Strike the Blood - Volume 18 - Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE 

THE TRAITOR IN THE SKY 

1 

Yukina awoke to an unpleasant sound like that of a motor’s snarl. 

She was in a functional, bleak room that resembled a train car compartment. For a moment, her mind was in chaos, unable to remember why she was in such a place. 

In the room were two prison cots. There was a narrow table and a small sofa. It had the minimum furniture required for rest, and not a single thing besides. The plastic-built walls had no window; a TV monitor was embedded into one of them instead. 

“Good morning, Yukina. Did you sleep well?” 

Yukina sat up in surprise when she heard the princess’s voice from next to her. That instant, her arms encountered an odd snag. Yukina felt both of her wrists encased in metal manacles. 

“La Folia? Are you unharmed?! Where…is this…?” 

Having said that much, Yukina let out a small yelp. She’d noticed that she was wearing nothing besides a bustier and shorts. 

“Do not be concerned. It is I who removed your clothes. It would have been a shame to damage that dress, after all.” 

Sitting on the sofa, the silver-haired princess gazed with amusement at the shaken Yukina, grinning as she spoke. 

When Yukina looked closer, the cocktail dress she had worn the night before was hanging securely from one of the room’s wall hooks. 

“It does not seem that the criminals who assaulted the royal palace have any intention of violating us, for the time being at least. Had they wanted to do so, it would have already happened.” 

“V…violate…” 

Yukina felt a chill up her spine at the word La Folia had spoken so casually. Having leaped into that gate without a single prior thought only to be captured by terrorists, it would not have been strange if she really had undergone something horrific like that. 

Yukina had a strained expression when La Folia gazed at her with serious eyes. 

“That is correct, Yukina. To be specific, a crude man with lustful, bloodshot eyes would rip off that dress, strip you of those pure-looking undergarments and hold you down as you resist, fondling your modest breasts with his thick, ragged fingers. Then he would force your legs open, exposing a place you have yet to allow even Kojou to touch—” 

“That’s quite enough! I do not need to hear the specifics!” 

When the princess suddenly began suddenly gushing wild delusions, Yukina stopped her with a beet-red face. 

When Yukina saw La Folia’s giggling expression, she understood very well that taking off her clothes was not done to keep the dress from being damaged, but so that La Folia could be amused by Yukina’s shock. 

“Is your throat not dry? There are drinks inside the refrigerator. Unfortunately, they have not gone so far as to supply alcohol.” 

“Ah, ahh.” 

Yukina nodded vaguely, somehow regaining her composure. With La Folia relaxed as usual in front of her, it felt downright silly to be the only one nervous. 

Yukina’s memories cut out the moment right after she’d instantly jumped into the teleportation gate to go after La Folia. She’d apparently lost consciousness from the shock of the teleport. She’d forced herself into a gate intended to port La Folia alone, in the first place. One might consider it good fortune the damage was so slight. 

“I explained to our abductors that you are the lover of the Fourth Primogenitor.” 

“L-lover…?!” 

“Naturally, even they possess enough intelligence not to make an enemy of the Fourth Primogenitor. It seems they intend to use you as a hostage to hold him in check.” 

“I am…a hostage… I suppose that makes sense,” Yukina murmured quietly. 

Yukina assiduously changed back into the dress that had been stripped from her. If she was being honest, she could not call the party dress easy to move in, but there was nothing else to wear, so she would make do. 

Fortunately, the several spell tablets she’d hidden inside the bustier were still intact. Believing the princess’s words about Yukina being the Fourth Primogenitor’s lover, the terrorists hadn’t touched her at all. 

Even without using Snowdrift Wolf, concealed within the cello case, Yukina’s shikigami could slice through the chains of her manacles with ease. 

“It does not seem there are guards outside the room. I shall prepare to escape immediately.” Yukina closed her eyes and probed for auras beyond the door. 

Considering it was made of such lightweight materials, the door was surprisingly sturdy and tightly sealed, but the lock itself was unexpectedly brittle. It surely would not be all that difficult to destroy it with brute force. 

However, when Yukina prepared a ritual spell to enhance her body and prepared to kick down the door, La Folia quietly stopped her. 

“That will not be necessary. Escape is impossible either way.” 

“Impossible? But—” 

“This room is not being watched because it is not necessary to watch it. Even if we get out of the room, there is nowhere for us to go,” La Folia said gently but firmly. 

Yukina gasped and looked around the area. She remembered having been imprisoned in a similar environment once before. 

“You do not mean this is…inside of a ship?” 

Yukina looked down at her own feet. 

It was a narrow, compact room. There were dull vibrations being conveyed through every part of it. This indicated that the room was on the interior of a much larger vehicle. 

The fact that she felt virtually no shaking surely meant it was not an airplane or a train. This made her think of a huge passenger ship like the Oceanus Grave. Failing that, a warship? And if this was inside of a ship, escape would indeed prove difficult. 

“I suppose it is. I shall give you a passing grade, if only just.” 

When La Folia listened to Yukina’s reply, she smiled as she made that suggestive comment. 

“For the moment, let us drink tea or something and watch the news. If the culprits provided us with a television, there is no doubt something they wish to show us.” 

The silver-haired princess took drinks out of the fridge as she used a wall panel to turn on the TV. An international English-language news channel was being broadcast. 

Rubble of a building Yukina recognized. A throng of journalists and police officers investigating the crime scene. She could see knights on guard as well. The video was of the kingdom of Aldegia’s Verterace Palace. 

“News concerning the royal palace attack incident?” Yukina asked for confirmation. 

“An extremist organization advocating Demon eradication calling itself July Purple seems to have claimed responsibility.” 

July Purple was a well-known international terrorist organization active mainly in the Middle East and Western Asia. It had also been identified as a dangerous group by the Holy Ground Treaty Organization. 

“They claim to have kidnapped Crown Princess La Folia during the attack. They have demanded the cancellation of the peace commemoration ceremony and the release of forty-three sorcerous criminals as their conditions for freeing their hostage. On the other hand, the royal family side denies the abduction having happened; therefore, they reject the perpetrators’ demands.” 

“They…deny it?” 

Yukina blinked hard when La Folia finished her explanation. 

The practical concern was that terrorists had captured La Folia before the eyes of the king and queen, along with Yukina. It was not remotely possible the royal palace was ignorant of the reality of the situation. 

“False information so that negotiations may proceed advantageously. If they acknowledged my abduction, the government’s potential countermeasures would be greatly limited. Otherwise, they could neither plan to negotiate with the perpetrators under the table and reach a monetary resolution nor arrange substitutes for us and assert that it is we who are the fakes.” 

The princess explained more simply so that the bewildered Yukina could understand. In spite of the princess herself being a bargaining chip, the tenor of her voice had the calm of someone completely disconnected from the matter. 

“However, denying the perpetrators’ assertions puts them on even terms. Now the perpetrators are forced to prove that I am the genuine La Folia Rihavein.” 

La Folia sounded amused. 

Certainly, it would be difficult for the terrorist side to prove the abducted princess was not a fake, particularly when the royal family, surely holding La Folia’s life in greater esteem than anyone, had denied the princess’s abduction. 

Yukina tensed. “However…with you as their hostage, does that not place you in danger…?” 

If the royal family wasn’t going along with the culprits’ demands, La Folia, right there with Yukina, would lose her value as a hostage. Yukina was protected by the unknown menace posed by the Fourth Primogenitor, but La Folia stood in a place of far greater danger. 

“That is inevitable. Such is the fate of the royal family.” 

La Folia was so calm. The gentleness of her expression took Yukina aback all the more. 

“Besides, I am certain the perpetrators are lying as well,” the princess added. 

“Lying, you say?” 

“The perpetrators are not necessarily the real July Purple, and there is no guarantee that their demands are genuine. Indeed, the chances they are fictions meant to toy with the Aldegian government are far higher.” 

