. 

Kiriha gazed upon Shizuri and her reaction with amusement as she sat on a waiting room sofa and crossed her legs. In no way were her manners poor, but her queen-like appearance and the holier-than-thou expression she wore no doubt accounted for her somehow coming off as haughty. 

Sitting in a chair opposite to her, Yukina looked at Kiriha as if she was a nuisance and asked, “Miss Kisaki…why is a Priestess of the Six Blades of the Bureau of Astrology here?” 

The federal Attack Mage whom the doctor had described as Yukina’s “comrade” must have meant Kiriha. Certainly, in one sense, they were cut from the same cloth. But even if both were from special agencies working directly for the government, the Bureau of Astrology was an organization with interests that differed from Yukina’s Lion King Agency. 

Specifically, Yukina had engaged in lethal combat with Kiriha in earnest, yet had also fought side by side with her. Thanks to their shared history, she was unsure just what kind of reaction to have. 

“How offensive. Why? I believe that’s my line.” Kiriha made a long sigh as if she were the one reproaching Yukina. “The Lion King Agency’s mission is to investigate large-scale sorcerous criminality. The Bureau of Astrology has jurisdiction over dispatching demon beasts. Am I wrong?” 

“That is…correct, but…” 

“And so, I, as a Priestess of the Six Blades of the Bureau of Astrology, have been assigned the task of countermeasures against an unknown demon beast that has appeared on Itogami Island. Yukina Himeragi, this decision comes straight from the Japanese government and is based upon a formal request by Itogami Island’s Gigafloat Management Corporation.” 

Faced with Kiriha’s high-pressure statement, Yukina sank into silence, unable to say a single word in reply. Just as the Sword Shamans of the Lion King Agency specialized in anti-demon combat, the Priestesses of the Six Blades specialized in subjugating demon beasts. 

That Kiriha, one of those Priestesses, would be involved in countermeasures against a demon beast was so painfully straight down the middle, Yukina had no room for rebuttal. The one thing that tugged at her mind was that the Bureau’s reaction was far too swift, but such speediness was something to commend, not something to levy complaints about. 

“I…I cannot accept this! To begin with, what is with this arrogant woman?!” Shizuri, unaware of Kiriha’s identity, vehemently objected, unable to read the atmosphere. 

“Hey, Cas. Cut that out!” 

“Wh-what are you doing, Kojou?! Let me go! And where are you touching…?!” 

When Kojou restrained Shizuri’s arms from behind, she began kicking her legs. 

Kiriha, watching the jostling between Kojou and Shizuri with the gaze of someone observing a rare animal, suddenly realized something as her eyes rested on Shizuri’s head. 

“…You’re an Ogre?” 

“Wh-what if I am?” 

Subconsciously concealing both her horns under her hands, Shizuri let out a frightened sound. Her hairstyle made them seem like hair ornaments, but she was not concealing them under a wimple as she once had. It was obvious from a glance that she was a female Ogre. 

“What is your relationship to Kojou Akatsuki?” 

“I—I have no obligation to tell you any such thing!” 

“Hmm… It would seem you have found yet another amusing lover, Kojou Akatsuki,” Kiriha murmured in admiration, effortlessly letting Shizuri’s hostility pass over her. 

“His lover…?!” 

Shizuri let out a wail with even greater ferocity, but Kiriha had already lost interest in the girl, toying with her own hair as if pointedly bored. Kiriha’s belittling demeanor drove Shizuri further into a rage. 

Good grief. Kojou shook his head, exhausted. As a matter of fact, Kojou had as hard a time dealing with Kiriha as Shizuri did. 

“Kisaki, the civilian Attack Mages hurt by the demon beast are friends of ours. At least tell us about it,” he said. 

“Ahh, so that is what this is about.” 

Kiriha’s expression softened slightly. When he thought more, it made perfect sense for her to be quietly on guard, given that she didn’t actually know why Kojou and the others were involved in the incident. 

“That being the case, I am willing to speak to you, but my information comes at a high price.” 

“You’re asking for money?!” Kojou retorted. 

