— — — — — —
Two days after the winter solstice came Christmas Eve.
Despite sitting in the middle of the Pacific where the temperature barely differed from summer, Itogami Island was wrapped in festive cheer.
Christmas trees draped in colored lights stood everywhere. Santas in red suits wandered the streets. Every shop window screamed holiday sales.
Even the vending machines selling adult toys had slapped on discount tags.
...
"Never thought I, the biggest underworld boss in Christendom, would end up celebrating this holiday," Ryo muttered while standing in line at a movie theater. His expression was complicated.
In front of him stood Natsuki.
She wore a white gothic dress, sapphire crystal earrings swaying beneath her ears, blue eyes bright and sharp. She looked meticulously put together, delicate yet imposing.
She glanced back at him. "You sound like you have a problem with me dragging you out."
Her tone was light, almost teasing. There was also a clear hint of threat underneath.
She was in a bad mood.
The reason stood right beside Ryo.
Blonde. Glamorous. Practically glued to his arm.
Celesta Ciate.
The girl who had lost her homeland and once been offered as a sacrifice to the dark god had lately been sticking to Ryo like industrial-strength tape.
He'd explained it before. The divine position of the god she once served, Zazalamagiu, had been indirectly absorbed by him. Some kind of resonance was inevitable.
Still, having a third wheel this powerful during what was supposed to be a date? That would sour anyone's mood.
"It's not that I have a problem," Ryo replied smoothly, skillfully avoiding the minefield. "I just hope I won't end up watching a romance movie by myself."
"Hm?" Natsuki arched a brow. "Did Asagi send you something?"
Ryo made a show of trying to pull his hand free from Celesta's embrace. After a token effort, he gave up.
"Just a few little bugs you chased off earlier. They're trying to stir up trouble."
"MAR again?"
Natsuki's mood dipped even lower.
'You're a witch. Why are you even celebrating Christmas? If you just want to get laid, say so. I'm always available.' Ryo kept that thought firmly inside his head.
Aloud, he said, "Honestly, I'd rather celebrate Halloween. That kind of holiday suits me better."
He said it suited him, but really, it suited her.
Witch plus Halloween. Perfect combo.
"Halloween…" Natsuki murmured.
That reminded her of Itogami Island's most famous event, the Haboro-in Festival. Held on Halloween night, it was a massive island-wide masquerade ball known all over the world.
"When that comes around," she said thoughtfully, "I could finally wear some of the kimono I've been saving."
Kimono.
Ryo's imagination immediately took a sharp turn: "I'm very curious what you'd be wearing underneath."
Natsuki shot him a glare. She had to suppress the urge to pinch him hard.
What do you mean what's underneath? You don't wear anything under a kimono. Wait. Nothing under…
As soon as she made eye contact with the ticket clerk, she turned back and glared at him again.
Ryo just laughed.
Then he glanced toward the west, as if sensing something, but said nothing. Instead, he smiled and followed Natsuki into the theater after she bought three tickets.
---
"Is it ready yet?"
At the top of Keystone Gate, on the helicopter landing pad, the Vampire King Kenon stood in a tailored tailcoat, his blond hair slicked back with wax. His expression was grave.
Beside him, the ancient dragon Clade plunged his hand into a crate of blood-mixed pigment and drew complex patterns across the ground.
"Almost."
As he worked, he smirked. "Natsuki got careless. Christmas may be widely known as the birth of the saints in the Western Church, but back in the Roman Empire, this day also marked the birth of Apollo."
"Born from the earth, symbolized by rats and wolves. In my era, the lower races worshiped him as a chthonic evil god."
"Yet at the same time, he was the god of light. The sun itself."
"Underworld and radiance. Opposing divine attributes woven together. With the ritual field MAR secretly prepared across Itogami Island, everything falls into place."
Clade lifted a palm-sized statue from the crate, shaped like a rat.
Apollo's symbol.
He placed it at the center of the formation, causing the space around Itogami Island to tremble faintly.
The vibration was so subtle that it was weaker than the push of ocean currents beneath the island.
Yet before Clade, a circular gate nearly three meters wide slowly materialized on the helipad.
Kenon's lips curved.
"Who would've thought opening a path to the Prison Barrier would be this easy. And without alerting its warden."
"Experience," Clade said, wiping his hands clean. His smile was full of disdain. "How could a witch not even thirty, or a half-baked Fourth Primogenito, possibly match dragon spatial techniques?"
He stepped aside.
"Hurry. The gate will only stay hidden from the Dawn Empire for about five minutes. After that, it won't matter."
"Fair enough."
Kenon nodded, then pulled a remote from his pocket. "But before that, we need to tie down the Priestess of Cain and the island's combat forces."
He pressed the red button.
Boom.
Boom boom boom.
Explosions roared across the island.
Wyverns from the Order of the End faction burst into the skies over Itogami Island. MAR's artificial lifeforms and mechanized units poured out from hidden positions, sealing off key response routes for the security forces.
At the same time, a strange wave spread through the entire island.
The High Priestess (Priestess of Abel), riding the network itself, was attempting to infiltrate Cain's Coffin deep below and awaken the Cleansing altar.
In an instant, chaos engulfed Itogami Island.
As the turmoil erupted, Kenon and Clade exchanged a look.
Then, without hesitation, they stepped through the gate leading to the Prison Barrier.
The rats in the gutter had finally made their move.
.
.
.