La Folia continued to watch the TV screen as she elegantly brought her drink to her mouth. It was an incredibly refined gesture for someone merely drinking water from a plastic bottle. 

La Folia’s insightfulness, reading the intentions of both the terrorists and the royal family from a few fragmented pieces of information, left Yukina at a loss for words. Although, there was no proof La Folia’s words were completely true. 

Yukina could not wrap her head around such malicious bargaining tactics. 

“False demands? What meaning would such a thing bear…?” 

“The answer is provided by the reason they have treated us courteously like this rather than harm us in any way. The perpetrators do not seek to negotiate with the royal family. They wish to bargain with us.” 

La Folia shifted her gaze toward the closed door as she spoke. That instant, she sensed an aura swaying on the other side of the door. Yukina realized that someone had been standing there for some time. 

The princess quietly spoke toward the other side of the door. “Is my assumption correct, Trine?” 

The next moment, a young woman’s voice broke into laughter outside the room. 

“That is Princess La Folia Rihavein and her famous insight for you. Good. That will make this go quickly.” 

Yukina bit her lip at the words coursing from her through the speaker. She should have realized it from the absence of guards outside the room. Yukina and La Folia’s conversation had been eavesdropped upon since the beginning. 

The reinforced plastic door opened without a sound. A lasciviously dressed woman entered. 

“Wha…?!” 

Yukina let out a suppressed yelp. It was not the woman’s appearance that shocked her. The cause of Yukina’s turmoil was that of the boy dressed in a tuxedo standing practically glued to her side. 

He had bangs devoid of pigmentation and a decently handsome face with an expression that somehow seemed languid. Yukina knew him. After all, this was the person Yukina had been observing for some time. 

“Senpai…why…?” Yukina’s voice shook. 

“Seems you’re in good health, Himeragi. You too, La Folia.” 

Looking back at Yukina, standing rooted to the spot in her dress, an indifferent grin came over Kojou Akatsuki. 

2 

“Allow me to introduce him. This is our newest brother as part of the Holy Ground Liberation Organization—my obedient slave, the Fourth Primogenitor, Kojou Akatsuki.” 

Gazing triumphantly at the aghast Yukina, the woman pressed her breasts against Kojou’s right arm. However, Yukina could not even manage to be angry about that. She was simply unable to process what was happening before her very eyes. She didn’t think the scene could be real. She felt like it had to be some sort of bad dream. 

“Now you have truly done it, Trine Halden. Even I did not anticipate this.” 

La Folia’s shoulders sank, impressed but upset. 

The woman named Trine narrowed her eyes in surprise. 

“Oh my. You did not even attempt a boorish bluff. That is the princess for you,” she said, pleased. 

She was apparently quite satisfied at having surprised the perceptive princess. 

“You are…?” 

Yukina widened her eyes a bit as she gazed at the woman’s expression. The differences in clothes and atmosphere made her not realize initially, but Yukina belatedly recalled that she had met this woman before. 

“Trine Halden, secretary for the royal family of the kingdom of Aldegia. So we meet again, Yukina Himeragi.” 

Turning to face the surprised Yukina, Trine courteously bowed. Her gesture was refined, as befitted one accustomed to the etiquette of the royal palace. 

“A royal secretary…abetted the attack on the royal palace…?” Yukina murmured in a daze. 

Trine had exchanged words in a normal fashion with Lucas and Polyphonia Rihavein during Kojou and company’s audience with them. Yukina could not conceal her surprise that someone of such high stature was working with terrorists. 

On the other hand, a woman of her position could easily bring Kojou into this. As royal secretary, it was surely possible to approach Kojou, a guest of the royal family, without rousing suspicion. Then she had made Kojou obey her using Yukina as La Folia as hostages. That must be what happened, internalized Yukina. 

“The title sounds grandiose, but a royal secretary is simply someone who handles the personal affairs of the royal family,” La Folia explained. Her tone was level, as if she was uninvolved. “In other words, an errand girl. They possess no political power whatsoever. Yet, the job is busy, vacations few, the salary is low, and they are flung about by the royal family’s selfish whims… Of course discontent accumulates.” 

Trine reflexively reverted to her royal secretary tone as she shouted, “If you understand, then put some effort into improving things! Do you have any idea how much you all have put me thr—?” 

Even after revealing her true nature as a terrorist, the habits of long years immersed in royal palace life apparently could not be left behind so easily. 

Trine cleared her throat a little and spoke rapidly to gloss things over. “…Well, fine. Thanks to all that, it was easy to infiltrate the royal palace.” 

“I suppose it was. For all their lack of practical authority, it is easy for a royal secretary to get into the palace. The background checks for hiring are lax as well.” La Folia gave Trine a frosty stare as she smiled. 

“Even though you were not the real Trine Halden with Aldegian nationality, the chances of your being detected were low. You captured a young girl of similar height during study abroad, adopted her identity, and infiltrated an enemy nation, positioning yourself as an official at the very center of the government—a common method employed by spies.” 

“Spies…?” 

Yukina’s shoulders quavered at La Folia’s abrupt word. The silver-haired princess was suggesting that Trine was no simple terrorist, but a spy assigned by some country or other. 

Trine did not deny the princess’s words. 

“Goodness, you truly are a wily one, La Folia Rihavein. Oh, what will I do? Is that composure because you realized the true reason we have abducted you?” Trine inquired in a loathsome tone. 

The silver-haired princess maintained a tranquil expression as she observed Trine. “Your true objective is the destruction of the Warlord’s Empire fleet participating in the naval review.” 

Yukina unwittingly let out a questioning voice. “Destruction of a fleet…?” 

The naval review of which La Folia spoke must have meant the international naval review that was the backdrop of the peace commemoration ceremony scheduled for that day. The display of a number of warships made it a military parade, but the objectives were military interaction and an improvement of relations. Numerous fleets from friendly nations were participating. Of course, among them were warships from the Warlord’s Empire, the other chief participant in the peace commemoration ceremony. 

But if that Warlord’s Empire fleet was destroyed, it would be war. It would be nothing like terrorism akin to the attack on the royal palace. Yukina did not think they were capable of such a thing. 

“It is not impossible. Not with the Bifrost.” 

La Folia bluntly repudiated Yukina’s prediction. 

“Bifrost…!” 

Yukina’s expression tightened as she shifted her eyes to her own feet. 

Yukina knew of the existence of the Bifrost, the ultra-large armored airship constructed by Aldegia. However, it had never occurred to her that she had already been brought inside of it. 

Yukina’s supposition that the room was inside a ship was not incorrect, but nor was it completely accurate. Now she keenly understood why La Folia had only given her a “passing grade.” 

“Yes. With this flying battleship, the pride of the kingdom of Aldegia, it is a simple matter to sink several of the Empire’s piffling warships. Even if they are not completely annihilated, the fact that Aldegia will have attacked the Warlord’s Empire shall remain.” Trine gazed at the surprised Yukina with amusement as she continued. “Disrupting the commemoration ceremony via terrorism will likely have no effect whatsoever upon the peace treaty between Aldegia and the Warlord’s Empire, but if an Aldegian battleship attacks Warlord’s Empire warships, it is another story. I suppose war between humanity and Demonkind shall erupt in this land once more.” 

“The biometric signature of an Aldegian royal is required to activate the Bifrost,” La Folia calmly pointed out. 

Trine’s lips faintly twisted. 

Warships and military aircraft rarely had ignition keys or the like. After all, a weapon that couldn’t be moved for a stupid reason like misplacing a key was meaningless. 

However, there were exceptions to this rule, such as nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. Strategic weapons able to inflict mass destruction, and thus with great political and diplomatic effects, were strictly locked under normal circumstances so that none but the nation’s leaders could make the decision to employ them. 

Just like those things, the Bifrost had no doubt been designed so that none but the royal family might activate it. In other words, this was proof the Bifrost had power rivaling that of a strategic weapon. 

