— — — — — —
As soon as that familiar voice—childlike yet laced with authority—rang out behind her, Asagi Aiba stiffened and quickly turned around.
Standing at the edge of the alleyway was a figure that was impossible to mistake.
Gothic Lolita outfit, porcelain-pale skin, delicate like a doll, and that signature black parasol.
Natsuki Minamiya.
Expressionless, poised, and watching them with her usual deadpan stare.
Asagi flinched on reflex and quickly waved her hands. "Nope! Nothing! We weren't saying anything at all!"
"Oh?"
Natsuki raised an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk playing on her lips. Then she turned her sharp gaze toward Ryo.
"I left you alone for what, five minutes? And already you're out here slandering me in front of my student?"
But Ryo looked completely unfazed. If anything, he was enjoying it.
"Did I say anything that wasn't true?"
Natsuki gave him a long, irritated look before huffing, "The ones excavating the tomb were MAR Group and the government division. It was all official, licensed archaeology."
"I never said YOU were digging it up," Ryo replied innocently, grinning. "But you did walk away with all the valuable stuff from that tomb."
"An outsider taking everything of value for herself—Natsuki-chan, you really are impressive."
Natsuki's eye twitched. She sighed, expression twisted in reluctant frustration.
"If you want to refer to yourself as 'the valuable stuff,' I'm not going to stop you."
It was true: the Lion King Agency, MAR Group, and even Liana Caruana had all teamed up with one goal—dig up Avrora.
And yet, Natsuki had swooped in last-minute and walked away with both Ryo and Avrora.
Objectively speaking, she had cut in line and snatched the prize right out of everyone's hands.
Not that this fact made her feel any better about it.
"Wait... so you're telling me that's all actually true?" Asagi's eyes went wide. "You really went tomb raiding during your school break?!"
She looked absolutely stunned, unable to picture the usually gothic, composed Natsuki in grubby miner gear, digging through dirt in the wilderness.
…Actually, that kind of contrast might be kind of cute.
"I told you," Natsuki muttered, rubbing her temple. "It was an official archaeological dig."
Then she shot Asagi a pointed look, clearly seeing where her mind had gone.
"Just so you know—" she began in a cold tone, "—this guy's favorite trick is to speak in pure facts, just vague enough to lead you into drawing the wrong conclusions that work in his favor."
"To put it simply: what he says is usually true. But the moment you start imagining anything beyond his exact words—you're probably wrong."
"Ah!" Ryo widened his eyes in mock surprise. "Wow, you really do know me well, Natsuki-chan!"
Natsuki snorted. "Hard not to. You've burned me with that act before."
Then, squinting slightly, she narrowed her eyes at him with curiosity. "Though honestly, I still don't know which side of you is the real one. Or maybe they all are—just different faces of the same person?"
Ryo chuckled. "Getting curious about me, are we?"
"Don't flatter yourself," she said flatly. "I'm the kind of woman you'll never get."
Asagi, off to the side, nearly snorted. 'Seriously? Isn't that a meme from the internet?'
'So even Natsuki-chan keeps up with that kind of stuff, huh? I always thought she was super serious…'
Meanwhile, Ryo was struggling to hold back a laugh. He smirked and said, "Well then, what if I undid your demon contract? I mean, we've got a primogenitor hanging around—should I call her up and have her rewrite it for you?"
Natsuki's face went dead serious. "You… know about the Prison Barrier?"
That was top-tier classified info. Only a few high-ranking officials on the island had access to that knowledge.
How the hell did he know?
Asagi perked up immediately, curiosity all over her face.
The Prison Barrier?
One of Itogami Island's most elusive urban legends—supposedly a dream-based magical prison that held dangerous magical criminals.
And Natsuki was connected to that?
Asagi realized she might've just overheard something huge.
Back to Ryo, he was pressing forward with a calm smile, subtly applying pressure.
"I mean, we're gonna be working together, right? Isn't it normal to get to know your future teammates a bit?"
Natsuki had already composed herself. Her tone was cold and serious now.
"I don't care how you found out—but if your plan is to tamper with the Prison Barrier, we're done here."
"Why would I want to mess with that?" Ryo said with a shrug. "It's just a prison. Doesn't matter to me whether it's there or not."
What did matter, though, was Natsuki herself—the key to that prison.
In this world, anyone who makes a contract with a demon is labeled a witch. In exchange for a steep price, witches gain immense power—sometimes even the ability to grant so-called "miracles."
Natsuki's price for her contract? She had to become the prison itself. The key. The eternal warden of the dream-prison known as the Prison Barrier.
Until the day she dies, her real body can never leave it. A warden of a prison barrier was nothing more than a pitiful living sacrifice.
The Natsuki standing here? Just a projection created by her true self—something like a psychic avatar, but much weaker.
She hadn't always been like this. Natsuki once had a normal, free life. But her bloodline, combined with the situation at the time and pressure from Itogami's higher-ups, led her to accept this fate—to become the Witch of the Void, guardian of the magical prison.
Sure, she might've agreed to it willingly.
But would anyone truly want to be locked away for life?
Maybe it was the best choice back then. But if a better one appeared… would she really turn it down?
Ryo understood this. And that's why he could tailor his approach perfectly—dig into her doubts, her buried regrets, and plant the seeds of influence.
Smiling, Ryo pulled out a Zanpakutō, its dark edge gleaming with power.
"This blade seals the origin of all demons," he said gently. "With it, I can command them all. Want me to rewrite your contract with it?"
Could Algol—the Demon Star—control the demons of the Strike the Blood universe?
Absolutely.
Algol's authority covered all demon-kind. As long as a creature fell under the concept of "demon," her dominance over them was absolute. It was a power rooted in divine law itself.
"..."
Natsuki fell silent.
Ryo could already read her hesitation.
And he smiled, eyes glinting. "Think of it as an employee benefit."
And just like that—Natsuki wavered.
.
.
.