Strike the Blood - Volume 20 - Chapter 3.2

2

“You’re late! What time do you two think it is right now?!”

When Kojou and Yukina returned to the lab, they found Shizuri waiting for them, her temple twitching and her visage as ferocious as an angry deity’s. With her coat over her uniform and her sword belt over that, she was in hair-trigger combat mode. Perhaps she’d equipped herself in haste from noticing Kojou’s brawl with the group of gigas earlier.

“…You woke up, Cas?”

“I can’t sleep soundly through such spectacular demonic energy being tossed about…!”

Shizuri glared at Kojou with reproach. Her expression said it all; there was no way she was backing down until he gave her a detailed account of what had happened. Giving up on returning to his room, Kojou headed toward the lab’s interior lounge.

Kanon was in the lounge as well, preparing tea for everyone. Nina Adelard was sitting on the table and had changed into a white doll’s outfit. Beside her was a black cat with golden eyes.

“You have quite haggard faces for a pair who dressed up for a nighttime stroll.”

Looking up at Kojou and Yukina, the black cat pointed this out with a sarcastic tone.

“Master?”

“Professor Kitty… So you’re here, too, huh?”

Yukina’s expression hardened at the sudden appearance of her mentor. Kojou lethargically lowered his shoulders. The black cat was really the familiar of Yukari Endou, an elven Attack Mage and Yukina’s teacher. Recalling that he hadn’t seen her around earlier, he couldn’t help but wonder what she’d been up to.

“A stroll…?”

Kanon asked that while pouring a small, steaming teapot, as if wondering, At this time of night?

“Hoh-hoh,” went Nina, her lips curling up with glee.

“Were you going stargazing? ‘Behold, that is Arcturus, that is Spica, and that is Denebola.’ ‘My, how pretty.’ ‘Not prettier than you.’ ‘Oh, senpai.’ …Or something of the sort?”

“…What’s with the cringey dialogue?”

Kojou shot back with a grimace. Implicit in that criticism was, Where the hell did you come up with all that? But for some reason, Nina ignored that and proudly puffed out her breasts.

“I saw it in a TV drama recently. I’m quite trendy, you see.”

“Abbess, that is marvelous.”

Kanon brought her hands together in front of her chest, eyes glimmering. Oh yes, oh yes, proclaimed Nina’s nod. He couldn’t deal with the two of them saying that stuff with straight faces.

Fearing there was no pithy comeback to be found, he slumped down with a sigh.

“Nothin’ like that. The First Primogenitor came over to pay me a little visit—that’s all.”

“The…?!”

Shizuri gawked, spitting out the tea in her mouth in the process.

“I see. So that’s how it is.”

The black cat exhaled gravely. Shizuri closed the distance with Yukari.

“Wh-what do you mean by this…?!”

“The source of the Fourth Primogenitor lad’s vampiric urges. Good timing. Both of you, come with me.”

Slowly rising up, the black cat nimbly leaped down from the table.

Perplexed, Yukina and Kojou followed her along.

Apparently, Yukari had realized the possibility of another Blazing Banquet just from hearing the First Primogenitor had contacted him. It was the “good timing” part that left Kojou and Yukina perplexed.

Yukari gave no explanation whatsoever as she continued onward, slipping through a dark corridor as she headed deeper into the lab.

They were now in a section devoted to treating and examining the wounded, which both Kojou and Yukina had visited previously. This was the place Yukina had been examined when she had been progressing toward Faux-Angelification.

“Master? Where are…?”

Yukina asked this in a guarded tone of voice. However, the black cat did not glance back as it continued onward. Shizuri had followed along as if it was the natural thing to do, but she dejectedly took her leave when Yukari glared at her.

Finally, the black cat stopped in front of a door midway down the corridor. It was a small room, and the lights were off.

“A…patient room?”

Yukina murmured this as she looked up at the nameplate hanging from the door.

Without acknowledging her, the black cat motioned twice with her tail. She was apparently telling them to open the door.

“Who’s in here?”

Kojou harbored distinct concern as he opened the door.

He was immediately hit with the antiseptic odor particular to hospitals.

The room was dimly illuminated by night-lights. In place of a window was a large monitor displaying images of tropical fish swimming in an aquarium.

Backlit by the monitor, a young woman sitting in a wheelchair greeted Kojou and Yukina.

The glare didn’t afford him a good look at her face, but she probably was around the same age as them. Unlike them, however, she was a painful, heart-wrenching sight; her entire body was covered by bandages, and a gypsum cast held her neck in place.

“It has been some time, Fourth Primogenitor. And you have served as his watcher with distinction, Yukina Himeragi.”

Drip tubes swaying as she lifted her gaze, the girl greeted them in fleeting tones.

“That voice…! You’re the one from when we were fighting Natsuki…”

“Lady…Koyomi Shizuka?!”

