Fantasy Library, Ch 456-459

Chapter 456 – The Junior He’d Been Thinking About

“Hm?”

When the vaguely familiar yet slightly unfamiliar voice came from behind him, Kaiser paused for a moment. Then, as if recalling something, he turned around.

The next second, he saw someone silently coming down from the second-floor stairs of the antique shop.

It was a strikingly beautiful girl.

Her face still carried a trace of youthful softness, her slender frame lean but not frail—instead giving off the air of someone well-versed in combat, a mix of gentleness and steel, combining a young woman’s softness with a warrior’s poise. She was very easy on the eyes. Her delicate features held a subtle tension, instantly marking her as someone serious by nature. The fierce light in her eyes spoke of a firm will. Though her limbs were slim, her steps were strong and light. Any trained eye would see she possessed an exceptional level of martial skill.

Seeing her, Kaiser spoke her name almost without thinking.

“Himeragi!”

That was her family name.

Her full name was Yukina Himeragi.

Yes—the very same Yukina that Sayaka Kirasaka was always talking about.

“So it is you, Senpai!” Yukina’s expression brightened with surprise and joy as she quickened her pace down the stairs.

“What are you doing here?” Kaiser asked instinctively as she came toward him.

But he had already guessed the reason she was here. He’d had a feeling before that this junior of his would eventually come to Itogami Island and appear before him.

And sure enough…

“Kirasaka must have already told you, right?” Yukari Endō said to Kaiser. “Your current mission is still to keep an eye on the girl who became the vessel for the Fourth Primogenitor.”

“As for the two princesses staying on Itogami Island, we’ve arranged for a new monitor and caretaker to look after them.”

When Sayaka had mentioned this before, Kaiser had already suspected the one being sent would be this beautiful junior Sayaka was so fond of.

And, sure enough, his hunch was right.

“I only reported in here today,” Yukina said politely to her senior she hadn’t seen in a while, greeting him with the same seriousness as always. “I was planning to find some time to meet with you for the handover, but I didn’t expect to run into you here with Master.”

It had been some time since they’d last met, and Yukina was still as serious as ever.

But Kaiser knew—this was already her “relaxed” state.

Back in the High God Forest, Yukina had been even more serious, more rigid, constantly on edge.

Her personality was pure and straightforward, filled with a strong sense of justice and responsibility. Though she could sometimes be impulsive, she also tended to fixate on trivial matters, which kept her constantly tense at the Sanctuary. She feared underperforming and disappointing those who had expectations of her.

Because of that, she had a reputation for being aloof and difficult to approach—at least to most people. Only Sayaka Kirasaka knew her roommate’s truly endearing side. The only other person who’d caught a glimpse of it was Kaiser, who had read her tension during their sparring sessions and seen hints of her real nature.

That was why, in front of Kaiser, she didn’t keep herself as tightly wound as she did with others. So when she saw him now, her surprise quickly turned to delight.

“So it really is you who came.”

The moment the original story’s heroine appeared before him in the flesh, Kaiser couldn’t help but think wryly to himself.

“Kirasaka, that perverse woman, swore up and down it could never be you.”

By rights, students graduated from the Sanctuary at fifteen—equivalent to finishing junior high. Yukina was only fourteen, the same age as Nagisa Akatsuki and Kanon Kanase, and still had about three months to go before turning fifteen. She hadn’t reached the graduation age yet and was still supposed to be in training.

Sayaka, a year older than Yukina, had graduated a year earlier and was now working as a full-fledged Sword Shaman. Kaiser, in this world, was the same age as Sayaka, but without a known birthday, he was counted as sixteen from the start of the year. By rights, he should have graduated even earlier than Sayaka, but because of his unique status, the Lion King Agency hadn’t allowed him to graduate until this year, when they sent him to Itogami Island.

So Yukina leaving early to come here could only mean special circumstances.

Yukari Endō explained as much.

“She still had a few months before graduation, but Yukina’s grades are the highest in the Sanctuary—she’s long since capable of handling things on her own,” Yukari said matter-of-factly. “Considering the target we need monitored and guarded this time, the higher-ups unanimously decided the candidate should be selected from the Sanctuary.”

Kaiser understood what she meant—her “target” wasn’t La Folia, but Kanon Kanase.

La Folia would eventually leave with the royal family, but Kanon had decided to stay on Itogami. As an Aldegian royal herself, she was too important for the Agency to ignore. Since she was going to be in her third year at Saikai Academy’s junior high, the most effective way to monitor her was to place someone close—in this case, a same-age classmate.

With Yukina’s top marks, who else could they pick?