You’re a public employee, dammit. 

Kiriha narrowed her eyes in amusement. “But of course not. Yes, how about this…? For this one evening, you will accompany me on a date.” 

“Miss Kisaki…!” 

“Wh-what are you thinking?!” 

“Tee-hee. How frightening. I’m only joking.” 

Watching Yukina and Shizuri’s maidenly reactions, Kiriha clutched her belly and laughed out loud. Kiriha typically revealed no openings, but for once, her expression seemed like that of a normal, everyday girl. 

“To put it bluntly, at present, I do not yet have information sufficient to share. Apparently, the construction firm worker who encountered the demon beast saw next to nothing, since the place was dark and he was desperately running for his life. He was quite agitated, making his testimony completely unreliable.” 

“Well, that’s what you’d expect from a normal human being.” 

Kiriha’s words had not a shred of evidence, but Kojou trusted them without any fuss. This time, at least, she had no reason to deceive Kojou and company, and her testimony had the ring of authenticity. 

“To have returned to the surface with such dead weight intact, with such injuries themselves, the two civilian Attack Mages did quite well, I think. The construction worker thanked them as well.” 

Kiriha commented with what sounded like genuine admiration for Yuno and company. 

“For Miss Yuno and Mr. Rui, that is only to be expected,” Shizuri said proudly. 

Kiriha quietly smiled and nodded. “At any rate, the construction worker was able to attest to—with certainty—the exact location the demon beast appeared. From here, I shall proceed along with our staff and perform a field inspection. Depending upon the results, I will require your cooperation. I trust this is acceptable, Kojou Akatsuki?” 

“So that’s what you meant by a high price.” 

Kojou gave a brief sigh of resignation. Perhaps it was slightly masochistic of him to think he ought to bless his good fortune if that was all the compensation it took to settle a debt with Kiriha. 

Kiriha stood up with her luggage in hand and began walking to the waiting room exit, as if to say, our business is done. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she halted her feet right at Yukina’s side. 

“Incidentally, Yukina Himeragi. I have a question for you.” 

“For me?” 

Yukina looked back at Kiriha in apparent surprise. Kiriha peered straight into Yukina’s eyes. 

“Has anything changed in your relationship with Kojou Akatsuki?” 

“E-excuse me?” Yukina stiffened, not having expected that line of inquiry. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.” 

“If it hasn’t, then that is just fine. It was simply on my mind a little.” Kiriha’s gaze fell to Yukina’s left hand. On her ring finger, Yukina wore a silver band constructed of a metal very similar to Snowdrift Wolf’s. 

“This goes for the current demon beast incident as well, but enemies lurk in places you least expect them,” Kiriha whispered softly into Yukina’s ear before leaving without even a wave. 

To Kojou and the others’ ears, her whisper echoed with an oddly profound note to it. 

6 

“I suppose I really shouldn’t do things out of my comfort zone.” 

In the gloomy darkness, on a roadway illuminated by chemical lighting, Kiriha murmured to herself. 

She was at Cluster Six of New Itogami Island—the underground city where two civilian Attack Mages had encountered the unidentified demon beast the day before. 

On the surface, dawn must have been finally breaking. That was because Kiriha only began pursuit of the demon beast in earnest sometime past midnight. 

Accompanying her were eight investigators from the Bureau of Astrology who had just arrived from the mainland. They did not possess individual fighting capabilities on par with Kiriha, but they boasted a wealth of first-class skills when it came to pursuing and capturing demon beasts. But in spite of their tireless efforts, their search had yet to determine the demon beast’s whereabouts. 

“Attack Mage Kisaki?” 

Perhaps having heard Kiriha’s murmur, one of the investigators looked back at her with a tense expression. In terms of age, he was close to ten years Kiriha’s senior, but his demeanor toward Kiriha was tinged with reverence bordering on fear. 

Faithful adherence to orders was all fine and good, but from Kiriha’s perspective, it was rather tedious to deal with. Whether it was teasing, or knuckling people under by force, it was far more amusing to overcome the resistance of someone defying her even a little. On that score, the Lion King Agency bunch and the Ogre she’d met at the hospital the day before were truly interesting, deeply stimulating opponents. 

