-1038- The ritual's purpose

"Nine..."

Rozen stared fixedly at the fairy-like girls lying in those coffins, whose faces were exactly the same. His eyes flickered with intensity.

Although he had expected it, confirming that Zaharias had collected a total of nine matrices, recovered all nine beast vessels of the fourth primogenitor, Rozen couldn't help but show a slight solemn expression.

Now, out of those twelve coffins, only three are empty.

The No. 6.

The No. 18.

And No. 12, represented by Avrora.

With just three matrices left, Zaharias would have all the power of the fourth primogenitor.

"Kaleid Blood..."

Avrora, held in Rozen's arms, looked at the matrices in the coffins, also showing an indescribable sense of turmoil.

Actually, it was the first time Avrora had seen matrices other than herself.

In such a situation, seeing nearly ten girls lying motionless in coffins, identical to herself, like corpses, completely still, it was impossible for Avrora not to be shaken.

However, this Avrora didn't notice one thing.

That is...

"The magical power of those matrices has surged."

Yes.

The magical power of those matrices has surged.

Just like Avrora's magical power suddenly enhanced, the matrices in Rozen's eyes were also filled with intense magical power that had not been present before.

Zaharias stood in front of these coffins, greeting Rozen, who had landed on the ground, with a fake bow.

"Sorry for the uninvited visit, but I judged it was about time to return to Itogami Island. I was just about to send you an invitation to the banquet in a while, but it seems you're more eager than I thought. It's quite delightful."

Zaharias kept smiling like this, looking very friendly, but there was a sense of unreality emanating from him, making it clear at a glance that his friendliness and smiling face were as artificial as his flamboyant and affected attitude.

Avrora showed fear towards Zaharias's demeanor and hid behind Rozen.

Rozen, on the other hand, still shielded Avrora behind him, raising his eyebrows casually.

"I thought you were going to collect the remaining two matrices from the Chaos Zone before coming to Itogami Island."

Rozen's tone was indifferent.

Zaharias, on the contrary, had a rich expression and demeanor. He also shook his head with a wry smile in response to Rozen's words.

"There's no way. Unlike the nobles of the Warlord Dominion and the prince of the Dynasty of Destruction, the one from the Chaos Zone isn't that easy to deal with. If the fourth primogenitor doesn't awaken, even with nine matrices, I don't have the confidence to snatch the remaining matrices from her. So, I had no choice but to come to Itogami Island first, retrieve the last one from outside the Chaos Zone, and awaken the fourth primogenitor in advance. By then, even if it's imperfect due to the lack of two beast vessels, with the power of the fourth primogenitor, it should be enough to surpass her, right?"

This speech, rather than being full of confidence, was filled with anticipation.

As if looking for a suitable candidate to test the performance of a weapon, Zaharias regarded the one from the Chaos Zone as a qualified candidate, ready to use her to test the weapon he was about to obtain, the divine weapon called the fourth primogenitor.

This arms dealer had never regarded the fourth primogenitor and the matrices as people from the beginning, only as weapons.

So, even though the Avrora he was pursuing was right in front of him, Zaharias didn't look at her but kept talking to Rozen. Perhaps he thought he didn't need to talk too much with a mere weapon.

Only Rozen, the candidate he approved of, could converse with him as equals.

Zaharias displayed such arrogant confidence as a matter of course.

Of course, Zaharias didn't ignore Avrora, he just treated her completely as a weapon. Now, his gaze finally turned towards her, and his eyes began to evaluate her.

"Oh, I see. The magical power needed for awakening has already begun to accumulate. Excellent, just excellent. Now we can proceed with the ritual."

Zaharias expressed his satisfaction like this.

"Mmm..."

Under Zaharias's gaze, which was like looking at an excellent commodity, Avrora only felt fear.

Only Rozen, still shielding Avrora behind him, spoke casually with raised eyebrows.

"Speaking of the ritual, how exactly should it be done?"

Rozen made such a cooperative statement.

This surprised Zaharias a bit, but he didn't hesitate to engage in the conversation. As if he wanted to show his true nature as a merchant, he showed a fake smile.

"Actually, Your Excellency should have some idea, right?"

Zaharias said so, smiling and affirming at the same time.

"I guess."

Rozen didn't hide anything and nodded frankly.

Regarding the nature of the so-called "Blazing Banquet," Rozen already had some understanding.

For example...

"I've always wondered, since the fourth primogenitor is known as the strongest vampire, where does his power come from?"

Rozen raised this question, causing Avrora behind him to startle.

But Zaharias nodded.

Because...

"The strength of vampires is directly related to blood. The reason why the primogenitors can stand at the pinnacle of the world is because their blood contains immense power."

This had been mentioned several times before.

For vampires to become stronger, they either need blood close to that of a primogenitor or they need to suck blood over long periods to accumulate the magical power they desire.

And the reason why the primogenitors are powerful is not only because they have the blood of the progenitor of all vampires, but also because they have existed for long ages, accumulating immense power within their blood.

In this way, a problem arises.

"How does the fourth primogenitor, known as the strongest vampire, accumulate such power?"

Rozen raised this question.

"As primogenitors, the blood of the fourth primogenitor is presumably on the same level as that of the other primogenitors. So, if he wants to surpass the other primogenitors, he must find a way to accumulate power over long ages, thus amassing even greater strength, right?"

However, the fourth primogenitor is different from the other primogenitors and has a fatal flaw.

"That is..."

"The fourth primogenitor is an artificial primogenitor."

Rozen pointed out this most important flaw.

"He was created by the three primogenitors and Devas. He was manufactured later and couldn't possibly accumulate the power that comes with long ages."

Because of this problem, the fourth primogenitor definitely cannot be stronger than the other three primogenitors.

But in other words...

"As long as this problem is solved, the fourth primogenitor can become the strongest existence."

Rozen stated calmly.

"The so-called 'Blazing Banquet' is actually a ritual to provide the fourth primogenitor with immense ages."

"Its essence is to take away the inherent accumulated time from others."