“She’s already received her official Attack Mage license as a Sword Shaman,” Yukari added, glancing at Kaiser. “You’ll be working with her for quite a while. I called you here to have you take her under your wing.”

Sword Shamans, unlike the assassination-oriented War Dancers, were pure combatants—sword-wielding shrine maidens who could overpower even demons. Trained in multiple weapons, martial arts, and close combat, they also possessed the ability known as “Spirit Vision,” allowing them to see moments into the future. Their signature combat sorcery, the Eight Thunder God Styles, let them channel amplified mana into devastating physical strikes.

Yukina had been trained as a Sword Shaman from the start, and now, with her early graduation, she was officially one.

“I don’t have a problem with that,” Kaiser said, raising a brow. “But will Himeragi be okay?”

Sword Shamans excelled at offense, not protection—that was work for War Dancers like Sayaka. So his question was reasonable.

But in Yukina’s ears, it sounded like doubt.

“Senpai, are you questioning my ability?” Her eyes flared with stubborn defiance. Serious, pure, and responsible though she was, Yukina was fiercely competitive.

“I don’t recall losing to you in our sparring matches at the Sanctuary,” she said, puffing her cheeks.

“That’s because your Spirit Vision is cheating. You can always see a few seconds into the future, so no matter what I do, you read it in advance,” Kaiser replied with a small grin. “Besides, I didn’t win—but I didn’t lose either.”

Their spars had always ended in draws. At least, back then. Now, things would be different.

Yukari cut in with a pointed remark.

“I’ve told you before—you rely too much on Spirit Vision. Being able to glimpse the future is an advantage, but it also puts you on the defensive. If your opponent’s power surpasses yours, you won’t win by relying on it alone.”

She gave a brief lecture, which Yukina accepted with bowed head. “Yes, Master.”

But old habits die hard, Kaiser thought. That overreliance was why he could match her in pure martial arts even without magic or sorcery. The future wasn’t fixed—knowing someone could see it was enough to find ways around it. And even if you saw it, that didn’t mean you could react in time.

If he really went all out now, she’d see nothing more than herself getting blown away a fraction of a second later—too fast to even resist.

Satisfied, Yukari turned back to Kaiser. “Sword Shamans aren’t ideal for guard duty, but Kanon already has the Aldegian Holy Ring Knights. What she lacks is someone who can fight at her side. Our goal isn’t just to guard her—it’s to keep her from causing or getting caught in trouble.”

Which meant Yukina’s mission was the same as Kaiser’s: monitor a potentially dangerous person, and eliminate them if necessary.

“I’ve heard Kanon’s likely to want to stay with you,” Yukari continued. “The Aldegian royals will probably ask you to take her in. We’re not thrilled about that—it gives Aldegyr easy access to the Beast King and the Fourth Primogenitor—but knowing that silver princess, she’ll push for it. The rest will be up to the high-level negotiations.”

She made her decision. “Given that, let Yukina go back with you.”

Since Kanon was staying in Kaiser’s home, her monitor would have to live there too.

“I’ll be in your care, Senpai,” Yukina said with a polite bow.

“Alright.” Kaiser shrugged. He could use someone to watch Kanon’s back.

And Yukina was, without doubt, a good choice.

Chapter 457 – The Fairy Who Brushed Past

Half an hour later, Kaiser and Yukina Himeragi left the antique shop together, stepping out of Sixth Slope under the oddly curious stares of several passersby.

“Wait, those two… did they just come out of Sixth Slope?”

“They must’ve just left a hotel, right?”

“That girl’s gorgeous, but… isn’t she just a middle schooler?”

“Man, that’s envi—no, that guy’s a damn beast!”

Snatches of conversation drifted over, just loud enough for Kaiser’s sharp hearing to pick up, leaving him slightly speechless.

“Are we going home now, Senpai?”

Yukina, not having caught any of those comments, asked with her usual seriousness—though the phrasing was enough to invite a second round of misunderstandings.

“Yeah, let’s head back.” Kaiser nodded, then added, “By the way, Himeragi… that thing you’re carrying, is it…?”

Looking more closely, he noticed the black guitar case slung over her shoulder—it looked a lot like the one Sayaka Kirasaka used to carry the Type-6 Anti-Demon Bow.

From inside that black case, Kaiser could sense an unusual fluctuation.

It was somewhat like spiritual power, yet not quite the same—something more refined. The aura felt oddly familiar, reminiscent of the presence Kanon Kanase had given off back when she was turned into an Artificial Angel.

“This?” Yukina lifted the guitar case slightly. “Inside is the Godslayer Armament entrusted to me by the Lion King Organization.”

