It was summer again. The sun burned high, heat rippling the very air.
Itogami Island hadn't changed much: the streets brimmed with energetic young adults—laughing, chatting, carefree.
Their voices carried, and one word kept popping up in their conversations:
The Fifth True Ancestor.
Rumor had it the master of Itogami Island was an impossible being—the Fifth True Ancestor.
Young people love legends like that, especially when there's also the strongest vampire, the Fourth True Ancestor.
The Fourth True Ancestor was already immortal and indestructible, kinless, uninterested in ruling, commanding twelve calamity-incarnate familiars, caring only to drink blood, kill, and destroy—a merciless vampire beyond worldly law, a monster that razed countless cities.
So what would a Fifth True Ancestor, above even him, be like?
The men debated excitedly; the women were far less interested.
Not only because, in this demon sanctuary, monsters were nothing rare—but also because even the Fourth might not be real, never mind a Fifth.
A rumor is a rumor; without proof, it means nothing.
This topic had been going around for over half a year. People still loved to talk about it—while the supposedly impossible Fifth True Ancestor lounged in his office, enjoying the air-conditioning.
He was alone, slouched in his chair with his legs up on the desk—utterly at ease.
That was how he'd been most of the past half-year, showing no sense of being "master" of the island.
He'd never claimed to be Itogami's master anyway—outsiders had simply decided to call it his domain.
The world's fourth Night Empire.
How "big" was it? Well, an artificial island only gets so big. But with him there, Itogami stood on par with the other three empires.
In those months he'd really only used his status for one thing: getting Tritos and the others enrolled at Saikai Academy.
Schooling wasn't the issue—but twelve dreamlike, fairy-faced girls who all looked exactly alike? Of course that caused a stir.
What he hadn't expected was that, after just a week, the academy went right back to normal.
Makes sense—when demons are part of everyday life, what's a set of twelve identical "sisters"?
They were just… a bit prettier than average.
And hey—there were twelve of them. Surely someone would have a shot, right?
Compared to the "twelve-tuplets," the guys cared more about whether they had any chance at winning a heart.
Unfortunately, the affectionate way Shichen treated them made most of those hopes fizzle out.
"Himeragi Yukina, huh…"
Right now Shichen was holding a file—a transfer student's dossier. The attached ID photo showed a long-haired young woman: Himeragi Yukina.
Even without makeup, she looked cute; in person she'd surely be even cuter.
She was transferring that very day. Shichen of course knew who she was; it seemed the Lion King Organization couldn't resist sending her to get close to him.
He didn't mind.
…
"Himeragi, is that a guitar in that hard case?"
"Himeragi, can we be friends?"
"Himeragi…"
Third-Year, Class C: within half a day, Himeragi Yukina had become the class celebrity.
Her ridiculously cute looks—delicate features, skin white as snow—many felt she was no less striking than Avrora and the others.
Mainly, she felt more real, less dreamlike than Avrora's group.
"Alright, alright—don't crowd Himeragi like that," another popular girl stepped in to rescue her.
"Class Rep Nagisa…"
"Don't overwhelm her. She barely knows you yet," Akatsuki Nagisa scolded the boys around Yukina's desk.
"Got it…"
Nagisa carried real weight in class.
"Himeragi, I hope you don't mind—everyone's just excited to welcome you," Nagisa said with a smile.
"Mm, I know… I'm okay."
"Good. I'm Akatsuki Nagisa—call me Nagisa. Can I call you Yukina?"
"Eh? Uh, s-sure…"
"Great! You're so cute—I'd love to be friends."
"Really? If you don't mind…"
"Perfect! P.E. is next—let's go together?"
"Okay."
"Wait—there's also Avrora and the others. I'll introduce you."
"Avrora…" Yukina didn't need Nagisa to point her out; her eyes went straight to the class's brightest presence: golden hair glowing like flame-light, a fairy-like face—the No. 12 vessel of the Fourth True Ancestor.
Yukina certainly knew who she was—along with the other in class, Kaguya, No. 5.
She also knew about the ten vessels in other classes.
And their master: the Fifth True Ancestor, who also happened to be her P.E. teacher—Shichen.
She had transferred to Saikai to make contact with the Fifth True Ancestor—so she could keep watch on him.
Thinking of the target she would soon meet, her mind went back to a few days earlier.
In the Lion King Organization's worship hall, she had met—with a curtain between them—three honored guests: the elders known as the Three Saints.
They were the organization's highest-tier espers and magi; she'd never met them before, and her nerves had been on edge.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't a face-to-face meeting: the Three Saints spoke from behind the ceremonial curtain; she never saw their faces.
But she remembered the conversation clearly.
A few days earlier, in the worship hall…
"State your name," came a voice from behind the curtain—serious but not cold, youthful, obviously female.
"My surname is Himeragi—Himeragi Yukina," she answered, tense.
"Mm. Your age?" the same woman asked.
"I'll be nineteen in four months."
"Will you now. That happens to fit someone's tastes quite well."
"?" Yukina tilted her head, baffled.
The woman didn't explain. She continued, "You began training seven years ago, correct? Right after your seventh birthday, on a snowy winter night, you were brought here alone. Do you remember that night?"
She spoke as if to herself—but Yukina felt a chill. The woman hadn't looked up any files; she was reading Yukina's memories on the spot, brushing aside the mental wards Yukina had set as if they weren't there—overwhelming extrasensory perception.
"I… only remember it vaguely," Yukina answered honestly.
"Mm. Your marks seem good—Yuandō speaks highly of you."
"Thank you for the praise."
"I've worked with Yuandō a few times—she's an excellent magus-enforcer. The spellwork of your mental ward just now shares her traits. What else did you learn from her?"
"Comprehensive curses and shamanic arts, plus illusion and warding."
"And magic? Yukari Endou's specialty should be there."
"I've completed a segment of the continental system; as for Western magic, only the basics of theory."
"Experience fighting demons?"
"In simulations, about two rounds of intensive training at the training institute; no real combat."
"Martial arts?"
"I can manage… somewhat."
"I see. That will do," the woman said, laughing softly.
"What do you mean?" Yukina couldn't help asking.
"Himeragi Yukina—you're qualified as a Sword Shaman."
"Eh?"
"Originally you needed four more months of training. But circumstances have changed. Look at this."
Something slipped through the gap in the curtain: a butterfly. It fluttered to Yukina and turned into a photograph.
In it was a man so perfectly handsome it was ridiculous; his radiant smile was strangely comforting.
"This photo is…?" she asked, puzzled.
"His name is Shichen. Do you know him?"
"No."
"Then how do you feel about him?"
"Eh?"
"Don't follow? Put another way—does he suit your tastes?"
"What do you mean? Are you saying…?"
"Why so dense? I mean his looks. What do you think? Do you like them?"
"…" Yukina fell silent, wondering if she'd misheard.
"Sigh, what a blockhead… Fine. Then have you heard the term Fifth True Ancestor?"
~~~
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