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Long hair so black it carried a metallic sheen. Wine-red eyes. A figure so exaggerated it made you wonder whether it could possibly be natural.
This was Kato Magatoki.
A woman overflowing with sensuality, yet carrying the dangerous air of a venomous snake.
She stepped out of the alley dressed in a simple white shirt, deliberately unbuttoned at the top to expose just enough skin for her excessive curves to look ready to spill free. Below, she wore tight leather pants that cinched her waist and emphasized her long, lean frame.
A woman brimming with bewitching allure.
And the "instructor" Shizuri had called out to.
Well... To be honest, Shizuri and Kato didn't get along particularly well.
Though they were teacher and student, Kato's provocative style and occasional cruel sense of humor clashed badly with the aesthetic sensibilities of the Holy Knights, who prized purity and sincerity.
That said, no matter how you looked at it, Kato was the strongest on Onrai Island.
But Shizuri didn't think Kato had much of a chance of winning.
She just glanced at Amase Yuno and the other two, who were being watched like prey by the Primogenitor's familiar, the lion, and clenched her teeth.
At least help a few of them escape…
That should be possible, right? Shizuri clung to that faint, fragile hope.
"Ahh, dear me…"
Kato sighed as she stepped fully out of the alley, her voice rich with the languid charm of a mature woman.
One hand on her hip, she shifted her gaze, casually sweeping it over Yukina and Sayaka, lingering on the weapons in their hands as she spoke in an offhand tone.
"A Sword Shaman and a War Dancer from the Lion King Agency. And that one… is that Snowdrift Wolf ? The legendary Schneewalzer of the Lion King Agency, the Divine Weapon said to be capable of killing a Primogenitor!"
"A Sword Shaman wielding a weapon that can kill a Primogenitor, and…"
Her gaze slid further, landing on the black-haired, black-eyed young man. Her eyes brightened slightly as she smiled in open appreciation.
"And this Fourth Primogenitor here, who fits my tastes a little too perfectly~"
"Heh. What an interesting lineup."
"A weapon that can kill a Primogenitor?"
Before Ryo could respond, Shizuri turned her head toward Yukina's Snowdrift Wolf in disbelief.
"You actually brought something that terrifying with you…?"
She looked at Yukina's still-youthful face and blurted out without thinking, "What a waste. The weapon's incredible, but the person using it isn't."
Yukina flushed instantly, unable to refute it.
With her current level of strength, she really couldn't wield Snowdrift Wolf properly. Giving her such a weapon was, frankly, a tragic mismatch.
Beside her, Sayaka sneaked a glance at Ryo after hearing Kato's words, then turned to Yukina with clear concern.
"Yukina…"
Sayaka knew all too well that Yukina possessing a weapon capable of killing a Primogenitor was not something they had reported to Ryo just now.
Honestly, the Lion King Agency had only told them Snowdrift Wolf was an extremely valuable weapon. They never mentioned it could kill a Primogenitor. Wasn't that basically setting them up?
Now that Kato had exposed it so casually, what if Ryo took offense?
'I'll be fine, but Yukina could be in real danger… What do we do? What do we do?'
At that moment, a calm voice cut through the tension.
"Petty provocation."
Ryo looked at Kato, his gaze lingering for a moment on her figure before he let out a soft snort.
"You've got some brains, I'll give you that. You knew better than to take me head-on and tried to play dirty instead. Too bad your skill level's pretty lacking."
Kato kept smiling, seemingly unconcerned by the failure of her little scheme.
Behind Ryo, Sayaka let out a quiet sigh of relief and patted her chest, her eyes filled with gratitude as she looked at him.
Thank goodness. He didn't fall for it.
Nearby, Yukina, only now realizing the implication, glanced at Ryo. Her fingers loosened, and Snowdrift Wolf slipped from her hands, clattering loudly to the ground.
"I'm sorry, I—"
Before she could finish, Ryo spoke without even turning his head.
"Pick it up. If the Lion King Agency were stupid enough to think that just handing you Snowdrift Wolf would let you kill me, I would've wiped them out a year ago."
The threat in his words sounded terrifying, but instead of fear, Yukina felt reassured. She quickly picked up Snowdrift Wolf, holding it tight again.
Ryo then turned his attention back to Kato. "You're a witch, aren't you? In that case, the other witch's aura on this island must be yours too."
"A witch?! Then that means—Instructor, you're with LCO?!" Shizuri's eyes widened.
Even Yuno and Nozomi, still under the watchful gaze of the familiar, couldn't help but look toward Kato.
The Library of Criminal Organizations, LCO.
A huge criminal organization made up of several thousand high-ranking mages and witches, with the sole purpose of illegally collecting, sealing, classifying, and utilizing countless grimoires.
Its members were mostly mages who had strayed down forbidden paths, along with witches who had signed contracts with demons.
Aside from a very small number of exceptions, nearly all witches belonged to LCO.
If you were to rank terrorist organizations, LCO would be top three at worst, a genuine enemy of humanity.
And yet here stood Onrai Island's strongest official officer, Kato, revealed to be an LCO witch.
"The Library's witch?!"
Sayaka stared at Kato in shock.
"But didn't the LCO get wiped out already? By the Witch of the Notaria, Aya Tokoyogi, and the Witch of the Void, Natsuki Minamiya?"
"The Library was destroyed? By the legendary Witch of the Notaria and the Witch of the Void?" Shizuri looked utterly confused.
In her mind, the LCO was still the terror organization that dominated Europe, powerful enough that even the great nobles of the Warlord's Empire treated it with caution.
(Warlord's Empire was in Europe)
And yet this woman, who seemed to be some kind of subordinate to the Fourth Primogenitor, was saying the Library had already been destroyed?
…Am I completely out of touch with the world?
"Tch."
Kato clicked her tongue, her face darkening with irritation.
"What a nosy little girl."
She shot Sayaka a glare, then turned back to Ryo. "But speaking of the Library, surely the Fourth Primogenitor knows the details better than anyone, doesn't he?"
At that, Yukina and Sayaka both looked at Ryo. Shizuri, Yuno, and Nozomi followed suit.
Was the destruction of the Library connected to Ryo?
Ryo frowned, thinking for a moment, a hint of confusion crossing his face.
"Ara~ Ara~ The one who convinced the Aya to betray the Library and ordered Natsuki to slaughter its members… wasn't that you, Your Majesty, the Fourth Primogenitor?"
Kato smiled sweetly. She lifted the hem of her shirt, revealing an ugly scar, the mark of a blade piercing straight through.
"Thanks to your two witch wives, I struggled for quite a while before barely surviving that one."
Ryo fell silent for a brief moment. Then he spoke with complete sincerity. "Sorry. I don't remember."
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he continued, "I've crushed too many ants underfoot. Asking me to remember every single one by name is asking a bit much."
At those words, Kato's smile finally froze.
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From time to time, I'll drop a mass release like today to speedrun this arc. And if anything in Strike the Blood confuses you or sparks questions, just leave them here.
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