"Clang!"
The dazzling light illuminated the entire school, which had been turned into an ice field.
"What...!?"
The Apostle, who had been calm while observing the battlefield, revealed a look of astonishment and uttered the first sign of being shaken.
Because, under that dazzling light, something miraculous happened.
"Boom!"
The chilling air engulfing the entire campus disappeared without a trace.
"Bang!"
The entire frozen ice field suddenly shattered, restoring the frozen school to its original state.
"Thud!"
The two confronting Beast Vassals were also forcefully repelled by the astonishing divine aura, melting away like snowflakes in the light.
The terrifying magical power pervading the entire scene was completely eliminated, leaving nothing behind.
"Ugh...!"
"Ah...!"
Instantly, both Avrora and Astarte exclaimed in surprise and discomfort, retreating from each other and creating distance.
Between them, a girl dressed in the Saikai Academy middle school uniform maintained the posture of thrusting her silver spear into the ground, telling everyone that she was the one responsible for all of this.
With just a spear, the girl resolved the conflict between one of the terrifying Primogenitor-level Beast Vassals and another Beast Vassal capable of absorbing its magic, even eliminating the manifestation of the Beast Vassals on the spot.
The one who achieved this incredible feat was none other than Sword Shaman Himeragi Yukina from the Lion King Agency.
"Are you alright, Florestina-san?"
Yukina, pulling her silver spear out of the ground, turned her weapon while protecting Avrora behind her, glancing at Avrora's expression and making such an inquiry.
"You..."
Avrora, who never expected Yukina to appear here, stared at her dumbfoundedly, unable to react for a while.
But soon, another girl rushed over.
"Are you okay, Avrora!"
Nagisa directly threw herself into Avrora's arms, hugging her tightly, her face filled with worry and the joy of surviving a calamity.
But Avrora had no strength left to respond to Nagisa.
She just continued to gaze ahead.
There, it wasn't just Yukina anymore; there was another figure.
Upon seeing the figure's back, Avrora couldn't be mistaken.
At the sight of that figure's back, all of Avrora's anxiety, fear, and terror vanished completely.
"I never thought that the magic criminal who freely attacks demons on Itogami Island would come to our school to cause trouble. If Natsuki-nee knew about this, she would definitely be furious, wouldn't she?"
Rozen stood slightly in front of Yukina, protecting the girls behind him, while his gaze fell on the Apostle.
"You..."
The Apostle seemed surprised that an unexpected visitor had broken in, and it was an extremely formidable one, making his expression extremely serious.
The boys and girls in front of him seemed like ordinary humans and students, but the Apostle dared not be negligent.
After all, the girl had just destroyed two extremely powerful Beast Vassals and eliminated all magical phenomena. The faint divine aura emanating from her silver spear made the Apostle wary.
Although the boy hadn't displayed any abilities, for some reason, when his gaze locked onto the Apostle, he felt like he was being stared at by something extremely terrifying, causing his heart to race and shrink. The accumulated instinct from countless battles warned him to leave this place quickly. Thus, it was evident that the boy was even more terrifying than the girl.
"What are you people?"
The Apostle cautiously questioned.
To this...
"So, the magic criminal dares to ask the attacked party who they are. It's really a small world, full of wonders, isn't it? Shouldn't that be our line?"
Rozen scoffed mockingly.
"Although that's true, your identity doesn't seem very hard to guess."
Rozen's gaze shifted to the Apostle.
More accurately, it should be said that his gaze shifted to the emblem depicted on the Apostle's robe and the armor beneath the robe.
"Judging by the insignia on your robe, you must be from Lotharingia?"
Rozen said so.
"Lotharingia?"
The one reacting to this name was none other than Yukina.
"Isn't that the church in Western Europe?"
Yukina looked at the Apostle with astonishment.
As Yukina said, Lotharingia is a renowned church in Western Europe and a prominent presence in the circle.
