Strike the Blood - Volume 8 - Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE 

BLOOD SERVANT 

1 

In the first week of December, a sense of tepid boredom had taken hold of the classroom. 

It was the Monday directly following the conclusion of Itogami Island’s greatest home-grown celebration, the Harrowing Festival. After several days of costume parades, stage events, dancing girls on floats, and part-time jobs, many of the students were burned out. 

Kojou, sitting among such classmates, remained in solitary contemplation with an oddly grave expression. Noticing this, Asagi Aiba tilted her head with a suspicious look and leaned closer. 

“What’s wrong? Your face is all serious for once.” 

“Ahh, Asagi?” 

Something really did seem to be eating at Kojou, and Asagi guardedly raised an eyebrow. 

“…Kojou?” 

“I guess you’re the only one I can count on. I have a little favor to ask you… Are you free after school?” 

“Wh-what? Out of the blue?” 

Asagi, sitting in the seat in front of Kojou, smiled jokingly. She seemed tense as she listened carefully for his response. With a sober look, Kojou drew his face closer and whispered in a low voice, “I want a bra. I’ll pay, of course.” 

After a moment’s silence, Asagi’s long eyelashes fluttered as her eyes blinked wide. 

“…Huh?” 

The next moment, Kojou’s vision shuddered, accompanied by a dull whump. Asagi’s straight punch, delivered immediately without so much as a wind-up, slammed straight into the bridge of Kojou’s nose. 

Kojou, unable to withstand the pain, arched back and pressed a hand to his face. 

“That hurt! Why’d you slug me all of a sudden?!” 

“Why do I have to sell you a bra?! Just who do you think I am?!” Asagi shouted, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. 

Hearing her cry, every boy in the class began murmuring all at once. 

Thanks to her blunt and candid manner of expression, Asagi was often ridiculed as having no sex appeal, but her handsome face meant she had numerous secret, devoted fans. Several of them carelessly exclaimed, “Asagi’s bra?!” “Would you sell it to me?!” and “I-I’d rather have your panties!” to which Asagi shouted: 

“Like hell!!” 

Kojou pressed on the tip of his nose as he excused himself in an earnest voice. 

“Who’d want you to hand over your bra? I wanted to meet you later and ask you to go shopping for women’s underwear with me.” 

Asagi continued to glare at Kojou with a deeply suspicious look. 

“What the hell for?” 

“Sorry, but I can’t do it alone. Nagisa still can’t be out and about, so please?” 

Kojou deeply bowed his head. Of course, he needed underwear for Avrora. Unlike panties, something you could buy at a convenience store, measuring her for a bra was a difficult proposition. Kojou didn’t even know how to properly measure her, and bringing Avrora into an underwear store by himself presented its own high hurdles. Sending Avrora, a shy girl who didn’t know how to conduct herself, to shop on her own was out of the question. 

So for those reasons, Avrora was remaining bra-less for the time being, but Itogami Island’s everlasting summer necessitated dressing light, which led straight to the real problem: It was far too provocative for a healthy middle school boy like Kojou. In addition, he’d already firmly established that he couldn’t rely on Veldiana’s taste in clothes. By process of elimination, his only way to resolve the dilemma was to seek Asagi’s help. 

“It’s not Nagisa who asked? Who’s it for, then?” 

“Ahh…for a vampire I got to know just lately. She needs to buy a few changes of clothes.” 

Kojou left out the part about her being an unregistered demon, but otherwise replied honestly. But Asagi immediately filled in the blanks. 

“A girl from off the island? So special reasons?” 

“I suppose so. There’s a whole lot of things going on—some simple, some complicated.” 

Kojou grimaced as he replied in a flippant tone. Naturally, he wasn’t dumb enough to include that she might be a candidate to become the Fourth Primogenitor. 

Hmm, Asagi thought, putting a finger to her lips, pondering the matter. 

“So she’s the reason you’ve been busy lately?” 

“More or less. Somehow I got forced into looking after her.” 

“Is the girl cute?” 

“I suppose so… I guess she’s more odd than cute, though.” 

Kojou replied to Asagi’s nonchalant inquiry with honesty. From her outward appearance alone, Avrora would seem to be the picture of a fairy, but she had a few loose screws even without the amnesia. 

“Well, Asagi, if you can’t do it, I’ll have to try someone else, like one of the juniors in the girls’ basketball club. Sorry for asking a weird favor.” 

“Wait, you! I never said I wouldn’t do it!!” 

Kojou was starting to rise out of his chair when Asagi nabbed him by the wrist. 

“More importantly, you are definitely bringing that vampire girl along.” 

“…Guess I do have to bring her, huh?” 

Kojou was a little hesitant to accept Asagi’s suggestion. He felt more than a little nervous about Avrora meeting Asagi face-to-face, but… 

“Of course not. We can’t exactly measure her sizes without her!” 

“Ahh, yeah. I guess there’s that, too…” 

“Good grief…” Asagi exhaled with an exasperated look. 

“Geez, what a bother,” Kojou added quickly. Of course, he couldn’t exactly say something like, not like Avrora’s breasts are gonna get me excited anyway. 

That was when Motoki Yaze, half-listening to the discussion, interjected. 

“Heya, sounds like you’ve havin’ a fun conversation. Kojou’s gonna introduce a girl to us?” 

“I don’t really mind introducing her, but…” 

Kojou concurred languidly. He felt like a guy at least as overbearing as Yaze would be essential if Avrora was going to overcome her timid thought process. 

“Huh? Seriously?” 

A look of surprise came over Yaze; perhaps he never thought Kojou would grant permission so easily. His childhood friend Asagi grinned at him, on the verge of laughter as she said, “But of course. You can afford the latest girls’ fashions in Western clothes, can’t you, Motoki?” 

“…Huh?” 

“I see, that’s a big help.” 

Kojou, playing along with Asagi’s suggestion, nodded with a serious expression. 

As a matter of fact, Kojou was starting to get anxious about being able to pay for Avrora’s change of clothes with his meager finances. He was genuinely grateful that they’d be working with a larger budget. 

However, just as Kojou let his guard down, Asagi shifted a hostile glance in his direction. 

“Don’t talk like it isn’t your problem, Kojou,” she said. “You are definitely paying me back for this. A-after all, this time you have m-me going shopping with you…!” 

Asagi’s clumsy invitation to Kojou drew an ooh and a look of admiration from Yaze. The girls around them waited with bated breath and sparkling eyes for Kojou’s reaction. 

“Really…?” 

But Kojou, the center of their attention, did not toss them a single bone this time. The color of his face was worsening as he earnestly said, “Oh yeah, you’ve been pestering me to take you to this fried chicken place on Island East…” 

“Yeah, that! They have a sale until this weekend, double the size for the same price!” 

“All right, all right. I’ll take you there this time,” Kojou said and limply slumped onto his desk. 

Asagi somehow looked satisfied, as if she was telling herself, I think I did pretty good by my standards. All the girls in class watched the two, mentally shouting, Fried chicken?! 

“They really are hopeless.” Yaze sighed heavily. 

That autumn day, the middle school seniors spent their time in brief, transient peace— 

2 

“Welcome back, Master.” 

So spoke Veldiana, wearing a black, gothic-style maid outfit, elegantly bowing her head at the entrance to a darkly lit, Western-style establishment. The corners of her lips, smeared with red rouge, curled up, making a show of her sharp canine teeth as if to awe someone. But… 

“Wroooong!” 

“Eeep!” 

Veldiana jumped in surprise as a loud voice suddenly shouted at her. 

A middle-aged, broad-shouldered man stood behind Veldiana. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a high-collared mantle over it. A demon registration bracelet glinted on his left wrist. He was an Old Guard vampire with greater status than Veldiana. He was also the proprietor of Hell Demon House—a demon café just opening on Itogami Island. 

The proprietor glared at the frightened Veldiana with crimson eyes as he spoke in a high-pitched voice. 

“That’s just wrong, Caruana baby. This isn’t a maid café. Your job is to make all your fans happy to have come all the way to a Demon Sanctuary just to see you. Understand?” 

“Y-yes, I’m very sorry. But how do I actually do that…?” 

Veldiana continued holding a tray as she wiped the sweat from her brow. 

To Veldiana, raised with a silver spoon in her mouth, greeting customers was uncharted territory. However, with nothing special in the way of education or work experience, she inevitably gravitated to a place of employment that would make use of her sex appeal. 