La Folia continued staring straight at Trine as she smiled. “The demand to halt the ceremony and release sorcerous criminals was false information to make people believe I am purely a hostage. Meaning, your real objective was to take me as the key to activate the Bifrost.” 

“Correct.” Trine shrugged, glaring right back at the silver-haired princess. “You will cooperate with us, won’t you, Your Highness La Folia Rihavein?” 

“And just what would make me cooperate with you?” La Folia narrowed her blue eyes as she tilted her head slightly. Though she was an abductee and a captive, she was negotiating with Trine on equal terms. 

Those bold words elicited a provocative smile from Trine. 

“Perhaps the eight hundred thousand lives of the citizens of Verterace?” 

“You are claiming that if I do not obey you, you shall have Verterace destroyed?” 

The smile on the princess’s lips vanished. 

Trine made a show of lowering her eyes in sadness. “If possible, we would rather not behave in such a manner. After all, our objective is the abrogation of the Holy Ground Treaty, not the genocide of the Aldegian people.” 

“What proof do you have that you will destroy Verterace?” 

“That is what he is here for. Isn’t that right, Kojou?” 

Trine snuggled into Kojou like she wanted to be pampered. Kojou, who’d been watching the conversation between Trine and the princess with boredom to that point, nodded with an impetuous smile. 

“Sen…pai…?” 

An expression of disbelief came over Yukina as he gently stroked Trine’s hair. 

It wasn’t the behavior of someone forced to comply because of a hostage situation. The atmosphere felt not simply intimate, but that of a pair of lovers infatuated with each other. 

Noticing Yukina’s reproachful gaze, Kojou lowered his gaze with a look of anguish. Covering his eyes with his right hand, he spoke with a grandiose, theatrical tone. 

“Forgive me, Himeragi. This is simply my duty as the inheritor of a great accursed power. Now I am a slaughterer devoted to Lady Trine’s ideals. The Kojou Akatsuki you two once called friend no longer exists.” 

Making some kind of supposedly cool pose she didn’t recognize, Kojou gave a nod, intoxicated by his own lines. 

Staring intently at the sight of Kojou acting so strangely, Yukina asked a sincere question. 

“…Excuse me?” 

3 

“So in other words, Kirasaka, during the time you were sleeping on Kojou’s bed, Kojou vanished?” Asagi asked. 

Dawn had arrived in Tenotia House. In a guest room drinking a cup of thick coffee the housekeeper had brought, Asagi put a hand to her brow. 

Sayaka gulped and nodded, her entire body cringing like a little child being scolded. 

“E-even though I was sleeping on Kojou Akatsuki’s bed, I was sleeping soundly because I fell for the hypnosis I was trying to use, nothing else. It is not to mean we were sleeping together in the same bed.” 

“Ahh, it’s all right, I get that part.” 

Asagi sighed a little as she picked up the five-yen coin with a strand of hair tied to it. 

She knew that over the last several days, Sayaka’s assignment to government VIP protection and guiding around Kojou and the others had left her frighteningly busy. The girl probably hadn’t slept at all since the previous night. It wasn’t particularly strange that she’d fallen asleep first trying to use hypnosis on someone else. 

But on the other hand, Sayaka was an expert in ritual spells, so Asagi had some doubts about her making such a rookie mistake. If anything, it seemed more sensible to assume someone had used some spell or ability to force her into a slumber. 

“So there are signs of Kojou having gone to wash up, and this was left behind in the bathroom?” 

Speaking those words, Asagi spread the dropped article Sayaka had retrieved before her eyes. It was part of a woman’s outfit, a sort of shapewear. 

“What’s this? Is this a corset?” 

Taking the item from Asagi’s hands, Yaze gazed upon it like it was a rarity. It was a high-end, fashionable corset worn over a skirt. It didn’t seem very functional, but it most certainly came off as high-class. 

“Has a good smell, huh? Perfume?” Yaze sniffed at it intensely like a dog. 

Sayaka glared at him in disgust. “Why, you… You’re sniffing it?! A woman’s clothing, out of the blue…!” 

“Let me see,” Asagi said, taking back the corset and bringing her face close. 

“There certainly is a scent. It’s like musk, but a little different…” 

“Asagi Aiba, even you…!” 

“I think this is one of those corsets the female officials working in the royal palace wear for their uniforms. They were cute, so I paid a bit of attention to them,” Asagi said as she tapped the keyboard of the laptop in front of her. The screen was displaying employee information for the female officials appointed to the royal palace. She was peeking at the royal palace’s human resources data without authorization. 

Being directly after a terrorist attack had taken place, virtually all palace staff were working. It seemed that even the ones off duty had been recalled to deal with the cleanup and to aid the police in their investigation. The staff who had been working without sleeping a wink since the night before were far from few. 

Among them, there was a single female official away from her workplace, absent without leave. 

“Here. Second Secretary of the Royal Family, Trine Halden. She left the royal palace just after the terrorist attack occurred last night and remains missing. On top of that, she used her ID card to enter Tenotia House afterward.” 

“So this chick’s the one who whisked away Kojou?” Yaze curled his lips as he gazed at the portrait displayed on the computer’s screen. “Hmm.” 

The person in the photo was wearing glasses, which gave her an air of competence. Her age was twenty-seven, according to the records. She had black hair, relatively rare among Aldegians, and apparently she had gone to Lotharingia as a foreign exchange student. The royal secretary uniform she was wearing was the same corseted outfit the perpetrator had left behind. 

“If a royal secretary was one of the terrorists, it would explain the craftiness with which the princess was abducted,” Asagi commented with a grimace. 

Now that she thought of it, the oddly apt timing with which the demon beasts were sent in and the abnormal accuracy of the teleportation gate were both possible because someone inside the royal palace was pulling the strings. 

“Can you track her down?” Sayaka asked, staring at the side of Asagi’s face. 

Asagi nodded. Without touching the keyboard, she said, “Doing it right now. How about it, Mogwai?” 

“Bingo, li’l miss,” The AI avatar that was Asagi’s partner replied with a sardonic tone. Apparently, the car driven by Trine Halden with Kojou on board had been firmly caught by security cameras on a main thoroughfare. 

The destination predicted from analysis of the images was brought up on-screen along with a photo. When Yaze set eyes on it, the stiffening of his expression was obvious to everyone. 

“They were heading to Askola Air Force Base…?” 

“…I see now. No wonder we couldn’t find them no matter how much we searched up and down inside Verterace. Even I didn’t go as far as hacking military facilities.” 

Asagi lowered her shoulders with visible admiration. An official military facility was a complete blind spot where a terrorist safe house was concerned. Military personnel were supposedly aiding in the search for La Folia, but no doubt even they never imagined the princess was incarcerated on one of their very own bases. 

“Why would the Aldegian Air Force kidnap their own country’s princess?” Sayaka asked, flummoxed. 

Asagi slowly shook her head side to side. 

“Just because it’s an air force base doesn’t mean air force troops are the ones who did it, right? If the terrorists have a royal secretary working for them, it wouldn’t be strange for them to have soldiers among the kidnappers, too.” 

“R-right. I suppose so…but why an air force base, I wonder? Do they plan to fly a plane and escape?” Sayaka inquired further. 

“If they planned that, a civilian business jet would do. Air force planes are monitored a lot more strictly,” Yaze pointed out. He furrowed his brow and sank into thought. Asagi tilted her head without a word. 

It was the laughing “heh-heh” of a badly sewn teddy bear avatar that broke the silence. 

“Looks like an Aldegian flying battleship is moored at Askola Air Force Base.” 

“A flying battleship? The heck?” Asagi replied. 

For some reason, Mogwai smiled proudly on-screen. 

“First ship of the flying battleship class, Bifrost—their latest and greatest ultra-large armored airship.” 

