Beyond the armed soldiers, more figures emerged from the passage—summoned corpses and feral beastmen of various kinds.
Eriri's gaze swept over them indifferently. Then she raised her right hand and snapped her fingers lightly.
With a crisp snap, all of the intruders—soldiers, corpses, and beastmen alike—instantly turned to ash, disintegrating completely. Not even dust remained in the air.
"W-What...?"
"How... how is that possible?!"
"..."
Everyone in the chamber stared in stunned silence. Even Avrora and the other girls, aside from Arifureta and her companions, could not hide their shock.
They had expected Eriri to be powerful—but this was beyond their comprehension.
"W-wait, isn't this a bit over the top...?"
Gajou Akatsuki's face went pale with disbelief. His once-calm expression shattered completely.
Until a moment ago, he had thought Natsuki Minamiya was the strongest person present. But now, he realized there was another being—one whose strength far surpassed even the Witch of the Void.
The fact that Eriri had erased an entire group of enemies so quietly—so effortlessly—was more terrifying than any explosion or spell.
"Who in the world are you? Since when did someone like you exist in this world?"
"You don't need to know that," Eriri replied coolly, casting him a brief glance before turning away. She returned to Arifureta and the others without another word.
Natsuki, likewise, had no desire to continue the conversation. She followed Eriri back to the group, her cloak swaying gently with each step.
Eriri reached out and patted the heads of Avrora and December with a soft smile.
"All right. Things are settled here. It's about time we head back."
"Eriri, should we visit a few more cities, or head straight back to Itogami Island?"
Arifureta asked with a sweet smile, looping her arm around Eriri's.
"Let's go straight back to Itogami Island. We've explored enough for now."
"Mm-hm! Whatever you say!"
Their conversation wasn't hidden from Gajou and the others, and from it they quickly gleaned a crucial piece of information—that this mysterious powerhouse, like Natsuki Minamiya, was from Itogami Island.
That revelation made Gajou's eyes narrow in thought. However, before he could dwell on it, he noticed something incredible.
The eleven Kaleid Bloods suddenly transformed into beams of light, merging into the twelfth—Avrora.
Within moments, the chamber became noticeably emptier, the space now filled only with Avrora's presence.
Seeing this, Gajou finally realized—the Fourth Primogenitor had fully awakened.
Yet even that revelation couldn't compare to the awe and dread Eriri had already inspired in him.
"How amazing... they all merged into one," Nagisa gasped softly, her eyes shining with innocent curiosity as she watched Avrora.
Though her voice was quiet, it didn't escape Eriri's sharp hearing—but she didn't mind.
Raising her right hand, Eriri traced a line through the air. Space itself tore open along her fingertip, forming a shimmering portal about two meters tall.
Without another word, she and Arifureta stepped through the spatial rift. Natsuki, Shinobu, and Avrora followed close behind—none of them even glanced back at Gajou and the others.
As their bodies disappeared into the portal, the spatial rift began to close in reverse, folding in on itself until the air was still once more.
The underground chamber fell silent, leaving Gajou and his team staring blankly at one another.
...
Emerging from the portal, Eriri and the others found themselves inside Natsuki Minamiya's penthouse.
Avrora looked around with wide-eyed curiosity. Having been sealed within the ruins since her creation, this was her first glimpse of the outside world.
"So, we're finally back after all those days of wandering," Eriri said softly, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
Arifureta stretched lazily, then pulled Eriri down onto the sofa beside her. Without hesitation, she grabbed the remote lying on the cushions and switched on the television with practiced ease.
Seeing Eriri take a seat, Avrora and Shinobu quickly followed suit, sitting down on either side of Eriri and Arifureta. Natsuki, however, chose not to join them; instead, she quietly seated herself in a nearby armchair.
"Yue-chan, judging by how you look right now, you're not really a fan of traveling around, are you?" Natsuki asked curiously.
"To be honest, yeah, I'm a bit of a homebody," Arifureta admitted without hesitation. "I usually prefer staying home."
Then, with a sudden playful shift in tone, she added, "But~"
Arifureta's face brightened into a sweet smile as she turned and wrapped her arms around Eriri.
"If it's with Eriri, I could wander around forever and never get tired, hehe~"
As she said that, Arifureta affectionately rubbed her cheek against Eriri's.
Eriri didn't say anything, but the way she gently returned the embrace—and the soft smile on her lips—clearly showed her good mood.
Natsuki rolled her eyes at the display, sighing faintly. "Yes, yes, we all know how much you adore Eriri. No need to flaunt it."
She withdrew her gaze from the pair and raised her hand slightly. With a flick of her fingers, a small round table appeared beside her armchair.
On it sat an elegant European-style teapot, surrounded by five finely crafted teacups.
Lifting the pot, Natsuki poured steaming red tea into each cup. Once she was done, she picked up one of them herself before looking toward the others.
"This tea was brewed by me. Try it."
"Well, if it's tea made personally by Natsuki-chan, I simply must taste it," Eriri said with a cheerful grin. She released Arifureta, stood up, and picked up one of the cups from the tea trolley.
