Fantasy Library, Ch 466-470

Chapter 466: “Divine Beasts” vs “Familiars”

Without a doubt, compared to Yuuma Tokoyogi, both Aradahl and Iblisveil were enemies on an entirely different level.

In fact, there was no comparison to be made at all.

Yuuma might be a rare witch, but she was one who had only gained her strength through a pact with a demon. At best, she could rival an Old Generation Vampire. To think she could stand against those just a single step away from becoming Progenitors—that was nothing more than a fool’s dream.

Natsuki Minamiya was the sole exception. If she were the one fighting, even against someone like Vatler, Aradahl, or Iblisveil, she wouldn’t be utterly powerless. Otherwise, Aya Tokoyogi—Yuuma’s origin—would never have been defeated by her.

That was precisely why her presence on Itogami Island could have interfered with Aradahl and the others’ actions. So, the girl who had orchestrated all this had ensured Natsuki was taken out of the picture beforehand, preventing her from getting involved.

And even then, for Natsuki to match either Aradahl or Iblisveil alone would already be a stretch. Expecting Yuuma, a mere clone of Aya Tokoyogi, to manage such a feat was impossible. Kaiser, however, wasn’t facing just one of them—he was up against both.

Two vampires who could rival Vatler, fighting together. Even a true Progenitor would have to take them seriously, wouldn’t they?

And yet, despite that, Kaiser’s face hadn’t changed in the slightest. He looked no different from when he had faced Yuuma earlier, even as two overwhelming vampires closed in on him.

“Dance, Glutton!”

Aradahl was the first to act. His Familiar manifested, and short swords with black blades began multiplying endlessly.

Hundreds—no, thousands—of pitch-black blades filled the sky, painting it a deep, oppressive black. All of them pointed toward Kaiser and, without hesitation, rained down in a storm meant to swallow him whole.

“Shhhhhh—!”

As the countless black blades fell, Kaiser stood unmoving. Around him, silver daggers suddenly appeared, flashing like silver light as they shot upward to meet the oncoming storm.

“Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!”

The sky thundered with the endless clash of steel, sparks scattering as silver and black blades slammed against each other.

The Type-100 Heavy-Weapon Demon-Slaying Blade - Silver Radiant Qilin had the ability to sever space itself. Against ordinary Familiars, it should have cut them apart with ease.

But Aradahl’s Glutton had the power to pierce its targets and drain their magic. When they clashed with Kaiser’s weapon, the blades began siphoning away the pseudo-space-severing power that coated Silver Radiant Qilin, rendering its ability ineffective.

“Pierce, Jealousy!”

The dark greatsword floating behind Aradahl surged forward at his command. With its enormous might, it looked capable of cleaving Itogami Island itself in two as it came crashing down.

Jealousy was a Familiar designed to smash fortresses and city walls—its strength lay in its sheer destructive force. If it struck here, the plaza before the Keystone Gate would certainly be reduced to rubble.

Kaiser only glanced up at the night sky, then calmly called out.

“Come forth...”

In response, a massive lion appeared—its form similar to any ordinary lion, yet on a scale so great it dwarfed them all.

“Roar!”

The giant lion bellowed, its body swelling beneath the moonlight like an inflating balloon before it leapt skyward. It hurled itself straight at the descending dark sword.

“Boom!”

The strike that could destroy walls and fortresses slammed into the lion, detonating with a thunderous shockwave. Yet, the beast’s pounce deflected the blade aside.

“What?”

Aradahl’s expression shifted.

“Even Jealousy can’t cut through that beast’s hide?”

Of course it couldn’t.

The lion Kaiser had summoned was the Nemean Lion—one of the monsters from the twelve labors of the great hero Heracles.

Unlike the Hydra, it possessed no god-defying venom. Instead, its golden hide was tougher than steel, impervious to any weapon—even those forged by gods.

In Greek myth, Heracles had loosed an arrow into the beast’s weak spot, its left flank. The arrow bounced off. He shot again, striking its chest—just as useless. Even smashing its skull with a club shattered the weapon instead of harming the lion.

In the end, Heracles had no choice but to wrestle the beast barehanded, strangling it with sheer strength until it suffocated.

Even then, its hide was so resilient that no blade could cut it. Only by using the lion’s own claws could Heracles skin it, fashioning the hide into armor and its head into a helm. The image of Heracles clad in the lion’s pelt became his defining symbol in art, so much so that archaeologists often identified him by it.

And now, Kaiser had summoned that very same lion. With a roar, the Nemean Lion lunged at Jealousy and snapped the massive dark blade apart with its fangs.

“Tch... So that’s one of the mythic Divine Beasts, a living weapon sealed within him, like Leviathan? Impressive!” Aradahl’s tone grew darker, more solemn. “But this alone won’t be enough to defeat me.”

“Kill him, Pride!”

Another Familiar appeared.

Like Glutton and Jealousy, it took the form of a black blade. But this time, the moment it appeared, it ripped through space itself—manifesting instantly before the Nemean Lion.

“Slash!”

With a single flash, the beast howled, split in half, and vanished.

But it wasn’t the lion’s body that had been cleaved—it was the space it occupied.

Pride. This Familiar wielded the same power as the Silver Radiant Qilin: the ability to sever space.

“Awaken, Sloth!”

Aradahl summoned yet another Familiar, this one a serrated greatsword dozens of feet long, flexible like a whip.

The weapon specialized in cutting power. It lashed through the air with a howl, slicing toward Kaiser.

But before it could reach him, two beasts emerged at his side: a two-headed hound with a serpent for a tail, and a black-flamed three-headed dog.

Orthrus, the twin-headed hound.

Cerberus, the three-headed guardian of the underworld.

