— — — — — —
On the private jet—
Shizuri leaned by the window, watching as Ryo met up with Natsuki at the bottom of the ramp before heading off.
"…I really don't know what's going to happen to us now," she murmured, sounding uneasy.
Pledging loyalty to Ryo in exchange for living space for all six thousand people of Onrai Island had been… bold, to say the least.
But joining the Dawn Empire? That had been entirely her decision. Whether the islanders would actually accept it was another matter. Nobody likes being "represented" without their consent.
Sitting beside her, Yukina Himeragi had overheard the mumbling and thought for a moment before explaining. "The foundation of the Empire was originally Demon Sanctuary Itogami Island, controlled by Japan."
"Even after it became the Dawn Empire, the internal system basically kept the structure of the old Demon Sanctuary."
Shizuri froze for a moment, then looked over at Yukina and whispered, "…Thanks."
"Ahhh… His Majesty's already gone. I wonder what kind of people they're going to send to handle us…" Across the way, Yuno Amase pulled her head away from the window and flopped onto the couch with a sigh.
"I just hope we don't end up as second-class citizens in the Dawn Empire. I'm not volunteering to be a test subject for new drugs."
A Demon Sanctuary is a special zone where the existence of demons is officially recognized and protected. But weaker demons who were under special protection sometimes had to cooperate with research experiments.
The pay was high, sure, but honestly? It wasn't exactly a dignified job.
Yuno rolled onto her side and tried gathering allies. "Senpai, you don't want to become a lab rat either, right?"
"I don't care. I was already a test subject back in Iroise." Nozomi Kamikiba replied without much emotion.
As someone from a family stripped of its place in the Warlord's Empire, she'd never had anything. Living on Onrai Island—with its memory-editing system—had been the first time her life wasn't pure misery.
Everywhere else… better not to talk about it.
Honestly, it was exactly because life had been so harsh that Nozomi had become the way she was—and why she'd charged straight at Ryo without hesitation.
"You sure are... optimistic."
Yuno's mouth twitched. Clearly she had picked the wrong person to recruit to her side.
She glanced over at Sayaka Kirasaka instead.
Those two were close guards of the Fourth Primogenitor. They had to know how the Dawn Empire operated, right?
'Don't look at me—don't look at me—' Sayaka's scalp tingled under Yuno's stare.
This was literally her first visit to Itogami Island, okay?
She'd only been assigned as Ryo's guard for like… twelve hours. How was she supposed to know anything?
"Um… Miss Kirasaka—"
Yuno's voice sounded like a whisper crawling straight out of the abyss. Sayaka shivered uncontrollably.
Before the interrogation could continue, a new voice cut in, "So you're the residents transferred from Onrai Island?"
Everyone turned toward the speaker.
A girl with medium-length hair, a beautiful face, and a slightly androgynous sense of style stood there.
"I'm Yuuma Tokoyogi. I'll be overseeing your group from here on, so please take care of me."
She gave them a bright, sunny smile.
— — —
Keystone Gate — Underground Level 9
After teleporting in directly, Ryo and Natsuki emerged into a corridor on the ninth sub-floor.
Ryo glanced up at a metal ceiling more than six meters high and couldn't help but sigh. "No wonder the Devas were called gods. A fully artificial island built with pure magic and metal machinery… If this thing were converted into a war fortress—"
"Can you not bring up war every five seconds? Are you a battle maniac or what?"
The complaint came from the end of the corridor—specifically from a massive orange-red armored machine that looked like someone had scaled up a hornet and slapped metal plating on it.
Ryo lowered his gaze, chuckled, and said to the armored suit. "You're piloting literal war machinery. I don't think you're qualified to complain."
The hatch opened, and Asagi Aiba climbed out wearing a white lab coat, disconnecting a neural interface from her head. She shot him an annoyed look.
"Who do you think has to drive this thing around, huh? If you hadn't ordered total lockdown on the whole island, I wouldn't have needed to bust out the heavy equipment!"
She hopped down from the armor, then paused as a new question popped into her head. "Where are Cyrora and Avrora? Without them, releasing that seal is going to be a pain."
"They're right here," Ryo said, patting the left side of his chest with a grin.
"Huh? In your heart? This is not the time for romantic lines—"
Asagi stared speechlessly at him, then froze before asking with a weird expression, "…You… reabsorbed them?"
Ryo nodded. "It's more relaxing for them in here than outside."
Natsuki rolled her eyes. "Relax. Yeah, right. I know those two—they probably came crawling back because they're thirsty for your blood again."
Both Avrora and Cyrora had been eyeing Ryo for a long time now.
Back in the Little Garden he'd been safe because of the distance, even if they had to watch their ten sisters feast while starving.
Now that distance wasn't a problem anymore? Of course they were glued to him.
Sure, turning into familiars and swimming into his bloodstream to cling to him was insane, but Natsuki could kind of understand the logic.
"Tch."
Now that she knew where her two rivals had gone, Asagi smacked her lips and muttered. "Whatever. As long as we have the 10th Familiar, we can undo the seal."
As she spoke, Ryo had already walked up with Natsuki. Asagi stepped aside to let them pass, then followed after them to a massive metal gate.
At this point Natsuki tensed a little.
She approached the door, running her fingers across engraved lines—her own spatial isolation seals. As she began to undo them one by one, she warned:
"Just so we're clear: that dragon has been stewing in it for a year and a half. I have no idea what she'll be like when she comes out."
She paused at the final seal, then glanced back at Ryo with a smirk. "So if she pounces on you, don't be surprised. And honestly, you're the one who gave the order in the first place. If the wronged dragon decides to jump you… that's just fate, isn't it?"
Ryo twitched. "…Are you seriously happy at the idea of me being chased around by a female dragon?"
"Huh? Female? Not male?" Asagi frowned.
"What are you focusing on!" Natsuki yelped. "Just undo the spell and stop talking nonsense!"
"Yeah yeah."
Asagi shot her a glare and dispelled the final seal.
With a low hum, the metal doors slowly opened.
Inside the massive chamber—all steel and cold surfaces—sat a small girl with steel-colored hair and a gray cloak draped over her shoulders.
Her head had been bowed, but she slowly lifted it as the doors opened.
The moment Ryo saw her, he knew exactly who she was.
Cain's Dragon—Glenda.
.
.
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