The war had temporarily ended, and Guren awoke after five days of unconsciousness.
However, Shinya was still unable to face the Hiiragi Family that distrusted him, and he left alone.
Mitsuba was promoted due to her military achievements, even though in her own view, she hadn't played a role on the battlefield.
Yuichiro was summoned by Kureto. Using Kimizuki and Yoichi as bargaining chips, Kureto interrogated Yuichiro. He discerned that Guren had his eye on something within Yuichiro and thus attempted to recruit him. Unfortunately, they parted on bad terms.
Yuichiro also realized his poor mastery over Cursed Gear, so he and Kimizuki began learning about Cursed Gear possession.
Demon Transformation merely borrows a demon's power, whereas possession involves the demon borrowing your body, making it extremely prone to losing control. And, as luck would have it, onikiri was a top-tier evil spirit that could even lose control during Demon Transformation.
But onikiri was still somewhat frustrated. Although this kid was easy to manipulate, his willpower became terrifyingly strong with just a few words from his companions, consistently preventing onikiri from fully controlling Yuichiro's body.
As onikiri repeatedly clashed with Yuichiro's consciousness, it inadvertently read many of Yuichiro's emotions and memories. It thought the kid's personality was actually not bad, just a bit foolish. As for that Guren fellow, onikiri disliked him at first sight.
onikiri gradually came to accept Yuichiro and made an agreement with him: every so often, onikiri would take control of Yuichiro's body to experience human life.
However, onikiri had a secret plan unknown to Yuichiro—the "Guren Disillusionment Project!"
"...Ferid, if you have anything more to say, say it now. Once you're on the cross, there won't be another chance."
Krul, arms crossed, looked coldly at Ferid, who had changed into simple cloth garments.
Ferid shrugged.
"At this point, I don't know what to say either."
"Fine, then get ready."
Not wanting to waste more words, Krul stood before the assembled Vampires and pronounced the sentence.
"Seventh Progenitor Ferid Bathory, for releasing a Seraph Experiment subject, is sentenced to one day of Sunlight Torture. Begin!"
Ferid had his UV-neutralizing device removed and was bound to a cross. The sound of gears turning came from the ceiling, forming a skylight. Sunlight shone down, perfectly illuminating Ferid.
"Ah!"
Ferid couldn't help but cry out in pain as flames erupted all over his body.
Krul had no interest in watching Ferid suffer. She glanced around and noticed that Luke was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Luke?"
Krul asked Mika.
Mika thought for a moment before answering.
"Luke seemed to be preparing to go out. As soon as he returned, he first went to put that sword in your palace. He told Lacus he'd be leaving soon and even had Lacus give me next week's blood supply in advance."
Krul was puzzled. He just got back and is leaving already? And without telling her!
Krul headed towards the palace.
Just as she reached the entrance, she saw Luke, who had changed his clothes, clearly preparing to go out.
"Krul, I was just about to look for you. I'm heading out soon and might be gone for a few days."
Krul looked calmly at Luke. After a moment, she asked.
"That's it?"
Luke didn't understand Krul's meaning and asked.
"Is there more?"
Krul grabbed Luke's ear and said with a cold laugh.
"Aren't you going to say where you're going?"
Luke broke free from Krul's grasp, rubbed his ear, and replied.
"I'm going to Nagoya. What, do you want to come?"
Luke explained his purpose for going to Nagoya.
"The Seraph Experiment?!"
Krul was somewhat surprised by what Luke said.
Luke nodded and continued.
"That Imperial Demon Army member's Seraph transformation was much more successful than the last semi-finished product. It's impossible to gain such abilities just from being burned by Seraph flames. There must be something more to it at his base."
Krul inexplicably recalled the scene where Luke was slashed by Yuichiro's Seraph form. Feeling uneasy about him going alone, she said.
"Since I have nothing else to do, I'll join the fun. The Seraph Experiment is something I've been keeping an eye on too."
Luke smiled. Having Krul along would make the journey much more interesting.
"Then let's go."
...Toshima.
The entire urban district here had become ruins, a resting place for the Four Horsemen of John.
A cold light flashed, and the head of a Four Horsemen of John fell to the ground.
This was who-knows-how-many Four Horsemen of John Shinya had killed over the past few days.
Shinya clutched his chest, gasping for breath. Not long after leaving Shinjuku, he had begun to feel his body gradually weakening.
Since becoming a Vampire, he had only drunk Luke's blood once. Now, several days had passed, and he desperately needed to drink blood again.
"This is agonizing! Damn it, do all Vampires endure such torment when blood-starved?"
Shinya knelt on the ground, desperately suppressing the desire gradually amplifying in his heart. demon markings had already begun to spread across his body. If he didn't drink blood soon, he would turn into an evil spirit.
The only place he could think of now was Ichinose Guren's hometown, but in his current state, he would undergo Demon Transformation long before reaching there.
"Shinya, return to Shinjuku. At least there are humans there for you to feed on. The connection between us is growing weaker, which is caused by your deepening Demon Transformation."
Shinya used his sword to prop himself up, barely managing to stand, unsure of what to do.
However, he still couldn't hold on. A few hours later, he collapsed unconscious, demon markings climbing onto his cheeks.
But fate wasn't ready to claim Shinya. Shortly after he fell, a person walked over.
This man was impeccably dressed in a suit, every detail of his appearance meticulously attended to, with a faint, elusive smile on his face.
"Tsk tsk, what a pitiful Vampire. Looks like you're blood-starved."
The Man in a Suit lifted Shinya's eyelid.
"Huh? Rare blue eyes. Haven't you ever fed on human blood?"
The Man in a Suit kept talking to himself, smiling as he said.
"Let me take on the responsibility of raising you. I hope you'll bring me some interesting information when you wake up~"
Just then, another person approached, bowing to the Man in a Suit and reporting.
"Lord Saito, the source of the Seraph energy fluctuation detected by the instruments is still ahead. Preliminary estimates place it in Shinjuku, and..."
Saito turned around, and a black chain wrapped around the neck of the person reporting.
"I've said I don't like reports that beat around the bush!"
The reporter was startled and hurriedly continued.
"We just analyzed that the Seraph energy fluctuation contains two distinct Seraph energies. One belongs to the king of salt of the Second Trumpet. The other energy is highly unstable but appears to possess partial authority over flames. We cannot yet determine which Trumpet's angel it is."
After hearing the report, Saito smiled, looked at the collapsed, nearly Demon-Transformed Shinya on the ground, and snapped his fingers.
"Ah!"
The reporter clutched his hand, blood flowing from between his fingers.
"You, feed him your blood. How can a Vampire survive without drinking human blood?"
Not daring to argue, the man could only comply.
An expectant look appeared on Saito's face.
"Two appearing at once? Interesting. Is this the Imperial Demon Army's doing?"
You will get 30 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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