Strike the Blood - Volume 22 - Chapter 3.2

2

The elevator Yukina was in quietly descended. Inside the cramped cage were Yukina, Natsuki, and Yukari Endou’s black cat familiar.

It couldn’t have been just Yukina’s imagination that the atmosphere felt weighty and oppressive. This was the underwater nineteenth stratum of Keystone Gate. The exterior water pressure had to already be near five atmospheres’ worth.

The elevator reached the bottom and the door opened.

In front, she could see a bulwark resembling a vault door of unbelievable thickness. It had multiple, highly detailed barriers stretched across its surface. To an Attack Mage like Yukina, just gazing at it made her breathing feel labored.

Four heavily armed guardsmen stood before the barriers. They had brought a fair number of security pods to stand alongside them. Noticing Yukina and company’s approach, they trained their guns all at once. These were short military machine guns, probably loaded with antidemon silver iridium alloy rounds.

“Halt! Halt right now! Who goes there?!”

The guardsman warned them in a voice filled with hostility. They were guarding the most vital section of Itogami Island. The group had unconditional permission to fire on anyone approaching without permission.

The guardsmen didn’t pull the trigger because they saw Natsuki walking out of the elevator.

“…Attack Mage Minamiya? What are you doing here…?”

Bewildered expressions came over the guardsmen. Natsuki was a legendary Attack Mage, practically a celebrity, and also worked as the Island Guard’s tactics instructor. Small wonder they were incapable of pegging her as a foe.

“Guard detail for the keystone’s isolation bulwark, I take it.”

Natsuki walked toward the bulwark as she posed that question.

When the perplexed guardsmen nodded, she shot them a cold smile.

“Good work. Good night.”

Swinging her still-folded fan without warning, she caused the air around her to distort, creating a shockwave that struck the guardsmen. The guardsmen were unable to even cry out as she blew them away. The shaking went straight to their brains, so they probably didn’t understand what was going on from start to finish.

Detecting an abnormality, the security pods instantly shifted to combat mode.

Pure white arrows of light mercilessly assailed them.

This was spirit archery, a high-level spell employed for sniping. Yukari’s black cat familiar employed this to fire sixteen arrows simultaneously. The sixteen security pods were destroyed in a single instant, their functions completely coming to a halt.

They’d toyed with the Island Guard’s finest as if they were children. Yukina looked completely beside herself as she watched the two masters utterly crushing their opposition.

“Now then, it is your turn, Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency.”

Natsuki turned toward Yukina and spoke with the calm tone of one reading off a death sentence.

“Are we really…destroying Itogami Island?”

Yukina asked back in a cracked voice.

What Natsuki and company were trying to do was to invade Keystone Gate’s lowest stratum and destroy the keystone within. With the connector for Itogami Island’s gigafloats destroyed, they would lose their balance and split off or collide, holding on for no more than half a day before sinking. The city known as Itogami Island would vanish without a trace.

“I believe we’ve been over that already?”

Natsuki sighed as she glared at the hesitant Yukina.

“Relax. The situation isn’t like when that Lotharingian Armed Apostle went on a rampage here. New Itogami Island is in the surrounding sea. Even if this island sinks, the residents have plenty of time to evacuate.”

“B…but…!”

“Hurry, Yukina Himeragi. If MAR brings Beast Vassal Warheads out of Nod, it will only increase the number of dead.”

“Khh…!”

Yukina bit her lip and clenched her spear.

If Itogami Island was gone, the gate to Nod appearing in the sky above the island would be gone, too. Shahryar Ren would lose his way to return to that world, so the number of Beast Vassal Warheads brought from Nod would not increase. As a result, the number of people potentially sacrificed in conflict would likely diminish dramatically. All Yukina had to do was destroy Itogami Island—

“Snowdrift Wolf…!”

Yukina thrust her spear into the barriers covering the bulwark. Letting up a high-pitched sound like the echo of a girl’s scream, the multilayered barriers were torn asunder without any resistance.

“Well done. I’ll teleport us to the lowest level.”

Natsuki nodded emotionlessly as she spoke.

Before Natsuki, master of spatial control magic, resilient metal bulwarks and corridors laid out in labyrinth-like manners were utterly meaningless. The instant the barrier vanished from the corridors, there was no longer any way to prevent her intrusion.

