A War of Primogenitors Read online

  Copyright

  STRIKE THE BLOOD, Volume 15

  GAKUTO MIKUMO

  Translation by Jeremiah Bourque

  Cover art by Manyako

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  SUTORAIKU ZA BURADDO Vol.15

  ©Gakuto Mikumo 2016

  Edited by Dengeki Bunko

  First published in Japan in 2016 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo.

  English translation rights arranged with KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo, through Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.

  English translation © 2020 by Yen Press, LLC

  Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Mikumo, Gakuto, author. | Manyako, illustrator. | Bourque, Jeremiah, translator.

  Title: Strike the blood / Gakuto Mikumo, Manyako ; translation by Jeremiah Bourque.

  Other titles: Sutoraiku za buraddo. English

  Description: New York, NY : Yen On, 2016–

  Identifiers: LCCN 2015041522 | ISBN 9780316345477 (v. 1 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316345491 (v. 2 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316345514 (v. 3 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316345538 (v. 4 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316345569 (v. 5 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316345583 (v. 6 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316562652 (v. 7 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316442084 (v. 8 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316442107 (v. 9 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316442121 (v. 10 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316442145 (v. 11 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316442183 (v. 12 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975384838 (v. 13 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975332587 (v. 14 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975332600 (v. 15 : pbk.)

  Subjects: CYAC: Vampires—Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Science Fiction / Adventure.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.M555 Su 2016 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015041522

  ISBNs: 978-1-9753-3260-0 (paperback)

  978-1-9753-3261-7 (ebook)

  E3-20200414-JV-NF-ORI

  INTRO

  Numerous gloomy voices bounced around a chamber.

  This place was known as the Garden of Whispers.

  At the center of the chamber was a round, scarlet table. Twelve seats were arranged around it, though three were vacant. “Kings”—leaders of various nations—sat in the remaining nine. Emperors, presidents, chancellors, chairmen—the nine were international leaders, selected from the countries participating in the Holy Ground Treaty. Silver masks concealed their faces, and sorcery altered their voices, so no one could identify who was whispering.

  “It would seem Akishige Yaze has been overthrown,” a masked “King” whispered.

  “Indeed,” another masked King replied, “In Itogami Island—the Far East Demon Sanctuary?”

  “Surely this poses no special concern. We expected his plan would eventually collapse. If anything, should we not view Tartarus Lapse’s actions as fortuitous?”

  “This makes nine Beast Vassals that serve Kojou Akatsuki. However, there is one upon which he has maintained a complete seal.”

  “An incomplete mockery of a primogenitor, nothing more. Now that the Root’s memory is lost, the current Fourth Primogenitor is just a single, powerful vampire who poses no threat to us.”

  “Agreed. The danger of the Fourth Primogenitor is not at a level requiring countermeasures.”

  “Certainly, the one we should be wary of is Magna Ataraxia Research. Its influence over the Demon Sanctuary has grown commensurate with Akishige Yaze’s fall from power, to the extent that we can no longer ignore them.”

  “We need merely inflict pain… A punishment suitable for a dog that does not know its place.”

  “Damn profiteers and their lust for money. It would be best if they heeded our admonition, but…”

  “Then you do not mind leaving the Priestess of Cain to her own devices?”

  “For now, that is our only option. So long as the altar called Itogami Island exists, any hope of harm befalling her will be futile. If we were resigned to the loss of a Demon Sanctuary, that would be another matter—”

  “Unacceptable. The island still has its uses.”

  “Then, we postpone dealing with the girl. Let all treaty participants be advised that unnecessary contact with her is to be—”

  “—Objection.”

  Suddenly, a new voice echoed, and the many whispering voices turned silent.

  Though the masks concealed the Kings’ faces, their agitation was plain.

  Abruptly, they realized that the three supposedly vacant seats at the round table…had been filled.

  These three Kings, having never once shown themselves since the formation of the Holy Ground Treaty, had appeared at that late hour. These three were standing members that, in the Garden of Whispers, had been granted special veto rights. In other words, these were the Lords of the Dominions.

  “The situation has changed. The Master of Serpents from the Warlord’s Empire has obtained knowledge of The Cleansing,” solemnly stated one King.

  In an instant, the silence turned to commotion.

  These were the three kings whose very existence was often doubted—the vampire primogenitors. Everyone at that round table understood the purpose of their arrival.

  “Sooner or later, that man will surely make use of the Legacy. If so, this would pose a grave threat to us all.”

  “Accordingly, we shall accede to your request and launch a military expedition.”

  “Its orders shall be: Destroy the Far East Demon Sanctuary…”

  Amid the gloom, the conference came to an end.

  The kings removed their silver masks, leaving the Garden of Whispers behind them.

  The only things left at that scarlet table were twelve masks, which would say nothing.

  The group’s decision—Itogami Island must be destroyed.

  A girl looked out at the sea.

