The demons recoiled in mild disgust from the ominous aura emanating from it, while everyone else instinctively grimaced.
…Seriously, Azazel-sensei, you went full parody with this?! Am I the only one here who can keep up with the joke instead of reacting with a straight man's retort? Ise's definitely the kind of guy who would go straight into tsukkomi-mode in a moment like this.
"Hoh… This is…" I lowered my voice, making it as deep and cool as I could manage, then spoke with deliberate gravitas.
Azazel-sensei caught on immediately, smirking as he began his explanation.
"A 13mm anti-monster combat handgun—Jackal. It doesn't use modified standard bullets. It fires custom rounds, crafted exclusively by Grigori, the Watchers of the Children of God.
Total length: 39 cm. Weight: 16 kg. Capacity: 6 rounds. In short—no human could ever wield this beast."
I picked up the massive handgun from its case. Engraved along the barrel were the words:
"Jesus Christ is in Heaven now."
"What about the rounds?" I asked.
"13mm armor-piercing explosive shells," he replied.
"The casing?"
"Pure silver, Macedonium alloy casing."
"The warhead? Is it explosive? Mercury-based?"
"Mercury. Sanctified by ritual."
I exchanged that back-and-forth with a deliberately smug, nihilistic grin, and sent Azazel-sensei a glance.
"Perfect, Azazel."
"My utmost gratitude," he replied, bowing deeply.
Might've just made history as the first human to ever get the former Governor of the Fallen Angels to bow to them.
The rest of the room, meanwhile, stared at us slack-jawed.
SMACK!!
"…What idiocy are you up to now, Ikki-senpai?"
Shirone hit me on the head from behind with a paper fan. Her narrow-eyed glare followed, but I couldn't help feeling oddly satisfied. Probably the same for Azazel-sensei.
"That bit you two did just now—it was from that anime that aired recently, wasn't it? Geez, Ikki, you always pick the weirdest moments to goof off," Koneko muttered.
I mean, c'mon. When someone sets up a scene like that right in front of me, how could I not go along with it?
"In any case, you can't just bring a weapon like that—specifically designed to fight vampires—into a peace negotiation. The moment they realize you have it, the talks are over," Rias said sharply.
"But it is a powerful weapon, isn't it?" Irina chimed in. "I mean, I'm a swordswoman, so I wouldn't use it, but maybe it could become a mainstay in the Church's arsenal?"
Griselda lightly thumped Irina on the head. "Absolutely not."
If Church soldiers ever wielded this thing, with its supposedly "six-shot" clip actually producing an endless bullet barrage, the result would be nothing short of a massacre.
As we were messing around, a chilling presence appeared in front of the old school building.
"…Looks like they're here. As always, vampires have that eerily frozen presence," Rias murmured. "Yuuto, could you greet them? And Azazel—please put that gun away, now."
Yuuto gave a polite nod and left to escort the guest, since vampires can't enter without being invited. Azazel-sensei reluctantly packed the gun back into its case and stored it away in an extra-dimensional pocket.
The representatives of each faction took their seats for the meeting.
Rias, as the King of the Gremory peerage.
Sona, King of the Sitri peerage.
Azazel-sensei and Griselda.
Behind each of them stood their subordinates or retainers.
Only Akeno stood forward, next to a trolley, ready to serve.
"Come on, Ikki. Take a seat," Azazel said.
"Wait, me too?" I asked, surprised.
"Obviously. You belong to the Western Youkai faction—not part of the Three Factions. It'd look odd if you stood behind Rias."
…Now that he said it, that made sense.
"You tend to undervalue yourself, which makes you prone to missteps like this. Especially after the Underworld incident—your name has spread far and wide. You may be a human, but you're also the fiancé of the Nine-Tails princess. You should start acting the part."
Scolded like that, I reluctantly took my seat next to Rias.
Behind me stood Kuroka and Ravel, with Shirone taking a slightly closer position among the Gremory peerage.
A knock came at the door.
Yuuto returned, leading the guest.
A girl entered—blonde hair in soft waves, crimson eyes, dressed in a formal gown.
She looked around fifteen or sixteen—possibly a first-year in high school. Her skin was pale, almost lifelessly so. And the absence of any life force… Yeah, definitely a vampire. A being closer to the dead than the living.
Ordinary healing or ki-based techniques probably wouldn't affect her. But I could feel the pressure of her soul—maybe that's how she kept moving. She probably wouldn't get along well with Shinigami.
"Good day to you all. I am honored to meet the former Governor of the Fallen Angels and the sister of a Satan in person.
My name is Elmenhilde Karnstein. Please, call me Elme."
With a graceful bow, she sat across from us.
Behind her stood one male and one female vampire, tense and watchful. Someone really needs to tell them to tone it down—this room is packed with Maou-class beings. Posturing like that is just reckless. Or maybe… they're just that nervous?