The unnecessary advice she’d given Yukina Himeragi was her thank-you for having put her in a rare, highly amused mood. That said, she reflected after the fact that she had said too much. 

“Speaking to myself. Pay no heed.” Kiriha smiled and waved to the investigator. 

“Pardon me.” The investigator stood at attention, excusing himself before returning to his station, practically fleeing from her. 

Sami Arashima, squad captain of the investigators, approached Kiriha in his place. 

She wore a suit with a tight skirt and stylish heel loafers. She felt less like an investigator for the Bureau of Astrology and more like a beautiful music teacher possessing an exalted air about her. She was twenty-seven years old—or so she claimed. Single and ready to mingle. Kiriha was acquainted with her from time spent at the Six Blades training facility, and each knew the other’s disposition well. Sami herself was also a sorcerous engineer who specialized in high-end detection spells. 

“Kiriha, would you come here for a moment?” Sami shone her flashlight upon an alley as she called out to Kiriha. 

“Have you found something?” 

Hoping to finally have found an escape from her boredom, Kiriha approached the alley as instructed. 

It was a gap between one ruined building and another, a narrow underground street that seemed like a shortcut. They were not very far from where Yuno Amase and company had encountered the demon beast, with the direct distance some two hundred meters thereabouts. 

A deep fissure ran along the surface of the ground at the back of the underground street. 

The unfamiliar substance paving the street had been thoroughly gouged out by very sharp claws from the looks of it. However, mysteriously, there was no damage to the surrounding buildings. It appeared to have traces of something enormous having crawled out from under the ground. 

Buried at the bottom of the fissure was a mass of metal that seemed brand new. 

The mass of metal was about the same size as an oil barrel; its shape resembled a bullet. Or perhaps it looked like the egg of a living creature. There was a large rift, as if something on the inside of the mass of metal had chewed its way out, leaving the contents hollow. All that was left behind were faint traces of some kind of slimy fluid. 

“This is…?” 

Kiriha spoke as she grimaced at the strange odor hovering in the air. It was not so much a raw scent as the pungent odor of some kind of chemical that had been vaporized. 

“Unfortunately, its true nature is unclear, but I believe this might have been left here relatively recently. It is clearly made of a different material than any of the surrounding buildings.” 

“Rather than being left here, it seems it had been shot in using a teleportation spell.” Kiriha grimaced, recalling a short witch skilled in the use of teleportation. She did not want to think that a witch equally skilled in the use of spatial magic was involved in the incident. 

“Relationship to the Unknown?” 

“I can say nothing until we have tested it. I do not believe it is unrelated, but I cannot conclude that,” Sami responded with a roundabout, cautious, and very analytical tone. 

“It’s almost like a bacterial cultivation tank. I don’t like this.” In contrast, Kiriha spoke out loud according to her intuition. It wasn’t big enough to fit a demon beast, but the presence of such a suspicious thing could not be a simple coincidence. 

“It seems photography of the site has finished. We’ll retrieve samples and request analysis from the Sorcery Lab,” Kiriha called out to a nearby investigator, who seemed rather bewildered. 

“The Sorcery Investigation Laboratory? Isn’t that an organization within the Attack Mage Branch?” 

“I’d rather we bow our heads to the police than the Lion King Agency. Anything related to sorcery is their jurisdiction, not ours. Are you dissatisfied in some way?” 

“W-we shall do so at once!” 

She hadn’t particularly intended to intimidate him, but the investigator shuddered as he awkwardly excused himself. Is my smiling face so frightening? thought Kiriha, sighing ever so slightly. 

She turned to Sami, who stood right beside her as she tried to hold back her own smile. 

“Now then, what about our precious Unknown? Can we track it?” 

“We have found evidence of the combat between it and those two civilian Attack Mages. It is largely as the witnesses testified. Would you like to take a look?” 

“Yes,” said Kiriha with a nod. When Sami set out walking first, she followed. 

