From the Warlord's Empire (23 page)

“It can’t be… These are
all
Nalakuvera?!”

There were five inactive ancient weapons in total. There was something even larger positioned farther within, but Yukina couldn’t make it out from her location.

Yukina heard a voice from behind her that was ferocious yet calm.

“…Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency, is it? Even better than rumored. In Europe, not many people can take down a beast man unarmed, even by surprise. Splendid work.”

“Kristof Gardos…!”

Yukina called out the man’s name. The aged officer of the Black Death Emperor Front smiled as he watched Yukina, utterly composed.

“Not even Vattler knows about these. He might not have cooperated with us if he knew.”

“So this is your true objective? Getting your hands on a Nalakuvera army?!”

Gardos nodded solemnly.

“War is not decided by the abilities of each individual weapon, but by combined military strength. The First Primogenitor’s combat ability is fearsome, but a single man cannot defend all of the Warlord’s Empire. A flock of combat machines that consume debris to repair themselves, able to fight in perpetuity…a sight to make the heart flutter, don’t you think?”

Taking enjoyment in watching the horrified Yukina, Gardos continued his voluminous explanation. Apparently, in spite of being the leader of a terrorist group, he was blessed with a gift for oratory.

“Even if we do not destroy the First Primogenitor, the collapse of his
Dominion will make the Holy Ground Treaty unsustainable. In so doing, we will achieve our objective. That combat maniac Vattler surely cannot understand our reasons.”

“So you’re saying, you’ll sacrifice not only Itogami Island, but the people of your own homeland, the Warlord’s Empire?”

Yukina glared at Gardos with a look of rage. Gardos nodded, his expression unchanged.

“Of course. That is why they call us terrorists.”

Without a word, Yukina lowered her center of gravity.

Even a single Nalakuvera threatened to destroy the entirety of Itogami City. And the Black Death Emperor Front had five more of them. She could not allow such power to fall into their hands.

If she could take down Gardos here, even it meant sacrificing herself…

“
Hu-hu-hu
, quite ambitious, aren’t you? What a pity. If I’d had people like you in my unit, I wouldn’t have had to watch my old friend, the Black Death Emperor, killed right before my eyes…”

Watching Yukina enter a combat stance, Gardos seemed pleased as he stroked the old scar on his cheek. He drew a knife from his back. His physique let out a creak as his muscles swelled all over his body. He was bestializing.

However much intellect he displayed, his instincts were those of a terrorist who craved battle and destruction. Raising his voice in joy at the expected slaughter, he thrust his knife forward with incredible force.

Yukina evaded the gale-like attack by a paper-thin margin.

“Ha-ha! Splendid. Dodging
my
knife!”

Gardos immediately altered the arc of his knife. But the powerful movement created an opening to his side. Yukina slipped past Gardos’s attack and placed a palm on his flank.

“…Distort!”

She unleashed a palm strike at point-blank range.

In close combat, this was Yukina’s trump card—sending the force of an impact past a beast man’s thick flesh straight into its innards. She had once used the same technique to destroy the Lotharingian Armed Apostle’s armored augmentation suit.

But the feedback of Yukina’s palm was odd. Her face grimaced as she put distance between them.

There was no damage to Gardos’s body. Yukina’s palm strike had not worked upon him.

“…Bio-barrier?!”

“That is the skill you call qigong, is it not? You thought I was unversed in the martial arts because I am a beast man, didn’t you?”

Gardos made an amused smile as he repositioned his knife.

To Yukina, the knife wasn’t the real threat. Gardos’s grip could easily shatter Yukina’s bones; a tackle using that massive frame would no doubt smash Yukina’s body to pieces.

Even knowing that, retreat was not an option for Yukina.

“…Roaring Thunder!”

Kicking off the wall and ceiling for acceleration, Yukina launched a tricky flying kick, using it to strike the side of Gardos’s head.

There was no evading the attack, but Gardos stopped it cold with his forehead. His reaction speed and quick decision-making were products of a vast amount of combat experience.

“Hnng!!”

Gardos altered his direction with a shake of his head, sending Yukina’s light body flying back.

