Chapter 376: Please, Help Me
The Nalakuvera was destroyed along with the additional artificial island.
Although the Nalakuvera possessed powerful self-healing abilities, capable of converting surrounding materials to replenish itself, there were ultimately limits.
Once evaporated into nothingness and its core incinerated, there was no way to recover.
Soon after dealing with the Nalakuvera, Mahiro, carrying Sayaka and Yukina, found Natsuki.
However, as soon as they landed, Sayaka struggled out of his embrace, her face flushed, and dragged Yukina away from the scene.
Feeling the lingering warmth on his fingertips, Mahiro inwardly lamented the missed opportunity.
When he turned to look at Natsuki, he noticed she was the only one left present.
"Where are Nagisa and Avrora?"
"They've already been sent back home."
Natsuki's expression wasn't great—not exactly unpleasant, but far from good, tinged more with guilt.
It was clear she had been thoroughly criticized by Aya.
Nowadays, Aya mostly kept to herself, willingly staying at home as a shut-in, occasionally reading books and finding amusement in teasing Natsuki.
Seeing this, Mahiro sighed softly and stepped forward, reaching out to pat Natsuki's head as a gesture of comfort, signaling her not to dwell on it.
But as soon as he extended his hand, a folding fan snapped against the back of his hand, swatting it away.
"Don't even think about touching my head!" Natsuki gritted her teeth angrily.
"Ahaha."
Mahiro awkwardly scratched his head and laughed.
Well, at least that proud, dignified tsundere attitude was back.
As for the third person present, Vatler, his expression also soured upon seeing Mahiro return unscathed.
His smile froze on his face, like a spilled palette, looking quite vivid.
Vatler had initially thought suppressing so many Nalakuvera single-handedly was already the limit, but who would have imagined the subsequent strike would evaporate even the island along with them?
Even a Progenitor might not be able to accomplish such a feat, right?
Vatler couldn't help but think of his own master and the Beast Vassals wielded by the Third Progenitor, Giada, unconsciously drawing comparisons.
Yet, this only deepened the desire flickering in Vatler's eyes.
If—if he could obtain his blood, wouldn't he be able to surpass even a Progenitor?!
This was far more tempting than the Fourth Primogenitor!
Originally, he had planned to devour the Fourth Primogenitor as an appetizer, but now it seemed consuming Mahiro alone would suffice!
At that moment, Mahiro also sensed Vatler's gaze and instinctively turned his head, meeting Vatler's eyes and clearly catching the greed within them.
Vatler, dressed in a white three-piece suit with golden hair, quickly concealed his desire, a faint smile appearing on his face as he respectfully bowed and said:
"As expected of Lord Yotsuba, your extraordinary strength rivals that of a Progenitor. This battle has truly opened my eyes."
"Hehe."
Mahiro responded with a light chuckle, the corners of his lips curling into a mischievous smile as he spoke:
"Ah, Mr. Vatler, if you hadn't spoken up, I might have completely forgotten about you."
"???"
Vatler slowly typed out a few question marks, somewhat confused by Mahiro's meaning.
Just as he raised his head to inquire, he caught sight of Mahiro's smile.
That smile was filled with a playful, almost predatory amusement, sending a chill down his spine.
Yet he suppressed his unease and asked with practiced elegance:
"Lord Yotsuba, I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean."
"Don't understand?" Mahiro continued smiling as he prompted, "Then, Mr. Vatler, would you care to explain about the Black Death Emperor Faction?"
At these words, Vatler's expression shifted slightly. Even Natsuki, who had been communicating with the security team, ended her call and turned her attention their way.
She was puzzled. How was the Black Death Emperor Faction connected to this snake charmer? Weren't they supposed to be enemies?
Mahiro pressed on:
"If you still don't understand, Mr. Vatler, let me give you another hint. Why would the Black Death Emperor Faction be hiding on your ship?"
This was something he had suddenly recalled while angrily smashing the Nalakuvera.
Why couldn't Shadow Garden capture these people? Why couldn't even Natsuki Minamiya find any trace of the Black Death Emperor Faction?
Because those Beastmen were hiding on the Oceanus Grave.
The Oceanus Grave was Vatler's ship, and Vatler was a diplomatic envoy from the Warlord's Empire. Therefore, no investigation by Itogami Island, under any pretext, could extend to the Oceanus Grave.
No ordinary person would even consider that members of the Black Death Emperor Faction could hide on the ship of a diplomatic envoy from the Warlord's Empire.