Kojou reflexively went on guard, while Yukina hastily straightened her posture.

“There’s no need for formalities. This is an emergency…enough to make me like this.”

The girl in the wheelchair—Koyomi Shizuka—smiled at her own expense and exhaled.

Koyomi Shizuka, also known as Paper Noise, was one of the Three Saints of the Lion King Agency—

Kojou had fought her just once.

To be honest, it scarcely deserved to be called a fight. Koyomi had sent Kojou, Yukina, and Kiriha Kisaki of the Bureau of Astrology packing in an instant. The trio hadn’t even been able to land a finger on her.

But now that same woman was holed up in a lab bearing grievous wounds. Someone had managed to breach Koyomi’s ability, which Kojou had thought invincible, and harm her to this extent.

“The Order of the End got you?”

He asked this in a hoarse voice. Koyomi Shizuka seemed to nod with her eyes.

“Fool that I am, I underestimated the breadth of the enemy’s might. I never imagined that a dragon would lend The Blood his aid—”

“Dragon… That bastard, huh…!”

Kojou recalled the man in the mask he’d engaged in battle the night before—a giant dragon covered in bronze scales. It wasn’t so strange for her to have lost to an enormous monster like that.

“You’ve encountered him as well?”

Koyomi spoke gently. Kojou nodded with a grim expression.

“He shrugged off a direct hit from one of my Beast Vassals.”

“Dragons, after all, are at the pinnacle of Demonkind in a different sense than vampires. An ancient dragon that has lived several millennia might well rival a vampire primogenitor in pure individual combat capability—”

“Did you call us here to warn us about that?”

“No. There’s something much more crucial that I need to convey to you in your current state. I don’t know whether you’ll consider it good news, though.”

Koyomi sighed. Kojou and Yukina turned to each other. They both had bad feelings about this.

“What do you mean?”

“The Twelfth, Avrora, has arrived on Itogami Island.”

“Wh…?!”

Yukina let out a tiny gasp. Kojou shook his head with an expression of disbelief.

“Why would she be…?!”

“You’re aware that she was in the custody of MAR in one of their medical facilities while she was in a coma, yes?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Mimori Akatsuki awakened her and escaped before entrusting her to a few Lion King Agency Attack Mages.”

She continued explaining calmly. “Ugh,” said Kojou in a low groan.

“…Left with her? You mean she escaped with Avrora without company permission?”

“I don’t know what her objective is.”

Koyomi Shizuka lowered her eyes as she sat in the wheelchair.

“However, MAR is participating in the management of the Electoral War as a conglomerate. Perhaps Mimori had clued into this. She could have been aware that the Electoral War might trigger the Blazing Banquet.”

“Did she bust Avrora out to…make me consume her…?”

Kojou closed the distance with Koyomi, his anger plain. She looked back at him coldly.

“Not for you. For the good of the Fourth Primogenitor.”

Her statement silenced him. Mimori didn’t know that the Fourth Primogenitor was really Kojou.

“But…at the end of the day, that’s the same damned thing!”

“You said that Miss Avrora was entrusted to Attack Mages from the Lion King Agency, right?”

Seeing that Kojou was indignant, Yukina interrupted him in an attempt to soothe him.

“Someone besides us has come to Itogami Island?”

“Yes,” readily admitted Koyomi.

“Yuiri Haba and Shio Hikawa were visiting Blue Elysium during their time off.”

“Blue Elysium…? I see… So they came to see Glenda…!” murmured Kojou, suppressing his irritation.

Since Yuiri was the first human being she’d met since awakening in the present era, Glenda was extremely fond of her. He had no doubt Yuiri and Shio had come to the Demon Sanctuary to meet their dragon friend and had ended up getting entangled in the Electoral War.

“Then Miss Avrora would be with Yuiri and company, right?”

Yukina’s statement held an echo of relief. It was sad that Yuiri and Shio’s vacation had been ruined, but she and Kojou should have been grateful about gaining more allies they could count on.

For some reason, however, the black cat sitting on Koyomi Shizuka’s lap released a painfully leaden breath.

“That’s why I’ve called you here, Yukina Himeragi.”

Koyomi seemed to have set her mind on something as she quietly interjected.

“This morning, immediately after landing in Island East, the Second Primogenitor, Fallgazer, launched a surprise attack against Yuiri Haba.”

“The Second Primogenitor…?!”

Yukina widened her eyes in shock. Koyomi Shizuka did not wait for her shock to subside as she continued her words.

“At present, we have no idea where Yuiri Haba and the dragon girl are located. That leads us to conclude that they’ve been captured by Fallen Dynasty forces.”

“Just those two…?”

Kojou calmly double-checked. If Yuiri and Glenda were off the grid, he took that as meaning the other two girls were safe and sound. Nor did “Paper Noise” refute his assumption.

