Vwoom…
The instant the Guardian behind Yuuma Tokoyogi unleashed its vicious magic, Kaiser released his own spiritual power.
His energy tore straight through the Guardian's menacing aura, crushing it effortlessly and holding it down so it couldn't fully erupt.
If that magic had been allowed to explode unchecked, never mind anything else—Nagisa Akatsuki, lying only a short distance away, would have been the first to suffer. The entire apartment building might not have been spared either.
So Kaiser didn't bother with niceties—he simply slammed down with overwhelming force, suppressing the Guardian without mercy.
In the same moment, his figure vanished from where he stood, reappearing directly before Yuuma.
"…!"
Yuuma's eyes widened in alarm. She started to react—only for Kaiser's hand to shoot out and seize her by the collar.
Thud!
With the sound of space itself being pierced, Kaiser left behind nothing but a fading wisp of smoke. He vanished from the room, dragging Yuuma with him.
Southern District, Itogami Island – Sky Above
Thud!
Without warning, Kaiser appeared high in the air, Yuuma still in his grasp, and shot forward at blistering speed.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! …
With each burst like space being torn open, Kaiser advanced in rapid leaps, as if teleporting, until they reached the shore. There, he dropped sharply toward the ground.
Boom!
It was like a meteor striking earth. On the rocky coast, a reef exploded into fragments on impact, waves and air bursting outward in a violent shockwave that pushed back the incoming surf and sent it crashing away in the opposite direction.
"…Ugh…"
Yuuma emerged from twisted space onto an intact rock nearby, dropping to one knee with a pained expression.
"Used spatial manipulation to escape before you hit the ground?"
Kaiser stood on the shattered reef, still in the posture of having slammed something down—only his grip was now empty.
"Quick reaction. Doesn't suit the image of a delicate little witch."
At that, Yuuma forced a wry smile.
"Don't be fooled by appearances. I grew up playing basketball with Kojou—my stamina's nothing to sneeze at." She added lightly, "Though I didn't expect the so-called King of Beasts to handle spatial manipulation magic so well. You really keep your cards close, huh?"
It was natural for her to mistake Shunpo for spatial magic—both were movement techniques.
What did surprise her, as a witch who specialized in spatial manipulation, was that she couldn't read the structure of the technique at all—not even a trace.
Kaiser, however, didn't bother explaining.
"If you want to fight, we'll do it here," he said calmly. "No need to worry about dragging Nagisa or Kojou into it."
Yuuma almost said that was exactly what she wanted—but as someone who had just tried to harm Nagisa, she knew she had no right.
"Le Bleu!"
She summoned her Guardian without hesitation. The faceless Blue Knight appeared once more, raising both arms.
With a groan of armor, it vanished abruptly, melting into space itself—only to reappear behind Kaiser and bring both massive arms down.
Boom!
The blow shattered the remainder of the reef, sending another surge of seawater roiling.
Yet the steel fists, powerful enough to pulp a human instantly, met Kaiser's elbow—and stopped.
"Not bad power," Kaiser said, hovering above the water in blatant defiance of gravity, his tone unnervingly calm.
"Unfortunately, it's not enough to threaten me."
He slowly pushed the steel arms upward, bit by bit, while chanting softly.
"Hadō #11—Tsuzuri Raiden."
In an instant, crackling lightning raced across his body, flowing from his elbow into the Blue Knight.
Bzz-CRACK!
Blue-white sparks burst across the Guardian's armor, driving it back with a pained roar.
"Tch…!"
Yuuma clicked her tongue, raising her hand. The space around her warped, churning the seawater like an invisible giant had swept it up. A massive wall of waves surged toward Kaiser.
"Hadō #31—Shakkahō!"
Kaiser extended one hand toward the nearly ten-meter wave, murmuring a short incantation.
BOOM!
A crimson blast of fire exploded outward, obliterating the wave on impact.
"I'm not done!"
Yuuma warped space again, ripples forming above Kaiser's head. From them poured an immense cascade of seawater, like a flood from the heavens itself—enough to sweep away an aircraft carrier, let alone a man.
"Stop."
Kaiser didn't even look up—he just spoke a single word.
