Campione: Strongest# 464: Interlude

At the main counter in the hospital lobby, Haru calmly slid two sets of discharge forms toward a stressed-looking nurse.

“Rooms 614, Fujou, and 615, Ryougi.”

“Oh? Miss Fujou from 614 is ...actually being discharged?” The nurse, clearly familiar with the legend of Kirié’s multi-decade stay, looked up at Haru in genuine shock.

“...”

“Um, sir... is your face okay?” The nurse’s eye twitched as she took in the dense network of fresh scratches covering his face. ‘Cat scratches? No... they look more like a woman’s.’

A teasing glint entered her eyes. “Sir, you’re still young. You really should learn some self-control.”

“Just do your job, please,” Haru deadpanned, his eyebrow arching in a silent warning. If that scheming Nyarlathotep hadn’t slipped Shiki a potion to make the scratches impossible to heal, he wouldn’t be caught dead looking like this.

‘And when exactly did that insane Outer God team up with Shiki, anyway?’

“Right, right!” The nurse giggled and finally took the forms.

On a nearby lounge chair, Shiki Ryougi, dressed in a vibrant cherry-pink ...furisode..., leaned back and coolly appraised Kirié Fujou, who sat three empty seats away.

Kirié’s ink-dark hair cascaded to her waist, a stark contrast to her simple white dress. The garment, on her willowy frame, looked as elegant as any fine gown. Her delicate features and gentle eyes were beautiful enough that even Shiki had to admit the girl was attractive.

That, however, did not mean she would tolerate a poacher.

Shiki’s ice-cold glare pinned Kirié in place, causing the already anxious girl to shrink in on herself, unable to meet her gaze.

‘She’s so intimidating!’ Kirié cried inwardly.

The memory of Shiki’s ‘frenzied assault’ when she realized Haru had brought Kirié along to handle the discharge paperwork was still seared into her mind.

That one incident had revealed the true savagery of Haru’s ‘girlfriend.’ Now, that frigid stare felt like being cornered by a starving tiger.

Her survival instincts screamed at her: ‘Run!’

She couldn’t fathom what had possessed her yesterday. What madness had driven her to march into that room and try to steal him?

‘I’m going to be killed. She’s definitely going to kill me. Somebody save me!’ Kirié’s pleading eyes darted to Haru’s back at the counter.

“Are you trying to take him from me?” Shiki, noticing Kirié’s desperate gaze, let her voice drop to a dangerously low temperature.

“No, not at all!” Kirié stammered.

“Good...” Shiki turned her head, her vacant eyes staring out at the bustling crowd.

Sensing the shift, Kirié pressed a hand to her chest and let out a shaky breath. ‘Just play along. Survive this.’

“Remember what you said. Or else...” The whisper slithered into Kirié’s ear. She froze, her body going rigid before she slowly, mechanically, turned her head.

“Eek...!” Staring into those hypnotic, azure eyes, Kirié felt as if she were looking at her own death.

“I understand! I’ll be your subordinate! Just don’t kill me!” Kirié blurted out, bowing repeatedly.

“Subordinate?” Shiki frowned. She wanted the girl ...gone..., not serving as some handmaiden. Before she could clarify, her expression shifted. She quickly composed her face into a mask of cold fury as Haru approached.

“What happened? Kirié, why are you covered in sweat?” Haru asked, walking over to them after finishing the paperwork.

“N-Nothing! Sis Shiki was just... teaching me some rules,” Kirié stammered, quickly straightening up.

“Sis Shiki?” The title made Haru’s expression turn odd as he looked at the still-fuming Shiki. A twenty-four-year-old calling a sixteen-year-old ‘sister’? This wasn’t some yakuza movie. ‘Wait. The Ryougi family ...is... basically the yakuza.’

Shiki offered no explanation, simply raising her head to meet his gaze. Seeing the scratches still marring his face, she frowned. “Didn’t that silver-haired woman say those would be gone in five minutes?”

“Apparently, we were lied to,” Haru deadpanned. “And since when did you start scratching people like SHIKI?”

The moment he said it, Haru faltered. ‘Like SHIKI?’ He glanced at Shiki’s tightly pressed lips and gave a bitter smile. This was her childish way of making sure he wouldn’t forget.

“Anyway, Kirié, you don’t have a place to stay, do you? Why don’t you come to the Asagami house?” Haru said, changing the subject.

“That’s... fine with me...” Kirié whispered.

Before she could finish, Shiki cut her off with an icy glare. “She’ll stay at the Ryougi estate.”

“I-I’ll do whatever Sis Shiki says!” Kirié trembled, nodding like a frightened bird.

“...Fine. Let’s go, then.” Haru’s lip twitched as he stepped forward to grab their single bag of luggage.

Moments later, the trio exited the hospital and headed for the black Toyota waiting by the curb.

——————

Parisian Outskirts, France.

A magnificent, sprawling church was engulfed in a roaring inferno.

At the main gate, a middle-aged knight in battered silver armor brandished a broadsword, his gaze fixed on the figure standing before him. The air was a cacophony of prayers, wet squelches of blades, and piercing screams. Hearing familiar voices among the dying, the knight’s face contorted in anguish, but he held his ground, a lone guardian at the threshold.

“Is this a declaration of war against the Holy Church, Fourteenth Ancestor?!”

“Not at all,” Valery said, dabbing at his golden-rimmed glasses with a silk handkerchief. “I am merely here for what you’re guarding—the seal protected by the Knights of the Eighth Sacrament.” He placed the polished glasses back on his nose, a cruel smile playing on his lips.

The knight’s face drained of color.

“So it ...is... here! The Twenty-Sixth Ancestor... the final piece!” Valery’s expression twisted into one of manic glee.

Minutes later, Valery withdrew his arm from the knight’s chest and flicked the blood from his claws. A Dead Apostle materialized from his shadow.

“The unsealing team has broken the seal using an Origin, my lord!”

As the words were spoken, Valery’s expression soured. He glanced toward the distant mountains. Miles away, two figures radiating brilliant white light were streaking toward them.

“A Saint of the Church? Another one of those damned Angel Incarnations? Why does the Church keep pulling these things out of thin air?”

“We don’t have time to engage those two. Bring me the target. Immediately.”

“Europe is saturated with the Church and the Black Princess’s power. They found our trail in just ten minutes... The ritual must be performed in the Far East.”