Chapter 1219: No One Dislikes Freebies
As the setting sun cast its brilliant twilight upon the sea, the entire Itogami Island transformed into a scene of ethereal beauty.
Standing by the shore, Natsuki Minamoto savored the world she had been separated from for over a decade—the sea breeze, the crashing waves, everything felt vividly real.
"My connection to the Prison Barrier has been completely severed."
She glanced back over her shoulder.
The golden-armored guardian still stood behind her like a phantom, showing no signs of dissipating.
Making a contract with a demon granted one a guardian of immense power, but the witch herself had to pay a price.
These prices varied. For Natsuki Minamoto, the cost was entering the Prison Barrier to become its warden, never to leave for the rest of her life.
Moreover, trapped within the dreamlike world of the Prison Barrier, her body would never age, essentially condemning her to live eternally in a dream.
A cursed eternal life, comparable to that of a vampire True Ancestor.
If she ever left the Prison Barrier without permission, violating the contract, her body would suffer the guardian's backlash. The guardian would instantly turn into a persecutor and kill her!
Yet now, despite having left the Prison Barrier, the guardian showed no signs of movement.
"Has my Prison Barrier ceased to exist?"
Natsuki Minamoto sighed.
This was a scenario not anticipated in the contract.
The Prison Barrier was theoretically indestructible, so the contract never specified what she should do if it vanished. As a result, after the barrier was taken from her, the contract fell into a state of suspension.
This wasn't her fault but rather due to the demon's own lack of foresight.
Even the demon never imagined that someone in this world could seize the Prison Barrier—a manifestation of humanity's collective consciousness.
The demon: I'm utterly dumbfounded.
"A witch can only make one contract with a demon in her lifetime. Now, even the demon must be raging helplessly, right?"
Natsuki Minamoto felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
Since the fault wasn't hers, the guardian remained with her.
Unable to form another contract, no further demands would be placed on her.
In simple terms, she had become a witch with her freedom.
And she could freely use the guardian's power.
The demon had suffered a massive loss!
Of course, the demon could also proactively break the contract to end their deal.
Doing so would nullify everything between them, and the guardian would be reclaimed. However, that would likely come at a significant cost.
Judging by the demon's current inaction in reclaiming the guardian, its intentions were clear.
Fine.
You found a loophole.
But humans only live for about a hundred years. I can always reclaim the power after you die.
"I'll accept it without hesitation."
Natsuki Minamoto nodded contentedly.
No one dislikes freebies!
"Wh-what? The Prison Barrier was taken by the Fourth True Ancestor?!"
A disbelieving shriek came from nearby.
From Yuma Kujou's account, Sayaka learned the full story.
"How is that even possible? Even if he's the world's strongest vampire, that's just...!"
"But reality is as it is."
Fizaki Kiriya licked her pink lips, a visible delight spreading across her face.
"Now something extraordinary has happened again!"
How fascinating!
The Crimson Witch and the Ebony Witch exchanged glances, then stealthily retreated, clutching their grimoires in both hands.
As expected, the fruits of their victory had been snatched away by the Fourth True Ancestor. There was nothing more to say.
At least they had successfully rescued the Record Keeper Witch, so they could retreat as heroes—
Clang—!
"Eek—!"
Silver chains materialized from the void, binding the two witches like zongzi.
"Chains of Discipline... The Witch of the Void, you—!"
Emma, the Ebony Witch, glared furiously at Natsuki Minamiya.
The chains shimmered with an ethereal divine light—a powerful magical artifact forged by ancient gods, impervious to all obstructions. Even a divine beast couldn't break free through brute force!
"Arrest them, little girl from the Lion King Organization."
Though possessing the physique of a young girl, Natsuki Minamiya's words carried an undeniable authority that brooked no refusal.
"O-oh, right!"
Sayaka instinctively complied, using curses to restrain the two.
"You too."
Fizaki Kiriya turned her gaze to Yuma Shindou.
Without a word, Yuma dejectedly raised her hands in surrender.
"But the Record Keeper Witch escaped—that's a huge problem!"
Recalling Yuma's earlier testimony, Kousaka Sayaka felt deeply troubled.
Aya Shindou was the former leader of the LCO.
Though the LCO had fractured after her imprisonment, reducing the intensity of their terrorist attacks, given her methods, it would only be a matter of time before she reunited the entire organization.
Once that happened, the LCO would once again become one of the world's top-tier large-scale terrorist organizations!
Hearing this, Natsuki Minamiya revealed a meaningful smile.
"That remains to be seen!"
The key question lay in what that brat planned to do.
...
Aya Shindou swiftly fled the Prison Barrier, her movements almost frantic with escape.
After learning that the Fourth True Ancestor had slaughtered all the prisoners within the barrier, she realized he was not someone she could manipulate. Whether in strategy or strength, she felt utterly suppressed.
One misstep, and she might even lose her life!
So, without hesitation, she used a spatial manipulation spell to escape the Prison Barrier.
At a corner of Sinnai Island.
Aya Shindou's figure appeared, her opulent twelve-layered kimono trailing long on the ground.
"To think such a person emerged in the world during my ten-year seal... and with such a capricious nature... Indeed, the world must be restored to its original form!"
To make all magical and spiritual power vanish from the world.
That ordinary world was the true form Aya believed in.
The Dark Oath incident ten years ago was merely an experiment. Achieving this goal would be a long and arduous journey.
"But the Dark Oath was burned by Natsuki. Now, the only way is to use the power of No.014 to steal Natsuki's accumulated time and extract the Dark Oath from her memories!"
Aya Shindou quickly solidified her next plan.
No matter what, to realize her ideals, she had to obtain the Book of the Oath in Darkness.
Now that Yukiho had just experienced this incident, her vigilance was still high. It was better to leave for now and return to Kenzaki Island after regaining control of the LCO.
Having made up her mind, Sendou Aya once again employed a spatial manipulation spell.
For a witch of her caliber, teleportation was no more difficult than snapping her fingers.
In the blink of an eye, her figure vanished from the spot.