"Boom!"
Just as Kaiser pinned Giada down and stripped away most of her power, Nagisa Akatsuki—trapped by the countless clones created through Gahapatiratana—erupted.
Her jet-black hair lifted without wind, turning into a radiant gold that shimmered with rainbow light. Her eyes burned with flame. And from her back, enormous wings unfurled—vampire wings tipped with sharp talons.
There were six pairs in total, twelve wings, each wrapped in dazzling brilliance, shifting in aurora-like colors. They writhed as if alive, and then—
—they became Familiars.
A ram with indestructible diamond horns—the First Familiar of the Fourth Progenitor, Nathra Cinereus.
A shell-beast cloaked in silver mist—its entire body gleaming like steel—the Fourth Familiar, Dabih Argentum.
A trident-like greatsword, its blade stretching over a hundred meters—the Seventh Familiar, Kiffa Ater.
A crimson-maned bicorn, its body trembling with seismic force—the Ninth Familiar, Al-Kaph Marak.
A crystal pillar-beast, covered in silver crystal with goat horns sprouting from a draconic body—the Tenth Familiar, Al-Giedi Gyrus.
A water spirit with the upper body of a beautiful woman and the lower body of a pale giant serpent, her long hair made of countless writhing snakes—the Eleventh Familiar, Sadalmelik Albus.
And alongside them—Familiars already summoned before: the Second, Cor Tauri Ochre; the Third, Al-Nasl Minium; the Fifth, Regulus Aurum; the Sixth, Mesarthim Adamas; the Eighth, Shaula Viola; and the Twelfth, Al-Meissa Mercury.
The twelve calamity-class Familiars—legends commanded by the strongest vampire in history, the Fourth Progenitor, the Flame-light Lord—stood revealed all at once.
"■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■——!!!"
Twelve beasts roared together. The sound wave crashed like thunder, ripping through the skies above the Keystone Gate, scattering clouds as though heaven itself had been shaken.
The Fourth Progenitor, wielding all twelve Familiars, was a weapon said to be capable of slaying gods. Their simultaneous appearance was overwhelming beyond measure.
Onlookers across Itogami Island raised their heads. Some wore grim expressions, others pure terror, as they watched twelve divine beasts bellow toward the sky.
But it wasn't only brute strength—they each bore unique abilities. Every Familiar carried the power to obliterate the island in an instant. Even Giada, weakened to a shadow of herself, stared in awe, momentarily forgetting everything else.
"The twelve star Familiars, symbols of the Zodiac… they've returned to the world together at last?"
She had helped create the Fourth Progenitor, yet it had been so long since she'd seen this sight.
During the Blazing Banquet, twelve vessels sealed one Familiar each. They had gathered on Itogami Island, but never had all twelve been summoned at once. Only now—through Nagisa's body—did the twelve star Familiars of the world's strongest vampire finally manifest together, unleashing their voices.
And yet—Kaiser's face showed no fear. Only worry for Nagisa.
"This is bad. Summoning all twelve at once… it's destroying her body!"
His expression hardened.
Blood trailed from the corner of Nagisa's mouth. Her skin cracked beneath the turbulence of magic. She trembled, breaking apart, her life force consumed by the Familiars until she seemed like a candle about to gutter out.
Kaiser could ignore Giada no longer. He tossed her aside and activated Assaratana, teleporting instantly before Nagisa.
"■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■——!!!"
The twelve star Familiars reacted like a reflex, diving toward the Keystone Gate in a stampede. The charge of calamities shook the heavens and earth alike.
"Out of my way!"
Without sparing them a glance, Kaiser clenched his empty left hand. A weapon appeared—a spear radiating divinity, its shaft carved from the World Tree, runes etched upon its blade.
Without hesitation, he hurled it skyward. A meteor streaked toward the twelve beasts.
Brilliant. Blinding. Inescapable.
Every Familiar felt it: they had been marked. This strike could not be dodged or blocked.
They scrambled to resist.