“Like this. Pay close attention.” 

As a perplexed Veldiana looked on, the proprietor began a mock performance. With a flourish of his black mantle, he adopted a pose like that of a Kabuki actor, laughing haughtily as he threateningly proclaimed, “Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! Pathetic little lambs, weeelcome to this house of terror-stained tragedy. Present your lifeblood before the Great King of Darkness! Do so, and thy wishes shall be granted!” 

The demonstration by the high-ranking vampire proprietor drew a shower of fervent oooh’s from the customers inside the establishment. Cameras flashed here and there as applause and shouts of admiration rose from the crowd. 

“Err…am I to use a line like that when taking customers’ orders…?” 

Veldiana’s face twitched. She’d heard that the job required her to play a feudalistic demon lord from the Dark Ages, but it was more distressing than she had expected. It was far worse than being a circus sideshow. 

“That’s right. I’ll leave the rest to you, ’kay? See there, new customers are coming in right now.” 

For some reason, the proprietor finished his pep talk with a more feminine tone and went back toward the kitchen. 

“…Why must a daughter of Caruana such as I…suffer such disgrace…!” 

A forlorn smile came over Veldiana as she shuddered from the humiliation. That very moment, the restaurant’s front door opened, and a group of four students entered. 

I just need to get it done, thought Veldiana as she carefully picked up silver knives from the cutlery station, reaching for five and holding them stylishly in her hand. She spun around quickly with a flutter of her skirt, cackling shrilly at the dumbfounded customers. 

“F…fwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! Pathetic little lambs, welcome to this house of t-terror-stained tragedy!” 

“Eeek?!” 

Veldiana’s ears detected the frail lament of a frightened girl. For some reason, she felt like she’d heard that voice before. 

“…Eeek?” 

Veldiana was frozen in place as a small-statured, blond vampire girl and a middle school boy carrying department store paper bags in both hands stood before her. 

“Ah…hiya,” Kojou said to Veldiana with an awkward, amiable smile and a nod. 

Avrora hid behind Kojou’s back, squirming as her entire body trembled. 

A girl who seemed to be a friend of Kojou Akatsuki cocked her head to the side as she stared at Veldiana with a curious look. She was a middle schooler with elegant features and wearing fashionable clothing. 

“What? Some acquaintance of yours, Kojou?” 

“…Kojou?! What are you doing here…?!” 

In her panic, Veldiana unwittingly dropped the knives. Kojou managed to catch the cutlery a split-second before it hit the floor. 

“Ah…we’re in the middle of shopping, Vel. Clothes and stuff. Avrora said she wanted to see where you were working, so…” 

“Wh… wh…” 

Veldiana, in danger of going into the red, had begun the part-time job some two weeks prior. After working as a dishwasher while she learned the ins and outs, she’d finally been issued a uniform the day before. The previous night, she had bragged to Avrora all about it, with the inevitable result that others witnessed Veldiana, no longer the owner of a Kaleid Blood, working as an entry-level employee at a part-time job. 

Avrora looked completely terrified as she weakly murmured, “H-house of tragedy…?!” 

Apparently, pure as she was, Avrora seriously believed what Veldiana had spoken. Veldiana desperately attempted to mollify the teary-eyed girl. 

“N-no! This is a demon café catering to tourists… I mean, it’s all a made-up performance!” 

Hearing Veldiana break the mood inside his establishment, the proprietor marched right over, radiating bloodlust. His unfaltering smile was the scariest of all. 

“…Oh, Caruana, hon?” 

“Er…” 

Cowed by the pressure coming from the proprietor, Veldiana’s face froze stiff. 

“N-no, I wasn’t— This is… There are complicated circumstances that…!” 

“Be silent. Guide the lambs to the altar of sacrifice and be quick about it!” 

“Eh?! Ah, yes… Please, come this way!” 

Veldiana was halfway to tears as she led Kojou and the others to their seats. Avrora walked very gingerly, thoroughly intimidated by the restaurant’s atmosphere, but Kojou’s backup apparently was keeping her fear under control. 

Why is this happening to me? thought Veldiana with a sigh as she leaned against a wall. 

A middle school boy wearing headphones around his neck dropped by to whisper to her—Motoki Yaze. 

“Man, you were really into that earlier, Vel. You’re a true noble. That outfit looks really good on you, too.” 

“Motoki…why you…!” 

Yaze wore a teasing smile as Veldiana glared back at him, sulking. 

Judging from Yaze’s demeanor, he’d known where she had been working from the start. Having said that, he didn’t seem to be mocking Veldiana for taking a part-time job. If anything, Yaze was relieved that the young former noblewoman vampire was getting used to Itogami Island life. 

“Well, it’s a good thing you found a job, isn’t it? Lately, it’s been tough to find work in this Demon Sanctuary. You must’ve gotten a formal visa, huh?” 

“Well, yes…” 

Veldiana confirmed Yaze’s assumption with a bitter expression. 

She’d been focused on obtaining the twelfth Kaleid Blood, thinking it would be sufficient to avenge her father and older sister. Once Avrora awakened as the Fourth Primogenitor, she would become a minister in a Dominion under Avrora’s rule, re-establishing the House of Caruana. That was the future Veldiana had mapped out in her mind. 

But it was not to be. Avrora had not awakened as the true Fourth Primogenitor, nor had the Lion King Agency formally recognized her as Elector. Indeed, her funds for day-to-day living were approaching a desperately low level; as a result, she was working part-time day in and day out. 

Veldiana did not feel like this was misfortune. Even she could tell she was getting used to this life a little more every day. However, she felt some guilt—that the sole survivor of the House of Caruana could find solace in such a lifestyle… 

“But no. I did not come to this Demon Sanctuary for such a thing.” 

Veldiana murmured it as if trying to make excuses to herself. 

Surely there was no way Motoki Yaze could have heard her, but she saw him turn his head. Veldiana pretended not to notice his concerned look; then she departed, as if fleeing from him. 

3 

Avrora ordered something referred to on the menu as “The Forbidden Fruit.” Behind the pretentious name was a fairly ordinary pancake. Regardless, it looked tasty, and Avrora, seeing one for the first time, was initially bewildered. She seemed ready to take the pat of butter resting atop it and wolf it down whole when Kojou stopped her. 

“No. That’s not how you eat this kind of dish.” 

“…Um?” 

“Like this. You know how to use a fork and a knife, right?” 

“I-indeed.” 

Kojou looked like he was taking care of a little girl as he cut up Avrora’s pancake. Then, he took the seal off the chocolate pen that had come with it. 

“Then, you use this, like so…” 

“Ohhh!” 

Avrora’s eyes glittered with excitement when she saw that Kojou had clumsily drawn a cat on the surface of the pancake. Avrora promptly snatched the chocolate pen from Kojou’s hand and immediately began copying him with her own scribbles. Kojou felt like a parent as he watched her. 

Asagi had puffed her cheeks, blowing bubbles into her juice as she watched Kojou and Avrora’s familiar behavior. 

Avrora finally tired of playing and took a sip from her hot coffee. That instant, her fairylike face twisted in forlorn despair. 

“O…ohhh… ’tis Medea’s black curse of vengeance…!” 

Daa, she gurgled, coffee dribbling from her lips as Avrora writhed in disgust. She’d said she’d drink the same thing Kojou was having, but apparently she didn’t actually know what coffee tasted like. 

“You all right, Avrora…? Sheesh, that’s what you get for forcing yourself to drink that.” 

Goodness, Kojou thought, wiping the spilled coffee before heading to get a replacement. He bought a melon soda and came right back. 

“Here, this is for you.” 

“Uu…” 

For a while, Avrora gazed guardedly at the artificially dyed green liquid, but finally, she meekly brought the glass to her lips and opened her eyes in surprise. 

“Supreme in taste! Like the nectar of Amrita?!” 

Avrora, deeply moved by the carbonated drink, had moist eyes as she drank the glass of melon soda dry in one go. She audibly sipped on the straw, regretful that there was no more, when she made a rather cute hiccup. Looking at her, you’d never think she was a prototype for the World’s Mightiest Vampire. 

She wanted seconds, so Kojou went back to the bar for more. 

“Hmph. You underestimate me, Avrora. For an encore, I’ll do…this!” 