Alpha and the others could confirm this as well.
"I believe I can explain this matter..."
A flicker of panic flashed in Vatler's eyes before he forced a bitter smile.
"Please don't laugh, Lord Yotsuba, but it seems my cruise ship, the Oceanus Grave, has been hijacked."
"...Hijacked?" Mahiro looked at Vatler with a strange expression, as if regarding an idiot.
Natsuki didn't believe it either upon hearing this.
Hijack this snake charmer's ship?
Although she had never gotten along with him, she was well aware of his strength.
He was originally a Vampire of "Aristocrat" rank, but he had devoured two "Elders" through his own power, gaining immense strength. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the strongest below the level of a Progenitor.
Otherwise, how could someone of mere "Aristocrat" status converse with the Third Progenitor, let alone come to Itogami Island under the guise of a diplomatic envoy?
With such power, could the Black Death Emperor Faction really hijack a ship from Vatler?
What a joke! Did he take everyone for fools?!
Vatler naturally knew the two before him didn't believe him, but he had no choice now but to brazenly continue his lie.
He forced another bitter smile:
"To be honest, I never expected it either. These terrorists, to evade the pursuit of Itogami Island's Demon Hunters, disguised themselves as crew members and infiltrated my ship. They suddenly attacked me this morning, catching me completely off guard."
"Frankly, it's quite humiliating. I barely managed to escape with my life..."
Mahiro: "..."
Natsuki: "..."
Now, the two of them truly looked at Vatler as if he were a fool.
In the original story, Vatler had used this same excuse. However, Akatsuki Kojou was too incompetent; even with the power of the Fourth Primogenitor, though he knew Vatler was spouting a thoughtless lie, he dared not act rashly.
But Mahiro was different.
Treating him like a fool to deceive, how could he stand for that?
"Natsuki-chan, I think we should just throw this guy into prison."
Minamiya Natsuki, for once, did not correct his form of address and even nodded in agreement.
"Hmm, I think that works. Assisting terrorists and destroying the artificial island—these are serious charges. It seems we have no choice but to arrest and imprison him."
As she spoke, Natsuki swung the folding fan in her hand.
Void chains surged from all around, rushing toward Vatler.
In the original story, even if she knew the truth, Minamiya Natsuki wouldn't have been able to take action against this guy because Vatler stood behind the First Progenitor, the Lost Warlord. Besides her, Itogami Island only had a useless Fourth Primogenitor.
But now, the situation was different.
Not to mention Mahiro, who was fully comparable to a Progenitor, there were also the twelve freely roaming Beast Vassals, plus her close friend Tokoyogi Aya.
Would she still be afraid?
Would she still worry about trivial matters?
Obviously not.
Vatler, tightly bound by the chains, changed expression. Despite using all his strength, he still couldn't break free.
The Nalakuvera could break the chains because it was a weapon created by the gods, but Vatler was merely a Vampire. How could he possibly resist the power of the Chains of Restraint?
Even the unique mist transformation ability of the D-Type was completely unusable.
Moreover, Minamiya Natsuki presided over the Prison Barrier within the void. Although he was known as the top Vampire below the Progenitors, there was absolutely no way he could escape the Prison Barrier guarded by the Witch of the Void.
"Hey now, I'm the victim here. And I represent the Warlord's Empire. Do you really want to provoke the old man?"
When force didn't work, Vatler chose a different approach, bringing up his own "old man" in hopes that Minamiya Natsuki would let him go out of respect for the First Progenitor.
Unfortunately, Minamiya Natsuki had never been one to yield to either soft or hard tactics.
"Still pretending to be the victim? You really do need to be taught a lesson."
As she spoke, Natsuki immediately tightened the chains. Vatler's body couldn't withstand the power of the Chains of Restraint, instantly bursting into a cloud of blood mist, his neck snapping into an eerie angle.
Vatler groaned in pain. If not for his Vampire constitution, he would have been dead beyond recovery.
"Throw him in," Mahiro said expressionlessly.
"Hmm."
Natsuki nodded and, while Vatler hadn't yet recovered, slipped a bracelet onto his wrist.
Instantly, a magic circle appeared behind her, tearing through the void. Countless chains stretched out, tightly binding Vatler and dragging him into the void.
In the distance, a faint ripple appeared on the sea's surface, revealing the phantom of an ancient castle fortress.
Its size was enough to rival a quarter of Itogami Island.
Then, like a mirage, it vanished as the ripples settled.
