— — — — — —
"MY dolls…"
The moment those words left Ryo's mouth, everyone in the Watchtower—except for Koyomi—visibly tensed.
But oddly enough…
What appeared on their faces wasn't fear. It wasn't wariness either.
It was pure, unfiltered excitement.
"Hah! This is just too good!" Giada Kukulcan burst out laughing, holding her stomach like she was watching the best comedy of the century.
Koyomi frowned slightly at her reaction but didn't say a word. She silently began preparing her abilities, ready to intercept if Giada made any sudden moves toward Ryo. After all, since the Lion King Agency had already signed off on this ambush, she had no choice but to play along.
Still, the way Giada was acting… and the amused looks on Vatler and Iblisveil's faces… something didn't feel right.
This was not the vibe she was expecting.
And just then, Giada tilted her head slightly, looked Ryo dead in the eyes, and smiled brightly.
"If you're bold enough to ask for the Kaleid Blood right away, that must mean…" She leaned forward a bit, her voice practically bubbling with glee. "…you're ready to take on everyone as your enemy, right?"
Ryo simply shook his head and calmly replied, "I don't see you as enemies."
That reply—soft, almost like a concession—made Giada's smile falter. Vatler and Iblisveil exchanged weird looks.
C'mon… saying something like that just takes all the fun out of it.
But then, Ryo gave a carefree grin and asked: "Would you seriously go all out… against a bunch of kids?"
At that, Giada's eyes lit up again—this time even brighter than before.
"Now that's what I'm talking about! It's been ages since I met someone this fun!"
A roar of molten lava suddenly erupted behind her, like a tsunami made of magma crashing toward the Watchtower.
It was one of Giada Kukulcan's 27 familiars
The sheer magical pressure it emitted instantly triggered alarms all over Itogami Island, the sensors screaming in protest.
As the inferno surged forward, Giada laughed gleefully and shouted: "Beat me, and the Kaleid Blood is yours! That's the deal!"
After centuries of boredom, Giada was loving today. She couldn't care less about the Blazing Banquet, the Holy Ground Treaty, or whatever formalities were supposed to apply.
Screw all that.
Today, she just wanted to go wild.
The wall of fire swept Vatler, Iblisveil, and Koyomi away like rag dolls, launching them all the way to a beach hundreds of meters away.
"Tch… she beat me to it," Vatler clicked his tongue, annoyed like someone who just had their favorite toy stolen.
Iblisveil shrugged beside him. "Honestly, with her around, we were never gonna get a turn anyway."
Koyomi landed gracefully, but her expression was… complicated.
She had tried to intercept the Third Primogenitor's attack, but Ryo had given her a sharp look—one that stopped her cold. She wasn't sure what he meant, but in the end, she let herself be blasted to the beach.
Now, hearing these two ancient vampires casually chatting about it, she couldn't help but feel completely out of her depth.
Do these people ever take anything seriously?
Absolutely insane.
And then—
A crimson pillar of fire erupted from the earth and wrapped around Giada. The next second, a flaming crimson spear materialized in her hand.
This was the power of a Chaos Bride—her vampire lineage, known as the "intelligent-Type weapons," had the rare ability to weaponize their familiars, transforming them into close-combat weapons.
Giada's whole body shimmered with heat. Blazing waves of pressure twisted the very air around her.
"Well then," she grinned, "let's start things off with a little greeting!"
She raised the spear, ready to hurl it—
—but paused.
Behind Ryo, a mermaid with bird-like wings unfurled, rising in full glory. Its arms crossed overhead, mirroring Ryo's own motion as he raised both hands.
Crack-crack-crack—
In an instant, the Chaos Bride froze in place, trapped within a towering glacier of pure ice—its peak level with the Watchtower.
The ice shimmered like it was made of a million tiny diamonds, refracting the sun into a dazzling display of starlike sparkles.
Ryo exhaled a puff of white breath and said softly:
"Diamond Dust."
It was a basic technique of the Aquarius Camus from Saint Seiya.
By extending one's cosmo, this move dropped the surrounding temperature to the extreme, freezing everything in its path.
If pushed to the Seventh Sense, it could even hit absolute zero—and stop time and space itself.
Ryo had learned this move from Sasha's diary. Sasha, of course, was tight with Scorpio's Gold Saint Kardia, who was best friends with Aquarius. That's how the technique had been documented and passed down.
Now, using his cosmo as the core and channeling the chilling energy of the Azure Ice Princess as support, Ryo managed to replicate a decent version of Diamond Dust—enough to freeze Giada Kukulcan solid in an instant.
"Weird," Ryo thought. "The Azure Ice Princess' ice is tied to Pisces, yet here I am using Aquarius techniques..."
He lowered his hands, feeling oddly out of sync—but overall satisfied.
"Honestly, feels like I used a cannon to swat a mosquito," he muttered.
Still, he began replaying the move in his mind, dissecting every detail.
Cosmo was a source of immense power—said to be rooted in the very fabric of the universe. It pushed Saints beyond their limits, elevating their innate talents to godlike levels.
That's why it was said no technique worked twice on a Saint.
Because once they got hit by something once, they'd figure out how to counter it the next time.
So then why could Pegasus Meteor Fist be spammed from start to finish?
Ryo knew the answer.
Because the Meteor Fist was just fast, wild punches thrown in overwhelming numbers. There wasn't anything to crack—it was brute force at high speed.
If you wanted to beat someone like Seiya, you didn't need tricks. You just needed heavier fists and faster hands.
That understanding made Ryo even more excited to explore Saint techniques. It was part of why he'd come to the Strike the Blood world in the first place.
While Ryo was deep in thought…
Vatler and Iblisveil were chilling on the sidelines, watching like fans at a sports event.
"So, snake guy, how long do you think before Her Majesty breaks out?"
"Hmm... ten seconds? No, maybe seven. Honestly, I think he's distracted—he's not even focusing fully."
Vatler was grinning ear to ear, clearly enjoying himself.
As for Giada Kukulcan being unable to escape?
No way. She was the Chaos Bride—a monster who could throw hands with the Lost Warlord. She wasn't losing for real. She was just… playing.
"I'll bet on it," Iblisveil chuckled. "If she doesn't break free in five seconds, you owe me a familiar."
"Deal. I'm betting on seven."
The two exchanged mischievous smiles.
One second passed.
Both still smiling.
Five seconds.
Seven seconds.
Vatler froze.
Then, nine seconds—
"Um, you two…" Koyomi suddenly said in a low voice. "Should you… be preparing to rescue her?"
"Huh?" Vatler blinked, confused.
Iblisveil, on the other hand, immediately sensed something was wrong.
Giada's life force was dropping—fast.
"Vatler! MOVE! We need to save Her Majesty right now!"
The two vampires scrambled into action.
Back on the beach, Koyomi looked up at the frozen Giada and mumbled under her breath: "If the Chaos Bride dies here… I'm probably getting fired."
Then after a moment's pause, she added blankly. "…I haven't even been one of the Three Saints for a full month yet."
.
.
.