"Boom!!!"
As Akatsuki Nagisa curled up and let out a scream filled with fear, a roar resounded through the atmosphere.
It was the commotion caused by the sudden appearance of an extraordinarily immense magical power.
With the constant rumbling of the air and the ground subtly shaking, Nagisa, who was curled up in Kaiser's embrace, released an extraordinary magical power throughout her body.
That magical power, vast and powerful, directly formed a terrifying storm that not only blew Kaiser away but also sent the two nearby demons flying.
"Such strong magical power..."
Kaiser stabilized his stance, his feet scraping violently along the ground within the storm of magical power, sliding a considerable distance before finally coming to a stop.
"Thunk—Thunk—Thunk—Thunk—"
Suddenly, loud alarms began blaring all around, and red warning lights flashed wildly, causing the nearby citizens to panic and flee.
"Detected abnormal magical values in the Southern District!"
"Magical power peak value undeterminable!"
"Alert! Alert!"
"Begin evacuation immediately, dispatch the Special District Security Force to investigate!"
Inside the command center of the Artificial Island Management Corporation, as abnormal data appeared across a large monitor and red warnings flashed, the officials in charge of monitoring emergencies on Itogami Island fell into a frenzy.
Meanwhile, on the now-deserted streets, Nagisa was still releasing an astonishing amount of magical power, forming the eye of a typhoon that recklessly unleashed energy outward.
"Nagisa!"
Kaiser raised a hand, facing the winds stirred by magical power, and shouted toward the girl who had become the typhoon's eye.
"————"
However, Nagisa, who had just been screaming in fear, now appeared as if she had lost her soul. Though standing there, her eyes were completely vacant, as if possessed by something invisible, her face devoid of expression.
Her previously tied-up hair had somehow come undone, her long jet-black hair flowing on its own without wind. Perhaps because it had usually been kept short, the hairstyle curled peculiarly, with hints of different colors faintly flashing upon it.
"You..."
Kaiser no longer called out to her.
Because he knew that the girl before him was no longer the cheerful and lively one he had known.
Even without using Verethragna's tenth incarnation, the "Warrior," to observe her with the special vision that could see through the essence of his enemy, Kaiser could clearly feel the earth-shattering transformation taking place in the girl named Akatsuki Nagisa.
Her once-human body began to reveal demonic traits.
Her previously abundant spiritual power was replaced by overwhelming magical power.
Her high-grade spirit medium constitution vanished in an instant, transforming into that of a demon cursed with immortality.
As her eyes turned a blood-red hue, the highly talented hime-miko had now, right before Kaiser's eyes, become an immortal, undying, and highest-ranked vampire.
"Boom!!!"
The moment the transformation completed, the magical power bursting from the girl transformed into an all-encompassing frigid aura.
The cold froze the air and gradually turned the surroundings around her into a field of white.
Crystals of ice and snow danced like petals, and snowflakes and icy winds ravaged like a hurricane. In front of this terrifying chill, the entire street rapidly became a wintry wasteland.
Kaiser clearly saw it—in the midst of the ice and snow, at the center of the white world, a figure as transparent and pristine as a glacier appeared behind Nagisa.
It was a beautiful figure no more than ten meters in length.
Its upper body resembled that of a human female, while the lower body was a fish tail. Wings grew from its back, its fingertips shaped into sharp talons like a raptor's claws, its body surrounded by frigid air. It resembled both a mermaid and a monstrous bird—like a creature out of myth.
"A Familiar Beast..."
Facing the lethal cold wind, Kaiser looked at the icy bird and his eyes flickered.
—"Familiar Beast."
This was a kind of servant magic beast that only vampires could control and raise.
It was said that they were summoned beasts from another world, magical power aggregates that, once manifested, could possess independent will.
They were anomalies not meant to exist in this world, possessing destructive power beyond the norm, coming in a variety of forms with an array of abilities.
