Night gradually deepened.
As the neon lights began to appear in every corner of Itogami Island, Kaiser had already brought Nagisa Akatsuki back to his own apartment.
He didn't take Nagisa back to Room 704 where the Akatsuki family resided, but instead brought her to his own place, laying her still-unconscious body on the bed in his bedroom.
"How truly unbelievable..."
Looking at the sleeping Nagisa lying on his bed, Kaiser had observed her several times, yet couldn't see a trace of the appearance she had just now when she transformed into the Vampire Progenitor. Let alone the twelve Familiar Beasts residing in her body, there wasn't even the slightest hint of magical power—she was entirely a normal human being.
After watching for a while, Kaiser suddenly flipped his hand, and an ancient stone emblem appeared in his palm.
"What do you think?"
Kaiser spoke toward the stone emblem in his hand.
"Buzz…"
The stone emblem in Kaiser's hand immediately began to tremble. After a moment, a vast darkness surged forth, completely engulfing it.
Not long after, from within the darkness, a girl about thirteen or fourteen years old slowly emerged. She wore a white Greek-style one-shoulder robe, had short silver hair that seemed to glow with the radiance of moonlight, and her eyes resembled pitch-black onyx.
"To enslave me, and now seek to borrow my wisdom—don't you think that's far too shameless?"
The Trinity Queen stared at Kaiser expressionlessly, her attitude exceedingly unfriendly.
"Who told you to recklessly take what belongs to others?" Kaiser replied indifferently. "Consider this a lesson—don't go around merging others' possessions into your body, or you'll pay dearly."
"…That was something I had lost," Athena stared at Kaiser and said faintly, "Not yours."
"But once it recognized me as its master, it already belonged to me alone." Kaiser smiled and said, "If it's the current you, surely you understand that by now?"
Athena stared at Kaiser and fell silent.
"All right, take a look for me." Kaiser pointed at the sleeping Nagisa and said, "I really can't see anything more. But if it's you, you should be able to see what I couldn't, right?"
Seeing Kaiser change the subject, Athena snorted coldly, but in the end still turned her gaze toward the sleeping Nagisa.
Her eyes became bright and sharp, like those of an owl.
At that moment, the girl named Nagisa Akatsuki began to be analyzed in Athena's gaze.
As the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena governed the heavenly wisdom and could easily see through countless mysteries incomprehensible to the world.
There were bound to be very few things in this world that could puzzle her, and even fewer that could elude her wisdom.
Moreover, Athena was also the Queen of Trinity, the ancient Earth Mother Goddess. Whether it was the sky, the sea, the earth, or the underworld, all had once been domains she ruled. As long as Athena took it seriously, her gaze could even pierce through the Three Realms—let alone see through the structure and secrets of a mere human body.
Thus, what even Kaiser couldn't see, Athena discerned within mere seconds.
"So that's how it is. This kind of relationship, huh?"
Athena murmured aloud.
"How is it?" Seeing this, Kaiser immediately asked, "What did you see?"
Athena didn't answer Kaiser right away but countered with a question.
"You know what lies within this girl's body, right?"
Upon hearing this, Kaiser silently nodded.
Of course he knew what was inside Nagisa.
"That is another soul that originally did not exist within her body—a being that should have already died."
In the original work, at the end of the Blazing Banquet, the Akatsuki siblings survived thanks to the help of the Twelfth Vassal. One became the Fourth Progenitor, and the other lost her powers as a spirit medium, becoming an ordinary person.
The Twelfth Vassal, to aid the Akatsuki siblings and to bring the Blazing Banquet to an end, ultimately died by the hand of Kojou Akatsuki.
However, the Twelfth Vassal didn't truly die. Before her consciousness vanished, she was absorbed into Nagisa's body using Nagisa's own spirit medium abilities—the two became one.
"If nothing unexpected occurred, the soul sleeping within Nagisa should be the Twelfth Vassal—the one who forged a deep bond with the Akatsuki siblings during the Blazing Banquet and aided them through the crisis—Avrora Florestina."
Kaiser revealed the origin of the alien soul within Nagisa.
"Sleeping Beauty, huh?" Athena let out a cold laugh. "Quite fitting."
Athena stretched out her jade-like fingers, the tips sliding across Nagisa's delicate face. As she caressed the girl's cheek, she slowly spoke.
"As you said, there is indeed a foreign soul sleeping within this girl's body."
"This foreign soul is usually dormant, only awakening when the girl faces danger."
"When she awakens, her power and essence rise to the surface along with her consciousness, overwriting the girl's presence and manifesting externally."
Athena glanced at Kaiser and said blandly.
"Therefore, when she is not awake, this girl is just an ordinary human, not the so-called strongest vampire in the world."
"This girl has not become the Fourth Progenitor as you believed."
"The true Fourth Progenitor is the one you mentioned—the Twelfth Kaleid Blood, Avrora Florestina."
Athena's meaning, Kaiser more or less understood.
Simply put, unlike in the original story where Avrora granted the Fourth Progenitor's power to another before dying, in this world, Avrora didn't pass on that power—she died with it.
After her death, just like in the original, Nagisa absorbed her residual consciousness and merged with her. However, since this time Avrora had already become the Fourth Progenitor and hadn't given up her power, that power entered Nagisa's body along with her residual consciousness and fell into slumber.
Nagisa herself hadn't truly become the Fourth Progenitor—she had merely merged with her.
The true Fourth Progenitor was still Avrora. Therefore, the Fourth Progenitor's power and essence would vanish while Avrora slept, and only when Nagisa—the host of the Fourth Progenitor—encountered danger, would the true Fourth Progenitor awaken, overwrite Nagisa's existence, and manifest the essence and power of the Vampire Progenitor upon her flesh, allowing the true Fourth Progenitor to appear in the world.