The scenery around them rippled, and they instantly arrived at Keystone Gate’s lowest stratum, some two hundred and twenty meters below sea level.

This was a prison at the seafloor beyond the reach of light. Yukina’s eardrums pleaded in pain from the severe difference in atmospheric pressure.

The stout exterior wall designed to resist water pressure was shaped like a cylinder.

The four wire cables stretching toward the exterior walls each fastened onto one of the main four Gigafloats to East, West, North, and South. Each cable was attached to the metal anchor inside an enormous winch.

The center of this anchor was pierced by a single stone pillar.

This was the keystone supporting several million tons of force to keep Itogami Island connected—this stone pillar, not even a meter in diameter, was Itogami Island’s Achilles’ heel.

“So this is the keystone’s new barrier…”

Yukina was a little overwhelmed as she gazed up at the spiraling barrier enveloping the anchor.

Once upon a time, the center of the keystone employed the remains of a Saint, a holy relic of the Western European Church. The miracle wrought by the holy relic literally held up the Demon Sanctuary of Itogami Island.

The assault by Lotharingian Armed Apostle Rudolf Eustach had exposed this dark side of Itogami Island. Furthermore, advances in sorcerous technology in recent years had made it possible to produce a keystone of sufficient strength without relying upon the holy relic’s miracle.

Half a year after that incident, the holy relic had been returned to the Western European Church, swapped with Itogami Island’s new keystone. This was the rainbow-colored stone pillar before Yukina’s eyes.

Compared to others Yukina had seen in her life, the barrier enveloping the stone pillar was built with overwhelming beauty and simplicity. It was actually a crystallized monolithic barrier.

Resembling a finely polished gemstone, this special barrier possessed high strength and endurance. This object was the pinnacle of sorcerous engineering, of which only a handful of successes existed in the entire world.

“Even the Order of the End was not able to lay a hand on Itogami Island’s most fortified area. Even my Guardian cannot destroy this. It is supposedly designed so that it can resist attacks by the Fourth Primogenitor’s Beast Vassals, at least in theory.”

Natsuki calmly explained. The resilient barrier strengthened for the sake of turning it into a powerful keystone also served as an absolute bulwark protecting it from external attack.

Even if someone managed to get to Keystone Gate’s lowest stratum, there was no physical method with which to destroy the keystone.

“But your spear is the one exception, Yukina Himeragi. The Schneewaltzer’s Divine Oscillation Effect able to rend any barrier can destroy this bulwark.”

Natsuki thrust this cruel fact onto Yukina. Only Yukina could destroy the keystone. In other words, Yukina herself had to decide whether or not Itogami Island sank.

“…I…must…”

Yukina’s hands, gripping her spear, trembled.

Closing her eyes, she saw the scenery of Itogami Island in the back of her mind. The scent of the sea breeze, the sounds of the seagulls, the white waves, the dazzling rays of the sun—it was a city where demonkind and humanity lived side by side. Yukina’s memories of Itogami Island always included a certain boy within them.

“Yukina Himeragi. That is enough. You have done well.”

While Yukina was frozen in place, she heard a delicate, gentle voice from behind.

Turning in surprise, Yukina saw a young woman in a wheelchair.

Her hair was in an unadorned triple braid and she wore painfully plain glasses. Her face was average, to the point where Yukina would forget it the instant she averted her eyes, yet the spiritual essence enveloping the girl’s entire body was vivid and ferocious.

“Lady…Koyomi Shizuka…”

In a daze, Yukina spoke the name of the head of the Three Saints of the Lion King Agency.

“If you cannot decide, no matter what, then please hand me the spear. Even if it is not as much as you, I, too, love Itogami Island—therefore, allow me to bear the sin of sinking this island.”

Still in the wheelchair, Koyomi Shizuka approached Yukina and extended her right hand toward Yukina. She, possessor of an extreme level of spiritual energy, could wield Snowdrift Wolf just like Yukina. Once, she’d actually wielded Snowdrift Wolf to crush Kojou Akatsuki.

If Yukina handed Snowdrift Wolf to her, it probably would be easier. Maybe it would let her walk away without the guilt of destroying Itogami Island weighing on her conscience.

