Three days passed in a blur. Friday found Shichen sitting idly in the office, spacing out. Sasasaki Misaki had class and couldn't come bother him, so he had the office to himself. It was class time—if it were a break, practically every student would come looking for him.
And they were all girls. The middle-schoolers were a bit more reserved; the high-schoolers were much more forward. The little ladies were truly bold, not hiding their fondness for him in the least and openly showing their interest.
Shichen had his hands full dealing with them these past few days. But what could he do? If you're this handsome, you pay the price that comes with it.
Bored, he was just about to head to the back hill to check on white-chan and the others when a blast rolled into his ears. Not his imagination. His eyes sharpened and he looked toward the source—there, magic was surging out of control. That direction… MAR's affiliated hospital.
MAR was a world-famous magi-industrial conglomerate, a major East Asian enterprise that sold everything from military weapons to everyday food, and even ran a medical institute and its own hospital. Aiba Asagi's mother had been treated there before—and so had Akatsuki Nagisa.
In a blink, Shichen vanished and reappeared at MAR's gate, where he immediately saw the cause of the explosion. Hard to miss: two sizable familiars were squaring off, and behind each familiar stood a young woman.
Behind the three-headed hound stood a woman in a black coat. She looked quite young—seventeen or eighteen at most. Silky chestnut hair rippled in the turbulent air, and her deep red eyes were striking.
Behind the thunder-wreathed giant lion stood a petite girl of about fourteen or fifteen, also wrapped in lightning. Her short, boyish blond hair framed eyes that burned with a bluish-white glow. She wore full platinum armor trimmed in gold—clearly a combat outfit.
Neither of them noticed Shichen. The armored girl ordered her familiar to attack. The two familiars weren't in the same league: the lion slammed the hound to the ground at once, and the three-headed dog dissipated on the spot.
"Hand over the key, Veldiana Caruana," the armored girl said coolly.
"The key…" The one called Veldiana Caruana tightened her grip on the briefcase in her arms, face tense.
"Give me the key. Or do you want to die?" the armored girl asked icily. The lightning around her flared even brighter. Veldiana bit her lip and didn't move.
"In that case—"
"Hold it." Shichen stepped in front of Veldiana.
"Who are you?" The armored girl fixed him with a wary stare.
"This is my turf, and you're asking who I am?"
"Your turf? You're—?"
"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that you came walking right into my hands." Shichen's gaze fell on the thunder-shrouded lion. He knew that familiar all too well: the Fifth Familiar of the Fourth Progenitor. Which made the girl's identity obvious—Number Five's vessel.
"What do you mean?"
"Just watch."
Shichen strode slowly toward the lightning-wrapped lion—and something unbelievable happened. The massive familiar actually began to back away in fear.
"How?" Veldiana blurted in shock.
"Lion-chan, go rejoin your companions."
He reached the lion, raised his hand, and pressed it to the beast's body.
"Rooaaar!"
The lion bellowed—not in rage but in terror. It couldn't escape. Its condensed body began to crumble, turning into a mass of magical particulates, which Shichen absorbed completely without leaving a trace.
"Im…possible…" Number Five whispered, stunned, and her legs gave way. Shichen flashed to her side, caught her slight frame, and—without hesitation—lowered his head to her neck. Fangs slid out and sank in.
"Eh? A vampire? Wait—this feeling… a Progenitor? That's impossible!" Veldiana stammered, flustered.
Shichen drank a fair amount of Number Five's blood, then sealed her into himself. He carefully tasted the blood he'd just taken and realized it couldn't awaken any familiar in him. Not enough aptitude?
"W-who are you?" Veldiana cried again.
"Don't make a fuss," Shichen said, walking toward her.
"You, you—"
The pressure of a Progenitor rolled off him without mercy. Veldiana couldn't withstand it; she dropped straight onto her backside. Shichen stopped, blinking. Was this woman trying to seduce him?
Under her coat she wore a short skirt; in that position, well—everything below was pointed straight his way. She yelped and sat up in a hurry, tugging her skirt down.
"W-what are you looking at!"
"Come on, you fell on your own," Shichen said, withdrawing his aura.
"It's clearly your fault… I'm a daughter of House Caruana—how dare you humiliate me like this… Who are you really?"
"You can call me Shichen," he said with a faint smile.
"Shichen? That name sounds familiar… Wait! Aren't you the younger brother of the Witch of the Void?"
"So you know me?" Shichen raised a brow—then guessed why. He'd done plenty of anti-magus jobs with Minamiya Natsuki before; among demons, his name had long since gotten around.
"But how could the Witch of the Void's brother be a vampire—and with power like this…" Veldiana muttered. She was a vampire too; she could feel the blood in him—without a doubt, a Progenitor's blood.
"My situation isn't what matters. Tell me why you, a survivor of the Warlord's Domain's Count Caruana line, are here."
Shichen knew why, of course, but he played dumb.
"Eh? How do you know that?!" Veldiana's eyes flashed with a hint of desolation.
"…Didn't you basically just say it yourself?" Shichen said helplessly. Was something wrong with her head?
He remembered the broad strokes of the incident, but many details had long since faded—Veldiana remembered even less.
"D-did I?" she blinked blankly.
"Forget it… Hand that over." Shichen pointed at the briefcase in her arms.
"I…" She hugged it tighter, hesitating. "Th-this isn't what you think it is. It's useless to you."
"You think I didn't hear? The key is in the case, isn't it?"
"Mm…" Veldiana clutched it even tighter.
"That isn't something you get to possess—"
In a blur, Shichen appeared before her and snatched the case from her arms.
"My key! G-give it—" She lurched to her feet to grab it back, but froze under Shichen's cold look.
"Go back to wherever you came from. This isn't where you belong," he said, turning to leave.
"W-wait!"
Mustering her courage, Veldiana grabbed his clothes. "The one protecting Number Twelve, the Night Lord of the Blazing Light—that's my sister! House Caruana has the right to stake everything on her, to bet on Number Twelve—Dodekatos!"
The words seemed to drain her; she was panting, but she still clutched his clothes, forcing herself to stand.
Shichen watched her in silence until her breathing steadied. Then he said quietly, "Your bet is meaningless."
"What?" She looked up, not quite understanding.
"You should know what I am by now. With me here, the Fourth Progenitor is not coming back."
As he spoke, a gale exploded outward, whipping up dust and shattered stone. A Progenitor's aura surged from him without restraint—vast, overwhelming magic blanketed Veldiana. Her hair flew wild. Dazed, she whispered, "W-who are you… really?"
"You can call me the Fifth Progenitor."
"F-Fifth… Progenitor…" Veldiana murmured, not even conscious of saying it. How could there be a Fifth Progenitor? That was impossible in this world. Was she dreaming? Had she not woken up yet? Her head felt foggy—maybe she really was…
"Save the daydreaming. We've got company," Shichen cut in.
"Eh?" Veldiana snapped back to herself and instinctively followed his gaze. There was nothing—then suddenly a girl in a uniform appeared. She wore glasses, a book tucked under one arm, looking perfectly plain.
"Paper Noise—the Silence Breaker!"
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 220+ Chapters Ahead of Others!