"The symbols engraved on the armor you're wearing, I've seen them in Western European magical books. They are the symbols carved on the sacred battle armor worn by Lotharingia's Inquisitors, which are capable of enhancing the wearer's physical abilities by tens or even hundreds of times, surpassing high-level demons, and even possessing protective barriers that can withstand most magic and spells, known as the 'Armor of the Fortress.'"
Rozen calmly explained.
"Only the finest Inquisitors of Lotharingia are able to possess this armor. Their mission is to exorcise demons and eradicate heretics, always rejecting the existence of demons, deeming them an abomination against the will of God, synonymous with evil. Therefore, they are not only active in Western Europe but also operate worldwide. Although they are not beings that hunt demons, they are the vanguard of Lotharingia, showing no mercy towards demons."
In other words...
"You are an Inquisitor of Lotharingia, right?"
Rozen's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Western European priests come to the Far East's Demon Sanctuary to hunt demons. It's really audacious."
Saying so, Rozen emitted a killing intent.
This was an extremely rare display.
In the past, Rozen would never show such obvious hostility and killing intent before completely grasping the situation.
After all, Rozen was always a person who planned before acting, never easily resorting to violence or killing before confirming the situation.
But today was an exception.
Seeing the Inquisitor before him, Rozen's internal anger couldn't be suppressed no matter what.
This was only natural, right?
"Your audacity seems to have affected my friends, priest."
Magical energy began to radiate around Rozen.
That magical energy couldn't compare to Avrora's astonishing power; it just quietly ignited, but it gave off an even more terrifying feeling.
Seeing this scene, the Lotharingian Inquisitor's expression changed, and he shouted suddenly.
"Astarte!"
With the Inquisitor's shout, a girl named Astarte leaped in front of him.
Behind her, the white rainbow-colored giant arm burst out of her body again, unfolding behind Astarte like wings, embracing her from behind, extending forward to protect both Astarte and the Lotharingian Inquisitor.
The next moment...
"Boom!"
A terrible shock hit the giant arm that surrounded the two, stirring up a violent whirlwind and shattering the earth.
A storm swept through the entire scene.
"Boom!"
The resounding shockwave echoed, violently shaking the white rainbow-colored giant arm that protected the Apostle and the controlled girl, Astarte, as if propelling an unseen tsunami, battered by invisible colossal waves, appearing on the verge of collapse.
Nevertheless, the arm still managed to shield the Apostle and Astarte.
Even though the ground around them had been leveled, and the surroundings had sunk, the Beast Vassal continued to protect them.
"So it's like this...?"
Rozen, who had raised his hand towards the direction of the Apostle and Astarte, showed no surprise, but rather spoke as if it were expected.
"The Beast Vassal's ability must be specifically tailored to counter magic, right?"
"To devour and reflect magic."
"That's the ability of that Beast Vassal."
Hence, the Beast Vassal was able to absorb Avrora's Beast Vassal's magic and repel the strike of a Primogenitor-level Beast Vassal.
Even though the power of "Alrescha Glacies" far exceeded that of the Beast Vassal named "Rododaktylos," since it was still a Beast Vassal, it couldn't escape the fact that it was a conglomerate of magical energy.
So, facing the ability to reflect magic, even a Beast Vassal of the "Alrescha Glacies" level would still be repelled.
Unfortunately...
"That ability isn't entirely complete."
Rozen almost instantly saw through the hidden truth.
His gaze fell upon Astarte.
"Ugh... Ah..."
Astarte, who was manipulating the Beast Vassal, continuously emitted sounds of pain from her throat.
With the ability of "Spirit Vision," Rozen effortlessly saw through the condition inside this girl's body and understood everything.
And this, similarly, was one of the reasons Rozen emitted killing intent.
"Is that all your doing?"
Rozen stared at the Apostle.
In his eyes, an extreme chill flickered.
"...!"
Intimidated by that chill, the Apostle involuntarily stepped back.
Only Yukina and Nagisa, completely unaware of Rozen's reason for such anger, seemed somewhat unable to react.
Instead, it was Avrora who, with a voice tinged with sadness or distress, spoke softly.
"The Beast Vassal the girl controls is an artificial creation, a product nurtured for human purposes."