Shortly thereafter, she saw an underground street that was thoroughly ripped to pieces. It was a tragic sight that seemed less like the aftermath of a demon beast fight than what was left after someone had carpet-bombed the place. There was a depression that was dozens of meters across and deep in the ground; even the artificial isle’s foundation had been cruelly stripped bare. 

“A terrible sight,” Kiriha muttered. Though not absolutely certain, she didn’t think any proper creature could have produced such destruction. It is like the aftermath of a Beast Vassal of the Fourth Primogenitor running wild, she mused, keeping the thought in her own head. 

However, it seemed that Yuno Amase and her partner had not simply taken a one-sided beating. Here and there across the battlefield were strewn pieces of demon beast flesh and fluid that had been sent flying. Against an unknown monster, they fought well, would be a very fair statement. 

Sami gave her assessment of them, speaking with apparently genuine admiration. “The length of the demon beast is estimated at fourteen to fifteen meters. For civilian Attack Mages to have survived such a battle without proper armaments, they had to be almost impossibly good. Perhaps we should recruit them.” 

“They are apparently from that Onrai Island place. Perhaps they are accustomed to fighting monsters like these.” Kiriha bluntly shook her head. 

Before Sami could give any kind of response, an impact came—one powerful enough to make the ground shake. 

A roar accompanied the falling of debris. With a slight delay came a shriek and another angry roar. Kiriha and Sami had heard it from behind them; something must have been lurking inside the ruined building there. 

“What is happening?” 

“It’s here! The Unknown!” 

With a shriek, the investigator replied to Kiriha’s sharp, scolding voice. The shriek was immediately blotted out by gunshots. The investigators had opened fire. 

Illuminated by flying sparks, a bizarre silhouette came into view from the dark, gloomy building interior. Its appearance was like that of a giant lobster or lizard, or perhaps it looked like an ancient sea creature out of the Cambrian period. Its form was ferocious, eerie, and beautiful at the same time. It was around five or six meters long, certainly not off-the-charts huge, but still a size that rivaled the largest of crocodiles. 

“Smaller than expected. A larva, I wonder?” Sami calmly said as she brought up a video camera. 

Kiriha drew her fully metallic forked spear from the case on her back, holding it at the ready. 

“Sami, do you remember what the civilian Attack Mages testified about the tentacles?” 

“…That the severed tentacles self-propagate and regenerate?” Her expression hardened. “It couldn’t be…” 

“If so, its life force is quite a thing indeed.” Kiriha was utterly unamused. 

Sami trembled and sucked in her breath. If the severed tentacles really did regenerate on their own, worst case, they could not rule out a similar phenomenon from the fragments of flesh being sent flying by the gunfire. 

“Cease fire! Stop!” Sami shouted to the subordinates continuing to fire at the demon beast. So long as they were ignorant of the extent of the beast’s regenerative ability, she did not think continuing to fire upon it and send more pieces of flesh scattering was much of a plan. Safely quelling this demon beast meant they had to neutralize it without inflicting any external damage. 

“If possible, I would like to capture it alive.” 

Kiriha installed a ritual spell into the tip of her spear, the one resembling a tuning fork. 

Owing to the need to battle demon beasts of many varieties and natures, the Ricercare of the Bureau of Astrology was not inscribed with one, set ritual. Instead, it had been granted the ability to amplify accumulated magical energy and expel it in accordance with the wielder’s will—in other words, the power to copy magic. 

At the same time the investigators broke off their gunfire, Kiriha leaped toward the demon beast lurking within the building. Acutely sensing her presence, the demon beast turned toward her. 

That would not be enough. 

“Too slow! Mist Leopard—Twin Moons!” 

Slipping past the tentacles swinging down at her like a whip, Kiriha thrust the tip of her spear into the demon beast’s flank. The forked spear’s opposing tines vibrated, activating the ritual stored within. 

Kiriha had employed a freezing spell. Using magical energy to forcibly evaporate the water inside the target using its own heat, thus lowering the target’s body temperature, it was a very common spell. However, when combined with the vast magical energy accumulated in Ricercare, it became a fiendish attack spell that could instantly freeze even a huge demon beast. 

