Supported by the Number Two vessel's magical power, Cor-Tauri Succinum, whose body had been blown apart by a third from Ciel's kick, recovered its original form in the blink of an eye. Even the battle-axe Ciel had shattered returned to its hand. Perhaps ashamed that it had been wounded by a human, it let out an earth-shaking roar.
The star Beast Vassal corresponding to Taurus, Cor-Tauri Succinum, could turn the magical power composing its body into pure physical attack power, allowing it to break through any nonphysical barrier. When it swung its battle-axe, it could also turn the earth into lava.
The star Beast Vassal corresponding to Sagittarius, Al-Nasl Minium, could constantly emit vibrations from its body, using high-frequency vibration to induce resonance and destroy objects. It could also use that ability as a means of flight, allowing it to perform a single burst of flight.
These were two of the Fourth Primogenitor's Beast Vassals. One could manipulate lava, and the other could manipulate storms and sound waves. Add to that energy output comparable to natural disasters, and Ciel standing before them was equivalent to facing an active volcano and a tornado head-on.
The only reason things had not already grown worse was because the Minamiya residence was protected by a barrier, and because Natsuki Minamiya had worked hard earlier to suppress the spread and eruption of the Beast Vassals' power. Otherwise, not only their home, but a wide area nearby would have been flattened, and who knew how many people would have died.
And this still seemed to be the result of the other side deliberately holding back. After all, Itogami Island was the venue of the Blazing Banquet, and Zaharias was also wary of causing the island to sink.
Ciel understood all this, but... unlike the grave-faced Natsuki Minamiya, she wore a smile the whole time, as if she still had room to spare.
"Two this time, huh... This should be a little more interesting than last time."
Ciel beckoned provocatively at Zaharias and the others, her contempt obvious.
"...Number Two, Number Nine, kill her."
After a brief hesitation, Zaharias still gave that order, as if refusing to accept reality.
Even though Ciel had just heavily wounded Cor-Tauri Succinum in such a shocking manner, it had not shaken him badly enough to break his confidence. He still had absolute faith in the Beast Vassals in his possession.
Besides, he still had plenty of trump cards. It was not yet certain who would be laughing at the end.
Magical power burned like flame.
The magical power within the bodies of the Number Two and Number Nine vessels became fuel, causing the already terrifying presence of Cor-Tauri Succinum and Al-Nasl Minium to rise sharply once more. Even their bodies swelled a size larger.
Just as Ciel drew her Black Keys and was about to charge forward, Natsuki Minamiya suddenly spoke from behind her.
"This is our doorstep. Hold back a little. Don't blow up the house."
Her words immediately put Ciel in a bind.
"...Natsuki-oneechan, can't you just shut them all in there?"
"I can shut them in, but they'll definitely struggle during the teleportation process, which will cause the transfer to fail."
Before Zaharias appeared, Natsuki Minamiya could bind those Nosferatu without hesitation. But after Zaharias showed himself, Natsuki Minamiya had begun to hold back. The reason she had spoken with him for so long was because she knew that if he had the confidence to appear openly, he most likely had Fourth Primogenitor vessels with him.
This was a high-end residential district in western Itogami Island, and several people of status and influence lived nearby.
Natsuki Minamiya wanted to move the battlefield too, to transfer the fight somewhere she could act more freely. The problem was that the Fourth Primogenitor's Beast Vassals all possessed the terrifying power to sink Itogami Island. As long as the battlefield was on Itogami Island, anywhere would be dangerous.
Besides, she could not transfer the enemy onto someone else's roof just because she did not want her own home destroyed. Her home, at least, was protected by a barrier and could withstand several direct attacks from Beast Vassals. Anywhere else would have long since become ruins, scattered in pieces all over the place.
Transferring them out to sea, far away from Itogami Island, was too distant to be realistic. The most suitable battlefield Natsuki Minamiya could think of was the Prison Barrier.
The problem was that transferring someone else into the Prison Barrier required two or three seconds. Zaharias and the Fourth Primogenitor vessels all had the ability to react in time, break free, and interrupt the teleportation.
"Understood. Then I'll create an opening for you first, Natsuki-oneechan."
Ciel said without turning her head, her tone as casual as if she were saying, "I'm going downstairs to the convenience store to buy a bottle of water."