With one sentence, all the girls present were taken aback.
"An artificial Beast Vassal?"
Yukina exclaimed in astonishment.
"Artificial... created for human purposes...?"
Nagisa was equally astonished.
But this was an undeniable fact.
"Specially manipulated flow of magic."
"Unnatural structure and signs."
"A forceful power fluctuation."
"A sense of existence so feeble it's almost nonexistent."
"All of these should not appear on a Beast Vassal."
"Because Beast Vassals originate from summoned beings from another world, they themselves are willful life forms naturally condensed from magic. All these abnormalities, if they were to happen to humans, would be akin to having limbs in the wrong places, organs constantly shifting, and even deformities in growth. Everything is so abnormal."
Rozen spoke coldly.
"So, that Beast Vassal must have been artificially created and nurtured, so its abilities aren't complete."
So, here's the question.
"Why would such an artificially created and nurtured Beast Vassal appear on that girl?"
Rozen choked back his emotional turmoil.
"There's only one possibility, and that's being forcefully handed over to her by the people who created this Beast Vassal, for her to use."
The Apostle kept the Beast Vassal he artificially nurtured inside Astarte's body, making Astarte command it.
"But, for such an incomplete and imperfect Beast Vassal to be kept inside a body, that's impossible, because it would only be rejected by the host's body and magic. Even for Third and Second Generation vampires, being invaded by such a foreign object might even result in using magic to eliminate or devour it, making such an incomplete Beast Vassal disappear."
Unless...
"Unless, the host is just like the Beast Vassal, both artificially created and nurtured, with their body completely adjusted according to the characteristics of this Beast Vassal. In this way, the Beast Vassal can perfectly integrate with the host and successfully reside in their blood, without rejection or destruction."
Rozen shifted his gaze towards Astarte.
"Your true identity isn't that of a vampire but an artificial life form."
—Artificial life form.
That's the general term for life forms created using biochemical technology.
They are beings whose genetic units are thoroughly designed under artificial manipulation, although the technical difficulty is extremely high, the degree of freedom in design is relatively large, allowing for various adjustments to be made, enabling them to fulfill their intended purposes.
The original method of creating artificial life forms is said to have been established in the sixteenth century.
For the purpose of creating cheap labor or making them good companions for humans, research of this kind has been ongoing under various hands for years.
However, artificial life forms are not widely accepted among the public.
There are mainly two reasons for this.
First: Ethical issues.
Second: Cost of production.
The first issue is easy to understand.
Creating life is an act that delves into the realm of gods, i.e., the realm of the Creator.
There has long been a strong backlash against this, especially from the religious community, and there continues to be fierce debate over whether artificially created life forms should be recognized as having human rights, which has yet to lead to a conclusion. Therefore, it has been repeatedly shelved.
As for the second issue, it's equally understandable.
Whether used as labor or deployed as soldiers on the battlefield, the method of creating artificial life forms is too delicate and expensive, and using real humans through replication technology is overwhelmingly cheaper and more convenient.
Because of these two issues, it is said that there are almost no people currently manufacturing artificial life forms, and the number of scientists studying them has greatly decreased. Only in medical research, people apply artificial life form technology when developing new drugs.
Artificial life forms, which can change the genetic structure artificially, adjust the physique and life of artificial life forms, this convenient feature has led to many illegal experiments being conducted on artificial life forms at the first time.
Even the Apostle in front of us is like this, in order for his artificially nurtured Beast Vassal to function, he made an artificial life form that fits it.
But the problem is...
"Beast Vassals are powers that only vampires can use because they absorb the life force of the host, and even though artificial life forms have limited lifespans, giving Beast Vassals to them is basically treating them as disposable tools."
Rozen smiled.
In his eyes, there wasn't even a trace of amusement.
"So, you are the kind of person I detest the most."
"Can I ask you to disappear?"
"Priest."
As soon as he finished speaking...
"Boom!"
With a roar, an astonishing magic began to erupt from Rozen's body.
Behind him, a pair of crimson wings spread out.
A pair of eyes also turned the color of blood.
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