Taking the hit from the demonic energy shockwave, Yukina cried out as she was blown into the air. She enveloped her entire body with ritual energy to defend herself, but the impact was still enough to roll over a small car. Her vision constricted, and her mind grew distant. Her body was numb, leaving her unable to stand.
For Shizuri’s part, she fell to one knee and cringed after launching the attack.
Yukina’s blunt strikes were still having an impact. In the first place, that afternoon Shizuri had seemed too gravely wounded to even walk on her own power.
In spite of this, she was firmly carrying out her role of stopping Yukina, her role of protecting Itogami Island as Kojou Akatsuki’s Blood Servant—
“If I…if I don’t destroy the keystone…a great many people…will be sacrificed…”
Yukina’s mind was hazy as she grabbed her fallen spear and stood up.
Natsuki was engaged in combat with Yuuma. It was grueling for Yuuma, but she was tying down Natsuki and buying plenty of time.
Yukari’s black cat familiar was limp and immobile, captured by the machinations of Lydianne’s tank. It seemed the cat had fallen into a drunken sleep.
Unbelievably, Koyomi was being pushed back by Sayaka. Even if she was one of the Three Saints, she was in a state of great pain, and Astarte’s support had to make it very difficult for her to neutralize Sayaka. Meaning Yukina was the only one able to destroy the keystone at the moment.
“I must…do this…”
Dragging herself with the silver spear as her crutch, Yukina moved close to the anchor for the keystone.
Yukina no longer knew why she had to do this. Perhaps she believed it was her duty for the Lion King Agency. Perhaps she truly believed this was for the sake of the many.
The one thing she knew was that if she destroyed the barrier before her, everything would be over. She would sacrifice her precious friends on Itogami Island to save people around the world whose faces she did not know. Even though Yukina knew this, there was no going back.
The silvery spear she was accustomed to wielding felt so very heavy. The spear was enveloped in a pale glow as Yukina raised it, an emotionless, machinelike expression on her face.
The next moment, Yukina gasped, for a boy with a languid air about him stood before the tip of her raised spear.
“Looks like you’re having a hard time, Himeragi… It almost looks like you’re crying?”
Kojou Akatsuki looked back at Yukina with pity in his eyes.
“Sen…pai…I am sorry…”
Yukina exhaled in a daze. Seeing Yukina shaking like that, Kojou made a strained, exasperated smile.
“You’re righteous heroes smashing Itogami Island on the government of Japan’s orders, right? Then you should be up front about it. I’m the big villain defying the decision of the great Holy Grounds Treaty Organization, y’know?”
“I am…sorry…senpai…I’m sorry…I’m sorry… I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorry!”
Unable to stop the emotions pouring from the bottom of her heart, Yukina gave off a high-pitched scream.
“When this mission is over, I can never be by senpai’s side again…so!”
Ritual energy beyond her limits surged out from Yukina’s entire body. There was no longer any demonic energy supplied from Kojou to offset the spiritual energy. Pure white wings with a radiant glow spread from Yukina’s back. She was angelicizing, resolved to vanishing, never returning to the ranks of humans again.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!!”
With a cry of sorrow, Yukina sprinted. Charging at speeds beyond human limitations, she meant to destroy Kojou’s body and the keystone barrier behind it both. She was driven by the thought that Itogami, Kojou, and Yukina herself should all vanish together.
Kojou made no attempt to evade Yukina’s attack.
Kojou stood defenseless as Yukina mercilessly thrust her silver-colored spear toward Kojou’s heart.
The purging spear nullified demonic energy and rent any barrier. Even Kojou’s Beast Vassals could not stop it. Even an unaging, undying vampire would turn to dust and vanish, yet—
“Wha—?!”
The strange feedback conveyed through her spear made Yukina’s expression freeze over. The right palm Kojou thrust forward emitted a crimson glow. The membrane of light generated by that glow stopped Snowdrift Wolf’s attack cold.
“That light?! Senpai, how could you use The Cleansing…?!”
Yukina desperately poured strength into the hands gripping her spear, but the spear would not move. The glow of The Cleansing, the forbidden spell able to rewrite the physical laws of the world, was completely holding Snowdrift Wolf’s Divine Oscillation Effect at bay.
Yet this was impossible. It took vast demonic energy to activate The Cleansing and extremely complex magical calculations—and deep knowledge of The Cleansing itself.
Even if Kojou could pull it off on the demonic energy side, the knowledge and magical calculations weren’t things he could do on his own. Yes, were it Kojou by himself, that is—
“Sorry, Himeragi. But…”
Aiba Asagi, poking her head up from the shadow of the destroyed maintenance hatch, held her favorite smartphone in one hand as she spoke in a somber tone of voice. A glow was coming from the plain silver-colored ring on her left ring finger.
The instant she saw this, Yukina understood. Kojou had consumed Asagi’s blood memories of The Cleansing by taking her as his servant.
“I’m not giving you Kojou. Not when you’re like this.”
Asagi crisply spoke those words to Yukina. Yukina stopped moving as if she’d been slapped in the face.
Kojou slowly raised his left hand. The pitch-black bloody mist gushing from his arm transformed into an enormous beast: a mass of demonic energy so dense as to possess sentience, a summoned beast from another world—
“C’mon over, Primus Crystallus!”
“…!”
Appearing in the isolated lowest stratum of Keystone Gate was a beautiful, obsidian-like gleaming aquatic dragon.
Kojou had inherited this pitch-black Beast Vassal from The Blood. Its giant, gemstone-like eyes entered Yukina and Koyomi’s vision.
That instant, strength drained from Yukina’s whole body. Her mind was growing distant, seemingly enveloped by white mist. Yukina’s silver-colored spear left her hand, tumbling onto the floor. Yukina herself fell to her knees then and there.
“…Senpai…I am sorry…”
Murmuring without conscious thought, Yukina closed her eyes, completely depleted of strength.
A single tear slowly rolled down her cheek.