[487] Fenrir
Boom!
The sky over Itogami Island abruptly shifted from a blazing noon to pitch-black night.
The scorching sun, radiating heat, transformed into a glowing moon.
This was August's magic at work. With power vast enough to alter the heavens, he could turn day into night with ease.
"August, you're going to fight here? Do you want to destroy all of Itogami Island?"
"So what if it's destroyed? I couldn't care less about this place."
"You bastard!"
Kojou Akatsuki spat in fury. His opponent had no restraints, but he did—putting him at an immediate disadvantage.
"Crimson Queen, say hello."
Roar!
Rumble!
Crimson Queen opened her maw and unleashed a torrent of crimson dragon breath. Kojou had no doubt it was meant to kill them all.
"I, Akatsuki Kojou, successor to the blood of "Kaleid Blood", now release your constraints. Come First Familiar: Mesarthim-Adamas!"
Boom!
A massive crystal barrier materialized, alongside a ram forged of diamond.
The entire MAR research facility was shielded by the Diamond Ram's barrier, spared from immediate harm.
Crack!
But within seconds, a fissure appeared in the barrier.
The crack spread rapidly, tearing through the structure.
With a bang!, it shattered into fragments, and the dragon breath crashed onto the MAR facility.
Boom!
In an instant, the entire building was leveled to the ground.
Yet at that critical moment, Kojou's familiars protected those inside.
However, he could only shield two people: Yuma Tokoyogi, still unconscious, and his mother, Mimori Akatsuki.
As for the five maids on the first floor—ordinary humans—they were incinerated by the dragon breath.
Their fate was tragic. They'd offered themselves to Kojou for blood, hoping for protection.
Instead of a shield, they met a catastrophic end, wiped out in an instant.
Yuiri Haba and Shio Hikawa, trained by the Lion King Organization as a sword shaman and war dancer, managed to evade the strike at the last second, escaping the facility and narrowly clinging to life.
"Mom, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but the lab's gone—"
Following Mimori's gaze, Kojou saw the once-proud research facility reduced to rubble.
Then he noticed the five maids, now lifeless.
Rage surged within him. These five were his women, in a sense—for vampires, those they fed on were mediums, blood companions.
"Bastard! Come forth—First Familiar: Mesarthim-Adamas! Second Familiar: Cor Tauri-Sucinum! Fifth Familiar: Regulus-Aurum! Ninth Familiar: Al-Nasl-Minium!"
Four familiars charged from the sky, all aimed at one target: August, perched atop the dragon's head.
August didn't flinch, not a flicker of emotion in his eyes.
Roar!
Suddenly, Fenrir sprang into action, leaping forward to intercept the four familiars.
In an instant, it sank its jaws into the Diamond Ram's neck. Wolf devours sheep—an eternal truth, even if this sheep was made of diamond.
Crunch!
Before Fenrir's god-slaying fangs—capable of killing even deities—mere diamond-grade defenses were like paper.
The ram was effortlessly bitten apart and torn to shreds.
As its host, Kojou suffered the backlash of his familiar's destruction, letting out a muffled groan.
But it didn't stop there. Fenrir's massive claw swiped at the Amber Minotaur. Even its giant war axe was meaningless, crushed with a single blow.
The Regulus-Aurum and Mesarthim-Adamas flanked Fenrir, launching a pincer attack.
Yet the power gap was insurmountable. Fenrir dispatched them one after another.
Fenrir, a top-ten world-class powerhouse, had grown even stronger after being reborn as a demon god. Even August, without using his trump cards, wouldn't claim victory over it.
Kojou, at best, was a half-baked demon king, his familiars merely demon king-tier.
Four demon king-level familiars were indeed a walking disaster—unmatched across most of the world.
But in Fenrir's presence, they were insignificant.
As the god-slaying wolf that had triggered Ragnarok in Norse myth, killing a few familiars was child's play.
Spurt!
With all four familiars slain, Kojou, their host, spat out a mouthful of blood.
The backlash from their contract was severe. Progenitor-level familiars had been defeated before, but never killed—let alone four at once.
Kojou had made history. Though the familiars couldn't truly die, summoning them again anytime soon was impossible.
"Kojou, are you okay?"
Mimori, ever the devoted mother, rushed to support her bleeding son, worry etched across her face.
She was panicking now. August was too enigmatic. He hadn't even acted directly—just unleashed a mysterious wolf that obliterated Kojou's four familiars in the blink of an eye.
Thud!
Fenrir stepped forward, its massive paw pressing into the ruins of the lab.
Its razor-sharp, god-slaying fangs were less than a meter from Mimori—and just as close to Kojou.
Even so, Mimori didn't let go of her son. She held him tighter. Though Kojou was the Fourth Progenitor, cursed with immortality, to Mimori, he was still her wayward child.
Step, step, step.
August approached, walking over the debris.
The towering crimson dragon shrank back into the tall, striking form of Crimson Queen.
Whoosh!
A flash of golden light—
Spurt!
A spear pierced straight through Kojou's chest, narrowly missing his heart.
"Kojou!"
Mimori was flung aside by the gust from the noble phantasm.
"Argh!!!"
Under the excruciating pain, Kojou let out a guttural scream!
---
If you're interested in reading more, feel free to visit my pat reon, https , // www .pat reon. com /XElenea