章節 109: Arriving at the secret base

(3rd POV)

"MOVE! YOU DAMN BRAT!"

Doumon verbally abused the youth. Valina twitched an eyebrow.

"…Move? About that…"

The next moment, glowing wings sprouted from Valina's back. They were wings of splendid light. From those light wings, there was an unknown pressure that was seemingly being released, overwhelming every being present. Even for Natsume and the transformed Griffon and Byakusa, it was certain that they as of the present would fall before this. This small built youth, apparently, she was an enormous monster.

Even Doumon's whole body was shaking when confronted by the excessive pressure the youth was releasing, to the point he dropped the amputated arm he was carrying.

"Are you talking to me? A lowly human special ability user like you."

While smiling fearlessly, Valina held out a hand...

It was at that moment.

"...Wait"

That was Drako's voice. He put a hand on Valina's shoulder, indicating that she should step back.

Earlier, Kouki intended to ask Valina to let him take care of the Doumon family bastard. But after seeing him insult Valina, he knew he didn't stand a chance.

Drako's heterochromatic pupils shrank, resembling the pupils of a reptile.

"What's happening?" Natsume asked as she began to recoil from the pressure Drako was exerting.

Drako's body began to do strange things. He seemed to be undergoing a metamorphosis.

His body began to grow in size as different coloured scales began to grow on his skin. The two horns on his forehead grew next to his body, and a pair of black and white wings and a large tail also emerged.

Drako had transformed into a huge, mixed-coloured western dragon.

"ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!"

Doumon, who was already shaking from Valina's pressure, practically peed himself when the dragon approached him.

"Hiiiiii!! Forgive me pleeeeAaaaase!!" Doumon gave an unsightly scream.

The dragon was showing his teeth to him when Doumon passed out.

Yes, he was so afraid he had fainted straight away. A pool of liquid, which was obviously urine, surrounded Kazuhisa Doumon's body.

Everyone seemed shocked to see that the arrogant Doumon had ended up in such a way. Even Drako seemed surprised, as he was touching Doumon's body with one of his claws, wondering if the boy had died or not.

Seeing that it had ended this way, Drako breathed a sigh that sent Natsume back a few steps. Resigned, he returned to his human form as there was no point in continuing to bully an unconscious man.

And from the level that the man had... he was not going to give much experience.

Not long after, Kouki lost consciousness and collapsed. Drako grabbed him before he could hit the ground.

"Heh, he revived to such an extent. How amusing."

"Valina. Samejima kun is…?"

"The independent avatar type Sacred Gear, it seems it applied lifesaving treatment for the sake of protecting its master. The bleeding has stopped. Well, that's not to say the lost blood won't need to be replenished…"

"The bleeding has stopped? Even though there's an open wound in his chest?"

"Yeah, look at his back. The white cat's tail has plugged it. The 'Four Fiend' is mending the body of its master."

Just as Valina had said, the fatal wound that reached from his front to his back had been plugged by Byakusa's tail. Indeed, the tail had dissolved and been assimilated into Samejima.

Valina continued speaking.

"Originally, the Sacred Gear was something generated by the body. Thus it's not surprising that the body of the independent avatar type is compatible with the master."

While Drako was supporting Samejima, Valina generated a magic square at his feet. This skilful silver-haired youth had even learned to use magic.

"I am now opening a transference magic square, which will transfer Samejima to the Grigori research institute. If it's there, I expect he can be saved from this wound."

...…

Samejima and Byakusa who'd transformed into a large beast, followed by the captured Doumon Kazuhisa, were transferred to the institute of the 'Governor General's' organization by Valina. Presumably, the latest classmate transformed into an Utsusemi, Maeda Nobushige, utilizing the magic square, had vanished without a trace.

However, the young girl-type Utsusemi he had been employing, after seemingly losing its power it dissolved into a syrup. For the sake of investigating this mass of syrup, Valina had filled a small vial with it and transferred it through the magic square.

Then, Valina spoke to Natsume and Drako about the present state of affairs. Upon hearing that, Natsume was very much astonished and Drako very angry.

"The Five Principal Clans are moving!?"

Valina nodded to Natsume's words.

"Yeah, everything regarding the location chosen for the Utsusemi Agency's hidden facility was leaked to their side. It seems a large number of purge agents will be heading there sooner or later."

"Then, Valina, the task you received from the 'Governor-General', was that to inform the Five Principal Clans of the believed location of their hideout?"

The youth nodded in response to Drako's inquiry.

"Azazel is always like that. He uses me for nothing more than an errand brat. Really, doesn't he consider how valuable an existence I am…"

Valina slouched while grumbling.

"Azazel, what are you thinking…?"

It was incomprehensible.

Why was this information from the Governor-General not passed on to them themselves instead? Additionally, why leak this information to the Five Principal Clans at this time?

"He is pressuring us…"

"Drako?"

"He wants us to finish this as soon as possible. We know what the Five Principal Clans are going to do if reach first the secret base of the Utsusemi Agency and Azazel knows that we don't want that to happen. He is forcing us to work fast. But why? That's the question, and I don't know the answer."

"Valina, lead me to that place. You know where is it, don't you?"

She nodded and then looked at Natsume, who was thinking.

