◉◉◉◉◉
After hearing Anos's words, Mimori Akatsuki fell into a long silence.
Indeed, she knew her daughter's body had never been particularly strong since childhood.
But was Nagisa's remaining lifespan really as short as this man said?
...
Half a minute later, she opened her eyes.
As expected, she still had not reached an answer.
Nor was this an answer she should be the one to make.
"I'm sorry... I cannot make that kind of decision for Nagisa, A choice like this... only she herself has the right to decide."
That was Mimori Akatsuki's answer.
In Anos's mind, it was barely worth eighty points.
"All right. Your daughter should wake up soon. If there is anything you need to tell her, speak with her directly."
Anos stretched his hand toward Nagisa Akatsuki.
Golden threads flowed from his hand, weaving irregular paths through the air before finally connecting to Nagisa's body.
As the golden light circulated, Nagisa's eyes moved slightly. A few seconds later, she opened them.
"Hm? Am I in heaven? Why is there such a handsome big brother here?"
That was the first thing Nagisa said after seeing Anos.
"Of course not. Your mother has something she wants to talk to you about. It would not be appropriate for me to listen, so I'll step outside first."
After saying that, Anos took Ophis's hand and prepared to leave.
Ophis glanced at Nagisa, then obediently followed Anos out.
She believed that Anos was always right.
Mimori finally snapped out of the fascinated state brought on by seeing Anos's sacred power. After thinking for a moment, she looked toward Nagisa.
...
On Anos's side.
Ignoring everyone else, Anos directly brought Ophis out of the camp.
The moment they stepped outside, they saw Gajou lying there like a corpse.
"You still have not gotten up?"
Anos looked at Gajou lying on the ground and admiring the moonlight, not knowing what to say.
If a zombie suddenly crawled out from underground, would this man just hand himself over for free?
"Ah, hahaha."
Gajou laughed awkwardly.
"I just thought the moon looked pretty round tonight."
Then he answered that even he found embarrassing.
In truth, his whole body was aching so badly that even moving a little made him feel as if his bones were about to fall apart.
Although he was a tough man, and he had suffered injuries worse than this before, this was not exactly a dangerous situation.
If he could lie down, then he would lie down.
Consider it repentance for his mistake.
"If you think this place is nice, then keep staying here."
After saying that, Anos took Ophis's hand and prepared to leave.
There was still something he had to do.
"Wait. Please wait."
Gajou endured the pain and sat up from the ground.
"Is Nagisa's matter already settled? Or..."
Seeing that Anos and Ophis seemed about to leave, Gajou hurriedly asked.
"Relax. She has not died. They are just thinking about the options I gave them."
"Ophis and I are not leaving either. We are just going nearby to take care of something."
Anos waved his hand, then left with Ophis.
"Thinking about options?"
Hearing that phrase, Gajou was a little confused.
Did that mean there was something difficult to choose?
Was this not just saving one person?
Either it could be done, or it could not be done.
Surely there was no rule like, to save one person, someone else had to die?
Gajou suddenly imagined all kinds of dramatic possibilities.
But in the end, he still could not figure it out.
As for Anos...
He had already disappeared.
...
Behind a rock.
A blond girl dissolved the spell in her hand and crouched down again.
"It seems that the black-haired little girl has mysteriously disappeared again, the same way she vanished before. As long as she leaves someone's line of sight, there is a chance she will disappear."
After writing Ophis's information into her small notebook, the girl named Yukari Endou let out a breath of relief.
As long as she could successfully complete this mission and return to High God Forest, she could get married...
No.
Ahem.
She could successfully become one of the Three Saints of the Lion King Agency.
"Unknown young girl. Possesses immense power. Seems indifferent toward most things. May disappear from this world at any time."
"Danger level: must be monitored."
That was the definition the Lion King Agency had given Ophis.
Yukari Endou was the one sent to monitor Ophis.
If the name Yukari Endou was still somewhat unfamiliar to Anos, then once he remembered her identity, he would know that she was someone he had long known of, though he did not understand her very deeply.
She was Yukina Himeragi's master.
Yukari Endou was powerful. In the later timeline, she used familiars and shikigami to communicate with Yukina from High God Forest, far away from Itogami Island.
Her strength was formidable. Her shikigami looked no different from humans and could even reproduce a heartbeat and body temperature. Merely by examining the scars and wear on Snowdrift Wolf, she could identify her disciple Yukina's habits and weaknesses, then give precise advice.
In the future, her personality would seem somewhat moody, and when her disciples made mistakes, she would punish them with penalty games. Because of that, Yukina was extremely afraid of Yukari, while Sayaka had personally experienced a maid-themed punishment game.
For now, however, because there were still people above her, she behaved relatively properly.
"What are you doing?"
While Yukari Endou was recording the information, such a voice came from behind her.
"Recording information, of course. This may be information on someone who can change the future balance of the world."
Yukari answered instinctively.
"Oh? And who is this person?"
The voice behind her continued asking.
"The temporary code name is [Dragon]. Her real name should be Ophis, but there has never been any known powerhouse named Ophis before. Whether her current name is her true name remains uncertain."
Yukari spoke while organizing the information in her memory.
It was simply too strange.
Even with the Lion King Agency's capabilities, they had found absolutely no information about this little girl. It was as if she were someone who had never existed in this world at all.
"Oh, so that is how it is."
After receiving that answer, the voice behind Yukari spoke again.
"Hm?"
"Hm, hm, hm?"
Only after unconsciously answering several questions did Yukari finally realize something.
Someone was talking to her.
She had originally thought she was talking to herself, helping herself organize the information.
Now it seemed someone was behind her.
How was that possible?
She had enough strength to defeat a second-generation vampire, yet someone in this world could approach her silently?
Who exactly was this person?
Even the current Three Saints of the Lion King Agency could not do something like that.
Then who was the person standing beside her?
"..."
She stiffened in place.
She was worried that if she exposed even the slightest movement of reaching for a talisman, the other party would attack instantly.
"Relax. Your talismans are useless, so there is no need to take them out."
The voice came from behind her again.
"What?"
Even that was within the other party's grasp?
She had not expected even this to be known by him, and her composure wavered further.
"You... were watching me here, weren't you?"
While Yukari hesitated over whether she should look behind her, another calm voice came from behind her.
It was Ophis's voice.
In truth, she had noticed someone watching her a long time ago.
However, she had always remembered what Anos told her. She should avoid using her power in front of people with special abilities as much as possible. Because of that, she only used her power or traveled to other worlds after making sure no one was nearby.
Watching her?
"That's right, Ophis. You should have felt it too. She is the one who has been monitoring you."
Anos said with a smile.
He had sensed this person's gaze just now, so after leaving the archaeological camp, he brought Ophis over to find her.
"Mm... it was her."
Ophis nodded.
This person had been following her for a long time.
However, even if a Vampire Progenitor stood before Ophis, she probably would not care much. How could such an incredibly weak human possibly attract her attention?
"You two are..."
Yukari Endou finally could no longer endure being looked at as if she were an object. She quickly turned around and pulled out a stack of talismans from her body.
Since the other party did not seem to have any intention of attacking her immediately, she had to seize the chance to prepare her escape.
Then, after turning around, two things happened that shocked her.
The first was that the boy, who already looked extremely sacred from a distance, was even more mesmerizing up close.
The second was that the divine-looking boy was holding a card that released dazzling radiance.
On that card was printed a holy dragon shining with starlight.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!