Seventy years ago, the Warring Vampire Empire, the Lost Warlord Empire, and the Western European Church fought a brutal war over the Balkan Peninsula.
As a result, a small town on the island was destroyed, and its native inhabitants were slaughtered until rivers of blood flowed.
Zacharias, who was still a child at the ti, died in that war—a vampire had struck him down.
"The goal of those three factions was her."
Zacharias pointed toward one of the twelve coffins—the one at the one o'clock position, where a golden-haired girl lay with her eyes closed.
"The First of the 'Blaze Shining Night,' she was sealed away in my hotown. Those people invaded my ho to gain control over her, and everyone in the town was caught in the war and died!"
"I died, and then my sister died. When I woke up, my hotown was gone."
Zacharias's eyes were bloodshot, his fists clenched as if steeped in grief and fury.
"It was my sister who revived , using the First's rib to make a Blood Servant of the Fourth True Ancestor—just as you siblings did, Nagisa Akatsuki for Kojou Akatsuki!"
"I... for Brother Kojou...?"
Nagisa Akatsuki's face tightened at the sudden revelation.
His words were like a key, unlocking the door to long-sealed mories. Images flooded her mind, and a tremor in her heart seed to warn her that this was her own lived experience.
"The sa as us...?"
Kojou Akatsuki was also stunned, unable to speak for a long mont.
Zacharias's plight was completely unexpected, and the identical nature of their experiences touched the softest part of his heart. The anger that had nowhere to go gradually gave way to sorrow.
"So what!"
An unexpected voice cut into the conversation.
With crimson eyes gleaming like a wounded beast's, Veldiana roared in hatred.
"If it was for your own family, then why destroy mine? Taking my family's territory and seizing the Ninth wasn't enough—you had to wipe out the Karyana clan completely? Can't you understand the pain of losing family? Do you an that as long as your sister is revived, anyone in the world can be sacrificed?!"
"Exactly."
"What—!"
Zacharias calmly gave his answer.
Veldiana's words were precisely his response. As long as his sister could be revived, anyone else could be sacrificed. Her family could die—he didn't care in the slightest. That was exactly what he ant.
The flas of hatred ignited her fury completely.
"Soone like you doesn't deserve to live, and your sister deserves to die too! I'm counting on you—Ganglot!"
A three-headed dog appeared like a mirage.
A fireball shot from its fanged maw, blazing toward Zacharias with terrifying heat.
"Co forth—sarthim Adamas!"
But Zacharias was prepared.
He had already retreated to the coffin as Veldiana summoned her Beast, placing his hand on the First.
In an instant.
A massive two-horned goat materialized in mid-air, its body towering over ten ters tall and entirely composed of gemstones, its dazzling form radiating blinding light everywhere.
Dozens of gemstone shields materialized before Zacharias. A fireball charged into them, only to be deflected by the shields, trapped like a kaleidoscope before being rebounded back along its original path.
"Gyaaaaaaaah——!!!"
A piercing, agonized shriek tore through the air.
Consud by the rebounding fireball, Veldiana was instantly engulfed in flas. She collapsed with a crash, screaming in agony.
Not even an Old Generation vampire, she stood no chance against a True Ancestor's Beast Vassal.
"Miss Veld!"
Kojou Akatsuki's expression shifted abruptly, his gaze turning sharp.
"This girl really never learns her lesson, does she?"
A voice tinged with exasperated laughter erged as a flood of bright silver liquid flowed from a corner of the plaza, coalescing into the form of an exotic golden-haired beauty.
"Miss Nina?"
Kojou looked at her in surprise.
Nina knelt down, placing both palms on Veldiana's body as magical energy gathered in her hands.
"...Director, why are you here?"
Before long, Veldiana regained consciousness.
The burns on her body remained, the stinging pain continuously assaulting her mind.
Though Nina was an alchemist, she hadn't neglected studying magic either. Simple healing spells were well within her capabilities. Moreover, vampires possessed remarkable regenerative abilities—stimulating her body slightly to restore consciousness was re child's play.
Kojou, standing nearby, also turned his gaze toward them, sharing the sa question in his heart.
He was equally astonished—so Miss Nina was the director Veld had been referring to all along?
Then who was the master Miss Nina spoke of?
"I followed you here."
Nina stated nonchalantly.
Her utterly casual deanor left both of them speechless.
It felt like anyone could track them these days.
"Lord Zacharias, shall we move to the main subject?"
Zacharias was frowning as he watched Nina.
From this woman, he keenly sensed an ominous premonition, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.
Only when the woman nad Toyama nearby reminded him did he reluctantly set aside his concerns.
"Toyama! Why would you do this? Weren't you my mother's assistant? What did Nagisa and I ever do to you?"
Kojou's attention was inevitably drawn to the woman in white, his anger directed at her.
"I belong to the Lion King Organization. That is all."
Toyama calmly stated her reason, her words brief and to the point.
"The Lion King Organization..."
Kojou searched his mories.
He rembered that na.
Nominally under the National Police Agency, they specialized in handling large-scale magical disaster incidents within Japan—officially recognized state agents.
That said, they had previously followed governnt orders to imprison and pursue his friend known as Narcissus, Kiriya Minamoto. Essentially, they were nothing more than governnt-trained thugs!
By saying this, did it an the Lion King Organization had set their sights on the Fourth True Ancestor within Nagisa's body?
"Ms. Toyama is my friend."
At that mont, Zacharias suddenly spoke, inserting himself into their conversation.
"I have already reached an agreent with the Japanese governnt. We can cooperate in reviving the Fourth True Ancestor. That's why after the failure of the first vessel, I asked Ms. Touyama to step in and invite Miss Nagisa here... Oh, and by the way, it was also Ms. Touyama who inford about the twelfth vessel being released by that down-and-out noble over there."
With a gaze as sinister as a snake's, he glanced covertly at Touyama.
"Lord Zacharias?"
Touyama furrowed her brows.
These words had completely pushed her to the opposite side of the group.
No, although she had originally been standing against them, that was due to orders from above—everything for the sake of this country.
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