The two giant beasts exuding vicious auras both let out frenzied roars. Perhaps they had sensed Ciel's contempt for them. Cor-Tauri Succinum was the first to move, swinging its scorching battle-axe down heavily amid the roar of the air.
Its magical power had been converted into pure physical destructive force. The power contained in the battle-axe was no weaker than a meteor striking the earth head-on, and the axe also carried terrifying heat capable of turning the ground into lava.
Facing that power, because Natsuki-oneechan had told her not to cause too much damage nearby, Ciel did not dodge. Instead, she met it head-on.
"Let's begin the special lesson! I don't go easy on problem students who don't listen and love causing trouble for others!"
Ciel threw out all the Black Keys in her hand, then extended both hands. The instant the enormous battle-axe fell, she clapped her palms together.
A perfect bare-handed blade catch!
As for just how perfect it was, apart from some melting, the ground beneath Ciel's feet suffered no serious damage. That was because most of the impact and heat from Cor-Tauri Succinum's axe had been absorbed by Ciel's body.
Yet Ciel herself acted as if nothing had happened.
"The theme of the next lesson is—using a little force to redirect a thousand pounds!"
As Ciel's words fell, Cor-Tauri Succinum, gripping the battle-axe in both hands, suddenly felt an irresistible force.
The giant beast, more than ten meters tall, was actually seized by the axe blade in tiny Ciel's hands and flung high into the air.
Al-Nasl Minium was circling in the sky, preparing to aim at Ciel and gather a high-frequency vibration wave, when it saw Cor-Tauri Succinum flying toward it.
With a bang, the two Beast Vassals crashed together.
The Black Keys Ciel had thrown earlier were all hovering in midair, the ends of their hilts fixed in place by small magical circles, like loaded bullets.
The next moment, the Black Keys fired in unison like streaks of pure white lightning, their blades piercing into the bodies of Cor-Tauri Succinum and Al-Nasl Minium.
Zaharias had already gone completely dumbfounded. When Ciel flung the ten-meter-tall Cor-Tauri Succinum into the air, it was as if his brain had gone completely smooth.
And in that instant while he was stunned, Ciel had already flashed before him and slapped him hard across the face, pressing Zaharias's head into the ground.
"Natsuki-oneechan!"
Hearing Ciel's shout, Natsuki Minamiya lightly raised one pale hand. A teleportation circle glowing dim purple suddenly lit up beneath Ciel, Zaharias, and the two Fourth Primogenitor vessels. Complex and mysterious runes rapidly traced themselves across the ground like living things.
Almost at the same time, several chains shimmering with cold silver light shot out from the edge of the circle like living serpents, precisely and swiftly coiling around Zaharias and the two vessels, to pin them in place and help the transfer complete.
The Number Two and Number Nine vessels' eyes changed slightly. Though they did not know where this circle would send them, they could not possibly cooperate and let the thing beneath their feet take them away. Almost by instinct, they intended to borrow the power of their respective Beast Vassals and try to break the chains binding them.
And in that split second—
SNAP!
Ciel snapped her fingers.
The formulas engraved into the Black Keys activated in response.
The two enormous Beast Vassals, which had originally been roaring and rampaging with astonishing force, abruptly froze. Then, as if detonated from within, they exploded without warning.
The magical structures composing their bodies were violently dismantled by the formulas, instantly reverting to the most primal, faintly glowing particles of magical power. Like countless fragments of stars, they drifted down from the sky, the sight carrying a cruel and tragic beauty.
The links to the Beast Vassals they had summoned were forcibly severed. Under the backlash of power, the Number Two and Number Nine vessels could no longer maintain their previously cold, emotionless expressions. Their bodies went limp at the same time, as if the strength supporting them had been drained away, and suppressed groans of pain slipped from their mouths. Their attempts at resistance collapsed with them.
Beneath their feet, the slowly rotating teleportation circle blazed bright. Dazzling light swallowed the four figures within the circle completely. Then the light and the figures vanished from the spot together, leaving behind only lingering ripples of magical power in the air and a scene of devastation all around.
"All right... My little sister is dealing with the troublesome ones, so as her older sister, I naturally have to do something too. I'll have to ask you to stay here and play with me for a while."
Natsuki Minamiya's tone seemed to take on weight, her sharp gaze sweeping over the black-clad men who had come here with Zaharias.
Before, she had been wary of the Primogenitor's Beast Vassals. But now that Zaharias and the two vessels had been teleported away, Natsuki Minamiya no longer had any need to keep swallowing her anger.