Frigid vapor enveloped the demon beast’s entire body, its slime covered by a stark white frost. 

“Ohh,” went the investigators, letting out awed breaths. 

In an instant, Kiriha’s freezing ritual had frozen the target’s body to nearly -70 degrees Celsius. No matter how violent the demon beast, so long as it possessed flesh and blood, it was impossible for it to remain active while in such a state. 

No, it should have been impossible, and yet— 

“Wha—?!” 

With a swish, one of the immobilized demon beast tentacles cracked the air as it assailed Kiriha from the side. Kiriha instantly leaped back, evading the attack. 

The frost covering its entire body fell away, and the previously frozen demon beast roared. 

It was not that Kiriha’s spell had misfired; most of the magical energy the forked spear had sent coursing into the demon beast’s body had been nullified. Or more precisely, rather than nullified, it had been— 

“It absorbed…the magical energy…?” 

Kiriha gripped the metallic shaft of her spear hard as she clicked her tongue a little. Most of the magical energy accumulated inside Ricercare had dissipated, as if ripped out from the root. 

In contrast, even from a distance, it was plain that the beast’s cellular structure had gone into overdrive. Even the gunfire wounds were healing with incredible speed. 

“Urk…!” 

Sustaining a blow from its large tail, Kiriha was sent flying. Her spear had blocked a direct hit, but she was unable to fully deflect the force of the blow. 

“Assist Attack Mage Kiriha! Fire the electromagnetic nets, hurry!” Sami shouted in the immobile Kiriha’s stead. 

Metallic nets made from special materials entwined the demon beast’s four legs one after another. Even so, the demon beast did not stop moving. Heedless of the high-voltage current coursing through it, the monster broke free of the nets, shaking them off. 

“Everyone, avoid close combat! Don’t use ritual-type gear! Only chemical tranquilizer rounds permitted!” 

Even Sami’s voice was tinged with nervousness. Neither magical attacks nor high-voltage currents were effective. The tranquilizer rounds pumped into it were already well past what would instantly kill an elephant. She didn’t want to think they would be wholly ineffective, but she could see no sign of the demon beast’s activity coming to a halt. At that rate, far from being able to capture it, the investigators were in peril of being wiped out. 

Just as cold sweat began coursing over Sami, Kiriha angrily shouted at her from behind. “Pull back, Sami!” Though blood was coursing from Kiriha’s torn lip, her eyebrows were raised in a ferocious smile. 

“Kiriha, what are you…?! That ritual…!” 

Noticing the ritual energy wavelength stored in the forked spear, Sami stood in place, shocked. 

Magical attacks were ineffective on the demon beast. The magical energy remaining in Ricercare was scant. However, heedless of this, Kiriha swung her spear up without warning. 

“Lustrous Scale!” 

Ting, went the ear-ringing sound as a silver flash surged forth. The invisible blade wrought by magical energy sliced through space itself. This was the pseudo-spatial severing ritual that was the specialty of Sayaka Kirasaka, Shamanic War Dancer of the Lion King Agency. 

However, Kiriha’s attack was not aimed at the demon beast itself. Even if she’d bisected its body, she did not think that it would bring the bizarrely resilient demon beast to a halt. What Kiriha cut was the space above the demon beast, for there was the ceiling of the underground city—the ground surface of the artificial isle. 

An enormous rock came crashing down. 

Nothing remained of the demon beast, left without even time to let out an anguished cry. 

In an instant, the boulder had squashed the demon beast’s huge frame flat. 

No matter how resilient the demon beast, it was impossible to maintain life activity while crushed under a great mass of rock. Even if individual cells were still alive, a great deal of time would surely be required before it could move once more. Of course, Kiriha had no intention of leaving the demon beast corpse for that long. As a Priestess of the Six Blades, she had fulfilled her bare minimum objective of quelling the menace of the demon beast. 

“It seems you’ve managed somehow.” Sami made a frail smile, seemingly drained of energy. 

“Of course.” 