“It’s huge.” Yaze was transfixed by the image on-screen. “What the hell is this thing?” 

On standby in the airspace above the Air Force Base was a twin-torsoed, armored airship that resembled a pair of blue whales joined at the flanks. The sight felt surreal thanks to the lack of objects in the vicinity to compare to, but the sheer enormity of it was obvious nonetheless. He felt like he really was staring at a battleship floating in the sky. 

“It has firepower rivaling a missile destroyer, but its speed is eight times that of the average destroyer,” Asagi explained, her voice mixed with both praise and exasperation. “On top of that, it has reinforced armor on par with a tank. Calling it a monster is an understatement. Its downfall is that its construction costs are too high, and it’s very difficult to control. No way you’d get something like this to fly the skies without Aldegian sorcerous technology.” 

By any normal kind of thinking, constructing an overly huge armored airship was basically meaningless. The doctrine of great ships and huge guns was no longer practical in the present age. It was a different story with Aldegia, though. This was because Aldegia was the world’s only possessor of the technology to equip airships with spiritual reactors. 

The vast spiritual energy generated by these reactors gave Aldegian armored airships movement capabilities exceeding those of passenger planes, along with great defensive strength. They were many times faster than normal warships and turned into flying fortresses in the airspace of whatever city they arrived at. That was the true nature of the flying battleship called the Bifrost. 

“On top of it being locked up tight, activating it involves a magical ceremony that’s a pain in the neck, so even hijacking it doesn’t mean you can make it budge, but there’s a shortcut for emergencies. Looks like you can force it to start up if you have an Aldegian royal family biosignature.” 

Listening to Mogwai’s explanation, Yaze clicked his tongue. “So that’s what the princess was abducted for…” 

He had only wispy fragments of information, but he felt like he’d neatly clicked them together in his head. Unfortunately, the picture they formed was a forecast of the worst possible future. 

“This is really bad. If they attack with something like that, it’ll make the tarrasques look like mice. They could blow the commemoration ceremony site sky-high.” 

Asagi checked the time. It would soon be eleven AM. Many participants had already begun gathering at the commemoration ceremony site. As the crow flew, it was less than thirty kilometers from Askola AFB to the ceremony site. The Bifrost could cover that in ten minutes flat. 

The firepower of the so-called flying battleship Bifrost could turn the peace commemoration ceremony site into a sea of flames. If the terrorists’ objective was to obstruct the commemoration ceremony, there was surely no more effective means of doing so. 

With his synthetic voice, Mogwai further fanned their concerns. “Heh-heh. It’d be great if it was just the commemoration ceremony.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“There’s an international naval review scheduled for after the peace commemoration ceremony.” 

“Naval review?” Asagi blinked, confused. 

“Means a warship parade,” Yaze explained. “You invite other countries’ ships with various objectives like promoting peace and deepening interrelations… Well, basically, it’s a sideshow. It’s fun to watch big ships together, right?” 

Mogwai made an amused nod in the middle of the screen. 

“There’s gonna be several Warlord’s Empire warships participating in the naval review, too. They should be entering Aldegian waters right about now.” 

“Th…this is no joke!” Asagi’s face was flushed as she glared at her laptop. “If an Aldegian flying battleship sinks a Warlord’s Empire fleet, begging forgiveness on hands and knees won’t cover it. This could end up a full-blown war between demons and humanity…!” 

“This isn’t good…” 

The usual flippancy in Yaze’s voice had vanished. Asagi grabbed her childhood friend’s collar, practically wringing his neck with anger. 

“It’s beyond not good! I’m saying it could be a war!” 

“No, I don’t mean that. This Trine Halden chick whisked Kojou away, right? Not just the princess. Doesn’t that mean Kojou’s on the flying battleship, too?” 

“Ah…” 

Asagi made a very slight sound as her face paled. 

The Bifrost may have been a powerful weapon, but it could not compare to the absolute might possessed by the Fourth Primogenitor’s twelve Beast Vassals. It was possible for them not just to sink one Warlord’s Empire ship, but the entire fleet, for that matter. 

If Trine Halden had some kind of way to control Kojou, the possibility she would command him to attack the Warlord’s Empire war fleet was high. If that happened, it would no longer be an issue between Aldegia and the Warlord’s Empire. The war would envelop Itogami Island as well, and perhaps even Japan. 

“Kirasaka!” 

“I—I get it. I’ll contact the royal palace immediately! We have to stop the Bifrost from starting up…!” 

“Unfortunately, looks like it’s too late for that,” Mogwai said in a mocking tone of voice. 

“Too late…?” prompted back Sayaka, bewildered. 

Mogwai chuckled out of pity for her. “The Bifrost’s activation sequence just started. It’ll be, oh, two minutes until it’s complete. The princess’s biosignature check is complete. This flying battleship’s taking off.” 

4 

Trine led Yukina and La Folia to the Bifrost ’s bridge. Kojou remained at Trine’s side the entire time. He was acting not so much as her bodyguard than like a host club employee for a female customer. Or perhaps the atmosphere he gave off was more like that of a kept man on an older woman’s leash. 

There was an eight-person crew already deployed on the bridge. The Bifrost had begun preparing to activate. 

Noticing their presence, the crew bowed to Trine as one. 

“So they have already taken control of the Bifrost’s crew as well,” La Folia noted, surveying the bridge. 

Trine had brought in other insurrectionists, but aboard the bridge, everyone was a regular crew member. However, they obeyed Trine’s orders, not those of the princess, La Folia. As with Kojou, Trine was manipulating them through her ability. 

La Folia remained calm. “As with aircraft, flying battleships only require a small number of personnel compared to that of normal ships, but it seems that has backfired upon us. No, I assume your plan intentionally took advantage of this weakness.” 

If it were a normal warship, even a destroyer class, a crew of nearly a hundred—shift replacements included—would be required for the ship to exhibit its proper capabilities. However, the Bifrost required only sixteen core personnel. Apparently, Trine was capable of completely controlling that number of people. 

Entering the middle of the bridge, Trine demanded, “This room is a little hot, Kojou. Undress me.” 

“With pleasure, Lady Trine.” 

Kojou swiftly approached Trine from behind and pulled her non-slip sleeves down her arms, exposing her skin for all to see. Her shoulders and arms were bare. The open-back top displayed her skin from behind, and a cut-out on the front accentuated her cleavage. The scent of her lascivious perfume wafted throughout the bridge. 

“This too, Kojou.” 

Boldly sitting in the seat provided for the admiral of the fleet, Trine thrust her right leg out toward Kojou. Take off my stocking, was her implied command. 

“Leave it to me.” 

Bending down on one knee, Kojou reached his hand toward Trine’s thigh. Setting eyes upon the spectacle, Yukina’s brows rose high, eyes wide. 

“Wha—?!” 

“Oh my, what is it, Yukina Himeragi? You’re making such a frightening face.” Trine’s voice was frigid. 

Yukina clenched her fists, shoulders trembling as she endured the humiliation. 

During that time, Kojou took off the stocking on Trine’s right leg, taking her left leg in hand next. 

“Thank you, Kojou. A reward from your Big Sis.” 

“I am deeply honored.” 

Kojou gently kissed the top of Trine’s outstretched left foot. Yukina clenched and ground her teeth. Her face reddened in anger. 

“This cannot be… But how…?! Vampires are supposed to be immune to mind control magic…!” 

She had half disbelieved her eyes to that point, but Kojou’s action that moment confirmed it. He was not grudgingly obeying Trine because Yukina and La Folia had been taken hostage. Trine had taken complete control of his mind. 

However, as a vampire primogenitor, Kojou had a strong resistance against magic, and it was said the resistance to magic that interfered with the mind was particularly strong. The only one who’d managed to control Kojou in the past was Yuuma Tokoyogi, a witch. However, that was not control of Kojou’s mind, but the method of using spatial control magic to swap which body their nervous systems were linked to. 