Arifureta, Shinobu, and Avrora each followed suit, taking a cup for themselves.
Unlike the others, though, Avrora had never seen tea before. She lifted the cup curiously, staring intently at the reddish liquid within as though it were something mysterious.
After Eriri took a sip, Natsuki asked casually, "How does it taste?"
"It's very good," Eriri replied with a nod.
Although Natsuki's tea didn't quite match the perfection of Aoi Kujou's, it was still far above average—a fine brew in its own right.
Hearing Eriri's praise, Natsuki unconsciously let out a small sigh of relief, a faint smile tugging at her otherwise calm expression.
"So, Eriri," she asked after a brief pause, "what's next? Planning to stay here for a while longer?"
"We've had our fun these past few days. I think we'll head back soon. As for exploring other places, maybe later—after all, I can come here anytime I want."
"I see," Natsuki said simply, nodding.
As Eriri mentioned, the World Gates made traveling between realms effortless. There was no need to linger when returning was so easy.
"It won't be long before word about Avrora spreads," Natsuki remarked lightly. "Sooner or later, someone's bound to come looking for trouble."
"That's inevitable," Eriri agreed. "The remnants of the 'Deva' won't give up on their chance to reopen the dimensional gate. And the Lion King Organization isn't exactly known for staying quiet either—they'll come probing sooner or later."
Despite her words, Natsuki's expression remained calm, utterly unconcerned.
Before joining the chat group, she might have been cautious. But now, she feared nothing. Whatever faction dared to approach Itogami Island—she could crush them without effort.
"In that case," Eriri said with a soft smile, "let Avrora stay with you for now. Maybe we'll even get to see something interesting happen."
A playful smile spread across Eriri's lips as she reached out to gently pat Avrora's head.
"I don't mind. After all, there are plenty of empty rooms here. She can stay as long as she likes," Natsuki said casually, shrugging as she took another sip of tea.
Hearing their conversation, Avrora—who had still been savoring the taste of her tea—snapped to attention. Her bright eyes widened in alarm as she turned quickly toward Eriri.
"Eriri, are you... leaving me here?"
Though she had acted somewhat prideful before when Eriri declared ownership over all twelve of them, deep down, Avrora had already accepted her completely—just like her sisters.
She had long since resolved to remain by Eriri's side. So when she realized Eriri meant to leave her behind, even temporarily, unease stirred in her heart.
Though she had nothing against Natsuki, she wanted to stay with Eriri more than anyone else.
Noticing Avrora's anxious look, Eriri withdrew her hand from the girl's hair and instead playfully pinched her soft cheeks, her smile brightening.
"Avrora, it seems you can't bear to be apart from me~"
"Hmph."
Avrora puffed her cheeks slightly, letting out a small huff that sounded more like a pout than true defiance.
"Don't worry," Eriri said reassuringly. "Even if you stay here for a while, my place is only separated from here by a single World Gate. You can come visit me anytime."
"World Gate? Is that like a teleportation circle?" Avrora asked curiously. She didn't know what a 'World Gate' was, but from Eriri's words, she understood it was something that connected two distant places.
"Well," Eriri said with a teasing grin, "I suppose I haven't told you who we really are yet. Aside from Natsuki-chan, the three of us aren't actually from this world. The 'World Gate' connects this world to the one I come from."
"Not from this world...? You mean... another realm? Or some kind of unknown dimensional space?"
Though Avrora had been sealed since her creation, she still possessed inherent knowledge about the existence of parallel realms and divine dimensions. Naturally, she assumed Eriri and the others were from one of those.
Before Eriri could respond, Arifureta spoke up with a soft laugh.
"Not quite. We're from another universe entirely. You understand what that means, right?"
Avrora's eyes widened in disbelief, her expression one of pure astonishment. Within her, even December and the others who shared her consciousness were equally shocked by the revelation.
...
Meanwhile, Gajou Akatsuki's team had successfully exited the ruins and returned to the surface.
Among the members of the ruins investigation group were scholars from both Japan and the Warlord's Empire—and there was no way they could hide what they had witnessed.
Once they returned to their respective nations, reports of the day's events would undoubtedly spread.
Soon, word of the Fourth Primogenitor's revival—and the mysterious, overwhelmingly powerful Eriri—would be known to every major force across the world.
Of course, Gajou had no intention of concealing what had happened. He made no attempt to stop anyone from speaking about it.
"Well, I'm glad I accepted this invitation," Nagisa said with a smile. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the chance to meet such a beautiful girl like Eriri—and even talk to her!"
Dressed in her shrine maiden's outfit, Nagisa clasped her hands together before her chest, her expression full of admiration and excitement.
Since Arifureta had called Eriri's name earlier, Nagisa had learned it without any introduction—and that only deepened her admiration.
Kojou, standing beside her, let out a helpless sigh at his sister's dreamy expression.
"You're already calling her 'sister'? You barely even know her."
"Hmph, Kojou-kun, you're just jealous," Nagisa said smugly. "Jealous that Eriri-nee talked to me and not you!"
She spoke with triumphant pride, puffing her chest out as though she had just won some grand competition—completely unbothered by Kojou's teasing.
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven