— — — — — —
The Prison Barrier—
Inside the vast, empty hall, Ryo Yagami sat cross-legged in the only chair in the room, looking far too relaxed for someone hosting intruders.
Behind him stood Natsuki Minamiya and Celesta Ciate, one on each side, like twin guardian statues.
All three were positioned in the center of the hall, calmly studying the two men at the entrance: Kenon and Clade, whose faces had gone stiff.
"Vampire King? The failed product of the Fourth Primogenitor? Leader of the Order of End?"
Natsuki listed his titles flatly.
"…That's me."
Kenon licked his dry lips. He looked tense, but curiosity won out in the end.
"When did you find out?"
Ryo arched a brow, amusement flickering in his eyes. "You mean when you were drawing that magic circle at the Keystone Gate? Or when you smuggled yourselves onto the island?"
Kenon's eyes widened.
"That's impossible. How could you have known that early?"
"Actually," Ryo said with a smile, nodding lightly, "I didn't notice you at either of those times."
"At most, I guessed you might make a move there."
"What really caught my attention was the spatial fluctuation when you forced your way into the prison barrier."
Kenon froze.
Then what was all that talk for?!
And they'd been exposed just because of the portal's spatial ripple?
"What?"
Clade's eyes went wide with disbelief. "You could sense that kind of fluctuation? You were just a human less than two years ago—how is that even possible? Were you even human?"
"Of course. Always was, always will be." Ryo smiled.
Even the system core of Little Garden recognized his human spirit rank. So what other race could he be?
"..."
Kenon's face darkened. "Just as I thought. You still cling to human thinking."
Ryo lowered his leg and leaned forward slightly in his chair, looking at him with interest, "You talk like you know me."
"But aren't you human too? A brat modified into a Primogenitor by Cain's Cleansing Ritual."
Kenon's expression twisted.
"You know that too? Who told you? Ki? Aswad? Or Giada?"
"You guess." Ryo's smile turned sly.
Kenon's face went black. He gave up asking and said coldly, "All the more reason you're unfit to be the Fourth Primogenitor."
"And who decided that?"
Ryo looked at him like he was watching a clown. "You're weak as hell, yet you keep throwing around 'human thinking' and 'Fourth Primogenitor' like you're the judge of the world."
He let out a short, dismissive laugh.
As if responding to his will, something awakened.
Boom—
Golden lightning crackled through the air.
A lion wreathed in lightning, its entire body gleaming gold, materialized out of nowhere and let out a roar. It was the 5th Familiar, Leo Pemptos, the Lion of Gold.
"ROAR—!"
The shockwave tore through the hall, the air itself rippling from the impact.
Kenon and Clade couldn't even brace themselves. The sound alone blasted them into the air.
Mid-flight, Kenon also summoned his Familiar.
A lion-shaped familiar, identical in appearance to Ryo's fifth familiar but pitch black and crackling with dark lightning, emerged from the void.
It roared, and arcs of black lightning split the air, crashing toward Ryo.
The golden lion opened its jaws wide and inhaled sharply. Every streak of black lightning was swallowed whole, along with the surrounding currents of air.
"Burp~"
The Golden Lion let out a satisfied belch, blue eyes gleaming as it looked at its dark counterpart like a smug relative at a family reunion.
"Got more? I'm still hungry."
A cute, girlish voice echoed in the hall.
The black lion flew into a rage, roaring in midair, yet it didn't dare make another move. It had clearly sensed the overwhelming gap between them.
Boom!
Kenon slammed into the prison barrier wall, his body embedded in it like a nail.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, eyes locked on the golden lion in disbelief.
"How is this possible? You haven't even reached full completion. How can your Familiar be this strong?"
"No… that's not right. I don't even smell blood on you. Without drinking a spirit medium's blood, how are you controlling such a violent Familiar?"
Ryo blinked. "Violent? Aren't Familiars the type you just wave at and they come running over to lick you?"
"…What?"
Kenon stared at him like he'd just heard the dumbest thing in his life.
Familiars come when you wave and lick you?
Even the ancient fossil that is the First Primogenitor could only keep his Familiars in check, barely restraining them.
Control them outright? That was a fantasy.
And this guy was saying they'd come wagging their tails?
Was he delusional?
Across from him, Ryo looked at Kenon with something close to pity.
After summoning his Familiar, Kenon's apparent age had shrunk slightly. He looked younger than before, about ten on the surface now, even a centimeter shorter.
The change was subtle, but Ryo noticed.
"Poor kid. Maybe you're just too ugly, so your Familiar won't stick around and even bites back."
Ryo shook his head and sighed dramatically. "Tragic, really."
As he spoke, he crooked a finger at the Golden Lion.
The lightning beast gave a happy "Awoo!" and leapt down beside him. It curled up like an oversized cat, rubbing its head against his hand, then opened its massive mouth and tried to give him a big, slobbery lick.
Ryo scooted his chair aside with impressive reflexes and frowned in disgust.
"Rubbing's fine. Drool is crossing the line."
"Awoo…" The Golden Lion whimpered pitifully. Anyone could hear the grievance in that sound.
"How… how can this be…"
Kenon was completely dumbfounded.
Weren't Familiars supposed to be terrifying weapons summoned from other worlds, uncontrollable forces that would devour everything if not restrained?
Cain had told him that personally.
And then—
Above Ryo, a half-formed figure appeared: a combination of a siren and a mermaid. She leaned down, stole a quick kiss from his cheek, and vanished just as fast.
Kenon's pupils shook.
That was the Fourth Primogenitor's Twelfth Familiar—the Bewitching Princess of Azure Ice. Pisces Dodekatos.
One obedient Familiar could be called an exception.
Two made it a pattern.
So what, they couldn't be dominated… but that didn't mean they wouldn't beg someone to be their master?
"Heh… hehehe…"
Kenon muttered to himself, eyes unfocused.
"Father… you said their nature couldn't be changed. You said Familiars had no human emotions."
"…Were you lying to me?"
The unshakable faith he'd placed in Cain began to crack.
On that day, Kenon's understanding of Familiars collapsed completely.
.
.
.