She opened the case and took out the weapon.

It was a long spear, clearly forged from an extraordinarily rare metal, its entire surface gleaming silver. Unlike any spear Kaiser was used to seeing, it was in a folded state, its shaft giving off a mechanical, inorganic impression—streamlined like a cutting-edge fighter jet, every line and angle evoking a refined modern weapon.

Clang!

When Yukina activated it, the spear gave a sharp metallic ring. The shaft instantly extended, the main blade—previously stored away—sliding out to form the spearhead. Auxiliary blades unfolded to either side like the variable wings of a fighter craft, giving it a strikingly modern, almost sci-fi presence.

Kaiser immediately recognized it.

“The Type-7 Assault Anti-Demon Spear…”

Officially named Snowdrift Wolf Schneewalzer, the Type-7 Assault Anti-Demon Spear was developed by the Lion King Organization specifically to combat demons with special abilities.

Its reputation far exceeded that of the Type-6 Heavy Anti-Demon Bow or the Hundred-Type Heavy Anti-Demon Blade.

At its core was a relic of the Devas—a divine weapon called the Saint Spear of Demon-Breaking, said to have the power to return the world to its original form. Only three existed in the entire world, impossible to mass-produce, and the Organization kept them as top-secret treasures.

This Armament was inscribed with a unique Lion King Organization technology—the Divine Resonance Wave Drive Formula. Once activated, it would draw the wielder’s spiritual power, converting it into divine energy capable of nullifying magic and cutting through any barrier.

In other words, it was the natural enemy of demons everywhere—an anti-demon weapon more fearsome than even the imitation holy swords, especially devastating against vampires. It was said to be capable of slaying even a True Ancestor.

Unfortunately, its rarity was extreme—only three existed—and the Saint Spear’s power could only be fully awakened by certain individuals. The Organization had been raising compatible wielders for years.

Now, that very weapon—said to be able to kill a True Ancestor—had been entrusted to Yukina Himeragi.

Clearly, she was one of the chosen wielders the Organization had been grooming all along… though she herself didn’t seem entirely aware of it.

“To be honest, I don’t think this spear really suits me,” Yukina said, brows knitting slightly. “My target’s just a human. The Aldegian Holy Ring Knights already have imitation holy swords that work against demons. Giving me an anti-demon Armament for this job feels… out of place.”

“…Maybe so,” Kaiser said after a pause. “If you think it’s ill-suited, then… best not to use it much.”

If he remembered correctly, the Snowdrift Wolf Schneewalzer had a terrifying side effect.

The more its wielder used it—converting their spiritual power into divine energy—the closer they came to a phenomenon akin to Artificial Angel transformation. When that divine energy reached a certain threshold, the wielder would undergo angelification… and vanish from this world.

Yes—this was a weapon that could turn someone into an angel.

What the hell is the Lion King Organization thinking? Why give Himeragi a weapon that causes angelification… to monitor a former Artificial Angel?

In the original timeline, Yukina had received the Snowdrift Wolf Schneewalzer because her target was the world’s strongest vampire—a genuine True Ancestor. No Armament suited her role better.

But now her target was no longer a demon, vampire, or True Ancestor. So why still give her this spear? Was it simply because she’d always been trained as its destined wielder? Or… was there another reason?

Kaiser’s brow furrowed slightly as he sank into thought.

“I know. I don’t plan to use such a rare Armament carelessly,” Yukina said, interpreting his words as advice.

“Good.” Kaiser dropped the matter. “Speaking of which—does that perverse woman, Kirasaka, know you’re on Itogami yet?”

“Sayaka?” Yukina’s expression softened with a hint of exasperation. “No, I haven’t told her. Even if I wanted to, I can’t.”

This ever-serious girl was still much the same as before—her years in boarding school had left her lacking in certain basic life skills. She didn’t even own a cellphone. Naturally, she hadn’t contacted Sayaka at all.

“I heard she’s here too, assigned to watch over Duke Ardeal?” Yukina ventured, unable to hide her curiosity. “Senpai, have you met her yet?”

“Met her? We’ve done more than that,” Kaiser said dryly. “We’ve already clashed several times. That woman’s come this close to aiming her Koukarin at my head. She’s probably dying to blow it off and erase me from existence.”

At that, Yukina couldn’t help but recall their school days together. Her delicate features showed both amusement and helplessness.

“You and Sayaka really haven’t changed—still arguing the moment you meet.”

“Hey, she’s the one picking fights with me,” Kaiser countered. “I’m just defending myself.”

It was the truth—if that man-hating woman didn’t go out of her way to provoke him, he wouldn’t bother with her.

