Her long black hair danced wildly in the moonlight.
A cursed bullet, packed with immense magical energy, tore through the crystalline gem-like defenses.
The petite figure of Natsuki Minamiya was sent flying through the air.
Like scattered flower petals, her dark tresses fanned out around her.
The sharp crack of a gunshot echoed a moment later.
"Impact confirmed. Preparing second shot—"
Takehito Senga spoke into his comms to his sniper partner.
"But she's innocent..."
"According to intel, the Natsuki Minamiya operating outside is just a magical puppet. Her real body is locked within the Prison Barrier. Destroying this puppet won't harm her significantly. Prepare—"
Avrora stared blankly as Natsuki was sent flying, her slender arm instinctively reaching out.
"...Root."
"Leave it to me," Root lifted her chin, an excited smirk playing on her lips. "Finally..."
Pulling Avrora's hair back roughly, like a mecha pilot grabbing control levers.
"Alrescha-Glacies—!"
A voice, still carrying a hint of childish softness, rang out across the night sky.
Takehito Senga frowned, staring in confusion at the small girl.
What... is that cat?
A sudden, icy breeze brushed against his cheek.
His eyes darted to the fiery tornado ravaging the earth beside him, and his pupils constricted violently.
In the next instant, the ground was instantly blanketed in pure white, as the entire world plunged into a deep freeze.
Magical energy erupted from Avrora's entire body, transforming into a massive phantom beast.
A colossal, crystalline figure, clear as a glacial river, materialized behind her. The elegant ice mermaid revealed her true form.
A wave of frigid air, impossibly cold, swept forward, extinguishing the scorching flames in an instant.
The immense magical power, truly worthy of a Primogenitor, stirred a biting cold front that began to erode everything in sight.
That cat is the Fourth Primogenitor?!
He threw out another wooden talisman. Space warped.
Takehito barely dodged the onslaught of icy mist. With a sweep of his hand, an explosive torrent of magical energy flooded the surroundings.
The buildings of the residential district suddenly began to move like living creatures, rapidly converging and piling higher and higher.
SCREEEECH—
The piercing sound of twisting metal tore through the night air. A giant steel colossus rose from the earth under the moonlight.
Its massive arms tried to block the advance of the cold, but for only a moment before the frost climbed over the metal giant.
Luminous, vein-like cracks spread across the ground. Vast amounts of magical energy, gathered through Feng Shui arts, were flowing into the area.
The very earth seemed to gain life. Rocks and chunks of metal absorbed the mana, gradually beginning to move.
Humanoid monsters, seven or eight meters tall—massive stone golems—heaved themselves up from the soil.
A whirlwind storm accompanied by thick fog rolled in.
The walls of nearby buildings began to crack, rubble caught up in the gale and hurled through the air towards Avrora.
Manipulating weather and climate, wielding the cursed power drawn from ley lines to command great stones.
This was the esoteric art—Feng Shui.
And this is just from one of her Beast Vassals...
Takehito Senga stood at the very edge of the district, staring at the white frost covering the entire residential area. After a few seconds of silence, he picked up a leaf from beside him.
The extreme cold had made the leaf brittle. With a gentle rub, it crumbled into tiny pieces, scattering in the wind.
"I'd heard the stories, but to see it..."
The Fourth Primogenitor has more than just one Beast Vassal.
He looked up at the night sky, illuminated by flashes of lightning, a bitter smile twisting his lips.
"Rahn, how much longer?"
He queried his other companion.
A major step in destroying Itogami Island was to make all the Demon Tribe run amok.
The Demon Registry—those metal bracelets practically every member of the Demon Tribe wore.
Those bracelets contained circuits for activating simple magic, used to monitor physical conditions and track locations. Such simple circuits were very convenient to use as catalysts for curses.
The Demons living on Itogami Island made up only about four percent of the total population, but that still amounted to over twenty thousand people.
If they all went berserk simultaneously, the Counter-Demon Agents would be utterly overwhelmed.
Yet, the city showed no signs of chaos. The magic circle above continued to drop phantom beasts into the urban areas, but it was like throwing stones into the sea—there was no reaction whatsoever.
Is this island's defensive capability... this good?
He recalled the scene when he first entered Itogami Island, being inspected by the police Neco-Arcs, and his smile faded completely.
"We have a problem! Someone else is blocking me, besides Asagi Aiba."
"Someone else..."
Rahn's reply made him sigh softly, but the next, frantic words from the sniper, Carly, made his eyes widen in shock.
"Natsuki Minamiya is unharmed!"
What?!
Takehito's head snapped up. Unnoticed by him, countless golden chains had appeared all around him.
He stared in astonishment at a completely unscathed Natsuki Minamiya, his gaze drawn to a glint of gold held in the girl's arms.
A Neco-Arc poked its head out from there. It curled its lips into what looked like a mischievous grin and waved its rounded fist at him.
Clutched within that fist, despite it having no distinct fingers, was a single golden bullet.
Cursed bullets were special ammunition that sealed vast magical power within a precious metal casing. They could fire concentrated mana, piercing through any magical barrier.
"Carly—"
Light flashed again from the top of a distant building. Another cursed round sliced through the night sky.
The killing intent-laden projectile appeared before Natsuki Minamiya in an instant, and then—
The Neco-Arc jumped up and caught it.
It was like catching a toy paper airplane. The rounded fist easily absorbed the bullet's impact.
"It seems those other phantom beasts are probably also..."
Takehito slowly turned his head to look towards the city.
Among the forest of buildings, a group of Neco-Arcs were circling the phantom beasts, almost as if they were having a campfire party.
BOOOOM—
Golden lightning, carrying an aura of utter destruction, drowned the man's figure.
"Heh heh, that's my power!" Root revealed a ferocious smile, the cat ears on her head spinning wildly.
"Ow... ow..." Avrora clutched at the hair on her head that Root was gripping, letting out a whimper. "It's... it's going to come out..."
"Take it easy. A live one is more useful than a dead one." Natsuki Minamiya's figure abruptly appeared by the crater left by the lightning strike.
"Well, I can't promise that..." As she spoke, Root seemed to notice something, her eyes narrowing. "He's not dead."
Huh?
Root held back at a time like this?
Natsuki shot a suspicious glance at Root. She had just been making a comment earlier, not really holding out hope of finding a complete corpse.
"I had no idea we would have such a..." Root's voice grew lower, filled with rising anger.
She whipped her head around, glaring at the Kaleid Bloods who were watching the show from inside Asagi Aiba's frost-covered home. "Traitor!"
The almost tangible fury made Avrora hunch her shoulders. She followed Root's gaze.
Among the Kaleid Bloods, one dressed in a maid outfit met Root's glare without a trace of fear.
"Number Ten! What is the meaning of this?" Roots' angry shout echoed under the night sky.
At the very moment the lightning was about to strike, the Regulus-Aurum seemed to be bewitched by something, its magical output noticeably decreasing.
Not far away, in a forest, a beautiful fish-dragon with scales like silver crystal was crouched on the ground.
It was the Fourth Primogenitor's tenth phantom beast, the mesmerizing Dabih-Crystallus.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.