— — — — — —
Rain poured down in sheets.
Ryo stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows at the top level of the Keystone Gate, watching the storm lash against the glass.
It had been three days since he returned to the world of Strike the Blood.
During that time, he'd taken a detour back to Little Garden.
The reason was simple. His familiars.
The Tenth and Twelfth had been left behind in this world as guardians. They didn't receive the legacy of Sun Authority. So he had no choice but to make a quick round trip through the Dimensional Forum.
The cost? Two thousand forum points.
On the surface, it stung. But Ryo considered it worth every last point.
Two legacies of Sun Authority alone justified the expense. Add to that the fact that all twelve familiars had finally fused into a complete whole, carrying the legacy of the Zodiac… that more than made up for it.
He hadn't lost out. If anything, he'd made a killing.
Still, two thousand points were two thousand points. Of course it hurt.
By now, he'd figured it out. The Dimensional Forum might as well be called the Capitalist Forum. It twisted the rules, dressed everything up in fancy wording, and drained points from him at every opportunity. He was certain it had its eyes on his little treasury day and night.
Same service, different label, different price tag.
Take bringing someone from one world into Little Garden... An invitation letter that allowed a single person entry cost one thousand points. But constructing a two-way dimensional gate only cost five thousand.
The former brought in one person. The latter allowed large groups to come and go as they pleased.
The difference? Night and day.
The price gap? Only four thousand points.
Thinking about it still made his chest ache. He'd been ripped off.
Lesson learned. From now on, anytime he needed the Forum to do something, he'd interrogate it from every angle and calculate the cost down to the decimal. Otherwise, it would drown him in complicated explanations and quietly bleed him dry.
Ryo stared at the rain, melancholy settling over him.
...
In the same office, a petite girl with neatly curled inward bangs walked in carrying a stack of documents. She placed them carefully on the tea table in the center of the room.
Yuiri Haba.
After the Lion King Organization formally pledged allegiance to the Dawn Empire, this talented and striking trainee had been reassigned to the administrative body of Itogami Island as one of Natsuki Minamiya's secretaries.
Today was her second day on the job.
"Director Minamiya, the damage assessment for the streets and the reconstruction budget request for the military base are all here."
"Good work."
Sipping black tea, Natsuki set her cup down, flipped through the documents, signed her name, and handed them back.
Yuiri took the files, nodded, then couldn't help sneaking a glance at Ryo standing by the window, quietly watching the rain.
"What is His Majesty looking at?"
"Maybe the scenery. Maybe contemplating his empire and its future. MAR's attack was only three days ago, after all."
Natsuki shrugged casually.
"I see…" Yuiri's eyes sparkled.
She looked at Ryo's brooding gaze, his handsome profile, and immediately filled in the blanks with her own imagination.
As expected of His Majesty. Worrying about the empire's future every second of every day. With such a great ruler, how could the empire not flourish?
"Then I'll take my leave."
"Go on."
After Yuiri left, Natsuki tilted her head and glanced at Ryo.
"She's gone. You can stop posing."
"…"
Ryo ignored her and simply sighed. "Notify Giada and Aswad. It'll be soon."
Natsuki's relaxed expression stiffened slightly, "Can't we wait a little longer?"
"The Lion King Organization and the Bureau of Astrology only just submitted. Nina the alchemist and Asagi just took over the Deva Department's tech. The alliance with Aldegyr has barely been finalized by that Silver Princess…"
Ryo kept his eyes on the rain. "I can afford to wait. My enemies might not."
"And I'm not pulling everyone out."
"A cross-world gate?" Natsuki's eyes widened. "You're building one while hostile to the Greek pantheon?"
"Why not?"
Ryo turned his head toward her.
"…Fine." Natsuki exhaled. "You're the one in charge. If you say it's safe, I'll follow."
She paused. "How long?"
"Two days. In two days, Algol should have finished her objective."
Ryo shook his head helplessly. "That lunatic skipped an entire millennium of development in a world's timeline and fast-forwarded it straight into the future."
"At this point, that parallel world probably contains nothing but a new demon race born after the corruption of all things."
Even Ryo felt uneasy. He'd previously observed that parallel world. Its technology had already been nearing the stage of initiating cross-world invasions.
If they didn't check in soon, were they supposed to wait for Algol's demon army to invade instead?
Himself fighting himself? That would just be ridiculous.
Natsuki sucked in a breath.
An entire world's lifeforms transformed into demons. Even she couldn't stay calm hearing that.
That Algol from Little Garden… was she really that powerful?
If so, then what about Ryo? Did he also possess the power to manipulate an entire world's timeline?
"You Little Garden people are monsters, every last one of you," Natsuki muttered before turning to summon Aswad and Giada.
After all, if a war between pantheons truly erupted, the two Primogenitors would be the backbone holding off the enemy's mid-tier forces.
Ryo narrowed his eyes at the storm outside and let out a faint, mocking chuckle.
"Greece… Primogenitor of the Demon Race… heh. Looks like things are about to get interesting."
---
Two days later
"Okay, begin. Observe the world." Ryo, after making sure everything was arranged as best he could, gave the order to the Dimensional Forum.
Even though he was confident, a flicker of nervousness ran through him. Who knew what changes all of this might cause? After all, a three-digit problem deity was about to reappear.
The Demon Star Algol—one of the Three Great Problem Children of Little Garden, alongside Shiroyasha and Queen Halloween. A Celestial Star Spirit that could only be sealed, never killed, and whose many authorities were a fusion of her three names: Algol, Lilith, and Medusa.
Add what she would gain from the Strike the Blood world, and even Ryo felt a chill for some reason.
Well, he was the cause of all this—the proud Problem Human of Arcadia. He didn't have the right to complain.
"I hope everything goes smoothly."
.
.
.
(The End of Volume 2)
Finally, the Strike the Blood arc has come to an end. I hope you've been enjoying the story so far.