— — — — — —
Shizuri stared in disbelief at the security officers surrounding her.
She had only blinked. Just for an instant. So why were her own teammates pointing their guns at her?
A hallucination? A dream? When had she been hit by something?
"I don't recall taking away your ability to speak."
A calm, inquisitive voice came from ahead.
Shizuri looked at the handsome black-haired young man in front of her. After a brief pause, she explained, "This is Onrai Island. It lies three hundred and thirty kilometers off Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean. It's the nation's only Demon Special Zone."
"What?" x2
Yukina and Sayaka exclaimed in shock at the same time.
Sayaka crossed her arms, her tone full of disbelief. "You've got to be kidding. Three hundred and thirty kilometers off Tokyo, a Demon Special Zone in the Pacific? That's obviously Itogami Island!"
Yukina's small face stiffened as she added sternly, "Please tell the truth. Trying to deceive us will only get you hurt."
There were limits to lying. Taking Itogami Island's location, slapping on a different name, and calling it something else was the kind of excuse that fooled no one.
"Itogami Island?" Shizuri looked at the two girls in confusion. "What's that?"
Yukina frowned. The intuition born of her spiritual power told her that the girl wasn't lying.
But that made no sense. As far as she knew, Japan had only one Demon Special Zone, and that was Itogami Island.
Just then, a voice filled with amusement cut in.
"Interesting."
Ryo narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Shizuri. "Don't worry about the details. Go on."
Shizuri hesitated, then continued, "My name is Shizuri Castiella Kasugaya. I'm a knight of the Holy Order."
"The Holy Order?!" Sayaka's eyes flew open. She stepped closer to Ryo and whispered urgently, "Your Majesty, the Holy Order is a splinter group that broke away from the Western European Church centuries ago. But four years ago, all confirmed members of the Holy Order were killed."
"In other words, according to Lion King Agency intelligence, the Holy Order no longer exists."
Ryo gave a slight nod to show he understood, then gestured for Shizuri to continue.
Shizuri bit her lip. "What do you want to know?"
"If you let the security team go, I'll tell you everything."
"Oh?" Ryo's eyes curved with interest. "Then tell me this. Who's the strongest person on this island?"
"The strongest?" Shizuri blinked, clearly not expecting that question. "If we're talking about the strongest, it should be my instructor."
"Her name is Kato Magatoki. She's a fully licensed mage."
"I've never heard that name," Yukina said, frowning deeply. "A mage responsible for an entire island's defenses should be a well-known powerhouse. But I've never come across the name Kato Magatoki."
Sayaka grew more cautious and said quietly, "Your Majesty… something is very wrong with this island. Please return to the aircraft and allow me to scout ahead first."
Ryo turned to her, amused. "What, Sayaka? Do you really think there's something on this island that could hurt me?"
"N-no, it's just…" Sayaka flushed red, flustered. "A wise man avoids danger. As the king of the Dawn Empire, you should always remain in the safest place possible."
Yukina couldn't help adding, "Even if you are the Fourth Primogenitor, Mr. Yagami, if the enemy specifically targeted you for an assassination, they must have prepared something terrifying. Please reconsider Sayaka's suggestion."
"The Fourth Primogenitor?!" Shizuri's eyes went wide in shock as she stared at Ryo. "You're the Fourth Primogenitor? The strongest vampire in the world?"
"Hm?" Ryo looked mildly surprised. "So your understanding of the Fourth Primogenitor isn't distorted."
He chuckled softly. "I see. That means only part of your consciousness was tampered with."
'What was he talking about?' Shizuri stared at him, confused.
Sayaka caught the odd note in his words and leaned closer. "Your Majesty, did you notice something?"
"Yeah," Ryo replied, nodding lightly. "I noticed it the moment the plane was transferred."
A playful smile spread across his face.
"This so-called Onrai Island is a fabricated world, constructed using a dream-realm spell."
"And unlike Natsuki's prison barrier, this world doesn't seem to have an owner anymore. That's what makes it interesting."
"A masterless prison barrier, used to trap me? Looks like the people who think they're my enemies are really underestimating me."
The smile on Ryo's face grew sharper, carrying a faint edge of cruelty.
Even setting aside Ryo's own power, this so-called Onrai Island could be crushed just by him summoning a single familiar.
Using a pocket world like this to confine him, without even showing their faces, and sending Shizuri, someone who clearly didn't know the truth, to test him? It was laughable.
"A fabricated world… that explains it," Yukina said, nodding in realization. "If that's the case, it makes sense that everyone here believes they're on Onrai Island."
Dream-realm spells required enormous amounts of magical energy. They were among the highest-consumption spells in existence.
Normally, such spells could only be sustained atop planetary ley lines to meet their energy demands.
High cost meant high power.
Like a prison barrier, a fabricated world was a type of sealing spell that those below a Primogenitor couldn't escape from, and even Primogenitors would be trapped for a short time.
Within such a barrier, altering people's perceptions was effortless.
In other words, the Onrai Island Shizuri spoke of didn't actually exist. It was a lie implanted into her mind by whoever had created this false world.
This island existed in the void, a fake reality built entirely from a dream-realm spell.
If someone wanted to trap the Fourth Primogenitor, a dream-realm world really was the most suitable method.
'But…' Yukina glanced at Ryo, who wore a half-smile.
Could a barrier that only detained a Primogenitor briefly really hold this strongest of all Primogenitors?
The answer was obvious.
"What fabricated world? What are you people even talking about?" Shizuri looked utterly bewildered.
Her world was fake? These people had to be out of their minds.
How could the world itself be fake?
Yukina didn't argue. She simply looked at Shizuri with pity.
To her, the girl was just another victim, deceived by a spell.
A disposable pawn pushed forward by whoever lurked behind the scenes, meant to probe Ryo.
Sayaka, sharing the same thought, hesitated before saying, "Your Majesty… should we detain this girl for now?"
Ryo glanced at her and replied casually, "Bring her along. We're going to meet this so-called Kato Magatoki."
Then he looked at Shizuri with a meaningful gaze and added, "To be honest, this island has a surprisingly strong scent of witches."
Under Ryo's gaze, Shizuri felt like a rabbit frozen under the stare of a tyrannosaurus. Her entire body went stiff.
H-he really is the Fourth Primogenitor?!
A horrifying thought flashed through her mind.
I'm going to get my blood sucked, aren't I? Am I going to be chained up in some pitch-dark basement and forced to… do shameful things forever? Will I have to get pregnant?
Shizuri's heart sank into despair.
.
.
.