But Trine appeared to be controlling Kojou without using a risky method like Yuuma had. Yukina didn’t know how Trine was doing it, which also meant she didn’t know how to free Kojou. 

“You have tamed him splendidly, Trine. For future reference, would you teach us the secret of how to make him do as we please?” La Folia inquired. 

Trine laughed. “Secret? Hmm, adult charm, perhaps? Oh, I’m so sorry, I said something quite cruel.” 

Showing off the accentuated cleavage of her breasts, Trine laughed scornfully to taunt Yukina further. The inside of Yukina’s head went white with rage for a moment. 

“Senpai! Please wake up! Why do you have to do what someone like this tells you?!” 

Kojou seemed mystified as he looked back at Yukina, her eyes tearful as she glared at him. “What’s wrong, Himeragi? You’re putting that pretty face to waste.” 

“Excuse me?!” 

Yukina was too upset for words. Curious, Kojou merely watched her tremble in anger. His reaction was so natural that you wouldn’t think he was being mind-controlled. 

“Ahh. Could it be you’re jealous? Don’t worry. You’re cute, Himeragi. That dress looks great on you, too.” Kojou’s tone was haughty, and he gently caressed a lock of her hair. 

Then he came to an unnaturally sudden stop. There was an odd silence, almost as if he was trying to remember what he’d been doing. 

“Yes, that’s quite enough. Time for playing house is over,” Trine said after a moment, dragging Kojou back toward her. Then she turned toward La Folia, using her chin to indicate the center of the bridge. “Activate the Bifrost, La Folia Rihavein.” 

Yukina glared at the silver-haired princess as she shouted, “You must not, La Folia…! It might truly mean war!” 

La Folia calmly shook her head at the Fourth Primogenitor’s watcher. “The lives of eight hundred thousand citizens of Verterace cannot be replaced. Surely you do not wish for Kojou to commit mass murder, either?” 

“No…!” 

Yukina’s words lodged in her throat. If La Folia did not activate the Bifrost, Trine would probably order Kojou to attack Verterace. In his current state, Kojou would likely burn away the royal capital as Trine commanded. The great atrocity would be Kojou’s to bear. 

“Politics is about abandoning all other things for the sake of one’s interests. It is a royal’s duty to make such decisions. If sacrifices are unavoidable, one must select the better future.” 

“If war arises between humanity and Demonkind, is that a better future…?!” 

“If the gain obtained exceeds the sacrifices, war becomes another political choice.” 

Yukina was aghast at the princess’s cruel words. Trine whistled aloud. 

La Folia’s emotionless eyes met Yukina’s as she continued. “For over a thousand years, Aldegia has withstood the incursions of the Warlord’s Empire. Our soil has been trampled upon, our people have become casualties—even now, the grudges linger like a smoldering flame. Not all of my people desire peace.” 

Yukina could say nothing in return. 

“Shall we speak of something more realistic? Aldegia is a nation of magical technology, but that high degree of technology brings about advances in the weaponry that generate warfare. In other words, our country plays a big role in the military-industrial complex. If there is a new war, great profit for us shall surely come about.” 

“That cannot be…” 

“In this world, there are many nations that have not ratified the Holy Ground Treaty, which stipulates coexistence between demons and humanity. They shall surely greet my decision with delight. The Holy Grounds Liberation Organization…yes? Your side shall cooperate as well, Trine?” The princess abruptly turned to Trine. 

“Y-yes. I suppose so. Of course,” Trine hastily replied. “We have the Fourth Primogenitor. We have no fear of the Warlord’s Empire.” 

“I am relieved to hear those words.” La Folia nodded in satisfaction. She walked in front of the captain’s chair and gently placed her right hand upon a semispherical panel. 

“By the command of La Folia Rihavein, Crown Princess of Aldegia—awaken, Bifrost.” 

The panel faintly lit at the same time La Folia spoke her command. There was a vibration through the flying battleship’s giant hull as instruments within the bridge went into motion one after another. 

“Was that all? Is the Bifrost active now?” Trine murmured, disappointed at how the ceremony had ended with a whimper. 

La Folia turned to her with a smile. “Yes. However, I have made use of the forced activation sequence using royal family biometric signatures prepared for emergencies. It cannot engage in regular operational activities that use the formal command structure.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean that with the exception of ballistic weapons, the weapons of the Bifrost remain locked. The sorcerous armaments require a separate confirmation from me.” 

“So without the princess’s leave, it cannot utilize its full capabilities?” Trine clicked her tongue in annoyance. 

She glanced at the man sitting in the captain’s chair. The captain, wearing a Knights of the Second Coming uniform, gravely nodded in confirmation. “That is true.” 

“How troublesome.” Trine’s shoulders sank. Perhaps Trine had intended to eliminate La Folia as soon as she had finished activating the Bifrost. However, against her expectations, she required La Folia’s continued cooperation. 

La Folia smiled at Trine, speaking to her with a tone of equality until the very end. “You need not hold back. When combat commences, I shall lend you my power.” She paused before adding, “I must say, that gave me quite a sweat. Prepare a bath, would you?” 

“Wh-what?” The abrupt demand made Trine gawk, completely forgetting about her grievances against the princess. With a weary sigh, she commanded one of the crew members, “Take them to the bath.” 

“Let us be off, Yukina. We shall surely meet Kojou again later…” 

The silver-haired princess gave a polite gesture before setting off toward the bathroom. 

Yukina felt faintly dizzy as she reluctantly followed behind La Folia. 

5 

Amazingly, the Bifrost’s interior was furnished with a large Japanese-style hot bath and even came fully equipped with its own sauna. According to the princess, Aldegia was the land where saunas first began, and so many domestic homes came with them installed. 

Yukina and La Folia were sitting on a wooden bench, wearing nothing but the bath towels wrapped around their bodies. It was usual Aldegian custom to enter a sauna wearing swimsuits, but naturally, swimsuits had not been prepared for them. 

“It truly does feel good to sweat it out in a sauna. I have heard that Japanese warships are also provided with baths, but let us say that an armored airship with a sauna is something you will only find in Aldegia. The system employs excess heat from the spiritual reactor’s cooling system, making it environmentally friendly.” 

“R-right.” Yukina could only stare at the princess, who was quite proud of her country, with a vague expression. 

Certainly the Bifrost’s sauna was rather extravagant, well worth her boasting. It even came with a television and its own water supply, allowing one to pass the time in comfort. 

“Wait, did you really only want to take a bath?! I was quite certain you had some kind of plan in mind…!” 

“My. The bathroom is the optimal place to put one’s thoughts in order. It is said that a famous scientist of old discovered the principle of buoyancy while bathing and was so overjoyed that he was still naked as he ran out into the streets.” 

La Folia smiled softly as she used a towel to wipe some sweat off her cheeks. 

Thanks to the towel wrapped around her long hair, Yukina could see more of her slender neck than usual. The princess’s white skin was ever so faintly red from the rush of blood. Even with a bath towel covering her body, her curves were easy to notice. In the bath, La Folia looked divinely beautiful, enough to justify the praise of her as the Second Coming of Freya. Yukina was of the same gender, and even she was taken by the sight. 

Yukina was, however, aware that the situation did not permit them to take their sweet time in the sauna. 

“We have no time for leisurely conversation! At this rate, a war truly might begin!” 

“I understand that. However, Trine brought over twenty soldiers of unknown nationality with her. Adding to them the Aldegian knights in thrall to her, the enemy’s fighting capacity grows further still. Even you cannot neutralize such numbers by yourself.” 

“That is, true, but…” Yukina nodded with chagrin. 

Sword Shamans were the Lion King Agency’s specialists in anti-demon combat, but they were not well suited to fighting large groups. This was a team of soldiers under a unified command—furthermore, it would be difficult to overcome even a single one of the elite Aldegian knights. 