Kojou proudly puffed his chest out as he mixed two kinds of drinks together. 

“A vortex of chaos has erupted…!” 

Avrora’s breath caught at the mixing of a light yogurty drink with black cola. Asagi gazed distantly at their kindergarten-level antics as she let out a sigh of apparent displeasure. 

“Well, the girl is cute.” 

Though she had a sulky expression on her face, Asagi’s voice was even. 

Objectively speaking, Avrora was without doubt a very pretty girl. Her manner of speech might have been pompous, but her innocent personality, lacking any ill will whatsoever, made her easy to like. She seemed sheltered to the point you doubted she was from modern times, but she adapted well and was eager to learn. She could understand why Kojou was fussing over her for every little thing. 

As if deliberately pushing the nervous Asagi into a corner, Yaze said, “It’s a little unfair for her to be a vampire with looks like that. You’d seriously think she was a fairy.” 

Asagi reflexively soured and said, “B-but vampires age slowly, don’t they?” 

“That’s true, but Kojou does have something of a sister complex.” 

“S-so he’s really—?” 

Asagi took Yaze’s meaningful murmur at face value. It was a fact that Kojou doted on his little sister, probably because his parents were absent and Nagisa was sick. Rather than protective, it was probably more accurate to call him indulgent. 

“Well, I understand how he feels. Nagisa’s cute, after all. Come to think of it, this Avrora girl feels a little like her. They’re about the same height, too.” 

Asagi mumbled inaudibly to herself, furrowing her eyebrows at Yaze’s insensitive comment. He urgently waved a hand in her direction, perhaps picking up the negative energy she was radiating. 

“Ah, er, I don’t mean to put you down in the dumps. After all, you beat her no contest on breast size. You’ll just have to pound into Kojou that when it comes to a girl’s tits, bigger is better.” 

“Oh, shut up! I’m not in the dumps at all!” Asagi said and slapped the side of her childhood friend’s face. Of course, Avrora didn’t come close to Asagi when it came to style, but Asagi was still just a middle schooler. It wasn’t like she was a well-endowed woman, either. 

“But that girl feels a little strange somehow, doesn’t she?” Asagi said, resting her chin in her palm as she gazed at Avrora’s profile. 

“Yeah,” agreed Yaze. 

“Kojou said she lost her memory?” 

“Yeah, maybe that’s the reason why she feels a little off, like what’s on the inside and the outside don’t exactly match up. It’s like playing a retro video game from thirty years ago on a Gigafloat Management Corporation supercomputer.” 

“…I don’t get the example you just used.” 

“I’m just telling you it feels weird,” Asagi said, pursing her lips. Then she shifted her gaze back to Yaze as if suddenly remembering something. “Come to think of it, I hugged a lion cub at a zoo on the mainland, like, way back.” 

“Aha.” 

“So I was like, it really is different from a cat. The legs were much bigger and stuff.” 

“That figures.” 

Yaze didn’t seem terribly interested as he followed along. Asagi nodded to herself. 

“It does. In other words, this is like that.” 

“It’s like what?!” 

Yaze seemed out of sorts and drained of all his strength. 

“Aww, geez. Fine, just forget it.” 

Asagi, seeing that explaining was going to be a chore, vigorously waved him off. 

“Come to think of it, Kojou said the girl might be the Fourth Primogenitor, didn’t he?” 

“Yeah…the twelfth Kaleid Blood, he said.” 

Asagi spoke apathetically. She acknowledged that Kojou had said that, but it didn’t look like she believed him whatsoever. 

Certainly, Avrora looked a little different from the average vampire, but… 

Yaze and Asagi murmured respectively: 

“She doesn’t look the part.” 

“…She totally doesn’t look the part.” 

Having poured too much carbonated drink, Avrora, the subject of discussion, gazed dumbfounded at the bubbly overflow. 

“K-Kojou! The bubbles know not where to cease swelling…!” 

“Idiot, you put too much in! Don’t shake it! Don’t shake it!!” 

Avrora looked close to tears as the bubbles poured over the edge of the glass. Asagi made a strained smile as she sighed once more. 

“No way, right?” 

4 

The Fallen Dynasty was a vast, demon-ruled region in the Middle East, the Dominion ruled by Fallgazer, the Second Primogenitor. 

Its total population was twenty-five million. It had its own independent culture, a land unusually rich in alchemy and magic where demon beasts were domesticated. Thanks to trade with the east and west, it also had a thriving economy. On the other hand, tensions were high with the Sixty Great Nations of central Asia and the various cities of the Dark Continent, making it a land of precarious military balance. 

Even though it was a Dominion—a demonic autonomous region—those with demonic blood in their veins did not amount to even 2 percent, and pureblood demons were fewer still. In spite of this, only demons with a high level of combat capability were recognized as having the right to rule, and these composed the majority of the empire’s military might. 

In the empire, all the castles where members of the royal family resided were military facilities garrisoned by army units heavily reinforced with cutting-edge gear. The home castle of Iblisveil Aziz, Fifth Crown Prince of the Fallen Dynasty, was one of these military fortresses. It was a particularly crucial strategic fortress in the Caucasus region, close to the border with the Warlord’s Empire. The difficult terrain made moving large numbers of troops rather difficult, so smaller numbers of stout, highly trained soldiers were used in their stead. 

It was on a snowy December night that this Caucasus fortress sustained a surprise attack. 

“How noisy. What is it, Grandpa?” 

Iblisveil was gazing at a chessboard in his sleeping quarters when he shot a gaze of displeasure toward the aged vampire that had come rushing in. 

The giant fortress rocked dully from repeated explosions. 

“An enemy attack, Your Highness. The western gate has been destroyed.” 

“It doesn’t appear to be an invasion by the Warlord’s army… What, did my incorrigible elder sister hire mercenaries from some place?” 

“My apologies. ’Twas our intention to keep track of the movements of other royals, but…” 

As the aged vampire bowed his head, Iblisveil crushed the chess pawn in his hands and laughed. To royals such as Iblisveil, the greater menace was not from the armies of other nations but his own royal relatives. In the past, various intrigues had been set upon Iblisveil, and in turn he had wrecked each one. It was natural for him to think that one of his siblings had probably dispatched assassins against him this time as well. However… 

“Mmm. Certainly, such a clumsy bombing is not the way of my elder sister, Kishal… Any movement from forces on the Red Sea front?” 

“No, nothing in particular.” 

“I see. Very well. Either way, my elder brothers in Kharkoum do not have the courage to come and attempt to kill me. That being the case, I have another suspect in mind.” 

“Who might that be, Your Highness?” 

“I shall go greet our guests. I must show them proper courtesy.” 

Iblisveil covered himself in an extravagant crimson robe and headed toward the throne room. 

The interior of the castle was boisterous from ceaseless gunfire and sounds of explosions. He wondered if a Beast Vassal had been summoned. The overflow of demonic energy had affected the color of the sky. Amid that, he sensed a single source of vast, off-the-scale demonic power from a mighty being running wild that rivaled the Beast Vassals of the royals themselves. 

Realizing that the corridors of the castle had been destroyed, the aged vampire who had been addressed as Grandpa shouted: 

“—The castle has been breached?! What are the Royal Guards doing?!” 

With a great roar, a stone pillar supporting the ceiling collapsed, shrouding the throne room in dust. Iblisveil surveyed it all from the top of a multitiered platform. 

Iblisveil’s eyes glowed crimson as he quietly stated, “Fall back, Grandpa.” 

“Your Highness?! But—” 

The aged vampire looked back in bewilderment. 

A moment later, the thick, metal doors were wrecked, and uninvited guests poured in. 

The intruders numbered fewer than ten. Each of the soldiers was dressed in black, wearing masks with animal-skull motifs. They were escorting a tall, slender man and a small-statured girl with her face hidden by a hood—and that was all. 

“Nosferatu…?! The Nelapsi Liberation Army?!” the aged vampire exclaimed. He glared at the black-clothed men. 

Nelapsi was an emergent ghoul territory that had not been internationally recognized as a proper nation itself. Though they were not in a direct state of war with the Fallen Dynasty, all proper vampire clans held deep disgust toward the violent and militaristic Nosferatu. The aged vampire’s veins bulged from his temple; no doubt he was livid at the humiliating fact that their ilk had breached the gates. 