“Roar! Roar!”

Both monstrous hounds leapt forward, clashing against the whip-blade and Pride’s space-rending edge, locking them in fierce combat.

Kaiser watched coldly. From the shadow beneath his feet, two more beasts rose: the Chimera and the Sphinx. Both lunged straight at Aradahl, forcing him to summon yet another Familiar.

This time, his entire body was sheathed in black armor forged from countless blades. It turned him into a towering figure resembling a demon wrought of steel.

The armor was a Familiar that fused with its host, granting formidable defense. Enshrouded in its protection, Aradahl grappled with the Chimera and Sphinx as the plaza shook. Stone shattered, debris rained down like a storm, and the reinforced structure of the island broke apart under the chaos.

Darkness, flashes of light, thunderous booms, and monstrous roars filled the battlefield, their clash shaking all of Itogami Island. Explosions sent shockwaves rippling outward, even reaching Kaiser.

But Kaiser ignored Aradahl now. His attention had shifted to the other opponent.

“Tear him apart, Qebehsenuef!”

Iblisveil’s eyes glowed crimson as a golden falcon, its wings spanning over fifteen meters, spread them wide behind him. With a single beat, it unleashed a cyclone of slicing wind, barreling down on Kaiser with the force of a super-typhoon.

Kaiser answered by summoning another Divine Beast.

This time, a giant eagle emerged, its wingspan equal to that of the falcon.

“Keeeee!”

The Caucasian Eagle screamed, surging forward. Its sharp beak ripped apart the countless wind blades, tearing them to shreds as it clashed with the falcon head-on.

“What beast is this?” Iblisveil scowled, irritation clear in his eyes. “You think some wild monster can rival the Familiars nourished by my blood?”

But what he didn’t know was that this was no ordinary beast. This was the Caucasian Eagle, the same one Zeus had set upon Prometheus, sent to devour the god’s liver day after day.

In other words, it was a Divine Beast that had feasted on the flesh of a god.

Unaware of this, Iblisveil called forth another Familiar.

“Crush it, Duamutef!”

A golden jackal with massive fangs appeared behind him, howling as it charged. Its very momentum made it believable that it could crush warships or fortresses with a single blow.

Kaiser met the challenge in kind.

This time, he summoned dragons.

The hundred-headed Ladon, guardian of the golden apples.

The sleepless Colchian Dragon, protector of the Golden Fleece.

And the legendary Trojan Dragons.

Each appeared in turn, their colossal forms surging forward against the jackal, the falcon, and finally, a third Familiar: Hapi.

Duamutef, Qebehsenuef, Hapi—these were the three Familiars Iblisveil had inherited. Few in number, yet each so overwhelmingly powerful that even Third Generation Elders struggled against them. Their names were feared across the Night Empire.

And yet, even together, they faltered before Kaiser’s Divine Beasts. The eagle and dragons overwhelmed them, driving them back with pitiful howls.

Enraged, Iblisveil summoned again.

“Rip their entrails out, Meretseger!”

A monstrous cobra appeared in the plaza, its body radiating purple miasma. The toxic vapor corroded the very air, dissolving everything it touched.

At once, Kaiser’s summoned beasts screamed as their bodies began to melt.

“That Familiar...”

Aradahl, still grappling with Kaiser’s beasts, narrowed his eyes.

“That belonged to the Second Princess of the Extinction Dynasty, Maevia!”

He was right. Meretseger had not originally been Iblisveil’s Familiar. It had belonged to his elder sister, a fellow Second Generation vampire.

But when she secretly plotted against him during the Blazing Banquet, Iblisveil had crushed her, devoured her, and stolen her Familiars for himself.

“Even Divine Beasts can’t withstand venom that corrodes everything!” Iblisveil declared triumphantly.

And then—

Another shadow rose before him.

“Your turn, Hydra.”

From Kaiser’s shadow burst forth a nine-headed monstrosity, its roar shaking the heavens.

“Slash!”

The Hydra, whose poison even the gods feared, lunged. Its nine heads sank their fangs into the cobra, injecting its deadly venom.

The serpent screamed as its body melted away into foul liquid, consumed by the Hydra’s greater toxin.

“No... Impossible!”

Iblisveil’s eyes went wide, his arrogance collapsing into disbelief.

“Hadō #33, Sōkatsui.”

Kaiser lifted his hand, calm and unshaken. Azure flames erupted from his palm.

“Boom!”

The blast struck Iblisveil head-on, swallowing him in a sea of blue fire.

Chapter 467: Nothing Will Change

With Kaiser’s current power, even casting a Hadō in the thirties carried terrifying force. Even without chanting, though weaker than a fully intoned spell, his Sōkatsui still erupted like a colossal fireball exploding midair, azure flames flooding outward into a sea of fire.

The blast wave tore across the plaza, shattering windows of the Keystone Gate, uprooting decorative trees, and flattening everything in sight. It looked less like magic and more like a nuclear detonation hanging in the sky.

Iblisveil, struck head-on, barely managed to shield himself with his overwhelming magic. It kept him from being incinerated instantly, but his body was left charred, clothes in tatters, skin cracked and festering like rotting flesh.

“Damn it...!”

His wings of magic collapsed, and he plummeted to the ground, tumbling across the plaza in a disgraceful heap. For someone with his pride, it was a humiliation he could not swallow.

Kaiser extended his hand again, lightning beginning to gather at his fingertips as he prepared to finish him with Hadō #4, Byakurai.

“Raaaah!”

A roar came from behind him. Through the smoke, Aradahl surged forward. Though battered and barely held together by the sword-armor encasing his body, he had broken free of Kaiser’s beasts and came barreling in.

He swung a fist covered in blades straight at Kaiser, the speed like a hurricane.