Yukina knew this well enough and sighed. “So she’s still the same…”

Even as Sayaka’s junior, roommate, and friend, she had to admit it was always Sayaka starting things. Kaiser had shown remarkable restraint, only ever responding when provoked.

She had even tried to persuade Sayaka privately to stop antagonizing him. What Yukina didn’t know was that Sayaka’s hostility wasn’t just rooted in misandry—it was also jealousy. Her beloved Yukina was always defending Kaiser, spending time with him, sometimes even chatting warmly with him. To Sayaka, Kaiser was a rival in love.

The nickname yuri girl was not given lightly.

“Senpai… you haven’t been cursed by her or anything, have you?” Yukina asked, a flicker of concern in her voice.

“Do I look like I have?” Kaiser snorted. “I’m not afraid of that perverse woman’s curses anymore.”

That reminded Yukina just how much he had changed. He was no longer the apprentice Attack Mage who couldn’t use magic or sorcery—he was now the Beast King, the man who had easily defeated Duke Ardeal, commanded multiple mythic beasts, and possessed power to rival—or even surpass—a True Ancestor.

“Senpai…”

Without realizing it, Yukina reached out and lightly grasped the hem of his coat.

She didn’t want this special person to change.

Back at the Sanctuary, everyone had kept their distance from her due to her tense, aloof demeanor—even Sayaka hadn’t noticed how wound-up she always was. Only Kaiser had seen through her during their first sparring match, offering advice and reassurance.

It was with him that she had first learned to relax.

And now that he was the famed Beast King… would he still be someone she could lean on? Someone she could be herself around?

“What is it?” Kaiser asked, glancing back at her. His manner was no different than before, easing her worry.

“…Nothing.” Yukina drew a quiet breath and smiled. “Let’s go home, Senpai.”

That soft, radiant smile—so unlike her usual seriousness—caught him off guard.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

After taking a moment to admire his junior’s beauty, Kaiser took her hand and started toward home.

By now, the Festival was well underway.

Overhead, an advertising airship floated past, its giant side screens promoting the night’s events, heralding the official start of the celebration.

The moment they stepped onto the main street, a tide of people surged around them.

“Stay close. Don’t get separated.”

Kaiser shifted his grip from holding her arm to intertwining fingers, his hand wrapping around Yukina’s smooth, delicate one.

“…Mm.”

Her cheeks colored faintly, but she didn’t resist, letting him lead her through the crowd.

Kaiser kept a subtle watch on her. Seeing her quietly follow his lead brought a small smile to his lips. Sayaka’s precious junior really was adorable—beautiful enough to rival Kanon Kanase, even as a middle schooler.

In looks, Yukina bore some resemblance to Nagisa Akatsuki—both had black hair and similar features—but where Nagisa was like the sweet girl next door, Yukina was a princess: refined, aloof, and radiantly dignified.

If she transferred to Saikai Academy to watch over Kanon, the student body would erupt in chaos. Kanon would no longer be the only flower on the high branch—there would be two school beauties.

As he was thinking this, Kaiser suddenly brushed past someone in the crowd.

—

He froze.

A petite girl, about Nagisa’s height, passed by him, golden hair glinting in the light.

For an instant, he caught a glimpse of her—skin pale as porcelain, features so flawless they seemed almost inhuman. She looked about fourteen or fifteen, her waist-length hair shimmering with iridescent hues, like sunlight on a fairy’s wings.

Her eyes lifted briefly to meet his, and within them burned a flicker of flame.

“Hehe…”

A silver-bell laugh rang in his ears as the fairy-like beauty slipped past him and into the crowd behind.

Kaiser spun around, but she was gone.

“Senpai?” Yukina’s voice reached him, tinged with confusion.

“…It’s nothing.”

He shook his head and continued forward, though his mind was no longer on the festival.

It was on that golden-haired girl who had just brushed past him.

Chapter 458 – The Three True Ancestors Make Their Move

At that moment, Kaiser had no idea that the girl who had just brushed past him was only one of several uninvited guests soon to arrive on Itogami Island.

While tourists from all over were streaming into the city to attend the Eve Festival, far out at sea a massive aircraft was descending toward the water.

It was a gigantic amphibious plane, powered by four turbofan engines—what most would simply call a seaplane. Measuring over forty meters in length with a wingspan to match, its size was enormous even by civilian standards. Deep crimson trim lined its hull, and on the tailfin was emblazoned an emblem of a war chariot drawn by a flying dragon.

Anyone knowledgeable enough to recognize that emblem would be shocked—it was the crest of the Night Empire that ruled Europe: the Domain of the War King.