“Shio Hikawa and Avrora Florestina are currently fugitives in Island East. Although they are currently safe, it surely won’t be easy for them to escape the Fallen Dynasty’s envelopment with their power alone.”

“Got it. So if we go and save ’em now, it’s fine, right?”

Kojou suggested this in a flash. Yukina hastily countered him.

“No, senpai, you can’t.”

“Why not?!”

“First of all, calm down, Fourth Primogenitor boy. It is as Yukina says.”

Curled up on Koyomi Shizuka’s lap, the black cat admonished Kojou with a strong tone of voice.

“Even you, Professor Kitty…?! But why…?”

“Are you really going to fight the Second Primogenitor with your body in such a liminal state? Are you planning to have your Beast Vassals run amok in record time so you can kick off a fun little banquet for everyone?”

“Why you…!”

Kojou’s words caught in his throat as he ruefully clenched his fist.

Since all the primogenitors were on the same island, his Beast Vassals were on yellow alert. If he engaged the Second Primogenitor in actual combat on top of that, they’d probably go berserk immediately, just like Yukari had said. Even though Avrora had awakened and fallen into peril, Kojou was in no condition to go rescue her.

“It’s all right.”

As if to give courage to her anxious friend, Yukina spoke that declaration loud and clear.

“Himeragi?”

“I’ll go to Miss Avrora. Isn’t that right, Master?”

She locked her gaze on the black cat as she directed her question toward her. Yukari hesitated from what seemed like internal conflict for an instant before giving a painful nod.

“Hey, wait up. I can’t let Yukina go all by herself, even if I’m like thi…”

“No, it’s better if I go alone. That way, I’ll be able to infiltrate Island East without the Second Primogenitor noticing, and we won’t have to worry about you running amok.”

Yukina firmly rejected Kojou’s pessimism.

“If there’s anything to worry about, it’s whether you’ll lay a hand upon one of the other girls while she leaves you behind.”

The black cat cracked irresponsible frivolities. “Oh, shaddap,” growled Kojou, twisting his lips.

“You need not be concerned for Yukina Himeragi, Fourth Primogenitor. As a Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency, my top priority is halting the large-scale sorcerous disaster known as the Blazing Banquet.”

Koyomi Shizuka spoke in a businesslike tone that made it difficult to read her emotions.

“But…!”

“Besides, have you perchance forgotten? She wields a Schneewaltzer, one of our secret weapons—a purifying spear that can destroy even a primogenitor.”

Kojou sighed deeply as one of the Three Saints of the Lion King Agency glared at him.

What Shizuka had just said was equivalent to ordering Yukina to destroy the Second Primogenitor should it prove necessary. Though exceedingly reckless, it was undeniable that no human being other than Yukina wielding Snowdrift Wolf could make it happen. She was the only one with a shot at saving Shio and Avrora.

“Got it… I’m counting on you, Himeragi.”

Kojou spoke with a tone tinged with chagrin.

“Yes. Leave it to me. Do you know Hikawa’s current location?”

Nodding enthusiastically, Yukina turned to face the black cat once more.

Thanks to the Electoral War, Yukina and company couldn’t use Shio’s smartphone GPS data. Plus, it would be difficult for Shio and Avrora to convey their whereabouts to everyone while on the lam.

The only other option was to use a remote viewing via ritual spell or a large number of shikigami to seek them out, but Yukina was ill versed in complex ritual spells. She was a close-range anti-demon combat specialist, a Sword Shaman, through and through.

“No need to worry about that. Once you arrive in Island East, a certain individual will serve as your guide.”

Koyomi Shizuka’s statement was rather evasive. It felt less like she was trying to cause drama and more like conveying the person’s name would make her blush. The information this individual had provided was probably what had allowed Yukari and Koyomi to grasp Shio’s location in the first place.

The next moment, Shizuka moved her wheelchair forward just a little, taking Yukina’s right hand as she stood still.

“…Lady Shizuka?” Yukina asked back in surprise. The wounded woman, head of the Three Saints of the Lion King Agency, continued to grasp Yukina’s hand, her eyes closed as if in prayer.

“Yukina Himeragi, please do not forget. Peer not into the future. Slice it open with thine own hands.”

“Y-yes.”

Flustered by the words of encouragement flooding toward her, Yukina nodded deeply, her expression tense. Finally, the woman pulled back from her hand, whereupon Yukina bowed to her.

“Himeragi.”

When Yukina moved to leave the patient room and head off to Shio and Avrora, Kojou called her to a halt without thinking.

The taut look on her profile had made him sense an unusual, disquieting aura about her.

“I am heading out, senpai… Sorry.”

Looking back, she awkwardly smiled before setting off into a sprint as if to flee the scene.

He watched as she left, feeling worried for no tangible reason.