Kiriha made no move to conceal her irritation as she seemed to spit out the words. Wiping the blood coursing from her lip, she shot a glare filled with hostility toward the darkness of the underground city. 

“The opponent was but a single tentacle, after all…!” 

7 

It was the day after the commencement of the new school term… 

During the final class of the morning, Yukina and others were testing their endurance in gym class. 

This consisted of handball tossing, standing long jumps, long-distance running, and shuttle running. These were all areas where Yukina had difficulty. Having been trained as a Sword Shaman, blithely forgetting to hold back would mean that even if she wasn’t using ritual energy for physical enchantment, she would be head and shoulders ahead of top-class results for the same grade. Holding herself back to such an unnatural extent was hard work that wore down Yukina’s nerves. 

“Haah…” 

However, it was not merely that weariness of spirit which made Yukina deeply sigh upon returning to the changing room after classes were over. 

Nor was it distress concerning the demon beast that had appeared on New Itogami Island. 

The Bureau of Astrology was a group of specialists in quelling demons, and while she had a few personality quirks, Kiriha Kisaki’s strength was the real deal. Yukina knew that so long as they were the ones keeping people safe from the demon beasts, there was little reason for her to be concerned. 

Somewhat surprisingly, it was not Kojou who was the cause of Yukina’s worries. 

The cause of Yukina’s sigh related to her very own mission. 

Her anguish came from something she’d received that morning from the Lion King Agency like a bolt of lightning out of a clear, blue sky. 

“Substitute personnel, you say?” 

Wearing her school uniform, Yukina was formally kneeling on top of the floor, face-to-face with a single cat. 

This cat was actually the familiar of Yukari Endou, an elf and Yukina’s mentor. 

From time to time, Yukari, a magician in the employ of the Lion King Agency, personally communicated missions from the Lion King Agency to Yukina from the far-off Japanese mainland through that familiar. It was in that fashion that she had unexpectedly visited Yukina’s room that morning. 

“Yuiri Haba. You know her, yes?” 

The chrysoberyl adornment hanging from the black cat’s collar swayed as it spoke. 

“Yes,” said Yukina with a nod. There was a throbbing deep inside her chest, but Yukina herself did not know why. “Miss Yuiri is…being made the observer of the Fourth Primogenitor in my place?” 

“That has not been formally determined. I am simply saying that such a substitution is possible, so you should prepare and be able to vacate the room at any moment. Though I am unsure what you might find inconvenient to be seen…” 

For once, the black cat’s words were rather evasive. Likely, opinion even inside the Lion King Agency is far from settled on the matter, Yukina surmised. 

Breathing in briefly, Yukina wrung out all the spirit she could muster. “Um, has my work been deficient in any manner?” 

However, if anything, the black cat’s demeanor seemed rather laid back as she shook her head. 

“Not a word of such a thing. You have done even more than we hoped. After all, you have become intimate with the Fourth Primogenitor to the point he will actually do as he is told.” 

“I-intimate…?” 

Is that not a word indicative of a physical relationship between man and woman? the look on Yukina’s face asked in humble protest. However, all the black cat did was turn up her little nose and laugh. 

“But perhaps more than a few are not pleased with that, both within the Lion King Agency and the government itself. The issue is whether you are too close with your target for observation, or so some would say.” 

“…Eh?” Yukina’s eyes widened in surprise. 

Foolish talk indeed, the black cat’s short sigh seemed to say. 

“From the point of view of those wishing to make the Fourth Primogenitor act according to their will, having a single girl, an apprentice Sword Shaman, able to hold a Primogenitor in check is an undesirable situation. In particular, the Japanese government views you as unfettered because you lack any relatives, you see.” 

“Meaning…I might spark a rebellion?” Yukina replied back in a quiet voice, feeling irritated as if her body temperature had quietly dipped. Rather than merely preposterous, the wording sounded outright malicious. 

“Once suspicion rises, there is no end to it, of course—so long as there is no guarantee you will take the government’s side the instant Itogami Island’s interests diverge from those of the Japanese government, their concerns are quite natural,” the black cat replied with a cynical tone. 