The seaplane, bearing the War King’s emblem, splashed down into the dark ocean, throwing up towering curtains of spray as it skimmed the surface before finally gliding into Itogami’s harbor.

Moored at the dock ahead of it was a magnificent ocean liner. Its design, reminiscent of a stately castle, bore a flag with the same crest of the War King’s Domain.

There was no mistaking it—this was the Oceanus Grave, the personal vessel of Dimitrie Vattler, vampire noble of the War King’s Domain and lord of the Ardeal Duchy.

Once, this very luxury liner had become a battlefield between Kaiser and Vattler, nearly destroyed in the fight. Now, it had been restored to its former glory.

As the great white wake of the seaplane faded into the waves, it slid toward the waiting ship—where, on the deck, Vattler appeared in a white suit.

The belligerent vampire noble’s crimson eyes glowed with excitement. His expression was one of pure delight, like a predator spotting a long-lost rival—his entire body radiating storm-like surges of magical power.

Anyone who knew Vattler would instantly realize—he wasn’t playing around.

He was serious.

“Monas!”

Without hesitation, Vattler’s body boiled with a mist of blood as he summoned one of the nine serpent familiars dwelling in his veins.

Storm-like magic twisted into a beam of black light, and a massive black serpent appeared in the night sky. It hissed, coils as vast as ocean swells writhing as it bared its fangs and plunged toward the seaplane.

The sea erupted into towering waves, the air screamed, and heaven and earth seemed to change color under the sheer force of the attack.

If that serpent landed, the oversized civilian aircraft would be obliterated instantly—nothing left, not even a scrap of debris. The passengers would vanish without a trace.

It was an attack capable of pulverizing an island—at the very least, enough to shatter the two-kilometer-wide uninhabited isle Kaiser and La Folia had once visited.

Even most high-ranking demons would blanch at such a strike.

Yet from inside the plane came nothing but a faintly irritated click of the tongue.

The next instant, a haze of golden mist spread through the cabin—and a tall, dark-skinned man emerged.

His exact age was impossible to tell. He looked young at a glance, yet carried an aura of overwhelming authority and composure, like a battle-hardened general or a seasoned statesman. His long coat and flowing hair perfectly matched his sharp, upright features—one look was enough to see he was a man of high standing.

The man raised his head toward the descending serpent, his entire view filled by its massive form, and his expression didn’t change in the slightest.

“Dance, Glutton.”

Blood mist and magic power identical in nature to Vattler’s erupted from his body—equal in both strength and refinement.

From within that storm appeared a great black sword, seven or eight meters long.

Boom!

As if swung by an invisible giant, the sword cleaved through the air in a single arc, a gale roaring in its wake as it pierced straight through the serpent’s lower jaw.

Up close, the blade’s surface writhed with countless teeth, and its hilt spat flames of magical energy. It was clearly alive—possessing will and consciousness.

It wasn’t a weapon.

It was a familiar.

And one capable of killing Vattler’s serpent familiar in a single blow.

The serpent writhed violently, its power exploding outward in a shockwave that threatened to crush the man and the plane beneath him.

But the black greatsword suddenly split into countless short blades, slicing apart every shred of magical force and shockwave the serpent produced. The air screamed under the onslaught.

Moments later, the serpent vanished, and the sword familiar dissipated as though its work was done.

Clap—clap—clap—clap—

On the deck of the luxury liner, Vattler applauded without reserve, smiling as he spoke.

“As expected of you, Aradhal. A familiar of that level is no threat to you.”

The long-haired man on the plane let out a sound of annoyance.

“And you’re still the same, Serpent Handler—summoning a familiar to attack before even saying hello. No wonder the Beast King thrashed you so badly—you’ve disgraced the entire War King’s Domain.”

The jab was merciless, showing no regard for Vattler’s status as both a noble of the War King’s Domain and the lord of Ardeal.

Naturally, Vattler didn’t mind. Not only did he have no attachment to such titles, but he also knew the man before him was his equal in both power and position.

“I admit, I didn’t expect to lose that badly before the Fourth Primogenitor had even awakened,” Vattler said lightly. “A pleasant surprise. If our dear Chairman—Presha Aradhal—is interested, I wouldn’t mind introducing him to that man.”

Velesh Aradhal—Chairman of the Imperial Assembly of the War King’s Domain, Marquis of Severin. A nine-hundred-year-old Old Generation vampire who commanded seven sword familiars.

A direct recipient of the First Primogenitor, the Lost Warlord’s blood, Presha had once been famed for his warmongering, leaving an indelible record on countless battlefields. His reputation on the world stage eclipsed even Vattler’s.