Yukina, however, shook her head, strongly gripping her spear anew.

“Thank you very much for your consideration. This is my duty, however.”

Turning her back to Shizuka and the others once more, Yukina faced the keystone. The spiritual energy flowing into the silver-colored spear made it emit the pale glow of the Divine Oscillation Effect. All she had to do was rend the barrier before her eyes, and all would be over.

The battle with the Devas, her mission to be Kojou Akatsuki’s watcher, everything—

“I am sorry, senpai… I am sorry, everyone…!”

Violently shaking her head as she wiped away her tears, Yukina regulated her breathing. Poising the light-imbued silvery spear, she thrust it toward the center of the barrier.

That very moment, she heard the powerful echo of the voice of a boy who shouldn’t have been there.

“Do it, Astarte!”

“—Accept.”

“…?!!”

Yukina exclaimed as a rose-colored radiance suddenly buried her field of vision.

The tip of the silver-colored spear Yukina had thrust forward was halted by a giant wing just short of touching the barrier. No, this was no wing—it was a giant arm, the right arm of a humanoid Beast Vassal enveloped in the same Divine Oscillation Effect that Snowdrift Wolf employed.

“Execute, Rhododactylos—”

The small homunculus girl appearing out of thin air stood before Yukina enveloped in her own summoned Beast Vassal. The sight severely shook Yukina.

Once upon a time, Yukina had witnessed the same sight in the same place, yet their positions had been reversed.

Back then, Yukina had protected the keystone when Astarte had tried to destroy it. Now Astarte, as an ally of Kojou Akatsuki, was trying to stop Yukina—

“Sorry, Natsuki. This time I’m getting in your way.”

A ferocious smile came over Kojou as the Beast Vassal–enveloped Astarte stood behind him.

Yukina was frozen, unable to move. The very last person in the world she wanted to witness her trying to sink Itogami Island had appeared with no warning. Her mind had gone blank. She had no idea what to do. She felt like she was having a nightmare.

“Kojou Akatsuki…why are you here?”

Natsuki inquired in the silent Yukina’s stead. Kojou seemed amused as he curled up the corners of his lips.

“Why? I’m the ruler of Itogami Island, y’know? It’s only right that I protect this island, even if it makes me the enemy of the world.”

“So Kirasaka let it slip?”

Koyomi Shizuka checked with a gentle tone. For some reason, her faintly anger-tinged voice made Kojou grimace with a conflicted look.

“Forgive her, ’kay? She got a big helping of Yume’s mind control.”

“…Yume Eguchi, Witch of the Night, you say?”

Koyomi Shizuka sighed sullenly. Yume Eguchi was the World’s Mightiest Succubus, able to bring even Leviathan, Weapon of the Gods, under her control. Even if Sayaka was a Shamanic War Dancer of the Lion King Agency, she couldn’t resist if Yume got serious, even less when Sayaka already had a guilty conscience.

“That girl is simply too kind. I had her keep watch over the lad because I thought her unsuited for this mission, but that seems to have backfired.”

Yukari Endou borrowed her familiar’s tongue to grumble offhandedly. To Yukina, Yukari’s words sounded like she was blaming herself. Precisely because Sayaka wasn’t suited for it, the duty fell to Yukari to fulfill in Sayaka’s place.

“—But you coming here doesn’t change the bottom line.”

Natsuki Minamiya solemnly pushed the still-stunned Yukina aside and stood before Kojou. The ghastly aura emitted by her entire body made Kojou reflexively go on guard.

“We will destroy the keystone. Or do you really think your abilities are enough to stop us?”

Not waiting for the answer to her own question, Natsuki began her attacks. Her target was not Kojou but rested behind him—Astarte, enveloped by her humanoid Beast Vassal.

Silver-colored chains spewing from midair assailed Astarte from four directions, wrapping her tight. These chains were Natsuki’s divine sorcerous devices known as Drómi. These stout chains, able to bind even the Beast Vassals of the Fourth Primogenitor, rendered Astarte immobile.

“Sword Shaman! Destroy the keystone while you have the chance!”