Because they were aggregates of dense magical power, each Familiar Beast was like a bomb. Not only were they terrifyingly destructive, but physical attacks were almost completely ineffective against them. Even the weakest among them could surpass cutting-edge tanks and armed helicopters in combat power, and the stronger ones could easily annihilate entire towns—truly fearsome.
They consumed the lifespan of others as the price of manifestation. Thus, only vampires with infinite negative life force could command Familiar Beasts. If a regular human tried to summon one, they would have their lifespan drained in an instant.
Originally, vampires were not particularly strong among demons. At least, their physical strength did not match that of beastmen, and their innate abilities were inferior to many demons. But because vampires could raise Familiar Beasts in their blood and summon them for battle, their race had become akin to kings among demons.
There were countless demons in the world, but only three vampire progenitors had founded the three Great Night Empires, proving the vampires' position among demons.
Because of Familiar Beasts, vampires were considered the strongest demon race.
And among those strongest vampires, the progenitors stood at the very peak, beings equivalent to Demon Lords.
The progenitors' power lay in their ability to summon the strongest Familiar Beasts—each possessing the terrifying strength to burn armies, destroy cities, and crush nations.
The reason the legendary Fourth Progenitor was hailed as the world's strongest vampire was because they controlled twelve calamity-class Familiar Beasts.
Now, the icy bird that appeared before Kaiser was precisely one of those twelve calamity-class Familiar Beasts.
"Rumble rumble..."
The manifestation of a progenitor-class Familiar Beast caused the entire Itogami Island to shake. The mechanical structures beneath the sea rumbled violently, mysterious patterns glowing atop them, barely holding together.
"This isn't good..."
Realizing this, Kaiser furrowed his brows.
Itogami Island was merely an artificial island. Though 560,000 people lived on it, its total area was only about 180 square kilometers—not very large.
Sardinia, which Kaiser had visited before, had a total area of 24,090 square kilometers and a population of about 1.656 million, yet it was nearly destroyed during his battle with two gods just from the aftermath.
Tokyo had a total area of 2,199.94 square kilometers, with a population of about 14.1862 million. When Kaiser fought Voban there, everyone lived in fear.
As for Nikko City?
With an area of 320 square kilometers, it was completely sent back to the Stone Age after Kaiser's battle with Sun Wukong.
Compared to these places, Itogami Island was tiny, not even as big as Nikko City.
Therefore, ever since arriving on this artificial island, Kaiser had always reminded himself: if he planned to take action here, he must control his power well, or he might accidentally sink the island.
And a progenitor-class Familiar Beast's power was comparable to a natural disaster, enough to easily shatter the island.
If this ice Familiar Beast continued to release power recklessly, Itogami Island would soon become a shattered frozen land.
"You should stop about now, don't you think?"
Kaiser stood fully exposed to the freezing wind and called out to the girl amidst the icy world.
"Do you really intend to destroy this island? Number Twelve!"
Upon hearing this, a ripple finally stirred in the girl's hollow eyes.
She slowly turned her head and looked at Kaiser, her crimson eyes devoid of human emotion.
Kaiser met her gaze calmly, completely unwavering.
"—Is it thee?"
After a while, an equally emotionless voice came from Nagisa's mouth.
"What?"
Kaiser frowned even more.
Nagisa—or rather, the being inside Nagisa—stared at Kaiser, expressionless, and spoke.
"Like me, thou bearest the duty of a seal, a vessel, a sacrificial pillar."
So she said.
"I remember thee. It was thy magical power that roused me from long slumber."
These words inevitably startled Kaiser.
"What did you say?"
Kaiser looked astonished.
But the other party gave no explanation, her hollow eyes simply watching Kaiser.
"Though thou art a being identical to me, and though a fated connection exists between us... regrettably, right now, I only wish to protect this girl."
The crimson in her eyes deepened.
"Even thou shalt not obstruct me."