“Boom!”

The collision shook the plaza, tearing up the stone floor to expose the rock beneath. Kaiser turned, meeting the strike with his own fist. Their blows collided, sparking as violent magic flared outward like lightning and fire.

“You blocked my Familiar’s strike with your bare body?” Aradahl muttered, cold sweat sliding down his temple, his forced smile strained. “What kind of monster are you?”

Familiars were pure condensed magic. Unless countered with equal force, physical attacks meant nothing to them. Worse, their destructive power was immense. Even the Familiars of Old Generation Vampires could raze villages, and Aradahl’s, one step below the Progenitors, could wipe out cities or islands. Meeting such an attack head-on should have left nothing—not even a scrap of flesh.

And yet Kaiser had stopped it with his body alone.

Aradahl had no way of knowing: if not for the physical element in that strike, Kaiser wouldn’t have needed to block at all. His Curse Power Resistance—honed from devouring countless Heretic Gods—let him shrug off even Progenitor-class Familiars. Only pure physical attacks could threaten him.

Even then, they had to be of the caliber of the Koukarin, or Aradahl’s Pride—attacks that could sever space itself. Anything less couldn’t even pierce his skin. His flesh was like a weapon forged by the Authority of Steel, harder than anything short of space-cutting power.

Compared to him, the so-called physical might of beastmen was laughable.

Kaiser struck back. His second punch landed squarely on Aradahl’s chest, detonating like a mortar shell.

“Gah!”

The armor shattered, and Aradahl vomited blood as he was hurled across the plaza, smashing into a distant building.

“Haaah!”

Before the dust settled, Iblisveil appeared, fury burning in his crimson eyes. He poured magic into his fist and swung it with a roar.

“Boom!”

The blow slammed against Kaiser’s guard, driving him back and gouging the ground beneath his feet. But before Iblisveil could press forward, Kaiser vanished.

He reappeared instantly before Iblisveil, faster than the eye could follow, and drove his fist into the vampire’s stomach.

“Urgh!”

Iblisveil’s body folded as he coughed blood, sent flying like Aradahl. He smashed through a fountain, shattered ornamental statues, and finally crumpled against a stone pillar, snapping it in two.

In a blink, both nobles—giants of the Warlord’s Domain and the Extinction Dynasty, men who stood just beneath the Progenitors themselves—were crushed. Kaiser stood alone, calm and expressionless, as if he’d only brushed aside criminals on Yuuma Tokoyogi’s level.

Their Familiars fared no better. Under the onslaught of Kaiser’s Divine Beasts, they were torn apart and dissolved into wild streams of magic.

The night sky was bright. Moonlight poured over Itogami Island, filling Kaiser’s Eye of Horus with lunar power and magnifying the authority of the King of Beasts several times over.

Each Divine Beast he summoned carried unique traits—invulnerable hides, lethal venom, divine origins. Now, bolstered by moonlight, they dwarfed the Familiars of vampires who weren’t even true Progenitors.

Even Vatler had to merge three Familiars into one to stand against a single Divine Beast. Aradahl and Iblisveil never stood a chance. Outnumbered, outclassed, crushed in both quality and quantity—the outcome had been decided from the start.

If Kaiser hadn’t been holding back, worried about sinking the island with one careless strike, the battle would have ended even faster.

With the path cleared, Kaiser didn’t spare the two nobles another glance. His form blurred as he vanished with Sonído, cutting through space toward the top of the Keystone Gate.

Behind him, his Divine Beasts roared triumphantly, fading one by one into the moonlight.

Aradahl and Iblisveil could only watch, powerless to stop him.

Or rather—

“Did he let us live?”

Half-buried in rubble, Aradahl gave a bitter smile, his body slowly knitting itself back together.

“If he didn’t have something else to do, we’d be dead already.”

His words earned a soft chuckle.

“Whether it’s you or me, we were never a threat to him. That’s the only reason we’re still breathing.”

Golden mist spread, and a blond man in a white suit stepped out, smiling.

“Vatler...”

Aradahl tried to rise, only to find his body too broken. Grimacing, he gave up and spoke through clenched teeth. “You were watching this whole time?”

“Of course. I witnessed your and Lord Iblisveil’s reckless little challenge.” Vatler laughed cheerfully, offering no courtesy. “Since the old man already assigned the task to you, I had no reason to waste my effort challenging him again.”

Aradahl scowled. “Never thought I’d hear something so cowardly from you of all people. Is the sun rising in the west?”

“Harsh. Even I know which foes can be faced and which mustn’t be challenged blindly. Otherwise, I’d have turned on the old man long ago.” Vatler shoved his hands in his pockets, still smiling. “Besides, even if I had joined just now, nothing would have changed.”

“He made it plain enough—he wasn’t even trying.”

“I honestly wonder if the three of us together could even entertain him.”

“That’s why I’ll wait. Until I’ve gathered enough strength, until I see even a sliver of hope of victory, I won’t raise my hand against him again. Perhaps that’s why he revealed his power to me last time—to make me understand.”

Despite the admission, there wasn’t an ounce of frustration or resentment in Vatler’s voice. Only joy.

“...He’s a dangerous variable.”

Aradahl, mostly regenerated, forced himself upright, his expression grim.

“He only awakened recently, yet he’s a relic of the age before the Devas descended. In truth, even the Progenitors we serve came after him.”

The Progenitors and the Devas belonged to the same era, but the age before their descent was beyond their reach.

“He’s older than the Progenitors, shrouded in mystery. No one knows how many beasts from the mythic age he has sealed within him—or how terrifying they are.”

Vatler shrugged. “At the very least, I can tell you this: what you saw just now weren’t his trump cards.”