This was the same concept as divine possession.
When facing danger, Nagisa, as a spirit medium, essentially summoned the spirit of the Fourth Progenitor, allowing it to possess her and become the Fourth Progenitor herself.
When not in danger, Nagisa had no reason to summon that power, and thus she remained a normal human. Only when Avrora's consciousness surfaced would she become the Fourth Progenitor.
"No wonder I couldn't figure out why she didn't have even a trace of magical power normally." Kaiser said in sudden realization, "And the reason she lost her power as a spirit medium must be because she used all her strength to sustain Avrora's residual consciousness, right?"
"It's like her memory is fully occupied—there's no space left to store anything else." Athena said indifferently. "Although she's an extraordinarily gifted spirit medium, she's still human. Even if the so-called Fourth Progenitor is on par with a Heretic God, it's near impossible for a human spirit medium to fully contain its existence."
"If that Fourth Progenitor harbored even the slightest malice toward the girl—or didn't consciously keep herself dormant and restrain her power and essence from surfacing—this girl likely wouldn't have survived."
Just like Seishuin Ena, who, as a divine spirit summoner, would grow weak after borrowing even a fraction of divine power. Let alone Nagisa, who was containing within her a being on par with a Heretic God.
Under such circumstances, the fact that Nagisa merely lost all her power and became an ordinary human, rather than dying on the spot afterward, was already the result of her being remarkably exceptional and of Avrora's exceptional cooperation.
Had Avrora been even slightly uncooperative, or had Nagisa's aptitude been just a little lower, both would have perished during the Blazing Banquet with no chance of survival.
"How did things turn out like this?" Kaiser furrowed his brow in confusion. "Compared to the original trajectory, this situation is way worse."
In the original, Nagisa merely housed Avrora, who had already granted away her Fourth Progenitor powers. But now, she had absorbed Avrora as the Fourth Progenitor—it was a vastly different situation.
"Also, when Avrora appeared, she mentioned that I was the one who awakened her, and that she and I shared an inseparable bond. Why is that?"
Kaiser remained very puzzled by this change.
Unfortunately, Athena couldn't provide an answer to that question.
"I can use my wisdom to see through this girl's reality, but I cannot see her past," Athena said, raising her bright eyes to look at Kaiser. "If you want to know everything, you'll have to peer into that past through the residual consciousness sleeping within her."
"Peer into the past?" Kaiser was startled. "What do you mean?"
"It's quite simple, actually," Athena said calmly. "Using my Authority over the Underworld, I'll create a spiritual connection between you and the residual consciousness inside this girl, allowing you to enter her and meet that sleeping beauty."
"By relying on that soul connection, you'll be able to see the girl's past—see that forgotten history."
"Well? Want to try it?"
Hearing Athena's words, Kaiser didn't hesitate.
"Then let's do it." Kaiser sat down beside the bed and looked at Athena. "What do I need to do?"
Athena said nothing. She merely approached Kaiser and held his face in her hands.
"Go to the depths of the dark Underworld, the supreme domain of the Earth Mother—the realm of the Queen who governs life and death."
Athena began to chant Kotodama as if speaking to herself.
"O Earth, know my resolve."
"O Darkness, understand my exalted passion."
"I, the goddess Athena, child of the Primordial Mother, am Queen of the Underworld."
"Answer my call, draw down the curtain of the sky—I am the summoner of winter, the cold ruler of life and death, the unrivaled Queen above and below…"
As the ancient Kotodama verses were chanted, Athena unhesitatingly pressed her lips to Kaiser's.
Softness touched his nerves. Though momentarily stunned, Kaiser accepted it without protest.
He knew Athena wasn't doing this out of affection. As a Campione, his magical resistance was extraordinary—if power wasn't injected directly into his body, even a god's Authority would be deflected.
Thus, Athena kissed him to inject the Underworld Authority directly into his body, bypassing the resistance at the surface.
Sure enough, as Athena kissed him, a searing power passed through their mouths and entered Kaiser's body.
By the time Kaiser came back to himself, Athena had already let go of his lips and instead kissed the unconscious Nagisa lying on the bed.
"Uh…"
Seeing this, Kaiser was speechless.
What was this?
An indirect kiss?
As Kaiser was feeling strange about it, he realized his consciousness had already left his body and entered Nagisa's body.
His awareness, wrapped in Athena's power, delved deeper and deeper into Nagisa's body, reaching the very depths of her consciousness.
Like diving, Kaiser plunged into Nagisa's inner realm and finally touched her soul—as well as the other consciousness residing within.
"Avrora Florestina…"
Now, Kaiser stood in a pitch-black space, with a bright light glowing ahead.
At the center of the light floated a girl curled up like she was suspended in water.
Her body was small, her height and apparent age similar to Nagisa's. Her skin was flawless, her face youthful yet exquisitely beautiful beyond human. She had pale blond hair that reflected light like a shimmering rainbow.
Hugging her knees, curled into a ball, she was entirely nude, her eyes tightly shut in slumber. That image evoked the likeness of a fairy sealed in amber, exuding a sacred aura.
This was Avrora Florestina, Twelfth Vassal of the Fourth Progenitor, the final victor of the Blazing Banquet, and the new Fourth Progenitor.
Kaiser gazed at her for a while before he realized—he too was completely naked.
Then, Kaiser floated over to the fairy-like girl and reached out to touch her…
(End of Chapter)
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Sorry for the delay....
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