To become a king and a magician

Aozaki Aoko looked in one direction.

At the same time, after delivering another heavy blow to Nero, burning a hole through his stomach, Natsukawa Torara also saw Ryougi Shiki appear in his field of vision.

The timing is perfect!

"Bang------!"

Grabbing Nero by the neck, Natsukawa Torato threw the already battered and nearly human-shaped Nero towards Ryougi Shiki!

(There's one more?)

Nero also saw Ryougi Shiki. Although he didn't understand why Natsukawa Torama had thrown him at this person, since he had done so, it must have been detrimental to him. He had already lost this battle, a complete and utter defeat. Now, all he could do was retreat quickly, regroup, and make further plans!

(Regeneration—Damn it! The wound is charred, and regeneration will take several seconds!)

This is more than enough time for the girl in front of him to launch an attack!

At the park entrance, seeing Nero flying towards her, Ryougi Shiki knew what she was going to do next. She took out her dagger, and her icy blue Mystic Eyes appeared, with countless lines of death appearing in her eyes.

It's very clear; those death lines on Nero's body, once drawn—

Look more closely.

A voice suddenly echoed in her mind, and Ryougi Shiki immediately focused her gaze intently on Nero. This time, in addition to the death lines, a dot resembling a ball of yarn appeared on Nero's body, formed by numerous interwoven death lines.

That's where I need to cut.

As she was thinking this, Ryougi Shiki swung her dagger.

"Pfft..."

Without the dramatic commotion of Natsukawa Tora, the dagger simply pierced Nero's body, striking that single point. Nero's eyes widened in disbelief—

"Am I...dying?"

The 666 Beast Factors within his body were dying at an alarming rate! This wasn't a temporary death like when he was burned by Natsukawa Torato before; they were truly disappearing from Nero's body!

How can this be?

What did this woman do?!

Nero instinctively looked at Ryougi Shiki, and the moment he saw those icy blue demonic eyes, the shadow of death descended upon his heart.

"Those... Demon Eyes are... impossible..."

"Okay, that's all."

He walked over and patted Nero on the shoulder. It seemed like he had planned it all along. The last Beast Factor disappeared at that very moment. Natsukawa Torara, who had already disarmed himself, sighed slightly: "Phew~~~ It's finally done."

"I was wondering if I was too late, but I guess I really was. It was just a stab. You kept me in suspense for so long." Ryougi Shiki rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "Boring, I'm going back."

"Don't say that... Huh?"

His legs suddenly gave way, and Natsukawa Tora stumbled forward a few steps, then crashed headfirst into Ryougi Shiki's chest.

Aozaki Aoko and Arcueid, who were walking towards them, were immediately stunned.

Ryougi Shiki herself was stunned. Even though she was naturally aloof, the warm breath coming from her chest made her heart race.

"Hey, you idiot, what are you doing—"

"I can't muster any strength..." Showing no intention of getting up from Ryougi Shiki's chest, Natsukawa Torato simply leaned slightly against her chest. "My legs are weak, I have no strength..."

"Are you injured?"

"No, it's just that I think I used too much force just now, and used too much magic power at once. Now I'm a little...hungry?"

Ryougi Shiki's eyes instantly turned cold.

really.

She shouldn't have had any worries about that bastard.

30. Evening Gift

The fire that broke out at Beikou Station last night has been extinguished. The number of victims is being tallied. Residents' travel will likely be affected until the fire is fully repaired, but a solution should be found soon.

[Next news item: Regarding the second fire that occurred in the park last night, incredibly, only a small area was damaged; only streetlights and fountains were damaged. Repair crews have been dispatched to carry out repairs.]

According to the on-site investigation, the two fires appeared to have been caused by a localized explosion of leaked natural gas.

The next morning.

Watching the morning news on TV, Aozaki Aoko turned her gaze to Natsukawa Tora sitting across from her: "Did you hear that? The streetlights and fountains have all burned down. They say it's a natural gas explosion."

"I am truly very sorry."

Xia Chuanhu lowered his head slightly.

“It’s not that I’m blaming you. Rather, it’s unbelievable that you made such a big show of it, but in the end you only burned so little stuff,” Aozaki Aoko said. “I was actually prepared to pay for the whole park afterward.”

"Miss Aoko, you are indeed very rich."

"It's nothing, just go abroad to collect protection money once."

There are countless organizations in the world, and most of them are weak. Aozaki Aoko makes money by contracting out those weak organizations for a period of time and collecting protection fees.

Well, although it was those organizations that asked her to do it at first, somehow it turned into Aozaki Aoko actively going to those organizations to promote her business. And I have to say, foreign organizations—especially those in the US and Italy, even small ones—are really rich.

Taking a sip of coffee, Aozaki Aoko breathed a sigh of relief: "In any case, Nero is truly dead now, and the vampire thing will be over, right?"