“Moreover, Kojou is on Trine’s side. He is not someone you can defeat. If you meant to destroy him with the Schneewaltzer, it would be another story, but…” 

“Destroy…senpai…? With Snowdrift Wolf…?” Yukina bit her lip. 

If Kojou was going to attack Verterace City or the Warlord’s Empire fleet, it was Yukina’s duty to stop him. She had not forgotten that. Fortunately, the weapon to do so remained at Yukina’s side that very moment. 

“Wait a second,” Yukina said, thinking. “If Miss Trine is controlling senpai with magic, perhaps Snowdrift Wolf’s ability can nullify it.” 

“No, that is likely futile,” La Folia refuted, destroying Yukina’s last thread of hope. “You said it yourself, Yukina. Mind control magic does not work upon vampires, because they possess a strong resistance to it.” 

Yukina’s voice, akin to a shriek, echoed throughout the sauna room. “Then how did senpai end up as Miss Trine’s minion…?!” 

La Folia gazed at the distraught Yukina and gently nodded. “Indeed. If we cannot solve that mystery, we have no chance of victory. But if we can…” 

Yukina’s voice turned soft, as if she were praying. “I see… If we can bring senpai back to his senses, then…” 

“Yes. If Kojou is on our side, the number of Trine’s subordinates is irrelevant. The Beast Vassals of the Fourth Primogenitor could surely sink this Bifrost with a single blow.” La Folia gently smiled before she then cast her gaze downward with a modicum of gloom. “Unfortunately, I question whether Kojou is truly without sanity as it stands. It looked to me as if he was obeying Trine of his own will.” 

“Not senpai… Even for him, that surely is not…” Yukina tried to stand up for Kojou, but her voice faltered. 

“If we avert our eyes from the truth, we will not see who the real enemy is,” La Folia scolded before softening her tone. “It is all right, Yukina. Believe in yourself. If you, his watcher, cannot take back Kojou’s heart, then who can? Take Kojou back from Trine.” 

“But…what can—? What should I do…?” 

Yukina grasped the edge of her bath towel, her voice trembling. Recalling Kojou at Trine’s feet sickened her. Her heart was cracking. She was feeling all sorts of dark emotions she hadn’t known she could. 

La Folia gently touched a hand to Yukina’s chin, narrowing her beautiful eyes. “You need not worry. You possess a weapon Trine does not.” 

“What…might that be?” 

Gazing down at her towel-wrapped chest, Yukina let out a weary sigh. 

She was aware that she had a small figure in every way, but she’d never dwelled upon it before. However, when she saw Trine’s demeanor and the blatant way she flaunted her cleavage, she could not help but feel a fair bit outclassed. Men and boys alike really are weak to breasts, I suppose, she earnestly believed, among other things that ought not to have mattered to her. 

La Folia interrupted those melancholic thoughts. 

“It seems the commemoration ceremony is about to begin…” 

The princess was looking at the screen of the TV built into the sauna room wall. It was a live broadcast from the peace commemoration ceremony site. 

With the time of the ceremony’s commencement impending, leaders from various nations, Aradahl, representing the Warlord’s Empire, and people from the Royal Family of Aldegia were already gathered at the site. Yukina spontaneously raised her voice when she spotted an unexpected individual among them. 

“Princess La Folia…?! How?!” 

She caught sight of a princess all dressed up, standing beside the Aldegian king and queen at the ceremony site. Her long hair was tied up, adorned with a tiara, but her lovely face and characteristic blue eyes made plain that this was La Folia herself. Not a single citizen watching the broadcast would have any doubt about the sight. 

“So they have prepared a substitute…I see. So that is the play.” 

La Folia broke into giggles as she touched her sweat-drenched cheek. That was when Yukina finally registered the existence of one other girl with an external appearance greatly resembling La Folia’s. 

“K-Kano…?!” 

“Grandmother’s craftiness at work, it would seem. Tee-hee, this has become quite interesting.” La Folia was genuinely amused by the sight. 

There at the ceremony site, Kanon had a somewhat tense-looking expression but steadfastly fulfilled her duty as princess even so. Of course, Kanon was of smaller stature than La Folia, and her face was a bit younger, but it wasn’t enough of a difference that someone would notice on a TV broadcast. The ordinary citizens visiting the site and watching from a distance were even less likely to notice. 

“Now then, surely Trine expected that faith in the Royal Family of Aldegia would be lost due to my absence from the commemoration ceremony, but now our positions are reversed. The terrorists so widely publicizing their achievement of kidnapping a princess shall now be deemed simple liars.” La Folia couldn’t help laughing. Once her fit of giggles subsided, she caught her breath and resumed a serious manner. She continued her speculation. 

“Surely it was not Trine’s faction alone seeking to hinder the commemoration ceremony, so one false move and they shall be seen as the associates of liars. This leaves Trine and her people with few options.” 

The walls of the sauna suddenly shook. 

A weighty sound echoed, possibly of an enormous engine shifting gears. The floor seemed to tilt as they were struck by an odd feeling of acceleration. 

“The Bifrost is…!” 

Yukina exclaimed as she realized the truth behind the roar and the acceleration. The ship, which had remained unobtrusively moored up to that point, had finally gone into motion. 

“Yes. Now that Trine cannot hope for chaos to arise at the ceremony site, she is forced to put the Bifrost into motion. This will convey to the royal palace that I am present. Others have likely realized it already, however—” 

The princess shifted her gaze to the sauna room’s little window. The only thing she had seen through it was a serene blue sky without a single cloud, but now, through the corner of that window, a dark, birdlike silhouette was hovering. 

Yukina audibly drew in her breath when she realized what the dark spot truly was. 

It had pale-blue armor that glimmered like a glacier. It was adorned with gold and bore the emblem of a Valkyrie wielding a great sword. 

It was another armored airship, one that had once visited Itogami Island and participated in the war of the primogenitors— 

The Bö?vildr, flagship of Aldegia’s Knights of the Second Coming. 

6 

“Not good. The Bifrost’s taken off.” 

On the bridge of the armored airship Bö?vildr, Yaze’s voice went shrill as he gazed through a spare pair of binoculars. 

The flying battleship that was supposed to be on standby at the air force base was now raising anchor and gaining altitude. Its ferocious speed was impressive for its enormous size. 

As it floated in midair, the Bifrost’s enormity was far greater than it seemed on video. Even the Bö?vildr, which was over a hundred and fifteen meters long, felt puny and frail before the might of the flying battleship. 

Asagi sank into thought, gazing at the flying battleship with a sober look. “It was floating to begin with, so the more accurate term is ‘rising.’” 

“Is this really the time for splitting hairs?!” Sayaka growled, gripping her silver long sword. She could not conceal the nervousness on her face. 

The activation of the Bifrost made it certain that the kidnapped La Folia and Yukina were inside the ship. However, knowing their whereabouts didn’t leave the group with any means of rescuing the girls. That fact grated upon Sayaka. 

Queen Mother Musette was sitting in a seat reserved for royalty as she posed a question to the captain of the armored airship with a grave expression. “So we were not in time, just as I feared… Captain, your message to the base commander…?” 

It had not even been forty minutes since Sayaka and the others realized Trine Halden’s whereabouts. Musette’s reaction after receiving their report had been swift. 

Instantly contacting the knights, she had also called the Bö?vildr, on patrol over the royal capital’s airspace, over to Tenotia House. Then she personally boarded the ship and headed straight to Askola AFB. Having experienced several wars during her time as queen, her actions were overwhelmingly decisive. 

However, even with the queen mother’s lightning-swift response, they had been unable to stop the Bifrost from activating because their communications with Askola Air Force Base had been severed at the time. 

The middle-aged captain, whose weathered face looked like a pirate’s, stroked his beard with a weighty look on his face. “My message got through, but the base interior seems largely in chaos. Apparently, those tarrasques have been rampaging inside the base, and there are a great many casualties.” 

