"Whoa~ That's a lot of Strangler Vines and Ethereal Bees!"
Billy paused to look out over the battlefield, clicking his tongue in amazement.
Miyabi tightened her grip on the demon blade. She lifted a hand to her earpiece, her voice steady—but edged with impatience.
[No. 11, we should move now. They won't hold much longer.]
[…My advice is to wait. I've got a lot of reinforcements here from the White Star Institute, and they all think Nineveh's current condition is abnormal.]
[We don't have the luxury. With Strangler Vines and Ethereal Bees on the field, and Hollow Zero still expanding, someone has to stop it. The longer we drag this out, the lower our odds get.]
[But we still haven't identified what's going on with Nineveh—]
[I'm hanging up.]
[Hey? Miyabi? Hey!]
[Beep~ Beep~]
The line went dead.
No. 11 knew exactly what Miyabi was about to do. Irritation surged up like a flare, burning hot in her chest.
"I…"
She snatched up a file, ready to slam it onto the table.
But at the last second, she forced herself to stop. Slowly, she set it down, fighting to smooth the volcanic rise and fall of her emotions.
In the distance, on the far side of the battlefield, three streaks of light shot toward Nineveh like falling stars.
Two were flying through the sky.
One was racing along the ground.
No. 11 didn't need to guess. It was Miyabi, Billy, and Misha—Miyabi being the one on the ground, moving even faster than the two airborne figures.
"Tsk… haah. I just hope they pull it off."
At this point, what could No. 11 even do?
She could only sit back down, clasp her hands against her forehead, and silently pray that the three of them could seize the moment and finish Nineveh in one decisive strike.
"The results… the results are out!"
A White Star Institute member burst into the command tent.
He tripped over the threshold the moment he rushed in and went down hard, face-first.
No. 11 started to rise—but the man was already scrambling up on his own, not even pausing to care that both his front teeth were gone.
He hurried straight to her, spitting blood as he spoke in a rush.
"We figured it out… we figured it out!"
"Nineveh's current state looks exactly like a pureblood vampire's retained! The retainer's master is inside Nineveh—controlling her from within!"
"What did you just say?"
It hit No. 11 like a thunderbolt.
Her mind went white-hot and ice-cold at the same time. Her fists clenched so hard her joints cracked. Her thumb dug into the tabletop—too hard—and snapped off a small chunk of wood without her even realizing it.
So that was it… That's why Nineveh could pull a blade straight out of an Ether crystal…
So it was him.
He was trying to—
But the institute member didn't seem to notice her expression at all. He kept talking, his frantic voice trampling over her thoughts.
"That retainer-conversion ability is extremely rare, even among pureblood vampires. Not every pureblood has it—it requires a bloodline concentration that's close enough…"
Halfway through, he abruptly stopped.
No. 11 frowned and lifted her head, confused.
And the moment she looked up, she saw it—the institute member's eyes were blown wide, his hand shaking as he pointed behind her.
"L-Look… quick… look…"
Look at what?
No. 11's stomach tightened. Slowly, she started to turn.
She didn't even finish.
A wave of searing heat slammed into the back of her neck.
It was blisteringly hot—yet her blood ran cold.
Somewhere deep in her mind, she heard five words, clear as a bell.
Eighteen Flame Crossings!
Buzz!
Crimson-purple flames surged in and smashed both No. 11 and the institute member straight into the far side of the tent.
The tent collapsed with a heavy crash, instantly swallowing every piece of electronic equipment. They didn't even get to whine once before they vanished into the fire.
Quiet in the flames. Erased in the flames.
Even the right to explode was taken from them.
Just like the name of the fire—peaceful. Anything marked for death burned without a sound.
"Fire… so much fire… we have to get out—now, get out!"
The institute member lost it first. The moment he realized he might die in the inferno, he clawed himself upright, desperately shoving away the burning felt that pinned him down.
No. 11 was still beating out the sparks on her own clothes when she caught his frantic silhouette from the corner of her eye. Her heart lurched.
"Don't go out!"
It didn't matter.
With death on his heels, he couldn't hear anything. Instinct drove him forward—he fought like a madman to shove away everything blocking his path.
Then, as he pushed aside the last obstruction, a seductive figure crawled toward him—completely naked.
Stunning. Unreal.
For a moment, he went rigid, forgetting he was standing in a sea of fire.
Only when something warm brushed his nose did he finally snap back to himself.
He forced his gaze away from her chest, swallowed hard, and hurriedly looked up—like he was about to find the love that fate owed him.
There was no love.
Only a dark, round object.
A [Nucleus]—one he knew all too well.
"Ni… Ni…"
In an instant, it felt like an invisible hand crushed his heart in its grip.
The lust evaporated. Terror spiked.
His heart was in his throat, but his legs were lead—he couldn't take even one step.
Pa!
He didn't need to.
Nineveh reached out and grabbed him. She leaned forward, the [Nucleus] flashing with dangerous yellow light.
[Tell me. Where are the city's high-ranking officials? Where is the mayor?]
Nineveh lowered her head. The command in her voice—mixed with raw bloodlust—washed over him like a physical blow.
The institute member locked up, unable to answer.
Clang—
On the other side, buried rubble suddenly exploded outward.
No. 11 tore herself free, drawing a long blade. Fire clung to the steel as she leveled the tip straight at Nineveh's [Nucleus]—
No.
She wasn't aiming at Nineveh.
She was aiming at the person inside her.
No. 11's voice cut through the flames, sharp with fury.
"Phaga, have you lost your mind?! What the hell are you trying to do?!"
"And what did you do to Miyabi and the others?!"