Chapter 1228: Why Not Strike While the Iron Is Hot?
"You're awake?"
When Kijima Kiri came to, everything around her was pitch black.
"Where is this?"
"Still in the submarine."
The person sitting beside her gestured with their chin.
Though they were inside the submarine, all the lights had gone out, leaving only the faint blue glow from the screens on the control panel.
Using that dim light, Kijima Kiri gathered spiritual energy in her eyes and barely managed to discern the situation inside the cabin.
The entire cabin was in disarray, with various pieces of equipment scattered haphazardly.
Kijima Kiri stood up and walked to the control panel, tapping randomly on the keys.
"The lighting system is basically dead, communication channels can't connect, even the navigation system has shut down... The only thing still working might be the oxygen supply?"
Kijima Kiri let out a bitter laugh and slumped back onto the floor.
The underwater current earlier had been too powerful, and she had been too close, resulting in the submarine ending up in this sorry state.
She wasn't a professional repair technician and didn't know how to fix machinery. No matter how she looked at it, they were in a dire situation.
"Don't lose heart! At least you get to watch yourself die!"
The young man beside her waved his arms enthusiastically, cheering her on.
The oxygen would eventually run out anyway. Witnessing oneself suffocate to death—wasn't that a rare and valuable experience?
"I don't want to talk to you."
Kijima Kiri shot him a foul look.
"Weren't you looking for Leviathan?"
"Didn't find it."
"Liar."
Kijima Kiri scoffed, her face full of disbelief.
"I could sense that magical energy fluctuation from over twenty kilometers away. You definitely found Leviathan and fought it, didn't you? Now you're telling me you didn't find it? Who are you trying to fool?"
"You must have contributed to the submarine ending up like this, right?"
It seemed she had seen through something.
The playful glint in her eyes from before was gone, replaced by a meaningful, contemplative look.
"If you've already figured it out, why ask me?"
Eiji spread his hands.
It was an indirect admission that he had indeed confronted Leviathan.
"You know what?"
Kijima Kiri slowly raised a finger, unconsciously licking her dried lips.
"Even for vampire familiars of the old generation, the range of their magical energy fluctuations is limited to about five kilometers. Even for a monster like the Duke of Alderya, who's said to be the closest to a True Ancestor, the fluctuations from his familiar battles don't exceed ten kilometers."
"For me to sense that magical energy fluctuation from twenty kilometers away, there's only one possibility."
"That would be a True Ancestor-level familiar!"
Nothing else could explain it.
Even with large-scale magic circles, the fluctuations of magical energy couldn't propagate that far, as it inherently required an immense amount of mana. Aside from a True Ancestor's familiar, there was no other explanation.
"What are you trying to say?"
Eiji looked at Kijima Kiri with an amused smile.
"Why do you know the Third True Ancestor, and why did such immense magical energy emanate from the hotel where the Third True Ancestor resides shortly after you met?"
"Why did the First Princess of the Althea Kingdom act as if she was ready to entrust her entire life to you after just two meetings?"
"Why did I find the Fourth True Ancestor's behavior so familiarly despicable when I faced him?"
Kiriya Mizuha murmured to herself.
Eiji almost wanted to play some BGM for her.
Excite! Excite!
"The answer can only be one!"
Kiriya Mizuha's sharp gaze focused intently on Eiji.
"You are the Fourth True Ancestor!"
Indeed, once she thought about it this way, everything made perfect sense.
Leaving aside the case of the artificial angel, during the Black Death Emperor Front incident, he had stood alongside Princess La Folia. The appearance of the Fourth True Ancestor was essentially just him taking action personally.
After the prison barrier incident, she heard that Nanase Natsuki had lost her warden status and returned to normal life. Thinking about it this way, seizing the prison barrier might have just been incidental—the Fourth True Ancestor's true goal was to free Nanase Natsuki from the eternal prison that was the barrier!
"Is there any part of my speculation that's incorrect?"
Kiriya Mizuha stared at Eiji with burning intensity.
Her eyes shone brightly, radiating complete confidence in her deduction.
"Nothing incorrect."
Under her gaze, Eiji shrugged.
"Just as you guessed, I am indeed the Fourth True Ancestor."
He admitted it frankly.
Even though he was facing a government agent from the Imperial Astronomical Agency, he no longer felt the need to hide.
Rather, the time for hiding had come to an end.
From now on, the Fourth True Ancestor would appear in this world with great prominence.
Because the time had come.
"Hah..."
Kiriya Mizuha let out a deep sigh, leaning back against the cool metal interior wall.
She had unraveled an incredibly significant mystery.
Of course she felt excited.
But in their current situation, there didn't seem to be much room for excitement.
With only the oxygen system still functioning normally, they were essentially in a life-or-death crisis.
True Ancestors might be immortal, but she certainly wasn't!
"Speaking of which, can your spatial control span six kilometers vertically?"
Kiriya Mizuha turned expectant eyes toward Eiji.
The upper limit for spatial transfer was generally a few kilometers.
Previously, she'd seen him attempt spatial control to reach Leviathan from 33 kilometers away—his spatial control abilities should be quite impressive. Could they rely on his power to return to the surface?
"My ability isn't spatial control."
Eiji shook his head, then added.
"And unfortunately, my spatial transfer only works on myself—I can't bring others along."
That's right.
The Divine Foot Technique was undoubtedly powerful—distance posed no obstacle to him—but its only flaw was that it could only be used on himself. It couldn't be applied to anyone else, because fundamentally, it wasn't spatial transfer but rather following the principles of heaven and earth to ignore distance.
"Only works on yourself?"
Kiriya Mizuha's eye twitched violently.
So this True Ancestor not only wouldn't die, but could instantly return to the surface whenever he wanted?
While she alone would be trapped in these deep sea depths, helplessly dying from suffocation?
This was just too damn unfair!
"What are you doing?"
Kiriya Mizuha snapped back to reality, suddenly noticing Eiji crawling toward her.
"Since you're going to die anyway, why not make use of you while you're still warm?"
He came right up to her, their faces now barely a foot apart.
A playful smile spread across Eiji's face.
M-make use of her while still warm?
Kiriya Mizuha stared in stunned disbelief.
But then she steeled her heart and took the initiative, rushing over to push Eiji to the ground before straddling his waist.
"Since I'm going to die anyway, spending a passionate night with a True Ancestor before dying would make my life worthwhile!"
Kiriya Koyou decisively removed her upper garment.
She cast a provocative look toward Eiji.
Well now.
A matching set of black lace lingerie, complete with sheer black stockings—her figure was no less impressive than Sasasaki's. Simply magnificent!
Young lady, so you're the secretly passionate type after all?
"Actually, I just wanted to drink some blood while it's still warm..."
Eiji rubbed his chin.
The next moment, Kiriya Koyou bent over and removed the sunglasses from his face.
Her graceful figure and snow-white skin swayed before his eyes, and Eiji's pupils instantly transformed into bestial crimson orbs.
Having come this far, backing out now would make me less than a man!
Eiji flipped over, pinning Kiriya Koyou beneath him.