  She had hair the color of honey and suntanned skin like someone from a southern nation. She was in her midteens. Her exquisite olive skin was complemented by a vivid priestess outfit from a foreign nation, which suited her well.

  Adorning her bountiful breasts was a golden necklace encrusted with jade. Engraved into it was the image of a leopard’s skull. This was the emblem of the Dominion that governed Central America, the Chaos Zone.

  That she bore this emblem marked her as a subject, and the Third Primogenitor—the Chaos Bride—as her liege.

  Her name was Celesta Ciate.

  Previously, the girl had been called the Bride of the Dark God who brought calamity unto the world and acted as his avatar. The Dark God had already been annihilated, but Celesta’s priestess power to control dragon lines still remained. Harboring a
n interest in that power, the Chaos Bride, on a whim, at some point pinned upon Celesta the title of Lady of the Court of the Chaos Zone. Yet, she was Lady of the Court in name only; her actual duty was to be the friend and playmate of a Third Primogenitor with far too much time on her hands.

  It was this Celesta who gazed at the sea at dusk. The last vestiges of sunlight dyed the horizon the color of fresh blood. The dark surface of the sea mingled with the night sky, shrouding the world in darkness.

  The coastal breeze rustled her hair.

  She was standing on the top deck of an enormous ship.

  Its total length was 280 meters, with a loaded displacement of fifty thousand metric tons. Equipped with four large-scale spiritual reactors, this was the amphibious landing ship Soufrière—and she stood on its aft flight deck.

  The destination of Soufrière, flagship of the Chaos Zone’s Pacific Fleet, was Japan. More specifically, it was the Demon Sanctuary, located some 330 kilometers south of Tokyo Metropolis.

  To Celesta, the artificial isle dubbed Itogami Island held precious memories. That was likely why the Chaos Bride had named Celesta as one of the subordinates to accompany her there.

  However, Celesta turned a hardened expression toward the land she so loved. After all, the Soufrière had been set into motion to bring about Itogami Island’s destruction.

  “Lord Vattler… Why…?”

  Celesta posed the question over the horizon.

  Her murmur was erased by the roar of turboprop engines reverberating overhead.

  Known popularly as the air fleet, a horde of huge airships passed over the Soufrière’s airspace. Their destination was Itogami Island as well.

  There were a total of seven flying warships comprising the air fleet. The surface ship armada accompanying the Soufrière included destroyers and cruisers, fifteen in total. Furthermore, a pair of spiritual reactor–powered attack submarines had been assigned to support the fleet. It was an overabundance of military might, sufficient to wipe a small country off the map in a single night.

  Even for the Chaos Zone, it should have been impossible to assemble such a vast fleet on its own. The same surely went for the Warlord’s Empire and the Fallen Dynasty.

  Then, what was the truth behind that fleet? One that, by rights, should not have existed—?

  It was the name under which the fleet sailed—the Holy Ground Treaty Organization Military—that provided the answer. In truth, the armada belonged to the multinational military alliance originating from the Holy Ground Treaty. Assembled from nations around the globe, it was the mightiest military force in the world.

  Fighting that fleet was tantamount to making the entire world your enemy. Certainly, there were none who could withstand its strength. Not even the World’s Mightiest Vampire.

  “Kojou Akatsuki…”

  Murmuring the name of her friend, Celesta bit her lip hard.

  Her voice did not reach the boy.

  CHAPTER ONE

  SIGNS OF DISASTER

  1

  “True, I promised Nagisa I’d go out and shop for her today…”

  Wearing the hood of his parka so it partially covered his eyes, Kojou Akatsuki listlessly shook his head.

  He was at a specially prepared event space at Thetis Mall, Itogami Island’s largest amalgamated commercial structure.

  The spacious, wide-open hall was full of glossy glass showcases with beautiful little pastries displayed as if they were precious gemstones. Curious customers had gathered all around, packing the narrow corridor to the brim, with fierce struggles over rare commodities taking place inside the shops.

  The throngs possessed a bloodlust rivaling that of a packed electric train in a major city.

  The one saving grace was that the vast majority of the customers assembled there were young women.

  “All the same, I didn’t hear one damn word about it being a place selling Valentine chocolates. I feel really, reeeally uncomfortable here, okay?!”

  “These are… These are for Valentine’s Day…”

  Yukina Himeragi, bewildered and frozen in place, murmured this with a trembling voice. It had not even been half a year since she had come to the island. This was her first time seeing with her own eyes the fiercely fought Valentine chocolate wars specific to Itogami Island.

  On Itogami Island, far removed from the mainland, the high-class chocolates for gift giving were not imported in large quantities, because the shipping costs were prohibitive due to the hot, humid climate.

  Furthermore, a Demon Sanctuary had special circumstances; even within the nation of Japan, Itogami Island was the only place to obtain commodities that suited the palates of vampires, beast people, artificial life-forms, and any other diversities of demons.