Yukina somersaulted in midair like a cat and landed on the floor. Gardos chose that exact moment to barrel forward with his shoulder. Yukina barely managed to pull back and avoid him.

Gardos’s action looked suicidal, but the aged officer broke through the outer wall of the
Oceanus Grave
, heading straight out with barely a scratch.

It was ridiculous destructive power even by the standards of hardy beast men.

Yukina pursued Gardos out onto the deck. She thought combat there would be more advantageous than in the narrow confines of the ship. However, at this rate, even if she continued to fight, she had no sense she could win.

Their combat skill was roughly equal. Gardos held the absolute advantage in speed; Yukina had the advantage in explosiveness. But the power difference was just too great.

Even though one blow from Gardos would put Yukina out of the fight, none of her attacks had worked on him at all.

Furthermore, Gardos was not holding back or underestimating Yukina whatsoever.

At this rate, defeat was inevitable. The moment such a feeling of despair began holding Yukina in its grip…

…A gust of incredible force assaulted both of them.

“What’s this wind?!” Gardos exclaimed in response to the sudden shift. It was a fierce wind one could only call a windstorm. The wind speed was surely the rival of that of a Category 5 typhoon. The lightweight Yukina was in danger of being easily blown away at the slightest loss of concentration. She couldn’t breathe with the mass of air directly slamming into her.

But what was truly surprising was the tranquillity of the sea all around the
Oceanus Grave
. The gust was raging in the vicinity of Yukina and Gardos alone.

Something was flying, riding on the wind. It had a beautiful silver blade. Its tip was split into a triple fork. The silhouette resembled a swept-wing fighter plane. It was a completely metallic, silver-colored spear—

“Snowdrift Wolf?!”

In midair, Yukina snatched the flying spear that had ridden the wind.

That moment, the raging windstorm abated, as if now that Yukina had received the spear, its duty was done…

“Who did this…?!”

She gazed with a shocked look on her face at the spear that had returned to her own hand.

The all-metal Snowdrift Wolf was by no means a lightweight weapon. Even though it had approached much closer to land, the
Oceanus Grave
was still some four to five hundred meters from Itogami Island.

To hurl the spear from that distance to deliver it to Yukina…she didn’t know who it was, but it had to be someone extremely capable.

She personally knew of no one capable of such a feat. Furthermore, for that person to know Yukina was the wielder of the spear meant he or she knew exactly who and what Yukina was. But she’d worry about the person’s identity later. The man she had to strike down was right before her eyes.

“Hmm. A Wind Master, is it?”

Gardos muttered while unhappily brushing down his wind-battered forelocks.

“As expected of the Far East’s Demon Sanctuary; so many people making use of irregular talents. However…”

As Yukina glared at him, spear poised, his lips curled upward in delight.

“So this means I finally get to see your true power. Interesting. A strategic battle of probing, thrusting, steel and blood; this is what war
should
be like.”

The joy of combat burned brightly in the beast man’s eyes. But what flowed from Yukina’s lips was a serene chant the polar opposite of the aged officer’s ferocious roar.

“—I, Maiden of the Lion, Sword Shaman of the High God, beseech thee.”

Ritual energy surged within Yukina’s body, amplifying Snowdrift Wolf. The glow made Gardos narrow his eyes. He realized that the silver spear in Yukina’s hands was extremely dangerous to demonkind.

Gardos raised his knife and charged the defenselessly dancing Yukina. Yukina moved to intercept the blow, her movements rather sluggish…

“Oh, purifying light, Oh, divine wolf of the snowdrift, by your divine steel will, strike down the devils before me!”

Victory and defeat were decided in an instant. As the beautiful silver light crossed and vanished, the single attack Yukina unleashed had severed Gardos at the upper arm, taking the knife-wielding hand with it.

“…Splendid, Sword Shaman. But I shall be the victor of the war.”

Even as fresh blood gushed from the open wound, Gardos laughed. He picked up the severed right arm and leaped over Yukina’s head, heading toward the upper deck.

There stood two of Gardos’s men.

One was clutching a tablet PC to his chest; the other was holding one school uniform–wearing girl in each of his arms.

“Asagi-senpai?! Nagisa?!”

Yukina let out brief screams as she beheld the sight of the soundly sleeping girls.

