— — — — — —
Gozo Island - In front of the underground tomb entrance
A lazy-sounding female voice suddenly rang out.
Gajou Akatsuki's eyes widened as his foot froze mid-step.
Liana Caruana instantly spun around, her body tense. Her sharp turquoise eyes locked onto the source of the voice with suspicion.
And then they saw her.
A stunning blonde woman dressed in teal stood casually with one hand on her hip. Her eyes carried a hint of passive confidence, and she exuded the calm, mature aura of someone who'd seen her share of battles.
Behind her stood a younger girl—black hair, long and straight—curiously peeking over like she was sightseeing.
"Who are you?!"Liana snapped, instinctively tensing.
"No need to be so on edge," the woman replied coolly, barely glancing at her. "Lion King organization. Mind if we tag along?"
Lion King organization.
Both Liana and Gajou paused in surprise. The name was well-known.
But… what the hell was someone from the Lion King organization doing here—on Gozo Island, of all places? And right now, of all times?
Liana's expression grew darker.
After a long pause, she finally asked, "Your organization is interested in the Fourth Primogenitor too?"
She didn't bother to hide her irritation. She'd poured money and effort into this for over a month—and now these people from some high-and-mighty organization just showed up to swoop in and steal the prize?
Sure, her family's influence had weakened over the years…But she wasn't some pushover.
Push her too far and she'd take a chunk out of you, no matter who you were.
Besides… this was vampire business. What did a human organization think it was doing sticking its nose in?
The more she thought about it, the more pissed off she looked.
Meanwhile, Endou's eyes lit up at Liana's words.
"So this is where the ruins of the Fourth Primogenitor?" she murmured, a glint of excitement flashing in her eyes.
She'd only wandered over with Himeragi Yukina after noticing the unusual activity here—looked like they'd hit the jackpot.
"…You didn't know?" Liana blinked in disbelief.
You've got to be kidding me.
But even if they'd stumbled on it by accident, the moment they saw this rift in space, they would've insisted on checking it out.
Which meant…
Liana narrowed her eyes, then raised her hand. A faint ripple shimmered through the air.
"Sköll" (Wolf of the Solar Eclipse)
"Hati!" (Wolf of the Lunar Eclipse)
With her shout, two massive wolves appeared behind her in a flash.
"Awooooooo!"
Their howls echoed across the island. One radiated molten lava heat, the other a pale moonlit glow. The pressure they exuded made the very air tremble.
Endou raised an eyebrow, visibly impressed.
Sure, she knew "stealing the fruit" like this wasn't exactly noble…But hey, she was just doing her job for the Devil King, right?
If Liana wouldn't play nice, well… she'd just have to force her way in.
"Yukina."
Without hesitation, Himeragi Yukina pulled a long spear from her bag.
Shing—
The sleek, gleaming blade caught the sunlight and gave off a brilliant gleam.
Liana's heart skipped a beat the moment she saw it.
Her blood stirred unnaturally, her body heating up despite the cold air around them.
What… is this?
She stared hard at the weapon. Something was off.
Very off.
That spear wasn't normal.
Still, Liana didn't back down an inch. The Fourth Primogenitor was her shot at restoring her family's name—she wouldn't let anyone screw that up.
Tension crackled in the air.
Kojou glanced left and right, then quietly pulled Nagisa behind him, shielding her. He shot a series of wild, exaggerated winks toward his father, Gajou Akatsuki.
"Let's slip out while they're distracted!" That's what his eyes were screaming.
Gajou caught the message and gave him an "OK" gesture, raising a brow with a smug grin.
"Leave it to me."
Kojou: "???"
Kojou stared, dumbfounded, as Gajou casually stepped forward.
"Now now, Liana dear, no need to get so worked up," Gajou said smoothly.
"!???"
What the hell are you doing, old man?!
Kojou could feel a headache coming on.
He meant for them to sneak away! Not waltz right into the lion's den!
Was this guy serious right now?
Gajou stood there, looking completely unbothered. Kojou wanted to scream.
On the other side, Liana narrowed her eyes. "You want me to just hand this tomb over to them?"
"Don't be so dramatic." Gajou shrugged. "Why not work together with the Lion King organization?"
"Think about it. We don't even know what kind of dangers might be waiting inside. Having more fighters on our side isn't a bad thing."
Liana stared at him blankly. "So basically, you just want me to split whatever's in there with them."
Gajou didn't respond right away. Instead, he turned his eyes to the spear in Yukina's hand.
"If I'm not mistaken, that's the legendary Mark Seven Demon-Purging Assault Spear, isn't it?"
"Oh?" Endou tilted her head, surprised. "You're surprisingly well-informed… for a human."
Gajou replied proudly, "I am an archaeologist, after all."
She snorted. "Archaeologist, huh? You sure you're not just looting ancient tombs for fun?"
She glanced toward the spatial rift behind him.
Who accidentally digs up a dimensional anomaly?
And he recognized Snowdrift Wolf too. This guy clearly wasn't a regular civilian.
Liana, meanwhile, hadn't relaxed one bit since hearing the weapon's name.
"The weapon that's effective against vampires?"
As a noble vampire, she had enough education to know just how dangerous that spear was.
Things were getting tricky.
Wait—They actually gave that kind of weapon to a high school girl?
Gajou leaned over and said in a low voice, "Liana, you know exactly how effective that spear would be… against someone like you."
"…Don't need you to tell me that," she muttered, brows furrowed.
Restoring her family's honor really was turning out to be a massive pain in the ass.
Gajou, watching her frustration grow, couldn't help but smile a little.
After all the lectures and nagging she'd given him as her "investment," seeing her take a hit for once? Delightful.
He quickly wiped the smirk off his face and asked, "So? What do you want to do?"
Liana shot him a glare, then fell silent.
Finally, with a heavy sigh, she recalled her familiars.
Whatever. She was here to serve the Fourth Primogenitor.
Letting these two tag along wouldn't cost her anything… probably.
She took a deep breath and said coldly, "Fine. We can work together."
Endou smiled slightly, then gave a signal to Yukina.
Yukina understood and slid Snowdrift Wolf back into her bag.
Liana let out a sigh of relief.
No point talking about reviving her family if she got herself killed right here.
Still, if they were going to team up, she couldn't make it look like she caved out of fear. She had to set some terms—save face.
Her gaze flickered, and she said, "I agree to the cooperation, but…"
She glanced at Kojou and Nagisa. "Once we're inside, you're responsible for keeping those two safe."
"Huh?" Endou looked mildly surprised.
A vampire… worried about human safety?
Seriously?
She eyed Liana curiously.
Maybe this vampire wasn't all bad?
Kojou was surprised too. He hadn't expected her condition to be his and Nagisa's safety.
Even if they'd been dragged here without warning… This blonde older sister might actually be kind of decent?
Still—
It looked like there was no avoiding this underground expedition now.
He glanced over at Nagisa, who still stood there like a zombie, and sighed internally.
"Alright. I accept," Endou replied without hesitation.
Even if Liana hadn't said it, the Lion King organization would never have left two kids in danger. Protecting civilians—especially kids—was standard procedure.
So really, that demand meant nothing to her.
"Good. In that case, let's get moving," Gajou clapped his hands, eager to get things underway.
The group exchanged glances, then nodded and approached the dark rift in front of them.
---
Meanwhile…Up above, hidden in a fold of space—
A small figure crouched silently in the shadows, watching everything unfold.
.
.
.