Yukina bit her lip hard, clenching the hands resting atop her knees. “Hence, Miss Yuiri… But why? Because she has family?” 

“Family?” The cat shook her head without displaying any particular interest. Yuiri still had both parents, a rarity among the orphan-heavy graduates of High God Forest. Yukina had heard she had a younger brother of similar age, too. In other words, if all else failed, they could be used against Yuiri as hostages. 

However, so far as Yukari was concerned, Yukina’s assertion was apparently wide of the mark. 

“Nominating Yuiri as a candidate for substitute personnel is because there is no other Sword Shaman of the same grade as the Fourth Primogenitor. There are a number in training, but none of them are usable at present. There are insufficient Shamanic War Dancers to go around, and to begin with, Sayaka and Shio Hikawa’s personalities are unsuited to the role of watcher—yes?” 

“Ah, um…I don’t know what to say…” Yukina gave a non-answer, unable to agree with or to refute the assertion. 

Then, the black cat smiled somewhat teasingly. “Mmm, or do you think the Fourth Primogenitor lad gets along poorly with Yuiri?” 

“No. I believe they get along quite well. Er…Akatsuki-senpai seems to admire Miss Yuiri a great deal…” 

More precisely, he hadn’t said he admired her—he’d said she was pretty normal compared to Yukina and Sayaka. Certainly, upon meeting him for the first time, Yuiri had neither suddenly thrust a spear at him nor swung a sword at him. 

Even setting all that aside, the simple truth was that Yuiri was an attractive girl. 

She had a gentle personality, was well mannered, and as far as Sword Shaman skills went, she was equal or maybe even superior to Yukina. On top of that, rumor had it she was hiding a sizeable pair of breasts. To be blunt, Yukina wasn’t confident she could beat her in any category. 

Of course, in the end, Yukina was with Kojou only because of her mission, so it was not necessary for her to compete with Yuiri whatsoever, but— 

As if seeing right through Yukina’s melancholy, the black cat sarcastically nodded. “Indeed. And the two of them have already engaged in vampiric activities.” 

“H-how do you know about…?!” 

“Well, for the time being, I do not believe the upper echelons of the Lion King Agency are seriously considering making such a change. At present, you are the only one to have gained complete mastery of a Schneewaltzer. It is none other than the Three Saints that know this more than anyone.” 

“…Yes, Master.” 

The Schneewaltzer was a secret weapon of the Lion King Agency, able to nullify demonic energy and rend any barrier. It was literally a demon-purging spear, able even to destroy vampire primogenitors boasting infinite demonic energy. 

Yukina had been told she’d been chosen to be Kojou’s watcher because she had the compatibility to employ that spear. That situation was surely unchanged. 

If she did not have the Schneewaltzer, what would become of her? 

Suddenly captive to such doubts, Yukina sighed once more. 

“—Yukina, aren’t you going to change clothes?” 

When Nagisa Akatsuki called out to her, Yukina gasped and came back to her senses. 

At some point, the number of students in the changing room had greatly diminished. No doubt everyone had changed clothes more quickly than usual and left because lunch break was beginning. Nagisa, too, had already finished changing; she was in the middle of tying up her long hair. Yukina was the only one left still wearing her gym suit. 

“Ah, sorry. I was just spacing out a little.” 

Yukina hastily put a hand onto the hem of her gym suit. Nagisa looked upon the sight with concern. 

“What’s with the sigh? Something on your mind? Well, I can understand how you feel.” 

“Eh?” 

Nagisa’s unexpected comment made Yukina swallow, her movements coming to a halt. 

Though she’d lost that ability for a prolonged duration, properly speaking, Nagisa was an excellent spiritualist. Yukina was genuinely wary that this power might have read her very own thoughts. 

However, the words that came out of Nagisa’s mouth were far from what Yukina had expected. 

“I mean, here we are in high school, and everyone’s growing. It makes you nervous. And I have cute underwear on and everything.” 

“…Huh? …What?” 

Covering her own rather modest breasts, Nagisa softly said, “It’s rough, huh?” searching for agreement. Yukina was unsure what reply to give as her smiling face hardened and twitched. 

