— — — — — —
The moment Kojou Akatsuki heard the voice, he instinctively jumped in front of his sister, shielding her with his body as his eyes locked in fear on the shadow near Ryo Yagami.
He could feel it—undeniable hostility. And it was leaking straight out of that shadow.
"…What is that?" Liana frowned, confused.
Ryo, meanwhile, let out a helpless sigh.
"Seriously? You wake up and the first thing you want is someone else's blood? Tone it down, Cyrora—you're being greedy."
The innocent voice from earlier now sounded a little pouty.
"But her blood would make me feel so much better…"
At that moment, Liana's eyes snapped to the figure behind Ryo—a beautiful, pale woman with icy blue eyes and a sulking expression. Liana's face went pale.
"That… is a familiar?! And she has a will of her own?!"
A sentient familiar—truly conscious and independent. This was the terrifying hallmark of a true Primogenitor's power.
Liana had familiars of her own, but they were little more than instinct-driven beasts. Seeing a fully self-aware one like this? It was enough to make her blood run cold.
Ryo just shrugged.
"Even if you do want to feed, you still need consent first. No means no, you know?"
As he spoke, he casually took a step forward.
That was all it took for Gajou Akatsuki to grit his teeth and whisper, "Kojou, grab Nagisa and run. I'll hold him off."
A voice came from directly behind him. "Hold off who, exactly?"
Gajou's pupils shrank in terror. He spun around—
And there was Ryo, already standing face-to-face with Kojou, gently lifting Nagisa's chin with one finger.
Nagisa's face was still blank, her eyes hollow in a trance-like state.
Ryo let out a soft chuckle. "She looks like she's already broken."
"Let her go!" Kojou shouted, trembling.
Ryo glanced at him with a faint smile. "Protecting your sister, huh? You're a good big brother."
He released Nagisa without hesitation and ruffled Kojou's hair.
"O-Oh. Uh, thanks…" Kojou stammered, confused by the sudden change in tone.
Ryo stepped back, turning his gaze toward the long staircase nearby. He scoffed.
"A beast… You really think you can hide here, in front of me?"
His voice echoed through the hall.
From the shadows at the corner of the staircase, a figure slowly emerged—muscular, towering, with obsidian skin and the snarling head of a wolf. A beastman.
"Well, well. No wonder they call you the Fourth Primogenitor. You saw through my perfect disguise," the beastman growled, baring his fangs.
Liana sprang to her feet in fury. "That form—! You're Golan Hazaroff. You're from the defeated Black Death Emperor Faction—what are you doing desecrating this sacred tomb?!"
Golan scoffed and cast a dismissive glance her way.
"Hah! And you're that stray mutt from the Caruana family, aren't you? Didn't some no-name, familiar-less vampire wipe out your territory and strip you of your noble title? Now you've come crawling to the Fourth Primogenitor like a lapdog begging for scraps?"
"You—!" Liana's face turned red with rage.
It wasn't just the insult. Being exposed like that—especially in front of the Fourth Primogenitor—was more humiliating than death.
She'd spent everything she had to awaken a Primogenitor, all in a desperate bid to restore her family's status and save their lineage.
Now, with a few cruel words, Golan had cut the legs out from under her.
Furious, Liana summoned her familiars.
Twin beasts cloaked in blazing energy erupted into the air and dove straight for Golan.
But he just smirked and moved with terrifying speed. With a savage roar, he lunged forward and grabbed both beasts by their throats.
"I don't waste time on trash like you!"
With two sickening cracks, he snapped their necks. The familiars let out echoing howls before vanishing into smoke.
"Gah!" Liana coughed in pain and fell to one knee, clutching her chest.
She stared in horror as Golan fully transformed into a massive wolf-like creature.
"That… That's divine Bestialization?!"
Gajou swore under his breath, eyes narrowing. "Only a few rare beastmen have that ancient bloodline—it lets them tap into a god-beast form."
Then he turned to Kojou. "Listen. I'll hold him off. You take Nagisa and get out of here."
"Wait, haven't I heard that line before…?" Kojou muttered blankly, his head spinning.
Before he could finish the thought, Gajou charged, pulling out a gun.
He didn't even get a shot off.
Golan swiped at him mid-sprint, sending him flying like a ragdoll into a wall.
"???" Kojou's head filled with question marks.
Golan turned toward Ryo, baring his bloodstained fangs.
"Now it's just you and me."
He grinned viciously, mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.
"If I kill a vessel of the Fourth Primogenitor, even the First Primogenitor will have to take notice."
Hearing that, Kojou panicked. "Hey! Fourth Primogenitor—run! Seriously, get out of here!"
"…Did you say something?" Ryo blinked and looked back at him.
Kojou froze. His eyes locked onto Ryo's left hand.
Held between his fingers was a still-beating heart.
"…Is—is that…?" Kojou stammered.
Ryo raised the heart casually, shrugged, and nodded toward the wolf-like Golan.
"This? Yeah, that's his heart."
He tilted his chin toward the beastman.
"Honestly, I yanked it out ages ago. The guy still managed to crush those familiars and punt your dad across the floor before finally dropping. Tough bastard."
Kojou's mouth fell open in shock.
"…When did you…?"
Ryo smiled. "Right when he jumped out and said, 'No wonder they call you the Fourth Primogenitor.'"
"…Wait, that was at the very beginning," Kojou muttered, brain short-circuiting.
Golan had been dead since the start. He just hadn't noticed yet. Somehow, even without a heart, he'd managed to kill Liana's beasts and flatten Gajou before keeling over.
And he was already dead the whole time?
Kojou's worldview shattered.
Meanwhile, Golan finally realized something was wrong.
He looked down at his chest—at the spot where his heart should've been.
"My heart…"
His words slurred. His vision blurred. His massive frame staggered.
Thud.
His giant body collapsed with a final groan. Only then did blood start to pour from the hole in his chest.
Ryo stared down at the corpse, then muttered to himself.
Pulling out someone's heart and they only just now start bleeding? Yup, Ryo was trained by Leticia after all.
"Cough, cough—thank god!" Gajou groaned, forcing himself to his feet.
Liana, still reeling from the earlier blow, managed to sit up. She glanced at Golan's corpse, then at the now-still heart in Ryo's hand. She couldn't help but shiver.
'So this is the strongest vampire in the world…He's terrifying.'
Then Ryo suddenly looked to the side, his expression sharp.
From a ripple in space, a young girl stepped out.
She was tiny, dressed in a frilly black gothic dress, holding a parasol. Her black hair was long and her gaze sharp.
With a practiced air, she spoke up: "That's far enough. I'm Natsuki Minamiya, an international attack mage dispatched by the Warlord's Empire. Black Death Emperor—your plan is—hm?"
Her eyes landed on the corpse at her feet.
She blinked, her elegant eyebrows rising.
"…Huh."
.
.
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