In essence, he was considered the second most powerful figure in the War King’s Domain—politically, economically, and in raw power—second only to the Lost Warlord himself, and on par with Vattler, reputed to be the one closest to a true Primogenitor.

Unless Vattler fused all nine of his familiars into the original serpent, Ananta, he could never hope to defeat Aradhal easily.

Thus, even Vattler treated him with a certain respect—not because he was the Domain’s number two politically, but because his power demanded it.

Summoning a familiar to attack him the moment his plane appeared? For Vattler, that was a form of respect. There were very few in the world he’d attack without a word, trusting they’d be fine regardless.

Unfortunately, to the man on the receiving end, it was nothing but irritating.

“I don’t share your enthusiasm,” Aradhal said coldly. “Your insistence on lingering here on Itogami has greatly displeased our Primogenitor. Do you have nothing to say for yourself?”

“Oh, come now. The old man doesn’t care about something so trivial,” Vattler replied easily. “In fact, I suspect you’re here because he wants you here.”

Vattler simply didn’t believe his Primogenitor wouldn’t be interested in the sudden appearance of the so-called Beast King. If Aradhal, the empire’s second-in-command, had come to Itogami, it was surely to probe that man.

“The Eve Festival is the perfect opportunity,” Vattler went on, turning into a golden mist and appearing before Aradhal with his hands in his pockets. “Entry inspections are far more relaxed, and not even the Island Management Bureau would want to disrupt such a rare occasion.

“If the old man wants to make a move now, it’s only natural. In fact, the other two Primogenitors have probably already acted, don’t you think?”

His crimson eyes glimmered.

“With your connections, you must have heard something. So tell me, Aradhal—our Primogenitor sent you. Who did the other two send?”

Excitement—and battle lust—filled his voice.

If the Lost Warlord had sent his empire’s number two, then surely the others had sent equally formidable agents.

How could Vattler resist wanting to test them?

“You…” Aradhal’s eye twitched before he let out a long sigh.

He knew that even if he tried to keep it secret, Vattler would find out on his own. Better to tell him now than have him stir up trouble chasing answers.

Aradhal might be an Old Generation vampire who loved battle, but he was calm and deliberate. As Chairman, he devoted himself to aiding the Lost Warlord, maintaining the Domain’s relations with other nations, and fulfilling the king’s orders.

“From the Chaos Territory, there’s been no clear movement,” Aradhal began. “The Third Primogenitor, the Chaos Bride, doesn’t seem to be sending anyone here. Her whereabouts remain a mystery.”

Her movements were always shrouded in secrecy. Unlike the enigmatic Second Primogenitor, the Chaos Bride roamed the world freely, using her power to change her appearance at will. She appeared often, but almost never in her true form—making her location nearly impossible to track, even for the War King’s Domain.

“As for the Extinction Dynasty,” Aradhal continued, “word is that the Ninth Prince has come. He may already be on the island.”

Vattler’s brows rose.

“Iblisveil Aziz, is it?”

Iblisveil Aziz—the Ninth Prince of the Extinction Dynasty, lord of the Caucasus Fortress. A Second Generation vampire, direct heir to the Second Primogenitor, the Eye of Extinction.

Proud and unruly, he showed warmth only to those he recognized, yet held a deep fascination with foreign cultures, traveling abroad frequently.

Vattler knew him well enough—they’d met months earlier at the Blazing Banquet. Vattler had represented the War King’s Domain, bringing all its Fourth Primogenitor base bodies, while Iblisveil had come on behalf of the Extinction Dynasty with two base bodies of his own.

He’d been attacked, lost them both, and thus lost the right to participate in the Feast. Later, discovering his own sister Maivea had betrayed him, he returned home, defeated her, and devoured her—claiming the power of yet another Second Generation royal.

In other words, his current strength might well rival Vattler’s.

Vattler bared his fangs, barely containing his delight.

Aradhal could only sigh again, glancing toward Itogami.

“Let’s see if you can survive what’s coming, Beast King.”

Chapter 459 – How Could It Be Her?

At the same time, far from the bustling streets—on a secluded coastline where even the neon lights could not reach—a fierce battle had just come to an end.

“Damn it…”

“Why… why is this happening…”

Two glamorous women dressed like medieval witches—and in truth, witches themselves—lay sprawled on the ground, bodies covered in wounds. They groaned in pain and frustration, while all around them lay a number of obvious grunts, each badly injured. Some had even lost consciousness entirely, unable to so much as stand.

The one who had reduced them to this state was a Gothic girl, calmly standing beneath a black parasol despite the darkness of night.