The falling water froze mid-air as if someone had pressed "pause" on reality.
"What—?!"
Yuuma's eyes went wide.
"Transferring such a volume of seawater through warped space to attack me… clever," Kaiser said evenly. "But still not enough."
Controlling the sea was one of his own specialties.
Canceling his gravity manipulation, Kaiser walked across the water's surface as though it were solid ground.
Vwoom!
The Blue Knight struck again, twisting space to appear behind him, fists raised.
But before they fell, Kaiser turned and punched it square in the chest.
BANG!
The force sent the Guardian flying, pieces of shattered armor scattering.
"Le Bleu!"
Yuuma called out, but to no effect.
"Bakudō #63—Sajō Sabaku."
Thick chains of light shot from Kaiser's hand, wrapping around the Blue Knight like living serpents, binding it tight.
"Break it! Le Bleu!"
Yuuma poured more magic into the Guardian, its aura flaring ever more violently. It thrashed with all its might—yet couldn't break free.
"H-How…?!"
This wasn't just any Guardian. This was Le Bleu, once belonging to Aya Tokoyogi herself—Yuuma's mother.
Le Bleu's power might not match Natsuki Minamiya's Rain Gold, but it was leagues above most Guardians. Against an ordinary vampire of the Old Generation, Le Bleu would be overwhelming. Even a Third Progenitor's kin wouldn't be out of reach.
Yet here it was—swatted aside by a single punch and bound so thoroughly it couldn't move.
Yuuma had assumed Kaiser's real strength lay in his control over mythical beasts. She'd even prepared a countermeasure—teleporting them all away the moment he summoned them. Without them, she'd thought, he might be manageable.
But she'd been too naïve.
"You think summoning beasts is all I can do?"
Kaiser raised a hand. A silver blade appeared, then split into countless short daggers whirling around him.
"You've underestimated me."
"Damn it!"
Sensing danger, Yuuma immediately began space-jumping, rippling the air around her. A spatial mage might not be the strongest, but she could escape anywhere.
"Not happening."
Kaiser pointed. The silver daggers shot forward in flashing arcs, slicing through the warped space around Yuuma in hundreds—no, thousands—of cuts, severing it completely.
"Spatial Severance…!" she gasped.
"Bakudō #61—Rikujōkōrō."
Six brilliant rods of light shot in from all directions, slamming into her and locking her in place.
"What is this?!"
Yuuma struggled desperately, trying to warp space again—but the constant slicing of the silver blades had cut her off from the very fabric of space in her vicinity.
Shup!
Kaiser stepped in front of her in a blur, pressing a fingertip to her forehead.
"It's over," he said mildly, as if it were nothing. "So… will you give up now?"
Yuuma stopped resisting.
"…This is so unfair." Her smile was bitter, her eyes complicated. "Why does someone this terrifying have to show up beside Nagisa now, of all times?"
LCO's original plan had nothing to do with Nagisa—her becoming the Fourth Primogenitor's vessel was only a few months ago. The body-snatching scheme was a later revision, made once they learned of it. They'd thought the timing perfect—until Kaiser appeared out of nowhere.
"Maybe it's fate," Kaiser said. "Even without me, you'd still have fallen here on this island."
"Even if you freed your mother, Aya Tokoyogi—what then? Ten years ago, she lost to Natsuki Minamiya. Ten years later, she'd still fall here."
"Don't underestimate this island, witches."
With that, he flicked her forehead.
Thwack!
The sharp snap made her feel like she'd been struck in the skull. Yuuma's consciousness went dark instantly.
Clatter, clatter…
At that moment, Le Bleu, still bound in chains of light, began thrashing wildly, a new, alien magic surging from within it.
"Aya Tokoyogi…?"
Kaiser narrowed his eyes.
"So you rigged your clone's Guardian so you could seize control at will?" His tone chilled. "Doesn't say much for your trust in your daughter."
"But… who gave you permission to make trouble here?"
Silver flashes erupted, slashing Le Bleu in countless cuts in the blink of an eye.
Shnk! Shnk! Shnk! Shnk! Shnk!
The faceless Blue Knight fell apart into fragments, dissipating into the air.