The Nosferatu all knew very well that Natsuki Minamiya was not someone to provoke. They had heard the fearsome reputation of the "Demon Killer," and sensing the pressure pouring from Natsuki Minamiya's petite body, several Nosferatu immediately fled.
Only one black-clad figure took an action completely different from his companions... He did not choose to run. Instead, he charged straight at Natsuki Minamiya.
Under Natsuki Minamiya's control, Laeding shot out from the void and bound the black-clad figure charging at her tight.
At that moment, the distance between him and Natsuki Minamiya was only ten meters.
WHOOSH!
The sound of something cutting through the air rang out. Silvery-gray liquid metal suddenly shot out from beneath the black clothing, changing into a sharp silver metal spear as it flew.
The silver spear shot toward Natsuki Minamiya, but it did not hit its target. As if she had expected it all along, Natsuki Minamiya used Spatial Control Magic to evade the ambush, transferring herself behind him.
"I was worried you might keep hiding and refuse to show yourself... Kou Amatsuka."
At some point, a Black Key had appeared in Natsuki Minamiya's hand.
The slender blade pierced in from the black-clad figure's back and emerged from his chest, running through the core within his body.
"Ah... I thought that move might work."
"Is that your last word? Your final words? I thought you would say something more worthwhile."
"No... These are not my last words... My goal... has not yet been completed... How could I die here...?"
Leaving those words behind, he, who had lost his core, could no longer maintain human form. As if going out of control, he turned into a mass of liquid metal and began attacking everything around him indiscriminately.
The reason Kou Amatsuka said that was because the one here was a clone of his created through alchemy.
The reason he had not been killed on the spot by Ciel when he attacked the abbey last time was also because he had used the same method.
A Saint never falls for the same move twice. Although Ciel was not a Saint, she likewise could not fail to improve after suffering a loss.
The Black Key Natsuki Minamiya had just used to pierce Kou Amatsuka's clone was one Ciel had prepared in advance. Although the one struck was a clone, the clone and the main body shared the same consciousness... or rather, the same soul.
Ciel had engraved a special formula into the Black Key beforehand. After the clone was killed, the main body would also be injured, and a mark would be planted on it. Even if he fled to the ends of the earth, he would be tracked down.
Even if he split his soul into hundreds or thousands of parts, it would be useless. As long as it was "Kou Amatsuka's soul," the mark would remain on it. Unless he had the ability to make himself no longer "Kou Amatsuka" and turn his soul into something else, it would be absolutely impossible to escape the mark... But that was plainly impossible. He did not have that ability.
Once the out-of-control liquid metal and the Nosferatu here were dealt with, Natsuki Minamiya would immediately go deal with Kou Amatsuka's main body...
The Prison Barrier, the chapel.
There was not a trace of light here. The building itself was like a medieval fortress sunk underground, with massive stone walls piled thick and cold, a vaulted ceiling high yet oppressive, and rough stone pillars supporting the dark dome above.
Everything within sight was gray and dim. The sense of oppression seemed to seep into the very texture of the bricks and stone. The air sat stagnant and unmoving, so heavy it seemed almost solid, as if an invisible hand were gripping one's throat, nearly suffocating them.
After the teleportation ended, this was the scene Zaharias saw.
"This place is..."
"This is the Prison Barrier. There are so many rumors about it out there that I probably don't need to waste words explaining, right? It'd be pretty troublesome to go over."
Ciel had already released Zaharias and was casually scratching the back of her head.
"Fighting here means we don't have to worry about sinking Itogami Island. No need to hold back anymore. Don't worry, this place is pretty sturdy, so you don't have to worry about breaking it."
"The Prison Barrier... It actually exists?"
Zaharias looked around in astonishment, as if unable to believe his ears.
He had heard the urban legend of the Prison Barrier as well. Supposedly, on Itogami Island, there was a magical prison used specifically to imprison heinous magical criminals. Criminals locked inside would never escape for the rest of their lives, and even after death, they would be unable to attain peace. Their souls would wander there, which was why it was also called the Ghost Detention Facility.
Some said it was located in the deep sea beneath Itogami Island. Others said it existed in another dimension. But no one had ever seen the true Prison Barrier, so everyone treated it as an urban legend.
However, the Prison Barrier truly existed.
It was simply not located in the physical world, but inside another person's dream.
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