“Don’t forget—within him still sleeps the greatest beast in the world, missing since four years ago.”

“And...”

His eyes gleamed.

“The hundred-headed giant that shattered my Ananta—the Primordial Serpent—with a single blow. He hasn’t even called that one forth yet.”

Aradahl’s face darkened. He had nearly forgotten. The reason Kaiser bore the title of King of Beasts, the reason he was feared even more than the Progenitors, was that very being.

The Typhon.

He had seen recordings: that colossal shadow blotting out the sky, a hand stretching down to seize the towering Ananta, crushing it like an insect in its palm. The image was burned into his mind.

Even with the Eye of Horus, the Divine Beasts Kaiser summoned were impressive, but nothing the Progenitors would truly fear. Typhon, however, was different.

Leviathan alone was rated an X-class threat, requiring multiple Progenitor-class Familiars to subdue. But at the Garden of Whispers’ roundtable, Typhon had been judged an even greater danger.

That was why many whispered Kaiser might stand above the Progenitors themselves.

Remembering that shadow, remembering how Kaiser hadn’t even needed it to crush him and Iblisveil, Aradahl clenched his jaw. He had made up his mind.

“I’ll report to the Warlord. I’ll do everything I can to prevent him from clashing with the Beast King.”

If he didn’t, the Warlord’s reckless nature might push him too far. And if that happened, the entire Warlord’s Domain could be destroyed.

“Don’t worry. The old man will listen. He founded the Sacred Treaty, after all. No one wants to maintain balance and peace more than him.” Vatler smirked. “The Second Progenitor will stay quiet too—he’s never liked leaving home.”

“As for the Third...”

He looked up toward the top of the Keystone Gate, his smile widening.

“She’ll get her turn to experience it firsthand.”

Chapter 468: [Chaos Bride]

Itogami Island, the top of the Keystone Gate.

This was the highest point on the entire island, a watchtower from which one could see everything—the whole of Itogami Island and even the surrounding sea. The wind howled violently. With no railing around the edges, it wouldn’t have been strange for anyone standing here to be blown straight off. Let alone two delicate-looking girls.

And yet, even as alarms rang across the island and chaos spread through the night, two girls stood here.

One stood at the very center, like a shrine maiden on an altar, eyes closed as raging waves of magic poured off her body. The other sat casually on the edge, legs dangling over the abyss, swaying them back and forth as if without a care.

“Thump!”

A sound of space being pierced—and Kaiser appeared.

“So you’ve finally come?”

The fairy-like girl let out a joyful cry, as if greeting a long-awaited lover.

“I’ve waited so long for you... king of beasts.”

With those words, she rose to her feet and stepped toward him.

Kaiser’s gaze was drawn to her, unwillingly.

He couldn’t help it.

That iridescent hair, shimmering like flames. That pale-blue fire burning in her eyes. A face that inspired awe and dread alike—a face he had only recently seen within Nagisa Akatsuki’s mindscape.

The beautiful vampire girl, so lovely she’d been called the “Sleeping Beauty.”

Avrora Florestina.

“A fake, huh?” Kaiser judged instantly.

“Oh?” The fairy-like girl arched a brow. “And what makes you so sure? Just because I wear this face, I must be an impostor?”

“You know there were twelve girls with this appearance once, don’t you? So why not one more?”

But Kaiser only shook his head.

“It’s obvious. During the Banquet, all those girls vanished. Every last one—including Avrora, who became the Fourth Progenitor.”

The world here was not the same as the original tale.

In the original, Kojou Akatsuki became the Fourth Progenitor, but only an incomplete one. Nine Familiars were transferred into him, while three others ended elsewhere—one set with the dying Avrora into Nagisa, and two left inside the base body, never summoned. Kojou had the title of Fourth Progenitor, but he couldn’t even summon his Familiars. His power was Progenitor-level only in raw magic, nowhere near complete.

But this world had changed.

Because of Kaiser.

When Avrora was brought to Itogami Island, she awakened early. She struggled against Nagisa for three years, then against the Root for three more. By the time of the Banquet, the Root had prepared everything. All three Night Empires sent their base bodies. All twelve entered the ritual.

The Root devoured most of the Familiars, destroying most of the base bodies. But Avrora and the survivors fought back. With Nagisa possessed by the Root and the other bases sacrificing themselves, Avrora seized all twelve Familiars. She sealed the Root inside herself—and then ended her own life to destroy it.

That was the end.

Avrora and the others, those fairy-like beauties, were gone forever.

Avrora’s soul lived on within Nagisa, carrying the complete power of the Fourth Progenitor. But her body was gone. Her beauty was gone.

So the girl before him could only be a fake.

And besides—

“The Warlord’s deputy has appeared, the Extinction Dynasty’s heir as well. And you expect me to believe the Chaos Realm would sit still?” Kaiser’s voice was cold. His eyes locked on the girl.

“Isn’t that right? Lord of the Chaos Realm, master of twenty-seven Familiars, bearer of countless forms and endless faces. The faceless one... called the Third Progenitor, the Chaos Bride.”

“Giada Kukulcan.”

At those words, the girl smiled.

Not the innocent, fairy-like smile from before, but a wild one—seductive, predatory, like a hunting leopard. On that dreamlike face, it looked almost wrong.

Then, as Kaiser watched, her form shifted.

The rainbow hair melted into a jewel-like pale green.

Her glowing azure eyes faded, replaced by emerald depths like a bottomless lake.

She still looked young, but the ethereal fairy was gone. In her place was a sharp, exotic beauty—fierce, predatory, as if carved from the wild.

The true face of the Chaos Bride.

“To name me so quickly without ever having met... Beast King, you’ve got sharp eyes.” Giada’s voice was unchanged, but now carried a sovereign weight.