This was the first time he had seen the appearance of the Prison Barrier.
Honestly, aside from being a bit gloomy, he quite liked both its scale and its architectural layout.
"Speaking of which, Aya has now completely escaped the Prison Barrier. Natsuki-chan, do you want to break free from this eternal cage?"
Gazing at the distant sea where the phantom had disappeared, Mahiro suddenly asked.
His question caught her somewhat off guard, causing the petite figure to stiffen slightly before turning to look at him with a serious expression.
"I know what you're scheming. I'll allow you to do anything as long as it doesn't endanger Itogami Island—I won't interfere. But when it comes to my true form and the Prison Barrier, don't even think about meddling!"
"Alright, alright, I won't meddle. No need to get so worked up, right?"
Mahiro shrugged, acting as if it didn't matter.
However, Natsuki snorted coldly and lightly tapped his forehead with her fan again.
"And don't call me Natsuki-chan!"
He rubbed his forehead and replied softly:
"Okay, Natsuki-chan. I understand, Natsuki-chan."
Natsuki Minamiya was so infuriated by his unyielding attitude that she left immediately, heading back to the security team to have them clean up and handle the aftermath.
To be honest, Mahiro still couldn't figure one thing out.
Why was Natsuki-chan so fixated on the Prison Barrier?
At first, he thought it was a castle-like prison Natsuki Minamiya had created for her close friend, Tokoyogi Aya—a place where she would remain asleep forever, eternally imprisoned alongside Aya within the castle.
But now, it didn't seem to be the case.
Was it for a sense of justice in her heart?
Or was it simply to protect the people of Itogami Island?
It felt more like the latter, but that wasn't his concern.
Even if he verbally agreed not to touch the Prison Barrier, it didn't mean his hands wouldn't act.
After all, his hands and feet had minds of their own—what could he do about it?
Right?
Just as Natsuki Minamiya left and Mahiro was about to depart, Aiba Asagi suddenly ran out from a nearby warehouse, clutching her laptop as she hurried over.
"Ma-Mahiro, I've deciphered the program to halt the Nalakuvera! It should be able to help you!"
Asagi, panting heavily, presented her laptop to him. On the screen, densely packed lines of command code were running.
Mahiro couldn't help but scratch his cheek awkwardly.
"Uh... what if I told you the Nalakuvera outside have already been dealt with?"
"I know that."
Asagi looked at him with an expression that seemed to say, "What are you talking about?" before continuing, "But the Nalakuvera units deployed this time probably aren't all of them. Among them, there's still a mother unit in a dormant state."
It seemed there was indeed such a thing in the original story.
He remembered that the one Gardos deployed in the end, which was ultimately destroyed by [Regulus-Aurum] and [Dual-Horned Crimson], was the mother unit.
However, judging by Asagi's enthusiastic demeanor, it didn't seem like she was aiming to destroy the Nalakuvera.
"What do you want to do?" Mahiro instinctively asked.
As soon as he asked, Asagi's excitement soared.
"Mahiro, what do you think about taking control of the Nalakuvera ourselves?"
"?"
Mahiro didn't quite understand her meaning and slowly typed a question mark in response. Asagi continued to explain:
"What I mean is, I'll decrypt all the command programs of the Nalakuvera and secretly preserve the mother unit."
After all, no matter how you look at it, it's an excavated artifact—a bio-weapon from ancient times. It feels like a waste to just destroy it like this...
Upon hearing this, Mahiro couldn't help but exclaim inwardly.
Since when did you, Aiba Asagi with your honest appearance, become so bold?
How dare you covet such a bio-weapon?
Wait, it seems Asagi has always been bold. Otherwise, how would she have earned the title of Cyber Empress...
And what she said wasn't without reason.
Rather than destroying it, it would be better to keep this self-learning, self-evolving bio-weapon. Coincidentally, his Guardian Mech God was still gathering dust in the warehouse.
Take it back and let the research team on Mishima Island dismantle and study it thoroughly. Perhaps they could even integrate the two.
The two of them hit it off immediately and decided to take away the mother unit hidden on the Oceanus Grave cruise ship, including the control stone tablet.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the highest building on Itogami Island, a slender figure stood at the edge, gazing into the distance.
Her pale green hair fluttered in the wind, and her pupils reflected the deep emerald color of a lake.
Facing the sea breeze, she spoke softly:
"You've returned after all. Indeed, this artificial steel land is more captivating, filled with more interesting things..."