Natsuki shouted at Yukina. Astarte’s humanoid Beast Vassal bearing the same ability was the only thing that could block Snowdrift Wolf’s Divine Oscillation Effect. Now that her humanoid Beast Vassal was pinned in place, Yukina could destroy the keystone with ease.

“Himeragi, don’t! …Whoa there?!”

When Yukina hoisted her spear, Kojou nervously leaped out before her, but countless arrows of light poured down straight at Kojou. It was Yukari Endou’s Spirit Archery.

Yukina turned her eyes away from Kojou as he fled in panic and faced the keystone. Kojou’s black Beast Vassals were too powerful for him to freely employ them in such a narrow space. Yukina, Kojou Akatsuki’s watcher, knew this better than anyone. Borrowing the black cat’s body, Yukari was able to exhibit only half of her real potential, but she was more than a match for Kojou under these conditions.

“Figures it’s too tough to take all of you at once…!”

Kojou commented with an anguished expression, probably grasping that fact for himself. Responding to his complaint was a carefree voice with a laugh tossed in.

“Yeah, not with just Kojou and Astarte.”

“—?!!”

Yukina’s field of vision swayed like a ripple, a precursor of teleportation magic. She instantly moved back. A faceless knight construct clad in rusty blue armor appeared before her. This was the devil’s familiar that protected Yuuma Tokoyogi.

“Miss Yuuma?!”

A tall, slender girl wearing a sports brand parka landed in front of the keystone. Her blue knight construct attended behind her.

“Thanks a bunch, Himeragi. With the bulwark’s barrier destroyed, I could jump straight down here. Even I’d get tired running down forty flights of emergency stairs.”

Yuuma Tokoyogi gave Yukina a friendly smile.

Yukina groaned ghh, her voice caught in her throat.

Keystone Gate’s isolation section was blocked off by a powerful barrier that made intrusion via teleport impossible. Yukina was the invader who’d destroyed that barrier. Yuuma, bearing the same witch powers as Natsuki, was able to jump straight to Keystone Gate’s lowest stratum herself as a result. Sending Kojou and Astarte into that chamber had been Yuuma’s work.

“Le Bleu—!”

Yuuma ordered her own Guardian to attack. The blue knight construct turned its sword not toward Yukina, but to the chains binding Astarte’s Beast Vassal.

A swaying in space itself transferred to the chains, faintly loosening the Beast Vassal’s bindings. Astarte did not let her chance slip, shaking off Natsuki’s chains with brute force.

“Go, Sword Shaman!”

Natsuki shot out fresh chains in an attempt to seal Astarte’s movements once more, but Yuuma’s Guardian beat all of them out of the air. None reached Astarte.

Natsuki’s real goal wasn’t to bind Astarte, though—it was to slow her down. The chains obstructed Astarte’s field of vision, delaying her motion by a single instant. During this time, Yukina raced through the gap between the Beast Vassal’s legs.

“—Snowdrift Wolf!”

“I will not allow it!”

When Yukina’s spear thrust toward the keystone, it bounced back with a fierce shower of sparks. A high-pitched sound of two metallic objects clashing accompanied the numbness in Yukina’s arms. Hiding in the shadow of the Beast Vassal, a white-haired ogre had halted Yukina’s attack with her crimson long sword.

“Shizuri Kasugaya Castiella…!”

“I will not allow it, Yukina Himeragi. As a Paladin of Gisella…no, as a survivor of the lost Demon Sanctuary of Iroise, I will not permit you to sink Itogami Island!”

“Khhh…!”

Yukina was wobbling from losing her balance when Shizuri thrust her shoulder forward. Bracing for the ogre’s angry charge, Yukina was blown into the air. She instantly back-flipped on one hand a few times to put distance between them, but this ended up putting her far from the keystone.

When Yukina entered a combat stance once more, Shizuri poised her long sword in turn. The undulating flame-like blade was thrusting forward, a stance specialized for attack—the basic stance of a paladin.

“Besides, I always did want to pay you back. Even if I was brainwashed and controlled at the time, I wish to return in kind the unsightly, humiliating way you defeated me. This is our rematch!”

As she glared provocatively at Yukina, a ferocious smile came over Shizuri. Overwhelmed by that resolute gaze, Yukina strongly clenched her jaw.