The tall man spoke in a courteous tone that did not suit a raider. 

“Your Highness, Prince Iblisveil Aziz, please forgive this sudden visit. I, Balthazar Zaharias, tremble in delight at the honor of an audience with you this evening.” 

A ferocious smile came over Iblisveil, standing on the platform as he looked down. 

“So it was you, Zaharias. You’ve got some nerve, coming before me in the company of filthy Nosferatu. Do you love hell that much, arms dealer?” 

“I shall repay you in some way for my rudeness in due time. However, as there is business between us, I ask that you first listen to my request.” 

“A lowly arms dealer has business with the likes of me, you say?” 

Iblisveil hmphed at Zaharias’s impudent words and smiled, baring his fangs. 

“Interesting. I shall honor your foolhardiness and at least hear you out. Speak.” 

“To get right to the point… I would like for you to hand over the Fallen Dynasty’s Kaleid Bloods under your administration, namely, Hebdomos and Hendekatos.” 

“Hmph… For an upstart, you’ve certainly done your homework,” Iblisveil murmured in apparent admiration. Those were the two Kaleid Bloods in the care of the Fallen Dynasty. The fact that Iblisveil administered them was top secret, known only to the primogenitor and a few select ministers. 

“However, wishes above your station shall lead to your ruin, weapons broker. You should depart from my land this very moment. Or would you like to try robbing the dolls from me by force?” 

“If Your Highness wishes it…” Zaharias’s lips curled up in a smile. His insolence sent the aged vampire into a rage. 

“You savage!” 

The aged vampire’s white hair became disheveled as he began to summon his Beast Vassal. Noticing this, Iblisveil immediately tried to stop him. But before he could, the older vampire’s body burst apart, with nary a trace remaining. It was as if his flesh had been shot with a giant magic bullet. 

“Grandpa!” 

The aftershock of the attack cracked the castle walls. Zaharias calmly and sadly gazed at the sight. Tragic, but the old vampire raised a hand first, so it was proper self-defense, it seemed to say. 

Falling pieces of rubble bounced off Iblisveil as he roared, “You scum! So you want an early death that much! Pulverize them, Duamutef—!” 

Demonic energy gushed out of Iblisveil’s diminutive body on an incredible scale. The power made the air shudder as he summoned a giant Beast Vassal from nothing. A snarling golden jackal appeared. 

The Beast Vassals of royals like Iblisveil wielded enough destructive might to sink a huge warship in a single blow or wipe this entire fortress off the map. Normally, it was not the Beast Vassal one called to take on a single opponent. In doing so, he no doubt intended to erase Zaharias from the world, leaving not even a single shred of flesh behind. The beast transformed into a huge, sublime, glimmering beam and moved to mow down Zaharias and the others. 

But the golden Beast Vassal’s attack did not singe a single hair on the weapons merchant’s body. 

It was as if an invisible wall had appeared to shield Zaharias. A powerful barrier of vibrations and shock waves had impeded the Beast Vassal’s attack. 

Iblisveil’s expression grew graver still. 

“…Enatos! So she is the basis of your confidence, Zaharias?!” 

The small girl with Zaharias pulled back her hood and revealed her face. She was a girl with blond hair that billowed like a flame and eyes like a glimmering blaze. The protective suit she wore was unceremoniously marked with a roman numeral IX as if it was the designation of a weapon. 

“You fool! Do you think a mere prototype is a match for me?! Hapi! Qebehsenuef! Smash him and his conceit to pieces!” 

Thus, Iblisveil summoned two new Beast Vassals. 

Kaleid Bloods like Enatos were said to be able to summon Beast Vassals on par with those of the Fourth Primogenitor. Certainly, with such power on hand, fewer than ten people could pull off an attack on a fortress of that scale. 

However, the Beast Vassals of Iblisveil, a prince directly descended from the Second Primogenitor, boasted demonic power of a different scale than a normal vampire’s—and he had three of them. That was more than enough power to overwhelm a Beast Vassal of the Fourth Primogenitor proper, let alone a mere incomplete prototype. Zaharias’s plan had failed to fully account for Iblisveil’s power. 

“Ha-ha. That will not do, Your Highness. That will not do at all.” 

But Zaharias broadened his arms and laughed with a look of composed confidence. Two girls walked out from behind him. They wore the same face as Enatos. The markings engraved on their protective suits were II and VIII— 

“Merchants have no pride. They must perpetually adapt to seize business opportunities, like so—” 

“Kaleid Bloods?! Deutra and Ogdoos…?!” 

Iblisveil’s face contorted in shock. Enatos had not been the only prototype under Zaharias’s control. He wondered if Zaharias had quietly bought up Kaleid Bloods over the course of several decades. Perhaps had simply seized them, like he had done in the past when he invaded the Duchy of Caruana and took Enatos, sealed therein. 

And now, he was trying to obtain more prototypes, even at the cost of earning the Fallen Dynasty as his enemy. 

“Zaharias, surely your objective cannot be—?!” 

Deutra’s and Ogdoos’s newly summoned Beast Vassals blew away Iblisveil’s three, and the torrent of incredible demonic energy flooded into Iblisveil’s small body as well. Half of his home castle was enveloped in the process, annihilating it without a trace. 

The giant fortress had begun to collapse. 

The stone walls hissed as they melted, with the remnants of demonic energy turning into a hot, wild gale. 

None would think that anyone could survive such an attack. However, even so, Zaharias made a small sigh of apparent regret. 

“Mmm, it seems that he was not finished off. Such is a prince directly descended from Fallgazer… However, now I have six. Preparations for the banquet shall not be long in coming.” 

Beneath the fortress, annihilated by the Beast Vassals’ attacks, two girls lay side by side, unharmed. They were blond vampires with the same faces as Enatos and the others—prototypes of the Fourth Primogenitor. 

Laughing softly, Zaharias quietly commanded the Nosferatu to retrieve the girls. As he did so, the three Kaleid Bloods dressed in protective suits gazed at Zaharias, their eyes unmoved. 

5 

Nagisa, who returned to club activities on the last Sunday of winter break, had an appointment. 

She wore her street clothes with her black hair tied up and stood in front of the train station, which still contained a slightly festive mood from New Year’s, next to a bronze horse sculpture illuminated by the rays of the setting sun. 

“Kojou, hey, hey. Over here, over heeere!” 

Nagisa, buffeted by the human wave of people returning home, jumped up and down as she waved to Kojou. Her clothes—a coat, scarf, and black tights—were considered heavy clothing on the tropical Itogami Island, even in the middle of winter. Kojou waved back. 

“Heya, sorry I’m a little late.” 

“You’re more than a little late! We were supposed to meet at five o’clock. It’s twenty-five minutes past. Thanks to that, I got mistaken for a runaway and flirted with twice!” 

Kojou took a long, hard look at Nagisa’s petite figure, which could have belonged to a primary school student, and asked, “…Flirt? With you?” 

Seeing the blunt surprise in Kojou’s posture, Nagisa whacked him with her big traveling bag. 

“What’s with the doubting look?! Grrr!” 

“I’m sorry already. Anyway, you probably got mistaken for a runaway because you have that big bag on you.” 

“Well, you’re the one who kept saying I needed to dress warm. Are you okay in the thin stuff you’re wearing? It gets cold at night, especially at the harbor.” 

“Ahh, yeah. I’ll manage somehow.” Kojou, dressed only in a thin parka, shrugged his shoulders slightly. 

Nagisa surveyed the area before cocking her head to the side. 

“Huh. Come to think of it, what about Asagi and Yaze? Weren’t they coming today?” 

“They’re heading straight to the marina. They said they’d pay for dinner and everything.” 

“That so. This’ll be fun. I didn’t have a chance to go out at night when I was in the hospital.” 

“Stargazing seems a little different than ‘going out at night,’ just sayin’…” 

“Ah, really? Why’s that?” 

Nagisa smiled happily as she spoke, dragging a grin out of Kojou in the process. It certainly felt like a long time since he’d taken Nagisa somewhere. 

Lately, she had seemed unusually energetic, perhaps as a result of Avrora’s seal being broken. She hadn’t fallen ill or been bedridden at all, and she’d even started participating in the cheerleading club, even if her involvement was really just watching and learning. 