"Now, I intend to head out at this point; how about you, Minagawa Natsume?"

"...Where to?"

To Natsume's inquiry, the silver-haired youth spoke with complete joy.

"That 'Dog's' location. It appears that they were taken to the hideout of the Utsusemi Agency. We will retrieve them before the agents from the Five Principal Families had a chance to reach their stronghold. That's my new mission. Are you coming?"

Natsume, nodding her head, accompanied Valina and Drako together with the transformed Griffon.

..........

Minagawa Natsume, together with Valina and Drako, had arrived at the 'Utsusemi Agency's' base and some time had passed since they had entered and begun progressing through the facility. An alarm was sounding throughout the facility's interior. Since the Five Principle Clans, having received Valina's leak, had released their agents, they were sending those with whom Natsume was acquainted, the relatives of the fellow classmates who had been retrieved from the cultivation tanks, one by one through the magic square of transportation.

Drako seemed to sense something, so he said "I'm going ahead, just do your job", and he left as fast as lightning.

Immediately upon invading this base, they had tied up one of the agency members, and he had spilt the beans about this location. Having arrived, they had already shut down the equipment in this room, so all that was left was to retrieve them. Natsume had Griffon release a sudden gust, swiftly destroying all of the cultivation tanks.

"It was a good arrangement." Seeing this scene, Valina, said only that much with a fearless smile. With the destruction of the equipment in this room, it was likely that someone was already aware of this.

Natsume then began to pick up and move her fellow classmates who had collapsed in the passageway into the centre of the magic circle Valina had drawn for their relatives, which would send them to the Grigori Institute.

There were still some Utsusemi monsters squirming within the facility, but with the gigantic beast that was the transformed Griffon as an opponent, the 'Four Fiend' that had transformed from a falcon, employing a sudden gust, minced them all.

As for the relatives of her fellow classmates that had been put in the cultivation tanks, they had finished transporting all of them to the Grigori Institute. The fellow classmates who had lost their Utsusemi were also made to jump through the magic square.

"Valina! Are you able to search for presences or something? Are there classmates here and there that you haven't sent already?"

Natsume asked. Valina was closing her eyes, sharpening her senses to detect any sign.

"There aren't."

At that report, Natsume decided to resign herself. It was okay to take their time. It was okay if they came across the Five Principal Clan's agents. They had saved everyone! They had rescued all of the fellow classmates!

Thinking about that while wearing a seemingly surprised expression, she abruptly put on a frightening smile.

"I guess this is also fine."

Valina, having become excited, controlled her breathing before speaking to Natsume.

"All that's left is to pick up him. Head for the surface Minagawa Natsume. The 'Hound', Ikuse Tobio is there. It seems that big brother is also there."

"B-but!"

I also want to rescue everyone! Anticipating this feeling, Valina shook her head.

"Rather than the Utsusemi pupils, if you cannot suppress the 'Hound' up above, you realize that you may not have a second chance to return, don't you?" Valina said so.

Simultaneously, Natsume was left at a loss for words by the phenomenon that was occurring within the room.

From every location, warped blades began sprouting up.

This was familiar. It was only natural. Since they resembled the warped blades that the puppy Ikuse Tobio possessed, Jin, had released. It should be that those would sprout from an object's shadow. However, this was different. An inexhaustible supply was sprouting from all over. From the ceiling, the floor, the walls, the various types of equipment——. It didn't seem like it was limited to this room either. In all likelihood, the entire based had sprouted warped blades.

Seeing this phenomenon, Natsume instinctively understood the true meaning of Valina's words.

"I understand. I'll go to the place where Ikuse-kun is first."

Announcing this, Natsume ran off entrusting this place behind her to Vali.

Running through the passageway, she proceeded to take the emergency stairwell straight up. From every spot in the stairwell, blades were appearing one after another. She steadily ran upwards, climbing up the first stairway in one go and exiting into a passageway. Up ahead she confirmed a large double door.

Having run until she was before this door, the instant Natsume touched the door, she experienced a feeling as though the pores all over her body had opened. For an instant, her entire body had trembled. Whatever was inside was causing her to feel uneasy. Even though she had erased her presence and was accompanied by the large build of Griffon, it was causing her whole body to tremble.

Gulping down her saliva Natsume entered and looked around——.

It was an abnormal world of blades. From throughout the entire room's interior, every object had countless blades sprouting from it. There were some which were straight, some which were curves, even some that were zigzagged in shape. Floating in this immense darkness, there was a bright light. There was a figure who was illuminated by this bright light, that of a middle-aged man wielding a shakujou with a gigantic lion beside him. And then, giving off an ominous jet black aura, were a pair of beasts.

One was a large black dog. Although there weren't any blades growing from his body, the face was that of Jin. Were that puppy to have grown up well, its appearance would likely be something like this.

Now the other one.

While possessing a dog's form, it was a humanoid monster. It had a protruding mouth like that of a dog, and its ears stood up like pins. From its mouth, its bared sharp fangs could be seen. The arm resembled that of a human, but it had sprouted razor-sharp claws. Its legs were identical to those of a dog, only it was standing on two legs. From its back grew six tails.

There was also another figure, the one of Drako. He was calm, observing the situation, and clearly amused by the two figures of darkness.