“Looks like that guy called it.” Natsuki Minamiya’s face remained expressionless as she spoke. “You people from the Library never learn. You already lost once on this island, and now you’ve got the nerve to sneak back in? Seems I’ve been keeping too quiet lately—you’ve all forgotten where my line is.”

After Kaiser’s warning, Natsuki had ordered the Special Zone’s security forces to tighten patrols and watch for suspicious figures approaching Itogami Island.

And sure enough, it paid off. Here she’d caught a group of illegal entrants—members of the international crime syndicate LCO, the Library—including two witches.

“The Black Witch, Emma Meyer.”

“The Crimson Witch, Octavia Meyer.”

“Meyer Sisters—First Platoon of LCO’s Philosopher Corps. First-Class Criminal Magisters. The same two who once turned roughly three hundred hectares of forest around Ashdown City in the Northern Sea Empire into guardians, earning themselves the name Witches of Ashdown.”

With her back to the moonlit sea, like a goddess of the night, Natsuki calmly pronounced their fate.

“You’ve come all this way to turn yourselves in. Don’t worry—I’ll reserve a nice cell for you in the Prison Barrier.”

At those words, the sisters’ faces paled in horror.

The Prison Barrier—built to hold dangerous demons and magic offenders too vicious for any ordinary facility—was shrouded in grim legend. Some said it was where the wandering souls of criminals who had died without salvation drifted forever, earning it the nickname “Ghost Prison.” Others claimed it was another name for a sunken temple of an evil god, a cursed prison capable of binding even the gods themselves for eternity.

Within Itogami City, the Prison Barrier was one of the most infamous urban legends—everyone had heard of it, but few knew whether it truly existed.

Only insiders knew the truth: the Prison Barrier was real. It was an artificial otherworld, created by harnessing the power of the ley lines that flowed through the Demon District. Hidden away in a dimension unreachable to ordinary people, its exact location was a closely guarded secret.

And Natsuki Minamiya was its warden.

That sealed world—an eternal penal colony, a labyrinth of time with no exit—was her personal detention facility.

Only Natsuki knew where it was.

Only Natsuki could open its gates.

Once imprisoned there, escape was impossible without her consent.

“Your purpose in coming to Itogami is to free LCO’s Grand Librarian, Aya Tokoyogi, and retrieve the magic tome she brought here—the Dark Oath Grimoire, isn’t it?” Natsuki’s voice turned icy.

“Well, since you want to see her, I’ll grant your wish. You can all have your reunion in the Prison Barrier.”

As she spoke, silver chains appeared in the space behind her.

“Restraints of Penance!”

The Meyer sisters gasped in shock.

That was a powerful magic tool created long ago by the Celestial Realm to capture mythical monsters, forged strong enough that even divine beasts could not break it through brute force. The heavenly chains sprang forth like swimming dragons, darting toward the sisters.

“Get away!”

The two injured witches screamed, forcing themselves upright.

Boom!

From behind them, massive tentacles burst from the sea. Each was up to a meter and a half thick, its length impossible to measure. Semi-transparent and unsettlingly reminiscent of squid flesh, they writhed like snakes, exhaling a foul miasma as their number grew, surging toward the silver chains.

“This is the guardian you gained by sacrificing those three hundred hectares of forest around Ashdown, is it?” Natsuki’s expression twisted in disgust.

“Witches these days really have regressed—resorting to methods like this just to obtain a guardian of that caliber.”

A guardian was a demon-bestowed familiar, the source of a witch’s power and her watchful overseer. It protected her, granted her the strength to fulfill her wishes, and—if she broke the pact—became her executioner.

By rights, a witch was given her own guardian at the moment she made her pact with a demon. No other method should have been necessary.

Of course, guardians varied in strength. Weaker ones might only match the familiars of common vampires, while stronger ones could rival even the beasts of Old Generation vampires—or match those of a True Ancestor.

If a witch lacked a guardian, it meant one of two things:

One, her guardian was too weak and had been abandoned.

Two, she was an irregular, unorthodox witch who could not obtain one at all.

Either way, it marked her as lacking in ability—or flawed in some critical way.

The Meyer sisters were clearly the former, hence their need for such an ugly substitute.

“As a parting gift, I’ll show you what a real guardian looks like.”

Natsuki closed her parasol, her tone regal as she addressed her own shadow.

“Rise, Rain Gold.”

A moment later, a massive figure loomed behind her, towering over the grotesque tentacles. Feminine in form, graceful yet fierce, she was clad head-to-toe in golden armor, her entire body an intricate mechanical construct—a golden knight.