According to Tooyama’s explanation, though, his sister’s physical recovery wasn’t entirely complete. After all, her priestess abilities still hadn’t returned. Nagisa was still possessed by Avrora’s personality. 

Gajou and Mimori were searching for a way to treat her, but so far they didn’t have much to show for results. Even so, the stabilization of Nagisa’s physical condition gave them some breathing room. Hence, why they’d decided against trying any shock therapy. 

“It’s been seventeen years since people could see a meteor shower at this time of year, huh?” Nagisa wondered aloud. 

“Yeah. Supposedly it’s because of something-or-other comet cutting across the solar system. The E… E…” 

“The Erigeneia Comet.” 

“Yeah, that one.” 

Nagisa threw her head back in exasperation as Kojou applied his half-forgotten knowledge to the conversation. 

Truly, Kojou was not well-versed on celestial bodies. Going to see a meteor shower was just an excuse, separate from his real goal. 

“Let’s go, then. Wait, why did Asagi and Yaze go ahead of us to the marina, anyway?” 

“Hold on, Nagisa. There’s someone I want you to meet first.” 

“Huh?” 

Nagisa was just about to walk off when Kojou stopped her. Then, he motioned to a blond girl who’d been waiting around at a slightly removed place. Avrora, hiding in the shadow of a post, timidly poked her face out and began walking toward Kojou and Nagisa with a nervous look. 

“Who’s that?” 

Nagisa gazed emotionlessly at the sight of Avrora as she made a small murmur. Her voice seemed hard, like she wasn’t the usual, sociable Nagisa. Avrora, sensitive to the aura of rejection, immediately halted. 

“Now, now, Nagisa. Her name is Avrora.” Kojou, thrown off by their unexpected reactions, earnestly tried to smooth things over. 

To completely heal Nagisa, he had to peel off the Avrora personality possessing her. The most reliable method for that was having Avrora herself accept that personality inside her. Once Avrora fully regained her knowledge and abilities as a vampire, she’d be completely protected against Zaharias’s machinations. 

Getting Avrora and Nagisa to meet face-to-face was a calculated risk. 

If things went well, their meeting might merge the personalities together in one shot, but it was just as possible that Nagisa’s physical condition would deteriorate. Even worse, it’d be no joke if Avrora’s demonic energy started running amok. 

He’d meant to wait until Nagisa’s physical condition had stabilized and take both girls to an open-air location to minimize the dangers. However, Kojou naturally hadn’t counted on Nagisa so vehemently rejecting Avrora. 

“……Vampire…” 

Nagisa kept a glare fixed at Avrora and nervously backed away. Her face held neither hatred nor disgust, but pure fear. Ever since the incident three years earlier, Nagisa was deeply afraid of all demons. She had post-traumatic demonophobia. 

“Well, she is, but I wanted you to at least meet her one ti—” 

“Stay back!” 

Avrora’s feet were rooted to the spot even before Nagisa’s angry shout. 

Kojou ground his teeth as he realized just how reckless he had been. He’d thought that Nagisa wouldn’t see what Avrora really was right away due to her lack of a demon registration bracelet, but he’d assumed wrong. Even if Nagisa had lost her spiritual abilities, she was still a priestess. Apparently, she had realized Avrora’s true nature in a single moment from subtle differences other people wouldn’t normally notice. 

Even so, Avrora really looked like a fairy. It was impossible to pass her off as a normal human to begin with. 

“Don’t come close! Stay away! Go, get off this island! Now!” 

“Hey, don’t talk to people like th—” 

Kojou stretched a hand toward Nagisa. She violently brushed it aside and turned toward the station. 

“I’m going home.” 

“Nagisa!” 

When his little sister broke into a sprint, Kojou hastily tried to follow suit, but he heard someone running off behind him—Avrora. Nagisa’s thoughtless words had thrown her into a panic, making her impulsively dash off. 

“—Hey, Avrora! Aw crap, why is this… Avrora, wait!” 

After a brief moment of hesitation, Kojou reluctantly went after Avrora. Nagisa was heading home at least, so he judged Avrora’s aimless running off to be the more dangerous issue. Avrora, unfamiliar with Itogami Island’s geography, would get lost for sure if Kojou let her go. 

Watching Kojou and Avrora head off, Nagisa silently pressed a hand to her chest. 

“…” 

Her heart was fiercely pumping blood through her veins; her breathing had grown ragged. Cold sweat poured from her entire body. She could tell that a great force was raging wildly within her body—one that even she could not control. Nagisa had not distanced herself from Avrora out of her fear of demons alone. 

“No, Kojou.” Nagisa continued to have difficulty breathing as she murmured, “If you make me meet that girl, it will mean the end of everything…” 

Her voice disappeared into the twilight hustle and bustle, never to reach anyone’s ears. 

6 

Itogami Island, home to numerous nocturnal vampires, had many facilities and eateries open until late at night. On the other hand, as a solitary island floating on the Pacific Ocean, there were no sources of artificial lighting in the island’s vicinity; nor were there any skyscrapers to obstruct one’s field of vision. As a platform for stargazing, one might call it a blessed environment. 

In particular, the area around the marina Kojou and Avrora used as their home base was dark, with a sky full of stars spread over their heads. Even stargazing amateurs like them could easily make out the constellations. 

The clear, night sky was like a deep sea as pale meteorites streaked across it, little by little. 

Even while looking up at such an exquisite sight, Avrora’s expression was dark. No doubt she’d never expected Nagisa to reject her like that. 

“You all right, Avrora?” 

Kojou called to the girl as he brought cup noodles over for supper. 

“Hey…don’t worry about Nagisa. It’s not that she hates you or anything. She’s just scared of demons. I think it’s probably a subconscious fear from the terrorist attack. It’s my fault for not properly explaining things.” 

“…’Tis my fault for adding to her suffering.” 

Avrora was still on the boat’s deck, hands wrapped around her knees, eyes heavy as she murmured in self-deprecation. In spite of the loss of her own memories, she seemed awfully quick to feel responsible for things. 

“I’m telling you, it ain’t your fault. Here, eat already.” 

Kojou pulled the lid off the fully prepared noodles and slid them in front of Avrora. 

Even while down in the dumps, the scent got Avrora’s attention, and she raised her head bit by bit. She took chopsticks from Kojou and began to slurp the white, steamy ramen. 

“Delicious.” 

“Sure is.” 

Kojou breathed a sigh of relief as he finally saw Avrora smile a little. That was when a human silhouette rose up in Kojou’s blind spot like a vengeful spirit. There stood Asagi, furrowing her brows in obvious displeasure. 

“…What do you two think you’re doing?” 

“Whoa?!” 

Asagi was wringing her stargazing binoculars with a force that threatened to pulverize them as she looked down at Kojou and Avrora sitting close. 

“What, are you going to make her go ‘aah,’ too? How indecent. Are you a couple?!” 

“What, you want some, too? Here.” 

Kojou sighed in obvious exasperation as he offered a cup noodle container to Asagi. She apparently hadn’t expected that reaction from Kojou. 

“Er, ah… Well, if you insist, I suppose I have to eat it, but…,” she murmured haltingly as she summoned her courage, opening her mouth and waiting in an aah pose. However, she only heard ooh’s from Kojou and Avrora as they looked up at the night sky. 

“That’s a big swarm, huh. That was definitely a meteor that time, not a plane.” 

“The falling stars twinkle so fleetingly…!” 

“Hey, don’t ignore me, you! Pay a little more attention to me, darn it!!” 

Indignant, Asagi grabbed the cup noodles out of Kojou’s hand and began consuming them in a single breath. Kojou, who’d been watching as the numbers of meteorites waned, yelped aloud, having not yet eaten a single bite. Avrora simply squirmed in place, apparently finding the boisterous scene oddly amusing. 

“Geez. You’re all little brats.” 

Yaze, lying down on a corner of the pier, smiled weakly as he looked up at Kojou and Asagi making a fuss on the boat. 

He grunted as he sat up and shifted his gaze to a young woman who was standing on the wall of rocks next to the pier. She was a brown-haired vampiress, wearing a coat over a maid outfit. She bit her lip as she gazed at Avrora’s innocent excitement. 

“Heya, Vel. Back, huh? Finished the part-time work, then?” 

Yaze grunted with effort as he rose to his feet with a frivolous smile and approached Veldiana. 

“Yes…” 

Veldiana smiled weakly as she made a perfunctory nod. Yaze raised an eyebrow. 