  With all these circumstances lumped together, at this time of year, Western-style pastry shops on the island were sites of constant chocolate strife, portraits of Hell painted in blood and washed away by more blood.

  “Geez, why does Nagisa need me to pick up obligatory chocolates for that shitty dad of ours…? I mean, at a time like this, it’s hard for a guy to even get close to a chocolate store…”

  Kojou’s lips twisted in distaste as he looked down at the high-end pastry-shop bags he was clenching in both hands.

  That day, Kojou’s role was to be his little sister’s errand boy. Inside the bags were enormous amounts of chocolates Nagisa would give to their father and her classmates. Even though Kojou knew they were just cheap obligatory chocolates, walking around with presents his little sister was giving to other guys didn’t make him feel warm and fuzzy.

  As Kojou sulked, Yukina trained an exasperated stare on him.

  “I don’t think you need to dwell on it. In the first place, I believe it’s customary to give gifts on that day regardless of a person’s gender.”

  “I hear you, but why celebrate Valentine’s Day in a Demon Sanctuary? Wasn’t that some European festival for some saint?”

  Most of the heroes hailed as saints were people who had achieved great feats in combat against demons in the days of old—in other words, they were demons’ enemies. He didn’t think that festivals for such people were very appropriate for neutral territory like a Demon Sanctuary.

  However, Yukina smiled and shook her head.

  “No, it would seem that Valentine’s Day originated with a festival in the honor of an ancient goddess of marriage. I believe that linking it to the name of a saint was an invention of a later age. In the first place, the custom of giving chocolates itself spread relatively recently.”

  “Ah, now that you mention it…”

  A complex expression clouded Kojou’s face as he fell silent. Of course, even he knew that the recent custom of giving chocolates on Valentine’s Day was largely created by major pâtissiers themselves.

  Yukina, however, gazed at the showcases of the chocolate-selling stores with an odd degree of admiration. “They even have a full line of chocolates for beast people. This truly is a Demon Sanctuary.”

  “For beast people specifically?”

  “Yes. After all, some beast people develop nausea, cramps, and other poisoning symptoms when they eat chocolate. So these ones do not contain the harmful components.”

  “What are they, dogs…?” Kojou blurted out, surprised at that information.

  Poisoning occurring from consuming chocolates containing theobromine was a symptom seen in many domestic pets such as dogs and cats. As a fellow Demon, he sympathized from the bottom of his heart with the beast people who experienced similar anguish.

  “Besides, to think that products containing sorcerous components are sold to the general public… I had heard the rumors, but it still surprises me.”

  “Sorcerous components…? Er, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, really.”

  Kojou made a small, pained smile when he noticed the poster stuck on a wall inside a shop. The pastries sold in the Demon Sanctuary included so-called Special Sorcerous Products, products containing Charm, aphrod
isiacs, and similar effects. However, the magical effects were Category Four and below—the same level as a Charm made by an amateur, little more than a placebo.

  “But it’s a little surprising that you know so much about Valentine’s Day, Himeragi. I figured chocolate wasn’t really your thing.”

  “What kind of girl do you take me for…?”

  Yukina sullenly tapered her lips into a visible pout. Having received rigorous dawn-till-dusk training from the Lion King Agency ever since her youth, she had a high degree of knowledge as an Attack Mage and had combat capability drilled into her. On the other hand, she fell short in the department of common, everyday knowledge. Despite that, it seemed even she knew about Valentine’s Day.

  “Even at High God Forest, they sold chocolates just like everywhere else. In particular, Sayaka was very worked up around Valentine’s each year…”

  “Kirasaka, huh…? Yeah, I can picture that pretty easily…”

  Kojou gave a deep nod of acceptance. Sayaka Kirasaka, Shamanic War Dancer of the Lion King Agency, absolutely loved to dote on her former roommate. She and Yukina had grown up together, and when they were younger, they were practically joined at the hip. When Valentine’s Day came knocking, it was pretty much guaranteed she’d get excitable to an even greater extent than usual. He could picture her preparing handmade chocolates with a bizarre degree of enthusiasm.

  In an attempt to bolster Kojou’s deduction, Yukina smiled rather fondly. “Come to think of it, last year she gave me chocolates that she made from cacao beans.”

  “Made from pure cacao beans?!”

  “It would seem they had been fermented for two weeks.”

  “No, no, no. I mean, even for handmade, that’s a little intense, isn’t it…?”

  Naturally, Sayaka’s dedication to Yukina was so outside his expectations that Kojou was at a loss for words. Perhaps Yukina sensed Kojou being thrown off his stride, for she hastily shook her head as she attempted to follow up.

  “Oh, but the sweets Sayaka makes are quite delicious. After all, Shamanic War Dancers of the Lion King Agency have cooking skills drilled into them as part of their assassination training.”