As her words fell, the ice Familiar Beast behind her suddenly moved.
"Boom!!!"
With a roar and tremor in the air, the ice Familiar Beast swung its fish tail.
That beautiful, translucent tail, carrying terrifying cold, could instantly reduce the entire street to ruins if it landed.
Facing the blow, Kaiser suddenly moved as well—not retreating, but advancing.
"Bang!!!"
The frigid fish tail struck him directly, producing a loud blast.
This attack would have instantly vaporized the flesh and blood of even a robust demon, reducing them to ashes.
Even powerful vampires, without near-progenitor-level life force, would have died instantly.
Logically speaking, even someone as physically powerful as Kaiser, if hit by such an attack, should have been blasted away like a cannonball, vomiting blood as he crashed.
However, astonishingly, despite taking a progenitor-class Familiar Beast's strike, Kaiser was completely unharmed—and even bounced the crystalline tail away.
"This—"
The expressionless girl was momentarily stunned.
But Kaiser, at the same moment he deflected the strike from the ice Familiar Beast, dashed forward like a gale, arriving in front of her.
"Unfortunately, your Familiar Beast is ineffective against me."
Kaiser declared.
Vampire Familiar Beasts were indeed powerful—especially those of the progenitors—surpassing even Divine Beasts, and comparable to some Heretic Gods.
But ever since knowing he would come to this world, Kaiser had realized he might become the nemesis of Familiar Beasts here.
For one reason.
"Familiar Beasts are high-density magical aggregates manifested with will."
"In other words, they are essentially massive magical power."
"Once released, a Familiar Beast can only be suppressed by even greater magical power. Physical attacks are virtually ineffective because they are not physical entities."
Given that—things were simple.
"My body possesses extremely strong magical power resistance, capable of repelling all magic, spells, and mysteries."
"Even a god's Authority may partially fail against my magical power resistance."
"Though the progenitor's Familiar Beast is strong, as long as it cannot break through my magical power resistance, it will be repelled by my body."
Therefore, in this world, vampire Familiar Beasts could hardly harm Kaiser.
"Bakudō #61: Six Rods Prison of Light!"
Kaiser pointed at the girl. Spiritual energy surged, and six bars of light shot from all directions, locking her body in place.
"Boom!!!"
The ice Familiar Beast behind her reacted instantly, diving in attack—only to be swatted apart by Kaiser with one hand.
Yes, the Familiar Beast of the world's strongest vampire, a progenitor-class Familiar Beast, was swatted away with a single palm.
If anyone else had seen that scene, their jaws would surely have dropped.
"Thou—"
The girl widened her eyes slightly, wanting to say something—but couldn't.
Because Kaiser now held a blade that radiated a dangerous aura, one that made her instinctively afraid.
Her intuition told her—if she were struck by that blade, she would die.
Even as an immortal, undying progenitor vampire—she would die.
That blade was not aimed at her physical body, but at her very existence—a being without a physical form, merely sharing a vessel with another.
"Though I'd love to have a good chat with you, let's wait until you've calmed down."
Kaiser reversed the blade and knocked the girl lightly on the forehead with the hilt.
"Don't worry. There's no Soul Society in this world—perhaps not even a Netherworld that accepts souls. Just in case, I'll only use part of Konsō's power to put you into a sleep state."
Kaiser removed the unsealed Crown of Heavens' hilt, revealing a circular symbol inscribed with the word "Soul" on the girl's forehead.
"Get some rest. Next time you wake up, let's talk properly."
As those words entered the girl's ears, her eyes were already closing.
The massive magical power dissipated, the demonic body vanished, and the girl with windblown hair collapsed.
Kaiser caught the unconscious girl and held her in his arms.
By the time armed helicopters flew in from the sky and Special District Security vehicles arrived on the scene, Kaiser and Akatsuki Nagisa had already disappeared—leaving only a street of white, silently radiating cold...