Vampires were created by Nero, and once Nero dies, vampires will naturally stop appearing.

That's what Aozaki Aoko thought.

"No, vampires will continue to appear." Natsukawa Tora said, picking up the remote and changing the channel. It was still a news channel, but it was broadcasting a different news story.

Just minutes ago, another person was spotted who appeared to have been attacked by a vampire. Are these recent cases truly the work of vampires?

"boom!"

Aozaki Aoko slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly, her face filled with astonishment: "Vampires?!"

"Isn't that obvious? Nero is dead, but the vampires he created won't die, and their lives aren't intertwined. Even so, they're probably just remnants."

"So, the next step is to clean up the mess?"

Natsukawa Tora nodded, then clenched his fists: "Miss Aoko... do you think there's such a possibility?"

"Hmm? What's possible?"

"I just thought of that too. Could it be that Nero... actually has nothing to do with this vampire incident?"

"Huh?"

Aozaki Aoko, who had just sat down, was slightly taken aback.

"You mean the vampires that appeared weren't created by Nero? Why do you think that?"

“Because of Nero’s attitude towards humans, although it’s uncertain whether it has always been like this, but… in my memory, Nero doesn’t seem to care much about drinking blood?” Natsukawa Torato said, “Before, in the hotel, blood was splattered everywhere, but Nero didn’t react at all, which is very strange for a Dead Apostle, isn’t it?”

After Natsukawa Tora said that, Aozaki Aoko also started to think: "Indeed... the Dead Apostle doesn't react to blood... could it be that he doesn't have the urge to drink blood? Or did he drink enough blood before he came?"

"But his behavior toward humans was to eat them. Rather than using them as blood bags, he used them as food."

"So you believe that Nero actually has nothing to do with the vampire incident, and that the vampires were created by another higher-ranking vampire?"

"It's just a guess."

Calling it a guess wouldn't be accurate. Natsukawa Torato knew who created the vampires, but Aozaki Aoko didn't. In order to make her realize this even without evidence, he could only call it a guess.

After pondering for a while with her chin in her hand, Aozaki Aoko suddenly sighed: "So, does that mean I still have to go out on patrol at night and kill every vampire I see? Sleep deprivation is a big no-no for a young girl."

"Ah ha ha......"

Xia Chuanhu chuckled dryly twice.

Just then, Arcueid and Grey each walked into the room carrying a bag.

"We're back! Here! One drink for everyone, grab it!"

"Waaah!"

Clumsily catching what Arcueid threw at him, Natsukawa Torato looked closely and exclaimed, "Isn't this Coke?"

"Let me tell you, Tiger, this stuff called Coke is really delicious!" Arcueid's eyes lit up as she promoted Coke to Natsukawa Tiger, as if she had discovered a new continent. "After drinking it, it feels like firecrackers going off in your mouth, popping and crackling, and there's a really refreshing feeling. I've never discovered anything so delicious before!"

“Um…brother…”

Grey approached, a hint of apology in her eyes: "I'm sorry, Miss Arcueid saw someone drinking it on the street, so I suggested she try it too, and then..."

Because they used to drink only plain water or expensive red wine, they suddenly became addicted to a completely new beverage like cola.

With a smile, Natsukawa Tora patted Gray's head and said, "It's alright—Arquette, I must remind you, although cola is delicious, don't drink too much, it's not good for your health."

"But I am the true ancestor."

Never mind what I said.

I almost forgot, Arcueid can be considered an ultimate life form in a sense. Would she be afraid of a mere can of cola?

but.

(I haven't had cola in ages. The last time I had it was probably in my past life. For me in this life, it's practically a luxury.)

Ultimately, it all came down to a lack of money. In the beginning, I worked odd jobs, and later, after going to England, I fell into huge debts. I barely had enough money to make ends meet, and even if I had any left over, I saved it all as a dowry for my future wife. Where would I get the extra money to buy Coca-Cola? I just drank plain water every day.

"Is it good?"

After taking only one sip, Arcueid excitedly approached him and asked for his opinion.

Natsukawa Tora smiled slightly: "Hmm, it's alright. It's rare to have this, so it's quite delicious. But this stuff contains caffeine, so you shouldn't drink too much."

"Hey, how come it's like this... Oh right, Tiger."

Arcueid seemed to suddenly remember something.

"I haven't formally thanked you yet. I'm really grateful for helping me get rid of Nero. If it weren't for you, I probably would have been killed."

"It's nothing, just a small favor."

"So—to thank you, I've prepared a gift for you," Arcueid said with a smile. "But the gift is a bit special; it won't arrive until tonight, so just look forward to it for now. I'll give it to you later."

A gift? Tonight?

Aozaki Aoko immediately revealed a meaningful smile: "Hehe~~~~ A present for tonight~~~~"