“We’re all slender, so isn’t it fine?” 

Adding herself to Yukina and Nagisa’s conversation was their classmate, Minami Shindou. The tall Minami gave Yukina a glare with an emotion that mixed exasperation with envy. 

“In the first place, Yukina, worrying about your appearance is total overkill. What’s with that super-tight waist?! Are you looking down on us?! Even Nagisa has a figure a lot of the guys go for!” 

“Hey, where I’m concerned, those don’t sound like words of praise…!” Nagisa retorted. She resentfully pouted. 

Sakura Koushima, their class representative, listening to the conversation in silence up to that point, said with a quiet, delicate voice, “Is it possible you are concerned about the rumors of Nagisa’s older brother being interested in big breasts?” 

“Um—ah…” 

Unable to keep up with the wild leaps in the conversation, Yukina stood still in a daze. 

During that time, Minami muttered, “Oh, I see,” accepting the idea all on her own. “This is about Akatsuki, huh? That’d make a girl worry. What do you think, Nagisa?” 

“Hmm, I wonder. I don’t know Kojou’s tastes in breasts, really…” 

“Um, actually, I’m not too concerned about something like that…” 

Sensing peril and fearing that this might turn into quite a disaster, Yukina earnestly denied the assertion. However, Minami didn’t take her rebuttal the slightest bit seriously. 

“I get it, I get it. Well, we can hear all about it nice and slow later. More importantly, better change clothes quick. Our squad’s running late cleaning up and all. If we don’t hurry, we’ll lose our seats at the cafeteria.” 

“Sorry, everyone. Please go on ahead of me.” 

Yukina gave up on persuading her friends and joined hands with the girls. Nagisa checked the clock, then communicated with Minami and company eye to eye. 

“Suit yourself. Okay, we’ll keep your seat open, Yukina. Come quick, ’kay?” 

“Yes. Thank you.” 

Watching as Nagisa and the others busily left the changing room, Yukina gave a pained smile mixed with a sigh. 

Sensing that her flagging feelings had risen just a little bit, she secretly thanked Nagisa and the others. If her mission to observe the Fourth Primogenitor came to an end, she would be forced to part from them, but she locked such thoughts away. 

Yukari had said, after all, that Yuiri replacing her had not been formally decided. 

“My figure…hm?” 

Absentmindedly, Yukina stripped off her gym clothes. 

She had never worried that her own figure was too childish up to that point, but the rumor that Yuiri was hiding large breasts made her mull over the issue for the first time. Perhaps it would be better to confirm whether Kojou truly did prefer big breasts or not— 

Perhaps thanks to such silly thoughts, she noticed the abnormality a second too late. 

Sensing powerful demonic energy behind her, Yukina whirled around, looking defenseless in the middle of changing clothes. 

“—Who’s there?!” 

A new figure had suddenly appeared in the changing room, where none besides Yukina should have been. 

The girl was fairly small in stature with an exquisite physique. She remained down on one knee, her back turned toward Yukina. 

Her back had pure-white skin without a single blemish upon it. The girl was not wearing clothes. Never mind a schoolgirl uniform or gym clothes— she wasn’t even wearing underwear. 

In their place was thick demonic energy cloaking her body. 

Some kind of powerful spell had sent the girl into that changing room. 

Without a word, the naked girl stood up and turned toward Yukina. Then, Yukina drew in her breath in shock the instant she set eyes upon the girl’s face. 

“You’re…?!” 

Yukina, a Sword Shaman, had shown an opening for a single instant—and so, the naked girl moved, not allowing that opening to escape. 

Sustaining a severe blow from point-blank range, Yukina’s body was easily blown as far as the wall. 

Realizing that a sleeping effect accompanied the attack, Yukina groaned. Her entire body was already too numb to move. Her consciousness was slipping at a dangerous pace. 

“No… How…?” 

As Yukina murmured, the naked girl looked down at her with a leering smile. 

Staring in a daze at the girl’s face, one she knew more than any other, Yukina blacked out.