The air shuddered with a deafening roar, shaking the very foundations of the Keystone Gate building.
At the peak of the magical turbulence, a petite girl in a black dress appeared on the battlefield.
The crisp sound of chains echoed through the night sky as a golden light-wreathed chain coiled around the waists of Akatsuki Nagisa and the Kaleid Bloods.
In the next instant, leaving ripples in the air, the girls vanished from the spot.
Natsuki Minamiya emerged with them on a rooftop across the sea. She glanced at the spies scattered throughout the area and let out a dismissive 'hmph'.
Magical energy swirled and intertwined under the moonlight.
Black wings, tipped with hook-like claws sharp as blades, sprouted from the back of Root, who stood barely half a meter tall.
Her eyes wide, she fixed a stern, cold gaze on the Arcueid standing before her.
Then, she uttered her first words since awakening.
"Meow—!"
Silence.
As if to accentuate the silence, the gentle pitter-patter of the rain slowly faded away.
A breeze, carrying the scent of grass and damp earth, drifted through the air.
"Pfft."
A breathtakingly beautiful smile bloomed under the moonlight. Arcueid covered her mouth, her shoulders trembling slightly.
"...What hast thou done to me?"
Root pressed her lips together, a blush spreading across her chubby, childlike cheeks from the shameful sound she'd just made. Staring down at her own tiny hands and feet, the panic in her heart reached a peak.
"You're so cute now."
Arcueid lowered her hand, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she looked at the top of Root's head.
It wasn't just wings that had appeared; a pair of cat ears now sat atop her head, and a tail swished behind her.
Root, floating in the air, now looked exactly like a Neco-Arcueid... no, more precisely, a Neco-Avrora.
"Don't you like it? The vessel I prepared for you."
Of course, when molding a form, one does it according to their preferences, be it for an Elder God or a beautiful girl.
The smile on Arcueid's face grew even wider.
"..."
Root's cheeks puffed up with rage, her eyes blazing.
She silently swung the black wings on her back. Each wing twisted like a sentient serpent, piercing through the chests of the phantom Beast Vassals emerging from the eyes of the Kaleid Bloods.
The spectral Beast Vassals slowly vanished into the wings. The originally jet-black wings, now wrapped in a bright, vivid light, transformed into a rainbow of colors, their faint, beautiful glow reminiscent of the aurora in the night sky.
All twelve wings began to shift their forms simultaneously, materializing into the shapes of Beast Vassals.
Shadowy figures emerged from the void behind Root.
"Thou shalt pay for thine arrogance." Root's eyes shone with a fierce light.
But then, she let out a startled cry.
"Why... why dost thou defy me?"
She angrily scolded the four Beast Vassals that had failed to manifest.
Only eight of the twelve Beast Vassals had answered her call; even Alrescha-Glacies had resisted her summons.
The other three seemed to belong to the Kaleid Bloods Vatler had brought.
Were they too scared from the last beating?
Arcueid, her smile unwavering, began to stretch and loosen up her limbs.
"Mesarthim-Adamas." Suppressing the doubts in her heart, Root commanded her Beast Vassal once more.
Boom—
A massive Beast Vassal manifested from the void—a great ram with a body of diamond. Thousands upon thousands of jewel-like crystals materialized around it, forming a shield for its companions.
A defensive-type Beast Vassal, huh?
Arcueid casually raised a hand and effortlessly caught the giant battle axe hurtling towards her from the side.
The amber Minotaur god, gripping the axe, let out a roar of frustration. A startling brilliance of magical energy flared along the axe's blade, yet it couldn't advance even a millimeter further in that pale, delicate hand.
"Hup~"
With a slight exertion of her hand, Arcueid easily lifted the over-ten-meter-tall Minotaur god and hurled it straight at Root.
The Beast Vassal that hadn't fully manifested dissolved back into Root's aurora-like wings. The wings, moving like giant whips, swatted the incoming Minotaur god away.
"Wilt thou not draw that sword?"
Root angrily lashed her aurora wings as she posed the question to the figure before her.
"You recognized it?"
Arcueid casually caught the gemstones being scattered by the great ram, playing with them in her hand.
"Though the form differs slightly, my intuition tells me thou art the same as that Fifth Primogenitor."
"So that's how."
Arcueid nodded, casually dropping the gems and bending her knees. "Don't need it tonight."
Whoosh—
A sonic boom cracked through the air.
With the ground shaking from the force, Arcueid's figure instantly vanished from her spot.
Magic?
But she hadn't sensed any magical fluctuation.
Root turned her head slightly, her pupils contracting.
Arcueid, accompanied by a violent gust of air, swept past the Minotaur god beside her.
Can a mere physical body achieve such a level?
"Minotaur! Die!"
Arcueid shattered the diamond jewel defenses using only her fingers.
She casually swung her right hand, the movement so light it was as if she were merely smoothing her hair, and the towering Beast Vassal was banished back to another dimension.
"...It is a Minotaur god."
Root forced the words out through gritted teeth, her gaze locked intently on Arcueid's movements.
To possess such physical prowess yet choose not to attack her directly... was this Fifth Primogenitor still just playing around?
The pressure emanating from Root intensified, her released magical energy transforming into a storm that made the glass walls of the Keystone Gate rattle and crack.
Just then, a tremendous explosive sound shot towards Arcueid.
A block of hyper-sonic vibrations, carrying a massive shockwave, slammed into Arcueid.
Sent flying into the air by the impact, Arcueid gently brushed the dust from her sleeve and turned her gaze towards her attacker.
It was a bicorn shrouded in astonishing vibrational waves—the Beast Vassal from Number Nine, Al-Nasl-Minium.
"I even gave you my ice cream that day," Arcueid said, leaping again from the empty air.
Her golden hair streamed like a meteor, her white figure slicing through the moonlight.
Like a moon rabbit hopping across the lunar surface, Arcueid leaped nimbly towards the deep crimson Beast Vassal.
The crimson bicorn let out a roar.
The two horns protruding from its head resonated like tuning forks, emitting a vicious, high-frequency vibrational wave.
An impact capable of pulverizing rock and tearing metal assailed the girl in the air.
"You're... so noisy!"
The vibrational waves swept over the girl's skin but failed to pierce it.
Arcueid, who had somehow donned a pair of soundproof headphones, swung a claw-like hand at the bicorn.
The soaring, descending claw strike carried unprecedented force, shredding the great ram's crystalline shields as if they were fragile paper.
The white shadow, like a hunter, landed on the ground. Arcueid clapped her hands together and shot a glare at the beautiful, fish-like dragon covered in silver-crystal scales not far away.
The Beast Vassal, a symbol of a vampire's charm ability, immediately fell into a deep slumber.
"Trying to charm me?"
Arcueid turned around, her eyes searching for the next Beast Vassal.
"Fifth Primogenitor." Root raised both hands high into the air nearby.
"I go by Arcueid now, you know."
Arcueid watched her actions with keen interest. "Are you surrendering?"
"Impossible." Root arrogantly lifted her vermilion lips. "Look up."
Root's reminder was unnecessary; a sudden, thunderous roar had already captured Arcueid's attention.
She slowly raised her head. Something was illuminating the night.
A blinding light split the darkness as a gigantic sword wreathed in scorching flames descended from the heavens.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.