Giving in to anger, she raised her spear and charged toward them. But
a crimson beam of light suddenly swept before her: fire from a large-caliber laser.

“Nalakuvera?! It can’t be…?!”

Blood drained from Yukina’s face as she beheld the ominous sight of an ancient weapon piercing the surface of the sea as it emerged.

Even as the Nalakuvera clung to the hull of the
Oceanus Grave
, it did not attack anyone.

When Yukina realized this, she truly knew fear.

This ancient weapon was not in a berserk state. It was moving according to its controller’s will.

“The stone tablet decryption?”

Gardos pressed his men for information. One of them answered while setting Asagi and Nagisa down on the deck.

“It seems to be finished. Grigore has already confirmed that the contents are correct, as you can see.”

“I do see,” said Gardos, making a satisfied nod. The bleeding from where Yukina had severed his arm had already stopped; pressing the lower arm section to the upper, they had already begun to fuse. His vitality was on a level shocking even for beast men.

“…So, that’s how it is. Surrender now, Sword Shaman of the Lion King Agency. I’ve waited a long time for Vattler. I have no time to play with the likes of you.”

Yukina was completely backed into a corner. Even with Snowdrift Wolf, taking on Gardos and another pair of beast men at the same time would prove a difficult battle. On top of that, they had Asagi and Nagisa hostage; furthermore, they had the Nalakuvera under control. Any way one sliced it, Yukina had no chance of victory.

The
Oceanus Grave
pulled alongside the free-floating Sub-float No. 13, Nalakuvera in tow.

No doubt Gardos and his group’s objective was to transport the inactive Nalakuvera in the cargo bay ashore, activating them once there. They meant to fight Vattler with all six Nalakuvera at once.

Even knowing this, there was nothing Yukina could do about it. With a roar echoing from its hydraulic pump, the stern gate of the
Oceanus Grave
opened.

A moment later…

Yukina’s ears were pierced by a screaming, bestial howl reverberating through the air.

And the sub-float shuddered fiercely, countless fragments scattering about, as if it had been hit by a bomb.

“Shit…this one’s a dead end, too, huh?”

Kojou’s tired voice echoed amid the darkness. They were inside one of the narrow maintenance shafts spread throughout the sub-float.

Logically, the path would continue all the way to the surface, but it was not so simple in practice. On top of being like a maze, various sections were blocked off by rubble. After going back and forth several times over, Kojou and Sayaka had completely lost track of where they were.

However, seawater continued steadily lapping at their feet. Water leaking from overhead had already drenched Kojou and Sayaka from head to toe.

“This isn’t good. The water level’s rising faster. At this rate, it won’t last ten minutes before sinking.”

Sayaka sent a hateful glare toward the rubble blocking their path as she murmured.

Kojou kicked aside a girder at his feet.

“…I can’t just blow it away with Regulus Aurum, though, can I?”

Sayaka stared straight at Kojou.

“If you summoned a mass of electricity into a drenched place like this, I’d be burned to a crisp along with anyone on the surface… Even you’d be hit pretty bad, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah, suppose I would.”

Kojou sullenly slumped his shoulders. He’d had a vague sense of this before, but there were too many situations where a vampire’s Beast Vassals were of no use whatsoever. Even the backlight of his cell phone was a lot more useful as a wannabe flashlight than that fiendish lightning lion.

“Lustrous Scale can’t do anything about a pile of debris this big, either.”

Sayaka spoke while dragging her heavy-looking sword along with her left hand.

Well I suppose that’s true, too,
thought Kojou.

“Even if a master swordsman can split a boulder in two, you can’t dig a tunnel with a katana, huh.”

“Yeah.”

Making a weak smile as she spoke, Sayaka sneezed; it was oddly charming.

Kojou noticed that her drenched shoulders were shivering a bit.

“Figures it’s cold down here, all wet like it is.”

Murmuring as he made white breaths, Kojou’s eyes suddenly fell upon Sayaka’s breasts.

Her wet, open-neck blouse was clinging to her skin, with her bra easy to see through it. The light pink floral pattern wrapped around two bountiful hills separated by an enchantingly deep valley.

To a vampire’s night vision, it was an image far more vivid than was necessary.