After wandering and playing all over the island, they decided to visit Keystone Gate, since the view of the island from above was very famous.
Although the underground floors were off-limits to metallic people, the above-ground levels were a very popular tourist attraction that received civilian visitors every day.
"Damn it! Why did we have to go to the Vampire Hunter museum?" Kojou grumbled as he rubbed his shoulders to warm himself; every time he saw those wooden stakes and silver weapons he felt a chill run through his whole body.
Those tools didn't actually have the power to harm him, but he felt an instinctive disgust and hatred toward them—after all, for centuries they had been used to slaughter vampires, and thus carried an aura that repelled vampires.
"Those tools are definitely cursed; the souls of the vampires killed with them still hover around them with malice and hatred."
"Impossible... Kojou, are you afraid of ghosts and spirits?" Asagi smiled mockingly and lightly jabbed Kojou's ribs with her elbow.
"Do you really think I'm afraid of those things?" Kojou was momentarily at a loss for words. Although he admitted to having some fear of the Vampire Hunters' tools, he was not afraid of ghosts or spirits.
"Speaking of which, since we were children you tended to avoid things like haunted houses and old museums," Yuuma added, placing a finger on her chin and spreading a wide smile across her face. "Could it be that you're really scared of those things, Kojou?"
"I admit I used to be scared as a child, but it's completely different now—this is just a physiological rejection," Kojou confessed.
There was nothing wrong with a child being afraid of ghosts, but he had long since gotten over that. If he were truly afraid of ghosts, he wouldn't even be able to use his Beast Vassal.
As for the Vampire Hunters' tools, that was something tied to his very existence—he was a vampire now, and his being itself rejected and hated the existence of instruments that had killed his kind.
"I didn't expect Onii-san to have something he's afraid of, too," Kanon said, staring at Kojou with a new light in her eyes; the invincible, powerful image she had of him in her head was gradually crumbling as she realized he was just a person with his own flaws.
"..." Touka, meanwhile, gazed at Kojou with an understanding, sympathetic look, as if she had found a companion on the same path.
"Um, even though Kojou-kun was afraid of ghosts, he was very brave," Nagisa smiled tenderly, recalling memories. "He always came to comfort me at night when I cried because of lightning and thunder... even when it was completely dark, he would enter my room without hesitation."
"Na... Nagisa!!" Kojou shouted quickly as his face flushed completely, trying to shut her up before she continued. "Don't mention things like that in front of everyone!"
But Asagi had already put her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter, while Yuuma burst into loud laughter.
"That's really amazing," Asagi said between laughs. "The brave boy who's afraid of ghosts rushes in the middle of the night to protect his little sister from the storm!"
"What a perfect brother!" Yuuma added with playful sarcasm, raising an eyebrow.
"You two... stop before I lose my temper," Kojou muttered with a strained face as he tried to ignore them, but he failed completely.
Kanon looked at Kojou with gleaming, astonished eyes—"I didn't know Onii-san did things like that..." she said softly, as if seeing a whole new side of him.
Touka looked at him with a calm, understanding expression—"It seems you've cared for others for a long time, even while you were afraid yourself."
Kojou sighed lightly and shoved his hands into his pockets—"It wasn't a big deal; I just couldn't ignore her when she was crying, that's all."
A short silence followed, until Asagi broke it again, pointing with her finger at the huge glass window before them.
"Anyway, look at this view..."
The setting sun reflected off the glass surface of Keystone Gate, the entire island stretching below them like a painting of gold and sapphire sea. The cold breeze gently brushed their faces, while the scene looked both serene and majestic at once.
Ring!
At that moment Kojou heard the familiar ringtone and felt his phone vibrate in his pocket; he had turned the volume very low because, with his sharp senses, a loud ringtone became unbearably annoying.
"Sayaka?..." Kojou stared at the caller's name in surprise and stepped away from the group to answer. "Hello, Saya—"
While Kojou was speaking he was interrupted by a charming, ringing laugh—something Sayaka clearly lacked in her classic tsundere personality.
"Fufufu~ It's me."
"La Folia!"
Kojou was truly astonished to hear that voice on the other end of the line; La Folia should already have left Japan at this time.
"You had your number saved in Sayaka's favorites, so I decided—" La Folia's voice brimmed with delight as she teased Sayaka.
"Your Highness the Princess!" Sayaka's angry voice came from the other end of the phone as she bickered with La Folia, clearly too embarrassed to admit she had saved his number among her favorites.
"If you're done with your quarrel, can you tell me why you called, and also why La Folia—who's supposed to leave Japan—is still with Sayaka?" Kojou sighed in annoyance at the childish argument between the two; Sayaka didn't stand a chance against La Folia in a debate even if she lived another hundred years.
"Actually..." Upon hearing Kojou's question, La Folia put the phone to her ear and began explaining the situation to Kojou.
At the same time Asagi felt her phone vibrate and stepped away a little, staring at the AI on her screen.
"What's going on, Mogwai?" Asagi said in annoyance as she glared at the catlike AI on her phone.
"A level-three alert has been issued; it seems there's a problem affecting the entire island," Mogwai reported cheerfully, ignoring his mistress's irritation. He seemed to be enjoying the current state of affairs.
"A level-three alert! The whole island!" Asagi growled quietly, stunned by the information. "I'll be there shortly—send me all the data about what's happening."
"As you command, Ojou," Mogwai nodded and disappeared from the phone screen to carry out the order.
"Huh! They've moved you from the airport to the Sub-float!" Kojou shouted to Asagi after hearing La Folia and Sayaka's explanation over the phone. "I noticed the space around the island was unstable this morning, but I didn't expect it to be this bad."
Although Kojou had sensed the island's spatial distortion, he hadn't paid it much mind because it didn't really affect him or those around him—he was forcing the space to stabilize in his vicinity and ordinary people shouldn't face more than directional issues, so he had dismissed it lightly.
"For now, let's gather together. We'll decide what to do then," Kojou sighed slightly, his laziness complicating matters. "I'll come get you soon. Don't worry—find a place to rest first."
After making slightly more detailed plans, Kojou put the call down and sighed.
"This problem seems more troublesome than I expected," Asagi, who had overheard Kojou's words and understood the situation somewhat, said. "To warp space on this scale, a single mage or even several mages wouldn't be enough—especially since you need a mage who understands spatial power well, and there aren't many of them in the world. That leaves one possibility: someone is using a Grimoire of some kind to distort the island's space."
"Maybe, but the island is extremely chaotic and full of millions of people because of the Halloween festival, and with the wide spatial disturbance it's hard to pinpoint the source," Kojou sighed lazily. Although it wasn't impossible, it was very annoying—he would have to release one of the seals he had placed on himself to force the island's space to stabilize. That way he could locate the spatial disruption.
But he preferred not to release his seals; releasing even one would cause disasters far larger than mere spatial instability. The island sinking entirely would be a perfectly natural result.
"I see. I'll try to take care of the spatial distortion, and until I find a solution, keep enjoying yourself with Nagisa-chan and the others," Asagi said, planting a light, quick kiss on Kojou's cheek before leaving in a hurry. Since she now knew about the problem, she had a lot of work to handle.
"I just hope I finish before the festival starts. I want to stroll around with Kojou and the others," Asagi thought, feeling some resentment toward whoever was causing such a nuisance at this time—and in her heart she vowed that if she found the culprit she would make them test the hardness of Mesarthim‑Adamas's adamantine with their body.
...
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