"Karnstein… That's one of the top noble houses among the Carmilla faction—the matriarchal opposition to the patriarchal Tepes faction," I muttered. "It's been a while since I've met a high-ranking pureblood vampire."
"Elmenhilde, let's get straight to the point," Rias said bluntly. "You've never agreed to peace talks before. Why reach out now? What do you want?"
"We wish to borrow the power of Gasper Vladi."
Her concise answer made Azazel frown.
"That's pretty direct. Mind explaining in more detail?"
"Of course. A recent event threatens to upend the very foundation of our kind.
A Sacred Gear user has emerged from the Tepes faction.
Not just any Sacred Gear… it's a Longinus."
Azazel exhaled heavily.
"Of course it's a Longinus… Which one is it?"
"The Holy Grail."
"Damn it… Of all things, it had to be that. One of the sacred relics—the Sephiroth Graal. That thing can warp the very principles of life."
"Indeed. That something like us, beings of darkness, would use a divine relic is horrifying enough… but the Tepes faction went even further. They used it to abandon their very nature as vampires—purging every weakness associated with our kind and creating something… nearly immortal. They've already attacked us. We've taken casualties. If we fall, they may turn on the rest of the world next. They want to dominate other species and claim supremacy… but what does it mean if vampires accomplish that through divine relics?"
A vampire blessed by holy power—what a contradiction. Depending on how you see it, it's not them wielding sacred power… but being ruled by it.
"The Tepes faction has gone rogue. We, the Carmilla faction, will not allow such atrocities. As fellow vampires, we will purge them. And for that—we need the power of Gasper Vladi. Even if he's a half-blood, he's still a vampire. We've heard he's awakened."
Despite Gasper being part of her peerage, the way Elmenhilde spoke about him as if they had a right to use him made Rias' eyes darken.
She didn't show it on her face, but standing next to her, I felt like I was beside a roaring phoenix inferno. Honestly, I was kind of envious of the folks standing safely behind her right now.
"We still haven't figured out what Gasper's power truly is, even with Grigori's analysis," Rias said coolly.
"Vampires occasionally awaken unique abilities—especially among half-bloods in recent years. The powers vary wildly. We don't know much about ourselves, but perhaps his birth family, the Vladi house, might know something."
If someone managed to infer Gasper's power from his cardbox coffin antics, that'd be impressive—and also terrifying.
Still, asking to use his power without even knowing what it is? The Carmilla faction might be insane.
"As for the one who manifested the Holy Grail—it's a half-blood, of course.
Her name is Valerie Tepes. She's of the Tepes bloodline."
The moment that name was spoken, Gasper visibly panicked and shouted.
"Valerie? That's impossible! She didn't awaken any Sacred Gear—just like me!"
"Sacred Gears can manifest later in life, just like your Red Dragon Emperor did," Elmenhilde replied. "Valerie Tepes likely awakened hers recently. You two grew up together, didn't you? Both half-bloods, both cast aside. If she's wielding the Grail now, it's natural to assume she's being forced to use it by the Tepes. She's important to you, isn't she? Don't you want to stop her? And maybe… take revenge on those who tormented you? Once you do, we'll take her into Carmilla's custody—give her a quiet place to live at the edge of our territory."
Translation: a lonely exile under watch, unable to escape thanks to her dangerous powers. Yeah, I see how this ends.
"You vampires look down on half-bloods, call them abominations. But you're the ones who toyed with humans, sired children, then cast them aside. The Church has dealt with countless people whose lives were ruined by vampire selfishness. Honestly, we'd prefer you not breed with humans for fun," Griselda said sharply.
"I do apologize. But to hunt humans is our nature. Are you devils and angels any different? 'Granting desires for compensation.' 'Living off human faith.' We otherworldly beings all depend on humans to survive. That makes us weak."
She then turned her eyes to me—the only human in the room.
"You're the human who killed an elite Reaper, aren't you? If you weren't already engaged to the Youkai Princess, I'd have loved to recruit you myself. Your blood… might even rival a god's. I'd love to taste it someday."
Oh come on, Elmenhilde. Did you really have to provoke everyone using me as bait? Everyone in the Occult Club was radiating barely contained rage. The bloodlust behind me… was terrifying. I didn't dare turn around.
No choice. I'll have to defuse this.
"Is that so? Well, today is a special occasion—your first time joining a peace talk. If my blood will serve as a token of goodwill, I'd be happy to offer some. Of course, it'll have to be in a glass. I can't let you bite me."
Every single person aside from the vampires turned to me with that "what the hell is this guy saying?" expression.
Still, I forced myself to smile, trying to channel Yuuto's usual sparkly aura as best I could.
Nowhere near the real thing, but the confusion seemed to override their complaints, and the room fell silent.
"My, how generous."
"If something as cheap as my blood can help ease tensions, it's worth it.
Admittedly, I'm being strategic—trying to smooth the upcoming negotiations."
"Oh my, I do like honest boys."