“Ohhh, what’s wrong? You look tired. Usually you’re in such high spirits when you’re doin’ the waitress thing.” 

“I am not in high spirits! I am forced to do that to get by, no more!” 

Veldiana glared back, fangs bared. Yaze laughed out loud as she finally returned to her normal self. 

“Avrora doesn’t seem very happy. Did something happen?” she whispered. 

Surprisingly sharp, thought Yaze as he blinked in visible admiration. 

“Yeah, Kojou tried to get Av to meet Nagisa.” 

“Gajou’s daughter?!” Veldiana’s eyes went wide as she drew close to Yaze. “What happened?! Did Dodekatos’s memory return?!” 

“Nah. When she got close to Nagisa, Nagisa got pissed, and that’s why Av’s in the dumps.” Yaze bluntly shook his head. 

Veldiana’s fingers, gripping his shirt, slowly loosened. 

“It didn’t work? No, why not…?!” 

Yaze sighed deeply and asked in a tone used to speak to little children, “…Hey, Vel. Do you really need to force Av to get her memories back? Thanks to Zaharias’s raid on Prince Iblisveil, the Nelapsi Autonomous Region’s in a state of war with the Fallen Dynasty. They don’t have any time for the Blazing Banquet, either. Nelapsi was on the Warlord’s Empire’s bad side to begin with, and they put a big price on Zaharias’s head. He’ll destroy himself soon enough. Someone else’ll carry out your revenge.” 

“…So I should just sit back and watch…?” Veldiana asked with a dim glint in her eye. 

Yaze laughed casually and irresponsibly. “Living here ain’t so bad, is it? This Av likes you a lot. Isn’t it good she gets to know other people, too? Something about that make you unhappy?” 

“…” 

Veldiana’s throat twitched. Her reaction indicated she wanted to say something in rebuttal but could not. Yaze paid her no heed and continued. 

“Well, it’s a lot tougher living poor instead of living at a castle, but from what I hear, your sister wasn’t the type to want people to avenge her to begin with.” 

“I…know that…!” 

Veldiana rasped in a quivering voice. For Yaze’s part, her quick concession elicited a conflicted look from him. 

“Vel?” 

“I understood without you having to tell me. Yes, it’s true. I do not mind living in the Demon Sanctuary. Soon enough I could manage it without complaint. As for Avrora, I think of her as family. Sometimes I feel like I’m happy here!” 

“Then you don’t need to—” 

“That is why I must!” 

Veldiana’s expression was as unsteady as a little girl’s as she forcefully shook her head. 

“That is why I must not forget my revenge! If I of all people forget the theft of my family’s name and lands, living happily in this foreign land, I can never excuse myself to my sister. Just be silent already. What do you understand about that?!” 

“…I suppose. You have a point and all.” 

Yaze sighed. Veldiana didn’t know it, but he understood how she felt. Yaze lived contrary to his own wishes, bound just as much by thoughts of family and name as she was. It wasn’t as if Yaze was monitoring his best friend because he liked it. 

“But you need to lay off the drugs. Lately, even Demon Sanctuaries have had a lot of problems with addicts on that stuff. It’ll run even a high-ranking vampire like you ragged.” 

Yaze spoke nonchalantly as he pointed to the arm Veldiana was keeping hidden under her coat. 

Veldiana’s body froze, her expression that of a child being scolded. However, Yaze said nothing more. He kept his back turned to Veldiana as he waved before heading toward Kojou and the others, still enjoying themselves on the boat. 

“I know that,” she murmured, watching Yaze go. 

Without a sound, the stars flowed downward against the backdrop of the wintery night sky. 

7 

The Nelapsi Autonomous Government was a parliamentary organization comprised of the chief ghoul clans occupying part of Thracia in Eastern Europe. Yet this was nothing but a front. The ghoul clans had such deep antipathy toward one another that they would immediately dissolve such an “autonomous government,” save for its chairman, Balthazar Zaharias. In the end, it was a fragile organization held together by the existence of Zaharias himself. 

Nor could Zaharias’s own position be said to be rock solid, for he was not a ghoul, but an outsider. The Nosferatu obeyed him for no reason beyond their acknowledgment of the value of the weapons he, a simple arms broker, provided. 

Even so, one might say the arrangement had worked out rather well to date. With Zaharias’s backing, the Nosferatu had obtained the military might to defy the Warlord’s Empire. And they had conquered the Duchy of Caruana, a territory they had greatly desired. 

Yet, that equilibrium had gently begun to collapse. And the cause was none other than Zaharias’s own actions— 

“20:25 hours, zero seconds— Count Zaharias, it is the appointed time.” 

One of the ghoul clan chieftains was visiting Zaharias’s mansion. 

The black outfit he wore was the Nosferatu combat uniform. Behind the antagonistic figure stood soldiers dressed in the same black clothing. The atmosphere was explosive; they could train their guns on Zaharias at any moment. 

“My, Colonel Zwickel. Ah, someone did mention you wanted to speak to me in person.” 

Zaharias remained seated at his desk, calmly greeting them all by himself. There was not the slightest hint of fear or nervousness on his face. The ghoul chieftain found this incomprehensible as he opened his mouth. 

“I have a question, Count Zaharias.” 

“Ask away. It concerns the raid on Prince Iblisveil, yes?” 

“It does.” 

Zwickel nodded gravely as he scowled at Zaharias. 

“Earlier, at 18:12 hours, twenty-seven seconds, the International Safety Preservation Council voted that Nelapsi would be punished. The vote was unanimous. Each Dominion is on the move in accordance with this.” 

“I see.” 

“Why did you provoke a war with the Fallen Dynasty? Furthermore, you did so without permission from Parliament. We are already diplomatically isolated thanks to the fierce border clashes with the Warlord’s Empire. We have already gained autonomy for Nelapsi. We cannot afford to lose it again.” 

“I see. It is very natural for you to doubt me.” 

Zwickel’s questions were dripping with enmity, but Zaharias readily accepted them. Indeed, his narrow, sly-looking eyes squinted further in amusement. 

“And what would you have me do about it?” 

“…Return the Kaleid Bloods you seized from Iblisveil.” 

“Why?” 

“We do not require them.” 

“In other words, bow our heads to the Fallen Dynasty and beg forgiveness? But do you really think such a deal can be achieved at this late stage?” 

Zaharias inquired with a sober expression. That was when, for the first time, a smile came over Zwickel’s lips. It was the cold expression of pity reserved for those soon to pass from the mortal coil. 

“It can, for we will add your head to the deal.” 

As Zwickel finished speaking, ferocious gunshots rang out. Zwickel’s bare flesh ruptured, and a gun barrel protruded from his wrist. He had used the gun embedded in his own flesh to shoot Zaharias. 

The bullet scored a direct hit on Zaharias’s face, sending half of his head flying. There was no need to check his pulse to know he had died instantly. Zaharias was a human, not a demon. Even had he been a demon, he surely would not have survived such a wound. 

Zwickel turned to his subordinates. 

“20:19 hours, eight seconds— Former Chairman Zaharias executed. Commencing search for Kaleid Bloods concealed by Zaharias.” 

The Nosferatu in black outfits dispersed in an organized fashion, spreading throughout the mansion. Zaharias had bastions spread throughout the world, but he’d never let his precious Kaleid Bloods out of his grasp. They had to be somewhere in the mansion. 

“I must thank you, Zaharias. The money and weapons you provided allowed us Nosferatu who lack Beast Vassals to defy the Warlord’s Empire. However, the situation has changed.” 

Zwickel gazed at Zaharias’s corpse as he quietly chided it. 

Nelapsi had already gained its autonomy. It was now time to think about protecting it. Their history as pillagers was already at an end. Moreover, a weapons broker like Zaharias could not live in a place without war. They were fated to have a falling-out one day. 

“Colonel, we have confirmed that the dolls are here.” 

Finally, one of his subordinates returned to report that the Kaleid Bloods had been found. Roger that, Zwickel indicated with a nod. He left Zaharias’s corpse behind as he headed off. 

The Kaleid Bloods were in an underground vault. He had expected as much, but their treatment had not been courteous whatsoever. They’d been sedated, placed in casket-like containers, and otherwise neglected. There were twelve cases in total—but half were empty. 

