— — — — — —
"..."
Ryo's arm was around her waist, skin pressed against skin. But Kato didn't dare move.
And she was too stunned to even process what was happening.
Spatial transfer spells could be blocked, sure.
But that usually happened if a stronger spatial mage set up an interference barrier in advance, or if someone used a spatial-type familiar to disrupt the cast.
Natsuki had only failed to account for Kato's transfer ability during the operation at the LCO a year and a half ago, and that tiny hole let Kato escape.
So when Ryo mocked her just now, Kato could tell he was referring to that incident.
But the way Ryo intercepted her just now didn't fit either scenario.
She didn't even understand how he did it. One moment she was flickering through space, the next she was caught.
What the hell just happened?
Kato went speechless.
Being caught by a Primogenitor was terrifying.
Even more so if you were a witch.
A gifted female in the hands of a male vampire didn't have many possible outcomes—and none were pleasant.
Best case: become a blood prisoner somewhere underground, milked for blood forever.
Worst case: Still milked, but this time for actual milk—naturally, with pregnancy as a side effect.
Well, maybe the worst case isn't the worst. There's at least some pleasure in it, and the vampire would take care of his spouse—her beauty, her health… and, of course, to give him more children.
With that thought alone, she froze all resistance on instinct, even without Ryo needing to warn her.
No one in their right mind tried to fight a Primogenitor from zero distance. Not even an oni would be dumb enough to do that.
"I surrender!"
Kato didn't hesitate.
"...Instructor." Shizuri looked conflicted.
Her instructor was the notorious LCO witch, and as a Nun Knight, Shizuri should be thrilled to see her end like this.
But watching Kato get captured, she felt a twinge of "there but for the grace of God go I."
If a witch in vampire hands only had bad endings, what about her? Why would she be any safer?
Impossible to imagine a good outcome.
"Damn it! Instructor, why'd you fold so fast?!" Yuno's beast ears drooped in total despair.
Kato had been acting all high and mighty moments ago. Yuno figured Kato would escape and drag her employer into a fight with Ryo so she could run away in the chaos.
Instead—
Her Instructor bluffed, she pulled a hidden spatial transfer, looked super cool for like two seconds, then bam—caught in his arms and trembling like a puppy showing its belly. One more second and she'd be licking his boots.
Where was that big-shot attitude a second ago?
Don't front if you can't back it up!
"Give it up. There's a reason Primogenitors are called the most powerful."
Nozomi was the calmest in the group. She was a vampire—even if a low-grade one with the First Primogenitor blood.
Humans, witches, oni, and other races feared vampires for one simple reason.
Blood.
Vampires did not drink the blood of others simply to satisfy hunger. Ordinary food and drink were enough to quell basic hunger and thirst.
A vampire's urge to drink blood was triggered primarily by sexual arousal—in other words, by lust.
Their thirst for blood was driven by desire, and when they fed, the person bitten experienced intense pleasure as well. Therefore, when a vampire felt the need to feed, they did not turn to blood for food but ate and drank like any normal human.
And if someone was fed on long enough, their body and essence would gradually mutate into a pseudo-vampire—a blood servant.
But if you were already a vampire, it didn't matter. You couldn't be downgraded by being bitten.
In fact, being bitten by a Primogenitor was a jackpot.
Nozomi was a D-Type vampire with the Lost Warlord blood. Sounds respectable until you realize it's just the lowest tier. Above them came Elders, then a Primogenitor's blood servants, then a Primogenitor's direct line, and finally the Primogenitors themselves.
So if a Primogenitor fed on you long-term, you'd skip two ranks and become one of their blood servants (Blood Concubines). If they gave you a drop of blood, you'd practically become direct line.
That was like some unknown baron's daughter suddenly becoming queen.
From Nozomi's perspective, that was nothing but profit.
Especially since on Onrai Island, she was just a research specimen. She'd kill for a promotion like that.
"You damn foxy flirt! If you wanna get bitten, do it yourself!" Yuno hissed.
Nozomi didn't bother arguing because it was true.
"..."
Ryo glanced at Yuno. The girl shut up instantly, her fuzzy cat ears wilting flat.
He ignored her and looked back at the witch in his arms. He leaned down to Kato's ear and said. "I'll ask a simple question. Answer it and I might reward you."
Kato's expression soured, but she nodded without resisting.
Ryo smiled faintly.
"Where is the Order of the End? Who are its members?"
"Knew it…" Kato sighed helplessly. "Someone like you must know that all dealings with witches require contracts."
Modern witches had terrible reputations thanks to the insane LCO library.
So anyone wanting a deal with a witch needed a contract, witnessed by something powerful—ideally a higher-dimensional angelic entity.
Kato paused and added. "With a higher-dimensional spirit as witness, breaking the contract would be the least of your worries. If I speak, I die—and the intel you want dies with me."
Angels.
Ryo knew a bit about them from the memories of Cyrora, the original Fourth Primogenitor.
In this world, a Tenshi or Angel wasn't what Earth mythology assumed. When Deva's tribe interbred with humans long ago, their children had unique spiritual signatures that attracted higher-dimensional energy beings—who then possessed them, turning them into Saints.
According to Asagi's decoded data, In the distant past, these possessed humans were called "Angel Hosts" by the Devas.
But during the War led by Cain, these Angel Hosts united multiple races, reverse-engineered Deva's tech, and wiped out the so-called Deva Gods.
So realistically, "angels" and the Deva Tribe weren't really related anymore, it was just that these higher-dimensional beings got drawn to Deva-human hybrids and possessed them. Humans worshiped them for generations and kept calling them angels.
After all those centuries, they had probably accumulated tons of faith. If brought into the Little Garden, they might even qualify as demi-deities.
Thinking of a flock of five-digit rank angels made Ryo thoughtful.
If he broke Kato's contract, he'd get the Order's intel and snag himself a five-digit angel—for the cost of lifting a finger.
Tempting.
He narrowed his eyes at Kato.
"So which angel witnessed your contract? One of the Western European Church?"
If Ryo wanted to grab an angel, knowing the name was convenient.
Reverse-tracking via faith and true name was a Little Garden classic. Everyone did it.
The only reason it didn't work there anymore was because the gods developed countermeasures. You tried that trick, you'd get burned.
But this world lacked that kind of protection.
Kato smiled bitterly. "You must be joking. If the witness had a true name, I'd be dead on the spot for even requesting their service."
"I used a generalized contract. The witness was addressed as 'angel' collectively, so no specific being could lock on."
"Oh? So you used a group as the witness…"
Ryo frowned slightly.
That made things more troublesome. No name, no anchor, and trying to fish in higher-dimensional space without a coordinate was a waste of effort.
Unless…
He found an object used by an angel before. A physical anchor.
And then it hit him.
He turned his gaze toward Yukina Himeragi.
More precisely, toward the spear in her hands.
Snowdrift Wolf.
Something tied directly to angels.
That spear's side effect was forcing its wielder into becoming a Faux Angel. Practically every generation ended up becoming an angel.
Which meant…
It was angel bait.
.
.
.