Chapter 1165: So Happy I Could Dance
"Of course, it's because I can take shortcuts."
Eiji chuckled lightly.
He discarded the sword in his hand and instead summoned his innate sacred treasure. As the light writhed, he made it transform into an exact replica of that slender sword!
In that instant, an azure blue light bloomed from the blade.
...
"Gurgle~"
Walking along the night road, a strange sound suddenly rang out.
Sayouka tightened her slender stomach, feeling as if her face was on fire.
It wasn't just because her stomach was growling, but even more because this sound had been heard by that annoying guy beside her!
Since leaving the monastery, not only had she failed to shake him off, but because she had tried to escape, she had sunk even deeper into the moral quagmire.
Having her stomach growl so loudly in front of him felt utterly humiliating!
"Are you hungry? Actually, I'm hungry too. Let's find a place to eat first!"
However, this time Eiji didn't mock her. Instead, he looked around for a place where they could eat.
"No, I..."
Sayouka initially wanted to refuse, but then she suddenly had a brilliant idea.
"Then could you buy me something? I'll wait here for you."
Then.
She felt Eiji giving her a look as if she were an idiot.
Sayouka's ears felt a bit warm too.
Saying it like that made her intentions seem too obvious.
Send him away, then seize the chance to run.
With her previous attempt as a precedent, Eiji definitely wouldn't believe her.
No other choice.
"Could you buy me a portion? I definitely won't run away."
Sayouka smiled as she spoke.
This time, she infused her words with spiritual power.
Nothing special, just a bit of hypnotic technique.
Although she felt somewhat guilty about using spiritual power on an ordinary person... if the target was this annoying guy, then she surprisingly felt no psychological pressure at all!
To describe it in one word: detestable!
In her seventeen years of life, she had never met anyone more irritating than him!
Just as expected.
After she used her spiritual power, Eiji's figure immediately froze.
"Okay."
He replied dully, then turned and walked toward a nearby restaurant.
Though she couldn't see his face, as a formal Maihime, there was no reason her simple hypnosis would fail.
"Now's my chance!"
Sayouka took off running as fast as she could.
Thinking about it carefully, her mentor had probably already notified the Itogami Island Council. The commotion from noon today was likely over, so she didn't need to worry about his threats anymore!
The thought of not having to endure that annoying guy's nonsense made her incredibly happy.
So happy she could dance.jpg
"Boom!"
"Eek!"
Suddenly, a low explosion sounded.
Flames shot into the sky, startling the surrounding citizens into screaming.
"What happened?"
Sayouka abruptly stopped running.
She looked toward the direction of the flames, channeling spiritual power into her eyes. High above the eastern island several kilometers away, she saw a giant bird with wings spanning nearly ten meters!
The giant bird was wreathed in flames, spitting fireballs over twenty meters in diameter from its mouth, dragging entire swathes of land into sea of fire. Its power was far beyond what those thugs from daytime could muster!
"A demon outbreak?"
Sayouka recognized it at a glance.
That colossal firebird was no mere magical beast, but a pure aggregation of magical energy—a familiar beast nurtured within a vampire's body!
"Even without me, the security forces would handle it, right?"
She muttered to herself.
Moreover, she was tasked with investigating the Fourth True Ancestor and couldn't afford to draw attention. A scene like that would undoubtedly attract the scrutiny of the island's higher-ups.
Sayaka gritted her teeth.
"Damn it!"
She cursed under her breath and broke into a sprint with her long legs, dashing toward the eastern island.
Judging by the scale of that monstrous bird, this was no ordinary vampire—most likely an Old Generation!
She had no idea how many Attack Mages were stationed on the island, but ordinary ones would be no match for such a monster!
If left to the Special District Security Forces, the death toll would be unimaginable!
As a Maihime of the Lion King Organization, she couldn't turn a blind eye!
Under the cover of night.
Sayaka enhanced her physical abilities with curses, racing toward the coastline like an arrow released from a bow.
The eastern island of Itogami City was a massive seaport.
Almost no residents lived there—only countless containers, warehouses, and a handful of workers.
By now, night had deepened, and only a single maritime railway connected the southern island to the eastern one.
Sayaka, agile as a leopard, leaped onto a train car in the blink of an eye.
In just a few minutes, she crossed the sea and arrived at the scene of the incident.
Amid the sea of flames, hardly any figures were visible.
Apart from a few burned containers, there were no casualties.
But within the inferno, a middle-aged man clutching a briefcase lay motionless on the ground, as if dead, surrounded by a glaring pool of crimson blood.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Sayaka rushed over immediately.
But as she approached, she sensed something amiss.
The wound on his back was struggling to heal, and the blood beneath him was desperately trying to reenter his body. Yet, an unusual force lingered on the injury, preventing its regeneration.
"A vampire? Now that I think of it, the familiar beast is gone... Could he be the victim?"
Sayaka's expression grew increasingly grave.
In this era, legal barriers between demons and humans had been dismantled. Sayaka held no prejudice against demons and certainly took no pleasure in their suffering.
But the scene sent chills down her spine.
This was an Old Generation vampire!
Even the weakest vampire's familiar beast surpassed the power of modern tanks. An Old Generation vampire's familiar could easily cause thousands of casualties!
Yet, in the mere minutes it took her to arrive, it had been defeated?
Who could have done this?
Who possessed such overwhelming strength?
"It seems we've attracted some unwanted guests!"
Just then, a deep voice echoed from within the flames.
Instinctively, Sayaka unfastened the violin case on her back and drew a gleaming silver single-edged greatsword. Its blade was exceptionally thick, with a streamlined design reminiscent of a fighter jet's main wing.
"Who's there?"
She raised her weapon guardedly, shouting toward the source of the voice.
"That sword... I see. It's the Lion King Organization's famous Rikushiki Heavy Armament Demon-Bowing Bow, isn't it?"
A towering figure, nearly 190 centimeters tall, came into view.
The middle-aged man had a head of golden buzz-cut hair, his square-jawed face radiating an overwhelming sense of righteousness.
Clad in jet-black armor and gripping a crescent-bladed poleaxe, he stood like an ancient knight dominating the battlefield. Just facing his silhouette alone unleashed a staggering pressure that washed over them.
Sayingu's heart tightened.
That battle-hardened, formidable aura—coupled with his ability to instantly identify her weapon by name—marked him as a formidable foe.