“To buy time until they finished preparing to activate the Bifrost? Hmph.” The queen mother let out a snort. 

Thanks to the tarrasques invading the base interior, not even the base’s air traffic controllers had noticed the Bifrost’s activation. Trine’s scheme was ongoing. 

However, the restoration of communications suggested that the chaos within the base was all but wrapped up. 

“Askola AFB’s fighters are being scrambled. The commander’s venting that he’ll stop the Bifrost even if they have to shoot a hole in her engines.” 

The queen mother solemnly nodded. “We cannot allow the Bifrost to head out to sea. I support the base commander’s judgment.” 

The Bifrost was the kingdom of Aldegia’s most important asset, but this did not mean they could stand and watch as it attacked a foreign nation’s fleet. If it was going to be the trigger for a war, shooting it down beforehand was the natural judgment to make. 

Even if it was an armored airship with high maneuverability, the Bifrost’s handling was far inferior to that of a fighter jet. Furthermore, the exposed air supply and exhaust ports of the engine were critical vulnerabilities for any airship. It took destroying only the engine to stop the ship without any concern that hostages inside would be harmed. 

Listening to the conversation between the captain and the queen mother, the bridge of the Bö?vildr was enveloped by an air of relief. But— 

The sensor operator’s report froze the nearly-relaxed air in an instant. 

“Captain, powerful demonic energy reading above the Bifrost! Detectable limit breached!” 

The demonic energy emanating from the flying battleship increased in density and changed into the form of an enormous summoned beast. That mass of energy became a vampire’s Beast Vassal. 

“Natra Cinereus! Why is Kojou Akatsuki’s Beast Vassal…?!” Sayaka trailed off, realizing how grave the situation had become. 

The enormous beast shrouded in silver-colored armor was the fourth Beast Vassal of the Fourth Primogenitor—the phantom beast that represented the vampiric ability of mist. 

Concealing oneself by transforming into mist was a basic ability possessed by many vampires. Natra Cinereus took this ability further; the Fourth Primogenitor could change not only himself but any and every type of matter in the surrounding area into mist. Furthermore, any slip of control over this Beast Vassal and there was no guarantee the matter would return to its original form. Natra Cinereus was troublesome to use safely—difficult to use for anything save destruction. 

The silver-colored carapaced beast’s ability had been turned upon the runway of Askola Air Force Base. 

Silver mist spread forth, completely covering the runway. Then, when wind dissipated the mist, the runway had vanished from sight. All that remained was the cruelly gashed surface of the ground—Kojou’s Beast Vassal had annihilated the runway in an instant. 

The destructive spectacle shocked the bridge of the Bö?vildr into silence. 

The Fourth Primogenitor’s abilities were simply absurd, and he was Trine Halden’s ally—that fact had been driven home to the entire crew. 

“Hopefully there aren’t casualties, but those fighters sure aren’t getting off the ground now,” Yaze said. 

“We can’t expect any support from the Air Force Base, then,” Asagi concluded. 

The pair was accustomed to the Fourth Primogenitor’s absurd powers and had regained their senses first. 

Musette held a dignified expression, turning her eyes to the captain in search of agreement. “We shall have to do it ourselves.” 

“We’ll do everything we can, at least,” the captain said, scratching his head and grimacing, his thick lips in view. “To be honest, it won’t be easy. I never imagined we’d be slugging it out with another airship.” 

Though a fellow armored airship, the Bö?vildr’s main role was for transporting and supplying the knights. Its equipped weapons were mainly defensive machineguns and intercepting missiles; it was never intended for a head-on duel with an enemy warship. 

The Bifrost, on the other hand, was a flying battleship built with the intention of sending it into the front lines of combat. The Bö?vildr had no chance against it in a straight-up brawl. That was simply the difference in their firepower. 

“Found ’em. Both li’l Himeragi and Miss Princess. Nice,” Yaze murmured, his favorite headphones over his ears. 

Sayaka jumped at Yukina’s name. “Are both of them safe?! Where are they?!” 

Yaze closed his eyes, clearing his head as he nodded. “Well, I think I can say they’re safe but… What’s this echo? A bathroom?” 

“…Huh?” 

“Er, for some reason, it seems that li’l Himeragi and Miss Princess are in the bath together.” Yaze looked bewildered. 

La Folia and Yukina, supposed hostages, continued leisurely bathing while the flying battleship went into motion. Naturally, not even Yaze understood the situation whatsoever. 

He tilted his head. Sayaka was ferociously thrown for a loop as she closed in on him. 

“What do you mean by that?! Even I haven’t taken a bath with Yukina for almost a year! For that matter, how do you know this?! Are you peeking?!” 

“As if!! I’m just analyzing the surrounding environment from the echo and phase change of the sound!” 

“What the? So you’re…eavesdropping?” 

“Never mind me, dammit! The bad part is Kojou. He’s with that Trine chick on the bridge.” 

Even Sayaka stopped moving when she heard that. 

Asagi covered her eyes and shook her head. “Welp.” 

“We expected this, but it’s worst case, huh? So this Trine Halden really is controlling Kojou.” 

“Control, but…how…?!” Sayaka exclaimed. 

Asagi shrugged. “Honey trapping, maybe?” 

“That’s crazy! Even Kojou Akatsuki wouldn’t…probably wouldn’t…” 

Sayaka faltered, lacking confidence in her rebuttal to Asagi’s half-joking comment. 

A warning siren abruptly sounded on the Bö?vildr ’s bridge. The captain responded instantly with instructions. Already on red alert, the crew swiftly followed his orders. 

“Fire control targeting laser confirmed. Volley incoming.” 

“Ready the Svalinn System! Evasive maneuvers!” 

Lights flashed all across the enormous hull of the flying battleship visible through the window. They were the flashes from a gun volley. 

“Spiritual reactor to maximum power. Deploy the Svalinn System!” 

“Tactical AI taking navigational control. Executing predicted evasion!” 

There was a roar and an impact like a thunderbolt, ferociously shaking the Bö?vildr’s hull. A pale glow they had called the Svalinn System enveloped the armored airship, which deflected the incoming shells. 

“Damage report!” 

“Engineering all green. No hull damage. Svalinn System load rate, seven percent,” the operator reported. 

“…They only hit us with normal shells?” The captain frowned, perplexed. 

The Bifrost had a more powerful spiritual reactor than the Bö?vildr did. Had it employed this vast spiritual energy for its sorcerous guns, it would surely have been possible to punch through the Bö?vildr’s Svalinn System. 

A firm smile came over the queen mother. “It would seem La Folia has not lifted the seal on the sorcerous armaments.” 

Without official orders to launch, using the Bifrost’s sorcerous armaments required the approval of the royal family. As a hostage, La Folia had permitted its activation, but she had not permitted the use of its sorcerous armaments. In other words, the Bifrost was unable to employ its full capabilities. 

“Now we have a real shot at victory,” the bearded captain said. His rueful tone belied his words, though. 

Even if the Bifrost’s sorcerous armaments were sealed, the difference between the two ships was still too vast. He knew he could not be optimistic about the situation. 

“XO, can the Forseti punch through just the engine?” he asked. 

“We can target it. But whether a ship-to-air missile has enough power to breach the Bifrost’s armor—” 

“Do it!” the captain ordered, silencing the executive officer. 

Perhaps accustomed to such rough treatment, the executive officer revealed no particular dismay as he resumed speaking. 

“Roger. Forseti One through Four, beginning attack.” 

“Forseti One through Four, launching.” 

The dull jolt from the launch faintly shook the bridge of the Bö?vildr. 

The ship-to-air Forseti missile was a weapon originally intended to intercept fighter jets and the like. It lacked the force to penetrate the Bifrost’s armor and sink it. 