“20:25 hours, forty seconds— Kaleid Bloods secured in dormant state. Total of six… Hendekatos, Enatos, Ogdoos, Hebdomos, Deutra…and is this Protte?” 

Zwickel scowled slightly. Yet, the final one, Protte, was wearing a torn and tattered dress. Even now, he could see a faint red scar underneath a tear in the clothing over her chest. 

It was a large scar, as if someone had plucked a rib right out of her. 

“Colonel, over here!” 

Zwickel was bewildered when one of his subordinates called to him. 

The subordinate was pointing at a seventh girl. But this was no Kaleid Blood. She was a young thing with dull, gray hair, in ornate clothing. He could not see any blatant external injury, but it was clear at a glance that she had already passed away. She had probably died from illness, or perhaps debilitation. 

She was inside a crystal gemstone resembling a diamond, some six or seven meters in diameter. 

“Why is…a human girl…?” 

Zwickel judiciously surveyed the area as he approached the transparent crystal. Then, when he reached out to touch the surface of the crystal with his hand— 

“Don’t touch that!” 

Zwickel was rudely interrupted by an angry, masculine shout. Zwickel turned toward the familiar voice—Zaharias’s—in complete shock. 

A tall, slender man wearing a blood-soaked suit was standing at the gloomy entrance to the basement. 

“So you have…seen it…” 

The man spoke in Zaharias’s voice. Zwickel’s subordinates drew the blades embedded inside their own bodies, but they did not move. They seemed to be unsure as to whether they ought to attack. 

“22:28 hours, twelve seconds— Zaharias confirmed alive… No, that face is…” 

Zwickel exclaimed as he glared at the slender man’s face. 

The man was the same height as Zaharias. The clothes were the same ones Zaharias had worn. However, the face was completely different. This visage was far younger than Zaharias’s, less than half his apparent age. But he had faint traces of Zaharias’s facial features. 

“Ahh, this? My, my, after so much damage, I must have the plastic surgery re-done. After all, anyone would sneer at someone trying to do business with this young face.” 

The tall, slender man patted a blood-stained cheek as he made a strained smile. His manner of speaking was Zaharias’s through and through. Zwickel had blown away his face, but it had regained its form with a younger appearance. 

“Vampire?! No, a Blood Servant—!” 

Zwickel exclaimed as he finally realized what the man really was. Zaharias was not a normal human. He was a pseudo-vampire, a Blood Servant granted eternal life by a vampire. 

“You are correct, Colonel Zwickel. The weapons I furnished your Nosferatu with were developed for my own use to start with.” 

As Zaharias spoke, countless blades embedded in his own body emerged. As a Blood Servant with regenerative ability on par with a vampire, he could employ the same weapons as the Nosferatu. 

Yet, Zaharias’s healing power, able to regenerate even a head that had been blown away, demonstrated that his master was no normal vampire. Zaharias’s master was either a primogenitor who had been cursed with immortality by the very gods, or a being wielding power on par with them. His combat capability likely surpassed that of Zwickel’s ghoul soldiers. 

“22:29 hours, thirty-two seconds— Commencing combat with Zaharias. Even with identical equipment, he has no chance against this numerical disparity. Overwhelm him!” 

Obeying Zwickel’s command, the subordinates in black outfits fanned in a circle around Zaharias. However, his entire body shook as he laughed in delight. 

“Oho, did you just say my equipment is identical to yours?” 

“Tch—get him!!” 

Zwickel shot at Zaharias. Simultaneously, his subordinates rushed the target with their blades. Just like the ones they had used on Kojou, these slicing attacks were imbued with incandescent fire via demonic energy. 

But before they made contact with Zaharias’s body, they were obstructed by a clear crystal gemstone. It was a titanic bighorn sheep with flesh of diamond—a Beast Vassal, appearing out of thin air to protect Zaharias. Its surge of incredible demonic energy made the very earth shudder and cry out. The air grew denser and more stifling, impeding the Nosferatu’s movements. 

“The Unstained and Unerring Divine Sheep, Agnus Dei?! Protte’s Beast Vassal?! Zaharias, you cannot possibly be…!” 

“I see you’ve finally realized.” 

As Zwickel shouted and looked back in shock, the young man wore a ferocious smile. The diamond crystal bellowed as it scattered translucent shards. Twitching, the soldiers in black outfits were sent flying. The scale of destruction was on a wholly different level. This was no longer combat; it was a one-sided slaughter. 

Zaharias calmly stated: 

“Yes. I am the Fourth Primogenitor’s Blood Servant.” 

Yet no one was around any longer to hear. Zwickel and his subordinates had been annihilated by the huge Beast Vassal’s attack, with nothing remaining that was remotely humanoid. All that was left in the subterranean chamber were Zaharias, the six Kaleid Bloods, and the human girl’s corpse. 

“Now, then…the preliminaries have been delayed somewhat, but it’s nothing that cannot be rectified.” 

Zaharias released the Beast Vassal from its summons as he approached Protte, still asleep. 

Then, he reverently knelt on one knee, stating with a glint of madness in his eyes: 

“Let us begin the final preparations for the banquet…my master.” 

8 

That day, it rained on Itogami Island. 

It was spring rain as soft as fine silk; gentle, warm April showers. 

Kojou was returning to the marina on his way back from school. When he noticed a small silhouette standing still atop the pier, he broke into a run. The vampire girl, wearing a white summer dress, was watching Kojou without an umbrella. The scene was mysterious somehow, making her seem like some sort of pious nun. 

“Avrora! What the hell are you doing?! You’re soaking wet!” 

Unnerved, Kojou rushed over to Avrora, leading her by her cold hand onto the boat. 

“D-do you bid me to spend my time in idleness and obscurity, servant?” 

Kojou’s visible display of anger made Avrora’s shoulders twitch and tighten, but even so, she replied with upturned eyes for once. Apparently, she seemed to be saying, I’ve been waiting for you. She remained like that as Kojou vigorously dried her hair with a towel. 

“…Wait, were you waiting for me the whole time?” 

“I-I thought that you might not come today,” Avrora whimpered in a frail voice that was nearly inaudible. 

She must have been more than a little uneasy, thinking that he might abandon her. Kojou didn’t even want to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t come at all. 

Even then, almost half a year since meeting Avrora, her personality hadn’t changed on that point at all. She’d become rather accustomed to life on Itogami Island in every other respect, though. 

“I told you, didn’t I? The new term’s starting up. Spring break’s over already.” 

Kojou explained while indicating for Avrora, still soaked, to go change her clothes. Avrora was headed into the cabin when she looked back with a somewhat frightened look. 

“N-new…term?” 

“New school term. It’s a lot of trouble moving up to high school. There’s trial exams and guidance counseling and stuff—” Kojou sluggishly aired his complaints when he suddenly remembered something. “Oh yeah,” he said, changing the topic. “Come to think of it, Yaze asked me, but…do you wanna go to school?” 

“…School?” 

Avrora, changing her clothes on the other side of the partition, poked her head out. 

“Yeah,” said Kojou with a nod. 

“There’re still a few annoying formalities left, but it looks like they’re gonna accept the DNA sample you handed over for demon registration a while back. You can attend school once they do. I’m not sure if you could attend the same one I’m going to, though.” 

“—I…I want to go to the same school as you, Kojou!” 

Still wearing nothing but her underwear, Avrora leaped out with a very excited look on her face. “Whoa!” Kojou said, in danger of spurting blood from his nose as he averted his eyes from the earnest-looking girl. 

“Guess I’ll have to ask Natsuki, then. I don’t really like owing her favors, but…” 

“V-very well!” 

Avrora’s expression brightened as she resumed changing. From the looks of things, Kojou had the sinking feeling that her going to school would add to his mental stress. 

“Vel’s coming back from work late today. Let’s go out for food with her. What do you wanna eat?” 

Kojou posed the question once Avrora finally finished changing. It bugged him that she’d put on her T-shirt backward, but pointing that out would be troublesome, so he kept his comments to himself. 

“…Wh-what about Nagisa?” Avrora asked timidly, apparently concerned for the girl. 

Kojou usually ate Nagisa’s cooking at home. Hence, it wasn’t often that Kojou ate with Avrora. 

If the two girls could get along, they’d no doubt be eating meals together, but after seeing how Nagisa had behaved, he hadn’t even thought about putting her and Avrora together face-to-face again. 