When she stepped into the world, the very earth of the coastline trembled. From within her thick armor, as if locking away the darkness itself, came the grinding of colossal gears, the roar of a great engine that made the air itself quake.

——!

The monstrous tentacles froze in midair, shuddering as though in fear.

The Meyer sisters, too, went rigid, trembling uncontrollably.

The Rain Gold radiated staggering magic power, its presence carrying a dread not of this world—something that could erode both light and the human heart.

Boom!!!

With a single sweep of her sword, the golden knight erased the tentacles as if they had never existed.

Clatter—

The silver chains shot forward, wrapping around the Meyer sisters and binding them tight.

“Let me go, Natsuki Minamiya!”

“You monster…!”

The witches thrashed and screamed, their fear plain.

Natsuki’s face was cold as she manipulated the chains, dragging the sisters into a warped space—the gateway to the Prison Barrier. Once inside, they might as well have vanished from the world.

The witches’ battle was over.

“What a troublesome bunch…”

Her icy expression softened, replaced by the weary fondness of a fussy schoolteacher.

And then—

“Not entirely. At least I got to watch a good show.”

A pleasant, melodic laugh answered her murmur, making her pupils contract sharply.

But what truly shocked her was the speaker’s face.

The girl sat casually atop a rock, looking down at Natsuki with a smile as dreamlike as a bubble. She had fairy-like beauty, at once seductive, childish, and ethereal, golden hair cascading to her waist and eyes that burned like living flames in an innocent gaze.

Natsuki knew that face. She knew exactly who this was.

“Avrora Florestina…!”

How could it be her? How could she be here?

She should have been—

“I’m already dead. My soul’s barely a remnant, sleeping inside that spirit medium's body. I shouldn’t be able to appear here, right?”

The girl’s smile deepened, clearly savoring Natsuki’s shock.

“Don’t worry—your understanding’s basically correct. So don’t think too much about the me standing here.”

“I’m only here in this form to meet someone.”

Natsuki instantly guessed who that someone was. And her instincts as a witch screamed—if she let this girl do as she pleased, Itogami Island might be destroyed.

“…You think I’ll just stand here and let you?”

Her voice was grave, the air behind her twisting as the golden knight reappeared, radiating killing intent.

“So this is the Rain Gold—the Witch of the Void’s guardian…”

Where the Meyer sisters had cowered, Avrora only looked intrigued.

“Such magic, such presence… No wonder you’re the Prison Barrier’s warden. This might really match a True Ancestor-class beast.”

“But tell me, witch—is it worth it? The price you paid for this power… even I can hardly bear to watch.”

A guardian’s strength was proportional to the weight of the pact that created it. The greater the price paid, the stronger the guardian.

To wield a guardian on par with a True Ancestor’s beast—what an unfathomable price that must have been.

“Rain Gold!”

Natsuki ignored the girl’s pity and snapped her command.

But instead of obeying, the golden knight’s form twisted—drawn into a deep, endless darkness—and vanished from the world.

“What?!”

Natsuki’s expression changed instantly.

The next moment, she herself was pulled into that same darkness—as if hurled from the earth into outer space—helpless before the alien world that swallowed her.

“This… a familiar?!”

Darkness filled her vision, her body—everything. She realized it at last: she was inside a familiar.

A familiar whose very body was space itself.

This entire dark world was the familiar—an alternate dimension it had carved out.

“Fighting you would be fun, but that might draw his attention—so I’ll pass.”

Avrora’s innocent laugh echoed in her ears.

“This sealed space should unravel that illusory body of yours, leaving you unable to interfere with the outside world for a while.”

“That way, I can move more freely.”

“Don’t take it personally, Prison Warden—your existence would only get in my way here. Consider this a temporary removal.”

Her voice began to fade.

“If you want revenge, bring your real body. That’ll make the fight more interesting.”

And then she was gone, leaving Natsuki alone in the darkness.

“Damn these bastards… acting with impunity on this island…!”

Natsuki was furious—and helpless. She tried to trigger her spatial control magic, to shift herself out of the darkness, but found the space around her completely sealed. Rain Gold had been banished deeper still, unable to return to her side for the time being.

“So I have to accept it?”

Through the dark, she looked back toward the artificial island.

“I guess this is as far as I go. The rest is up to you, transfer student. Don’t you dare die…”

With those words, her body shattered like glass and vanished.

Before long, the coastline welcomed a newcomer—a dark-skinned boy, no more than twelve or thirteen, with black hair and golden eyes.

“…Too late?”

He surveyed the scene in silence, then muttered to himself.

“This magic… so it really was her?”

His golden eyes flared crimson.

“To show up personally… still as unpredictable as ever…”

(End of Chapter)