Nathra Cinereus raised a barrier of crystalline mirrors to reflect all attacks. Cor Tauri Ochre unleashed molten spikes of magma. Al-Nasl Minium opened its jaws to devour meteor and space alike. Dabih Argentum spread mist to dissolve all into nothing. Regulus Aurum cloaked itself in lightning. Mesarthim Adamas seized Kiffa Ater, preparing to sever fate itself. Shaula Viola wove poison. Al-Kaph Marak released shockwaves of vibrating horns. Al-Giedi Gyrus cast spiritual domination, only to be nullified by Kaiser's Curse Power Resistance. Sadalmelik Albus stirred a vortex of temporal reversal. Al-Meissa Mercury blanketed the skies with snow and frost.
Their combined fury warped sea and sky. Itogami Island itself groaned as if ready to split apart.
And yet—
The meteor cut through it all.
"Whrrrm…"
It tore past every defense, tracing the thread of destiny itself.
"Schhk!"
First fell Nathra Cinereus, its jeweled barrier and body pierced in one.
"Schhk! Schhk! Schhk! Schhk! Schhk!"
One after another, Cor Tauri Ochre, Al-Nasl Minium, Regulus Aurum, Shaula Viola, Al-Kaph Marak, Al-Giedi Gyrus, and Al-Meissa Mercury were skewered and annihilated.
Dabih Argentum and Sadalmelik Albus tried to erase the meteor—dissolving, reverting it to atoms—but Gungnir ignored them, piercing through as if they weren't there.
The Eternal Spear, Gungnir. A god-weapon that never misses, its victory sealed at the moment of release. Unless destiny itself were rewritten, nothing could halt its flight.
Only Mesarthim Adamas, wielding Kiffa Ater—the blade that severs causality—could have stood a chance.
But the chance never came.
"Boom!!!"
Two clubs crashed down from the heavens, bursting from broken space. Aymur and Yagrush, once exiled by Giada, had returned. Storm and lightning obliterated Mesarthim Adamas and its blade alike.
With Giada weakened by Divine Dividing, her summoned beasts could no longer contain them. The clubs shattered free, crushing the last two Familiars.
In less than three seconds—twelve calamity-class Familiars, the embodiment of disaster, the very reason the Fourth Progenitor was the strongest vampire—were destroyed.
It was like a nightmare made real. Observers could only stare wide-eyed, their terror beyond words.
But Kaiser had no time for them. He turned to Nagisa.
"Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide!"
The inorganic voice rang inside him. Nagisa's overwhelming power, just like Giada's before, was halved again and again, stripped away until it weakened.
Once her strength was suppressed, Kaiser raised his hand. A jeweled branch, radiant and sacred, appeared—pearls dangling from its boughs.
The Jeweled Branch of Hōrai.
Its light washed over Nagisa, healing her torn flesh and restoring the vast life force she had lost. A treasure of immortality, it extended lifespans. For Nagisa, whose vitality had been nearly devoured to nothing, it was salvation itself.
It was because Kaiser possessed this relic that he hadn't already torn the island apart in fury at Giada's recklessness. Only its presence let him hold back and remain calm.
"Itthiratana!"
Once her injuries were mended, Kaiser flung one of the black spheres behind him. A prison that sealed female powers descended upon Nagisa, restraining her for now.
"Phew…"
At last, he exhaled, gently laying her down before turning back to Giada.
"…Impressive."
She hadn't moved from her spot. Meeting his gaze, she offered a bitter smile.
"To think the god-slaying weapon created by the three Progenitors and the Devas could be crushed so easily… it's humiliating."
Her words held resignation. Her power, shredded by Divine Dividing, had fallen below even that of an Old Generation Vampire. She could no longer fight.
"You're still controlling her, aren't you?" Kaiser's voice was cool. "Release it."
"Relax. Freeze Mode was always meant to be temporary. As a safeguard against the Fourth Progenitor, its effect on Nagisa is limited," Giada answered calmly. "Besides, Avrora Florestina lost her body long ago. Even if Freeze Mode still works, no one knows how long it will last."
"I'll tell you how to activate it, how to shut it down, even how to destroy it. What you do with that knowledge… is up to you."
And so, she passed on everything she knew about the safeguard embedded in the Fourth Progenitor.
Kaiser listened in silence, committing it to memory before finally speaking.
"So what? You think this is enough to buy your life?"
Before Giada could reply, another voice cut in, accompanied by a bold laugh.
"Sorry, mind if I say a few words?"
=-=-=-=-=-=
You can read the complete fic on patreon.com/NiaXD.