Unlike Iblisveil’s shallow arrogance, her presence wasn’t outwardly haughty. But every word, every movement, radiated authority, making it impossible to forget she was a ruler.

Kaiser had met people like this before—Luo Hao, for instance. But Luo Hao was domineering in every way, inside and out. Giada’s dominance was woven into her very being, both restrained and overwhelming.

And here she was. One of the three vampire Progenitors who had built the Night Empires—standing before him on Itogami Island.

Compared to her, Vatler, Aradahl, even Iblisveil were nothing. If the Island Management Corporation knew she was here, they’d be trembling in terror.

It was no different from a natural disaster in human form descending upon the island.

In the world of the Campione, this would be like a Demon King appearing in one’s nation—a terror rulers could only dread.

But Kaiser wasn’t just the Beast King. He was a Campione, a true Demon King himself.

“I won’t bother asking why you’re here.” Kaiser glanced at her as though she were an insect showing off before him. He pointed at Nagisa Akatsuki, who still stood motionless at the center, eyes closed.

“I’ll only ask—what did you do to her?”

He already knew why the Progenitors moved. Aradahl and Iblisveil’s actions had told him enough.

They were restless. He was a new variable, one who might alter the world order. The Progenitors wanted to test him, to gauge his stance. They wanted to know if he would disrupt the balance under the Sacred Treaty. And, most of all, they were curious. Curious about whether something greater than them had appeared. Curious about the mythic age before their birth.

The Warlord couldn’t break the treaty, so he sent a deputy. The Second Progenitor hated leaving his domain, so he sent a descendant. But the Chaos Bride had come herself, stirring the pot more than any of them.

She had even abducted Nagisa.

That was her preparation.

Kaiser understood it all. But he didn’t care.

The only thing he cared about was Nagisa’s condition.

“Relax,” Giada said, reading his thoughts. “She’s fine. For now.”

“I thought so.” Kaiser’s tone was cold, steady. “But if she keeps releasing magic like this, it won’t last, will it?”

“It can’t be helped,” Giada answered without hesitation. “She’s a spirit medium, yes, but still just a servant of gods. How could a human safely house a soul forged for god-slaying?”

“Right now, Avrora Florestina is a complete weapon. A complete Fourth Progenitor. Even without her body, she has all the blood’s memory, can generate magic on par with a dragon vein, and commands all twelve star Familiars. Do you understand what that means?”

“It means that girl is wielding the Authority to slay gods while still human. How could she not be cursed?”

Even a Campione, after killing a god, ceased to be human. Their bodies became godslayer beasts, only then able to endure divine power.

But Nagisa—she was still human. Housing this power, unleashing it.

Even Ena Seishuuin, a specialist in spirit channeling, was incapacitated for a week when possessed, and even then could only wield a fragment of a god’s strength. Nagisa, though the highest-grade medium, could never wield god-slaying power freely without consequence.

Her body hadn’t collapsed, her mind hadn’t broken—only because Avrora had been restraining herself, shielding her host.

But now, things had changed.

Under Giada’s control, the Fourth Progenitor’s safety mechanism—Freeze Mode—had been activated. Avrora’s self was completely asleep, no longer able to suppress or restrain the power.

Now all that overwhelming force was active inside Nagisa, fully awakened, under Giada’s command.

Nagisa Akatsuki had become a complete weapon. A Fourth Progenitor with no self.

And that path only led to destruction.

Already, Kaiser could hear the screams of Nagisa’s body.

And the one responsible was right in front of him.

His eyes turned to Giada, and killing intent poured forth.

“Mmm, that aura...”

Giada felt it like a thousand needles piercing her skin.

Kaiser wasn’t bloodthirsty by nature. But as a shinigami, he had slain countless hollows. As a Campione, he had slain more than ten gods. He was no weapon built to slay gods—he was a godslayer in truth.

The Fourth Progenitor was created to slay gods. But Kaiser had achieved it. He was the reality behind the legend.

His killing aura, once released, could shake even a Progenitor.

And instead of shrinking back, Giada’s eyes lit up with delight and hunger.

“You really care for that girl, Beast King.” She smiled in satisfaction. “Then using her as my leverage was the right move.”

Only this way would she see his true strength.

“Good. Now the real show begins.”

Magic exploded around her, more than any vampire Kaiser had faced—more even than Nagisa’s current form.

“Come then. Let me test your weight.”

Chapter 469: The Progenitor Who Almost Died

——

At that moment, the Keystone Gate, the foundation of Itogami Island itself, groaned like it was crying in pain, swaying violently. The tallest structure on the island, the very pillar holding everything together—if it broke, the entire island would collapse.

And now, at its peak, a thundercloud had formed.

Bolts of lightning crackled from it, and the magical pressure it gave off was so immense it felt like gravity made solid, crushing down on the Keystone Gate until the whole tower creaked as though ready to shatter.

Anyone with knowledge could see it at a glance—this storm wasn’t natural.

It was a Familiar.

Giada’s Familiar.

“Go, Camaxtli!”

At her command, bluish-white lightning speared out from the storm, slicing through the air as it hurtled toward Kaiser. The bolts weren’t simply flashes—they were concentrated lances of plasma, moving so fast they seemed invisible, hot enough to vaporize the very air around them.

In the blink of an eye, lightning powerful enough to level skyscrapers reached Kaiser.

“Boom!”

But instead of tearing through his seemingly fragile body, the lightning bounced off him like it had slammed into an iron wall, scattering upward uselessly.

“…!”

Giada’s pleased expression froze, her pupils narrowing. She raised her hand sharply, urging the thundercloud above to unleash thousands of bolts at once, flooding the rooftop with a storm of lightning.

“BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!”

The Keystone Gate shook even harder as thunder and explosions echoed like endless artillery fire.

By all rights, such power should have demolished the tower outright. Yet none of the bolts ever struck their target. Every one was deflected, scattering into the sky.

Kaiser stood unharmed in the middle of the storm, eyes cold.

The next instant, a pair of staves appeared in his hands. With a twist of his body, he hurled them.

One spiraled upward, wrapped in lightning, vanishing into the thundercloud. The other howled forward in a cyclone, tearing through the air toward Giada.

A primal alarm blared inside her instincts. This weapon… it wasn’t like the divine beasts Kaiser had summoned, nor like the Familiars of the Progenitors. It was worse. Far worse.

“Xiuhtecuhtli!”

She didn’t dare take chances. A column of fire erupted beside her like a volcanic serpent, writhing and bursting into streams of molten flame as it slammed against the incoming staff.

“BOOM!!”

The rooftop detonated. Fire and wind clashed in a catastrophic explosion, shockwaves bursting outward from the Keystone Gate.

All across Itogami Island, people screamed. Alarms shrieked even louder.

“Itzquimilli! Coatlicue!”

Giada’s pupils narrowed to slits, her features twisting into something feral, almost beastlike.

Blood mist surged from her, birthing two more Progenitor-level Familiars.

One was a blizzard in the form of a white mist, a wave of explosive cold that plunged the temperature to killing levels. As it spread, it froze the Keystone Gate from top to bottom, avalanching toward Kaiser.

The other was a boundless darkness—an entire dimension of shadow, swallowing explosions and even one of Kaiser’s staves, dragging them into a void where nothing could return.

“Crack!!”

Above, the thundercloud shattered like glass, dissipating. Kaiser’s lightning staff had destroyed it from within, radiating power far greater than Giada’s storm.

“Coatlicue!”

She reacted instantly, commanding her spatial darkness to extend upward, engulfing the lightning staff before it could strike her.

Meanwhile, the killing cold was already crashing down on Kaiser, smothering everything in its path.

“Hyōrinmaru…”

A blade appeared in Kaiser’s hand, its hilt trailing a dragon-tail chain. From it surged a cold even sharper than the blizzard itself. With a single swing, the sword roared like an ice dragon, scattering the avalanche in a blinding burst of frost.

He swung again, unleashing a flock of ice-birds. They shrieked and dove at Giada.

“Xiuhtecuhtli!”

She answered with fire. Pillars erupted like volcanic fountains, serpents of flame writhing and thrashing as they met the frozen birds, burning them into steam.

But in Kaiser’s other hand, a short blade had already appeared, its tip glinting with deadly intent.

“Shoot to kill, Shinsō.”

With his cold command, the blade flashed, extending into a gleaming spear of silver light that pierced through the air straight at Giada’s skull.

It was sudden, impossibly fast—even faster than the lightning she had unleashed earlier.

“Not that easy!”

She hadn’t time to summon another Familiar, but her body moved first. Her hands had become hooked claws, and with a savage slash she caught the thrusting blade.

“Clang!”

Shinsō’s tip deflected off her talons, sparks scattering.

And in that instant, Giada lunged forward like a gale, her claws falling toward Kaiser’s head.

“Shhh!”

Kaiser vanished with Shunpo, sidestepping the lethal strike.

“Don’t run!”

Giada laughed wildly, chasing him down, claws flashing like a reaper’s scythes as she slashed again and again, her ferocity on full display.

Kaiser evaded easily, but he could see it now—her close-combat ability wasn’t inferior to beastmen at all.

And that was shocking.

In raw physical power, vampires were never impressive compared to the wider demon race. Not even the Progenitors could outmatch beastmen in sheer strength.

But Giada, with her shapeshifting and mastery of countless powers, had mimicked a beastman’s body with ease—and paired it with lethal skill. If not for the magic surging from her claws, no one would even think she was a vampire.

But this was wasted effort against Kaiser.

After all, he’d crossed blades evenly with the King of Swords himself.

Dodging one more swipe, Kaiser stepped in. Hyōrinmaru cut in a freezing arc, roaring like a dragon.

“Shhk!”

In an instant, Giada’s claw was severed, tumbling away in shards of ice.

“Ugh…!”

She staggered but didn’t retreat. Her remaining claw lashed out like a phantom.

“Clang!”

Kaiser caught it with Shinsō, deflecting the blow, then turned the blade into another silver flash.

“Shhhhk!”

This time it pierced her heart, driving clean through her chest and sending her reeling back.

“Ghhk—!”

Giada coughed blood, barely halting herself at the rooftop’s edge, her body skewered on Shinsō’s blade.

“Come forth, Xolotl!”

Her cry birthed a monstrous shape behind her—a towering skeletal giant. Empty eye sockets stared at Kaiser, its ribs gaping open like a gate to a void.

From that darkness, shells of pure annihilation fired forth, erasing space itself as they carved gaping black wounds through the air toward Kaiser.

One hit would bore a hole straight through Itogami Island and into the sea.

For once, Kaiser couldn’t just shrug it off. His Curse Power Resistance could nullify mystical attacks—but if space itself was erased, he’d be dragged into collapsing dimensions or scattered across unknown voids.

Against this, brute force wouldn’t do.

He dismissed Hyōrinmaru and Shinsō. A radiant spear formed in his grip, blazing with sacred power.

“Balance Breaker…”

Seven black orbs floated behind him.

“Maniratana!”

He leveled the spear. One orb shot forward, unfolding into a vortex.

“Hummmm…”

It devoured the oncoming void-shells, swallowing the erasure whole.

“Hummmm…”

Then, in an instant, the vortex vanished—only to reappear right in front of Giada.