As she spoke, the Third Progenitor, Giada Kukulcan, slowly narrowed her eyes, her gaze falling on Mahiro, who was gradually approaching the Oceanus Grave II cruise ship at the edge of Itogami Island.
She murmured emotionlessly:
"...Indeed, you are very much like that man."
"Whether it's your fighting style or your behavior."
"Equally powerful."
"Equally unpredictable."
"Equally infuriating..."
"But the difference is."
"You firmly hold the Watcher, the Fourth Primogenitor, in your hands."
"You will not yield."
"You will only fight forever."
"Such a feeling is still quite nostalgic..."
Her voice was soft, like the melodious sound of a precious instrument, vanishing with the wind in an instant.
As her eyes shifted, in the endless, seemingly eternal time, Giada Kukulcan's gaze revealed a hint of longing.
In the evening.
Mahiro returned home with Est.
As soon as they arrived at the living room on the first floor, they found an unexpected guest—
A plain-looking girl wearing the Saikai Academy uniform, with her hair tied into two braids and round-framed glasses.
Mahiro gently patted Est's back, signaling her to go play with Avrora and Nagisa Akatsuki.
Meanwhile, he sat opposite the plain-looking girl, a teasing smile on his face as he said:
"Well, this is rare. I never thought someone as esteemed as Shizuka Koyomi, the leader of the Three Saints, would have the leisure to visit my humble abode."
Facing his sarcasm, Shizuka Koyomi only pursed her lips tightly.
Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her cheeks were flushed with an unnatural yet charming redness. However, her eyes burned with volcanic fury as she stared intently at the man before her.
After what felt like an eternity, she finally suppressed the resentment in her heart and spoke in her usual calm tone:
"It's been so long, haven't you tormented me enough?"
"Huh?" Mahiro tilted his head, looking at the girl with confusion.
"I'm saying, the curse you placed on me has tormented me for so long, isn't it enough now? Can you remove it for me?"
"Oh~"
Hearing her words, Mahiro suddenly understood.
If she hadn't mentioned it, he really would have forgotten about this matter.
But...
"Ms. Shizuka Koyomi, your attitude doesn't seem like you're asking for a favor."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hinado immediately knelt down and lowered her head.
"I beg you."
Whether it was her posture, attitude, or decisiveness, it was somewhat unexpected.
Even the words he wanted to say, "Even begging requires waiting in line," were swallowed back.
And Hinado continued:
"I don't know what you want from me, but after that day's conversation, I understood one thing: you don't seem to want me to date Motoki Yaze, so I am no longer his girlfriend. I only hope you can help me remove the curse."
Hinado had placed herself in the most humble position.
There was no other way.
The curse Mahiro placed on her had severely affected her life.
Not to mention handling Lion King Organization affairs, she couldn't even attend school normally.
Even taking a single step felt like thousands of ants were biting her body.
Just coming to the Yotsuba residence had exhausted all her strength.
She truly could no longer endure it and really didn't want to continue being tormented.
However, Mahiro rubbed his chin, examining her.
After a long while, he finally spoke softly:
"Are you sure you want me to remove the curse for you?"
"Yes, I beg you. I can agree to any condition, I can withdraw Himeragi Yukina's surveillance of you."
"Alright."
With things said to this extent, what reason did he have to refuse? kds
He just hadn't expected that a momentary whim back then would yield such great rewards.
So, he stood up directly and walked straight to the girl, grabbing her wrist and pulling her toward the second floor.
"Ugh—"
The moment her wrist was grabbed and she was forcibly pulled away, Hinado's legs went weak, and her whole body trembled.
Sweat immediately soaked the floor.
"Tsk tsk, has it reached this extent already?"
Mahiro glanced down, then bent over, scooped up Hinado's legs, lifted her into his arms, and walked straight up to the second floor.
"Nee nee, what is my master Mahiro doing?"
Not long after Mahiro left, Avrora poked her little head out from the corridor of the living room, looking toward the stairs leading to the second floor.
Est remained silent beside her.
Yuuma, who was responsible for looking after the child, explained:
"That's not something children should know about."
"Hmph, I am the Fourth Primogenitor's Watcher, not some child!"
Avrora put her hands on her hips, puffing out her cheeks to express her dissatisfaction.
"Yes, yes, Avrora is no longer a child."
Yuuma gently stroked Avrora's little head like an older sister, comforting her, then couldn't help but glance toward the direction of the second floor.
Faintly, she seemed to hear those flushed and breathless sounds.