However, if the Bifrost’s engine absorbed fragments of the missiles, the engine would likely be damaged. Perhaps the other side understood this; their anti-air machineguns put up a barrage to shoot down the incoming missiles. 

“Four seconds to impact. No Svalinn System deployment!” 

“Please hit…” 

The captain brought his hands together, hoping for a miracle. Perhaps his prayers had been answered—three of the four missiles fired slipped through the barrage, reaching the Bifrost’s hull. 

No matter how stout the flying battleship might have been, no one thought it would emerge unscathed after receiving three missiles simultaneously. 

Everyone harbored that hope, yet a dazzling golden flash emerged to protect the ship. 

“Wha—?!” 

“It’s Regulus Aurum!” 

The captain’s shout and Sayaka’s overlapped each other. 

The golden flash was the Fourth Primogenitor’s Beast Vassal Number Five—an enormous lion imbued with lightning. In an instant, it mowed down all of the incoming missiles, charging back toward the Bö?vildr at the speed of a thunderbolt. 

“E-evade!” 

The captain’s verbal order was erased by the roar of the impact. The lightning lion’s attack breached the Svalinn System defense barrier with ease, inflicting great damage to the Bö?vildr’s hull. Countless alarms went off on the bridge, and crew members let out various screams. 

“Svalinn System limit reached. Starboard engines Three and Four are destroyed. Purging fuel tank.” 

“From only a graze—such power…!” 

Still on the floor after sliding out of his command chair, the captain was in a daze. It wasn’t enough damage to cause them to crash; perhaps the Beast Vassal had held back. However, there was no mistaking that their combat capabilities had precipitously diminished. The Bö?vildr was no longer capable of stopping the Bifrost alone. 

Yaze, tossed from his seat without any means of breaking his fall, rubbed his back as he rose to his feet. “It’s no fair when his Beast Vassals are on the other side! With Kojou, they don’t even need the sorcerous armaments!” 

“’Twould seem he is not also known as the World’s Mightiest Vampire for naught,” the queen mother said, dismayed. Not even she had a plan to turn the situation around. 

Mere machine-gun fire would not penetrate the Bifrost’s hull, and the lightning lion would intercept any missiles that did manage to get through. Even without a barrier like the Svalinn System, the flying battleship’s defenses were airtight. 

However, the Bö?vildr could not run. The reason the Bifrost remained stalled in that airspace was because it was wary of being shot from behind by the Bö?vildr. If the Bö?vildr withdrew, Trine would immediately head to annihilate the Warlord’s Empire fleet. To stop her plans, they had to neutralize the Bifrost then and there. 

“If it was going to come to this, we should’ve brought Natsuki to Aldegia, too.” Asagi ruefully twisted her lips and sighed. 

Even Asagi’s capabilities were insufficient to hack and take remote control of an active warship. The only way to seize control of the Bifrost was to directly access a terminal inside the ship. 

Yaze was deep in thought. “Hmm… If we got inside that ship over there, Kojou couldn’t use his Beast Vassals, either… Huh…” 

Without the sorcerous armaments, the Bifrost currently had no defense against a sorcerous attack. In other words, it was possible to teleport to invade the ship’s interior. 

However, even if they were in combat at relatively short range, the Bö?vildr and the Bifrost were separated by six thousand meters at the least. Natsuki Minamiya, the Witch of the Void, was probably the only one who could jump that kind of distance without any proper preparations. 

Sayaka strongly lifted up her head as she seemed to remember something. Asagi and Yaze’s conversation had reminded her about something from during the war of the primogenitors. 

“Teleport…!” she exclaimed. “Captain, can we use this ship’s teleportation chamber?” 

The captain opened his eyes wide and gaped. “The teleportation chamber, you say?” 

The Bö?vildr was equipped with a spiritual reactor that enabled teleportation. Sayaka knew of its existence because she had used it once previously when La Folia had dragged her along for a ride. 

“It’s possible, but it can’t be used multiple times with the spiritual reactor’s current output,” the executive officer explained. 

The bearded captain scowled. “So we can’t send over a big force, then.” 

Two armored knights could enter the teleportation chamber at most. If people were packed in without weapons, it might support three, maybe four. 

He thought that sending such a small number of people onto an occupied flying battleship was essentially meaningless. It was tantamount to sending people to their deaths. 

“Then send me. If I can use a terminal on the inside, I can take over the Bifrost’s tactical AI.” 

Sayaka was shocked as she watched Asagi calmly raise her hand and volunteer. 

“A-Asagi Aiba…?!” 

With the Bifrost cut off from the external networks, Asagi could not employ her power as the Priestess of Cain. She would be nothing more than an ordinary high schooler. Sayaka thought that Asagi leaping into the middle of a bunch of terrorists was pretty much suicidal behavior. 

However, Sayaka knew where Asagi was coming from. Asagi wasn’t putting herself in danger to stop a war, but for the sake of her friends—both to free the captive Yukina and La Folia and to ensure Kojou did not slaughter the masses. 

“Captain, can you get the access codes to operate the Bifrost?” Asagi asked, a pained expression on her face. 

“Of course I can do that, but…” 

He was doubtlessly conflicted about handing military secrets to a foreigner. 

“I mind not, Captain. Please grant them to her,” Musette commanded. She indicated she would take full responsibility. “Justina, you go as well. Protect the Priestess of Cain.” 

“As thou commandest, Your Majesty the Queen Mother.” 

They heard a voice from out of nowhere. Suddenly, a tall female knight dropped down from ceiling of the bridge. She had short silver hair and a no-slip military outfit customized to resemble ninja garb. This was Interceptor Knight Kataya Justina. 

It occurred to them that they hadn’t seen her for a while, but she seemed to have been quietly protecting Asagi and Yaze. She was probably faithfully executing La Folia’s orders. 

When Asagi and Justina headed toward the teleportation chamber, Sayaka hastily followed suit. “W-wait, if you need protection, then I’m going, too!” 

Preventing international sorcerous terrorism was very much the job of Attack Mages of the Lion King Agency. Sayaka couldn’t just push that duty onto a civilian in high school and leisurely watch from the back row. Besides, Sayaka was a specialist in curses and assassination. Infiltration and sabotage of enemy territory was well within the expertise of Shamanic War Dancers. 

Asagi smiled boldly. “Thanks, Kirasaka.” She turned to her friend. “So, Motoki, what are you gonna do?” 

“Well, now I’ve gotta go. If I die, I’m holding a grudge, Kojou…!” 

Even if his direct combat skill was meager, Yaze’s ability allowed him to accurately ascertain the state of things inside of the Bifrost, a terrifying advantage under the circumstances, and a fact of which Yaze was no doubt well aware. In contrast to his tone of voice, Yaze’s expression seemed amused somehow as he slumped his shoulders. 

One of the crew called Sayaka and company to a halt just as they were about to leave the bridge. 

“Hold on. There’s an optical message from the Bifrost. This is…Her Highness, Princess La Folia?” 

Displayed on a monitor was a window of the Bifrost from which tiny flashes of light were visible. They were being generated by a ball of light from a beginner-level spell. Apparently, La Folia was sending some kind of message via the blinking light. It was a skillful ploy so that Trine and her allies within the Bifrost would not notice. 

“What does La Folia say?” Musette asked a crew member. 

The young crew member had an especially perplexed expression while conveying the brief message to the queen mother. 

“To…bring the following with all haste.” 

The queen mother’s voice overlapped with Asagi’s and Sayaka’s as all three peered at the memo. 

“This is…?” 

“The heck…?” 

“What is the meaning of this?” 

That was simply how unexpected the content of the message La Folia had sent turned out to be. 

The queen mother touched a hand to her temple as if she had a headache. “Goodness. Just what is that girl thinking…? Justina, can you immediately see to this?” 

“As thou commandest.” 

The capable knight brought her hands before her chest and bowed, letting Musette know to leave it to her.