“BOOM!”

The void-shell burst out, slamming into her.

Half her body was shredded instantly, blood exploding across the rooftop.

“It’s over.”

Kaiser raised his spear, its tip wreathed in holy fire.

Sacred power surged—the mortal enemy of all things demonic. It could erase devils, beasts, vampires. Even a Progenitor would fall if struck.

Compared to this, Aldegyr’s forged holy sword or even high-dimensional relics were toys. This was true divinity, a weapon to exterminate demonkind.

Giada was finished.

At least, she should have been—

“BOOM!”

Another power erupted.

An enormous Familiar appeared, its body crystalline like sculpted ice, beautiful as a mermaid. It swung a claw, unleashing a freezing storm.

The cold dropped past absolute zero, freezing all it touched, locking even time itself. Kaiser had no choice but to retreat. Divine Dividing spread from his back as he shot upward, narrowly escaping the avalanche of frost.

“Crk-crk-crk-crk…”

The Keystone Gate was entombed in ice, transformed into a colossal glacier at the center of the island. The plaza and surrounding districts were buried in winter.

“Nagisa…”

Kaiser’s face hardened as his eyes fell on the girl at the center of it all.

Nagisa Akatsuki had opened her eyes. Empty, hollow. Behind her loomed an enormous ice-bird, radiating cold that rivaled the goddess of winter herself.

“That was close.”

Giada’s voice rang out, amused, despite the blood dripping from her lips.

“If I hadn’t taken control of this Sleeping Beauty, I’d be dead right now.”

Her ruined body was already knitting together, rewinding as if time itself was restoring her.

“How long has it been since I’ve stood at death’s edge?”

She laughed breathlessly, eyes gleaming.

“Perhaps not once, since I became a so-called Progenitor.”

“To think you’d force me this far… You’re truly absurd, Beast King.”

She looked at Kaiser with sparkling eyes—without the slightest trace of hatred.

Not the look of someone who had nearly died.

Chapter 470: [Flame-light Viscount]

By now, the Keystone Gate had stopped shaking. Frozen solid by Nagisa Akatsuki’s Familiar, sealed in absolute-zero cold, it had transformed into a mountain of ice. Strangely, that made it sturdier than before, no longer trembling on the verge of collapse.

But everyone inside—residents and Island Management Corporation facilities alike—had been entombed in ice. From the twelve floors above the water to the forty levels below, everything inside this two-kilometer-wide structure was frozen solid. Even the special zone’s security forces, who had rushed in after detecting the massive surge of magic, had been reduced to part of the glacier.

At the center of it all, Nagisa continued releasing power. Her hollow eyes stared forward as the ice Familiar behind her spread its freezing aura outward. Bit by bit, the heart of Itogami Island was transforming into a frozen wasteland.

Naturally, the island’s people were caught in the spreading frost. One after another, they became statues of ice—faces twisted in terror, captured in their final moments.

Kaiser watched her for a long moment before turning his cold eyes back on Giada Kukulcan.

“Release her Freeze Mode,” he said flatly. “Do that, and I won’t kill you.”

Giada smiled.

“You think I fear death?” she said softly. “Do you know why they call us the undying vampires cursed by the gods?”

“It’s because immortality isn’t a blessing.”

“We’ve lived too long. Ages of life have left us nothing but boredom. The passions of our past are buried in history, reduced to fragments of blood memory. They give us power, yes—but no meaning.”

“So, Beast King, threatening a Progenitor with death—or even an Old Generation Vampire—is utterly foolish. Remember that well.”

She spoke like a teacher passing down wisdom, showing neither fear of death nor resentment toward Kaiser, who had nearly killed her moments ago.

Her gaze held only admiration for his strength, satisfaction with the battle, and hunger for more.

“It’s almost unbelievable,” she murmured. “That someone like you could exist in this world. This planet’s history is far more fascinating than the Devas once thought.”

Her eyes lingered on the sacred spear in Kaiser’s hand, then shifted to the black orbs floating behind him. She licked her lips.

“Are those too relics of the mythic age? Weapons like the Lion King Agency’s divine arms?”

Kaiser didn’t answer. He only stared at her, then spoke again.

“Release Nagisa.”

He had no patience for her games.

“If you want her back,” Giada said, stepping to Nagisa’s side, “then take her from me yourself.” She stroked the girl’s face, lips curling into a dangerous smile as her fangs slid into view. “But hurry. If you’re too slow, this girl will break before you can save her.”

“You really think controlling the Fourth Progenitor makes you my equal?” Kaiser’s expression didn’t waver. “Even against two Progenitors, the one left standing will be me.”

“And if Nagisa breaks, then the next to be destroyed will be your Chaos Realm.”

“You may not fear death, but the Night Empire you built with your own hands—if that were to be erased, would you feel nothing?”

Anyone else hearing such words would think Kaiser insane. To threaten a Progenitor was arrogance beyond reason.

But Giada only smiled. She knew this man had the right to say it.

“Could you really do it, though?” she asked, amused. “You think I don’t see it? You’ve been holding back this entire time.”

“Against Aradahl, against Iblisveil, against me—you never used your full strength.”

“You’re afraid of destroying this artificial island. Afraid of killing the hundreds of thousands of people living here. That’s why you keep restraining yourself.”

She had pierced his hesitation.

Itogami Island was too small. Too fragile. One careless blow from him could sink the entire island. And here at the Keystone Gate, even the slightest damage to its foundation would cause the whole structure to collapse, scattering into the Pacific.

“Could you really bring that destruction down on my Chaos Realm—on countless innocents—just to spite me?”

Her words made Kaiser narrow his eyes.