In the first place, it wouldn’t have been strange for Nagisa to chew Kojou out for meeting Avrora at all. Kojou thought that guilt must have prevented her from doing so. 

“She’s at the hospital today. The usual tests,” Kojou replied. 

Despite hearing his easygoing tone, Avrora lowered her eyes in visible dismay. She still felt responsible for Nagisa’s continuing poor physical condition, attributing it to her memories not having returned. 

“I keep telling you, you don’t need to worry about it. More to the point, is there something you wanna eat?” 

Kojou smiled as he asked. Avrora gasped as she thought of something and leaned forward with a sparkle in her eyes. She looked him straight in the eye with a dazzling smile. 

“F-frozen droplets of Nirvana!” 

“You mean ice cream…? Well, fine. It’s a little early for supper anyway. Is Lulu’s fine?” 

“I-I permit it.” 

Standing tall, Avrora huffed through her nose. Kojou smiled thinly at her as they left the boat. She really did seem accustomed to life on the island. 

Lulu’s was a franchise with locations dotting every part of Itogami Island. The stuff was also available for purchase at certain convenience chains, but there was a small stand near the marina. Avrora stubbornly kept most of her desires below the surface, but her infatuation with sugary things, ice cream in particular, was an exception to this rule. Even while walking normally with her, it was obvious when ice cream was on her mind. 

But when they came within sight of the ice cream stand sign, Avrora abruptly halted. 

“…Avrora?” 

Kojou looked at her in surprise. Her blue eyes, usually so timid, held clear enmity in them. She stared at a small figure, a blond girl in a gray protective suit. The suit’s shoulders had IX markings printed onto them. 

“You’re…Enatos…?!” 

“So you remembered my name, Kojou Akatsuki. I praise you for this.” 

The blond girl with the same face as Avrora addressed him with a haughty tone. Unlike Avrora, who seemed so hesitant, she had a serious chip on her shoulder. 

“Alone, huh? Why come here out of the blue?” Kojou asked, mildly annoyed. 

He did not forget to keep his guard up for Zaharias and his goons. Enatos herself may not have been Avrora’s enemy, but she was a dangerous being nonetheless. He’d never forgotten the damage from her loss of control on the night they had first met. 

Enatos gazed intently at Kojou as she said, “—I request of thee to fulfill thy promise.” 

Kojou returned her gaze with a questioning look. “…Promise?” 

“Thou pledged to offer me delicious ices, didst thou not?” 

“Ahh, that. Yeah, I did promise, didn’t I…?” 

Kojou groped through vague memories and nodded. The ruckus that followed must have made him forget, but he felt certain he had run his mouth in such a fashion. 

Enatos listened to Kojou’s reply, smiling wryly in satisfaction as she pointed at Lulu’s and loftily commanded, “Then carry out thy task with haste.” 

Avrora, standing beside him as she listened, puffed up her cheeks and uttered an unclear murmur of apparent displeasure. Her rather offended look seemed to say, Why does he need to take orders from her…? 

Well, I did promise, so I’ve gotta do it, thought Kojou with a sigh. “…So what do you wanna eat?” 

“Hmm,” Enatos said with a nod. “Offer me the finest of all.” 

“So I should pick what I like, huh? I could just pick vanilla for you, y’know. How ’bout you, Avrora?” 

“A s-strawberry, caramel, milk chocolate triple!” 

Avrora gave the clerk her order with her antagonism on full display. Naturally, she was accustomed to doing so. Precisely for that reason, Enatos lodged an objection. 

“Wait. Kojou, why do you permit Dodekatos to select three times?” 

“That’s how the menu works. If you don’t like it, how ’bout you order a triple, too?” 

Kojou explained with some annoyance. Naturally, that would mean triple the price. But… 

“Quadruple.” 

“Huh?” 

“If Dodekatos has three scoops, I demand four.” 

Enatos repeated her thoughtless request, with God-only-knew what logic behind it. Kojou shook his head with an exasperated look. 

“Quadruples don’t exist. The menu only goes up to a triple!” 

“Hngh?!” 

Apparently, Kojou’s explanation did the trick, for a look of resignation came over Enatos. However, the clerk listening to the exchange just had to open her mouth. 

“Ah, I can do a quadruple if you want.” 

Kojou was shocked. 

“Huh?! You can?!” 

The young, female clerk playfully raised a finger to her lips. 

“Yes. We have a hidden menu that is not disclosed to the general public. Actually, we can do up to seven scoops.” 

“What?!” 

“S-seven! Seven!” 

Kojou suppressed the twitch on his face as Avrora pressed her case. Enatos wedged herself ahead of Avrora in the meantime. 

“Of course, for me as well!” 

“Whaaaaat?! Wait a sec, how much do you two think that’s all gonna cost?!” 

“T-toppings, too! Nuts and macaroons!” 

“Hmm, I want them all. Put everything on top!” 

“Aaaaaaaaaaaagh?! A-are you devils?!” 

Blood drained from Kojou’s face as the cost of all that ice cream added up. Lulu’s ice cream was considered fairly reasonably priced for its flavor, but with such an order, it certainly was expensive. 

Both Kaleid Bloods blinked at Kojou’s despairing words of censure and shook their heads as they said, “Ah, we are not devils.” 

“We are vampires. Obviously.” 

“Yeah, I knew that! Yes, you are!” 

Kojou vented with a shout. The clerk laughed herself silly at their exchange as she handed over the finished ice cream. She’d given him a very slight discount (such as it was), no doubt out of pity for him. 

“…It is delicious,” Enatos muttered in surprise after taking a bite of her ice cream. 

“That so. Well, I’m glad.” 

Kojou smiled in relief at Enatos’s very human-sounding words. It’d have been pretty sad if she’d made an order that crazy and wasn’t at least a little happy with it. 

Enatos seemed to have something in mind as she tendered the huge mountain of ice cream before Kojou. 

“Dost thou wish to taste it as well, Kojou?” 

“I’ll have a bite, then.” 

Kojou nibbled at Enatos’s ice cream without harboring any special misgivings. It was so much ice cream, he figured it wasn’t strange for Enatos to decide that she couldn’t eat it all by herself. 

“…?!” 

Avrora’s eyes popped wide as she watched Kojou’s behavior. She wedged herself between Kojou and Enatos and thrust her own ice cream cone forward. 

“A-Avrora?” 

“…Hmph! Hmph!” 

“You want me to eat yours, too?! Wait a sec, if I eat too much cold stuff all at once I’ll…” 

Kojou was trying to make excuses when Avrora shoved her ice cream right into his open mouth. Kojou let out a muffled yelp at having an entire scoop in his mouth. Sharp pain stabbed at his temple, and tears welled in his eyes. Of course, he couldn’t even tell whether the ice cream tasted any good. 

“…I thank thee, Kojou Akatsuki. Thou hast certainly fulfilled thy agreement.” 

Enatos had apparently finished eating her ice cream while Kojou was writhing around. She licked the edges of her lips, showing him a satisfied-looking smile. 

“You should get Zaharias to feed you tastier stuff, y’know,” Kojou murmured, not out of humility, but rather, simple doubt. 

Enatos made no reply. She merely shook her head in silence. Then, she drew a single card out of the hip pocket of her protective suit. It was a metal plate smaller than a postcard. 

“Take this, Dodekatos.” 

Enatos tossed the card. Avrora somehow managed to stop it from falling to the ground. 

The short symbols on the card’s surface were unknown to Kojou, but apparently Avrora could read them. 

“’Tis an invitation from Zaharias,” Enatos said quietly, gazing at him. 

Those words told Kojou in no uncertain terms that she had merely been obeying Zaharias’s commands. Zaharias had dispatched her as a simple messenger. He had given her the task for no reason other than because Kojou and Avrora had already encountered her previously. 

By no means had Enatos escaped Zaharias’s control. That very moment, Zaharias was treating her as his own personal weapon. 

“The night of the next full moon, the Blazing Banquet shall resume.” 

With that, Enatos walked off. 

Kojou and Avrora stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded as they watched her depart. 

The spring rain began to fall once more, leaving them both cold and wet. 

The banquet would begin. Their gentle, peaceful days of tranquility had come to an end. 

Water droplets gently fell against Avrora’s face, quietly rolling downward; peacefully, silently, like tears.