“You mistake me for a saint,” he said calmly. “If it becomes necessary, I’ll act. You’re welcome to test that.”

“So in other words… if it isn’t necessary, you won’t kill without reason.” Giada’s smile widened, almost in approval. “In that sense, perhaps you’re the same kind of man as Ki Juranbarada.”

The Lost Warlord. The First Progenitor.

Ki Juranbarada—one of the most ancient beings in existence, the founder of the Sacred Treaty, the one who ended the endless war between humans and the demon race.

Though he too would raze nations with his Familiars when required, he never killed without cause. And when no necessity pressed him, he had worked to improve the world and secure peace.

That was why, among the three Progenitors, he was the most respected.

“You two would probably get along,” Giada laughed. “It’s a shame he can’t just come to meet you. Kings rarely meet face-to-face, after all.”

She seemed to forget—she was called a king herself.

Though, truthfully, she was the least kingly of them all. No other Progenitor wandered the world so freely, chasing whims without restraint.

And even now, faced with Kaiser’s threats, she only kept smiling.

“Well then,” she said brightly. “Let’s not waste time. While the island still holds, let’s enjoy the thrill of battle.”

Her aura flared, magic surging higher.

At her side, Nagisa lifted her hand in unison, responding to Giada’s will. Her arm had turned black-red, traced with crimson lines, steaming blood mist curling upward.

“The blood of the god-killing weapon flows in you, Nagisa Akatsuki—Avrora Florestina. I release your shackles.”

Nagisa’s chant rang out, layered with Avrora’s voice, the two overlapping as one.

“Come forth! Fifth Familiar—Regulus Aurum!”

From the mist, a golden lion emerged, wrapped in lightning.

“ROAR!”

Its thunderous cry split the sky as storms of lightning burst from its body. With a single bound, it became a pillar of light, hurling itself straight at Kaiser above.

“Camaxtli!”

Giada summoned her thundercloud again, spears of lightning lancing down like countless javelins, filling the sky with blinding light.

“Assaratana”

Kaiser invoked one of the seven powers. His form vanished instantly, slipping away before the lion’s charge or the storm of lightning could touch him.

The Assaratana allowed him to reposition an enemy—or himself—anywhere he wished. It was faster, sharper than Sonído itself, a true instant shift.

“Xiuhtecuhtli! Xolotl!”

Giada reacted without hesitation, releasing her fiery serpent and skeletal giant once more.

“Come forth! Second Familiar—Cor Tauri Ochre! Third Familiar—Al-Nasl Minium!”

Nagisa’s chant followed. A magma-skinned minotaur wielding a colossal battle-axe rose beside her, towering over ten meters tall. A twin-headed dragon, twisted into a spiral with a draconic maw at each end, coiled into existence.

Their powers mirrored Giada’s summons. The minotaur’s molten axe could shatter any non-physical barrier, erupting the ground into spears of magma. The double-headed dragon devoured dimensions themselves, swallowing all matter and energy, erasing them with the very space they occupied.

Flames and molten stone surged skyward. The skeletal giant’s chest opened, hurling shells of void. The twin dragon roared, jaws tearing into the seams of space.

The spectacle was apocalyptic. Even in the sky, the tremors shook the island below, imprinting terror in countless hearts.

No human could survive such attacks.

Kaiser’s eyes gleamed.

"Parinayakaratana!"

One of the black spheres flew forward. With a flash, it obliterated the torrent of flame, scattering it like fireworks across the heavens.

"Assaratana!"

The dragon lunging toward Kaiser suddenly blinked, reappearing directly in front of the void-shell fired by Xolotl. It snapped its jaws shut, devouring space and darkness alike.

Then, with another shift, Kaiser relocated the dragon into the path of the magma spears. Its body was pierced through, writhing as it howled in pain.

“You’d turn my own against me!?” Giada shouted, trying to summon more Familiars—

But Kaiser didn’t give her the chance.

"Itthiratana!"

The black sphere of sealing shot from his hand, engulfing Giada in dark light.

“What!?”

Her eyes widened as her summons failed. The beastlike claws of her body melted away, reverting to human form. Her power was sealed.

“Bang!”

She struck the prison walls, but it was useless. The seal held firm.

“This… is bad…” she muttered, for the first time grim-faced.

But Nagisa moved.

“Come forth! Sixth Familiar—Mesarthim Adamas!”

A valkyrie appeared, rainbow sword in hand.

“Haah!”

With a single slash, her blade of light cut through the black sphere, shattering the seal.

Mesarthim Adamas—the Sixth Familiar of the Fourth Progenitor. Its power severed not just form, but causality itself.

Even the Queen’s seal, the power that once bound Kanon’s angelic form, could not endure.

“Well done!” Giada’s grin returned.

But—

“You’re celebrating too early.”

Kaiser’s voice came from behind her.

Her body froze.

A hand pressed down on her shoulder. Then came the incantation, spoken in rapid succession:

“Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide!”

Each word stripped her strength in half. Again and again, her vast power was shredded away, dropping lower with every repetition.

In moments, Giada’s energy had fallen beneath even an Old Generation Vampire.

“Come forth! Eighth Familiar—Shaula Viola!”

Nagisa didn’t hesitate, summoning again. A scorpion-tailed manticore cloaked in violet flame emerged, its presence poisoning the very air, the earth itself corroding beneath its breath.

"Gahapatiratana!"

Kaiser ignored the spreading toxins. Another black sphere flew outward, splitting into countless duplicates—clones of himself—surrounding Nagisa.

“I’ll deal with you first.”

He spoke to Giada without turning, his voice calm, but the cold sweat sliding down her temple betrayed the truth—

For the first time, the Chaos Bride felt the danger of death pressing down on her.

(End of Chapter)