979 -967- [ Spirit ]

The elusive mist dissipated like the wind, leaving no trace in the relic's camp.

Liana turned herself into mist, disappearing from the sight of the witch who instilled fear in the European demon community.

"Mist form?"

Natsuki observed the scene without expression, and the others didn't find it strange either.

Vampires inherently possess unique abilities, such as transforming into mist or bats. In this world, vampires, apart from their Beast Vassals, take pride in these abilities.

Of course, depending on the individual and bloodline, the abilities may vary among vampires. Some can transform into mist, some into bats, and others may exhibit powers not found in legends.

Mist form is the most common ability among vampires in the Warlord Dominion, inherited from the First Primogenitor's bloodline. It's not surprising that Liana could vanish in mist.

"What's your plan, Akatsuki Gajou?"

Natsuki ignored Liana and turned her attention to Gajou, explicitly addressing him by name.

It seemed Gajou was more renowned than Rozen had imagined. Not only did Hazaroff know him, but even Natsuki was familiar with him.

"Being recognized by the Witch of the Void is quite an honor. I don't mind. I wasn't planning on taking No. 12 anyway. Instead of being hunted all over the world with that thing, I'd rather hand it over now while the ruin is still not sealed by the government and make a quick profit."

Gajou showed no shame in his actions, openly revealing his intentions in front of the national Attack Mage.

"Sly man."

Natsuki snorted but showed a relatively better attitude towards Gajou compared to Liana.

Therefore, Natsuki took charge of the Fairy's Coffin unearthed here, responsible for transporting it to Itogami Island.

However, the story was not over.

"Dad!" Kojou finally found an opportunity to speak, anxiously asking, "Nagisa still hasn't woken up. What should we do!?"

Indeed, after losing consciousness in the ruin, Nagisa hadn't woken up since. Even now, she lay in Kojou's arms, not peacefully asleep but with a somewhat distressed expression.

"Still not awake?"

Gajou looked at his daughter.

"Her?"

Natsuki unconsciously looked over, then seemed to notice something. Her gaze froze, turned away, and looked at Rozen.

Sensing Natsuki's gaze, Rozen sighed and nodded.

"Yes, it's just as you suspected, Natsuki-nee."

"...Is that so?"

Natsuki fell silent for a while, then her gaze towards Nagisa changed.

Observing the siblings' reactions, Gajou, realizing something, had an increasingly grim expression.

"Could it be...!"

Gajou immediately roughly pushed aside Kojou, took Nagisa into his arms, listened to her heartbeat, touched her forehead, sensing her body temperature. Soon after, his expression turned completely grim.

"What... what's going on? Don't keep me in suspense! What happened to Nagisa...!?"

Stumbling after being pushed aside, Kojou, without a moment for complaints, anxiously questioned everyone.

In response to this...

"Don't worry, Kojou. Nagisa is fine, at least for now," Rozen calmly explained to Gajou.

"Due to Nagisa's exceptional abilities as a shrine maiden and a high compatibility with spirits, she seems to have attracted the spirits from the Fairy's Coffin. As a result, those spirits have possessed her," Rozen revealed the reason behind Nagisa's current unconscious state.

In other words...

"The spirits from the ice rink were absorbed into Nagisa's body, but those spirits are too powerful. In a situation like this, deities, beast vassals, or other entities possessing humans tend to drain the host's stamina, energy, spirit, and even life force. Nagisa, burdened by this, has fallen into a deep sleep. Even if she wakes up, she might continue weakening," Rozen disclosed a somewhat harsh reality.

"How could this happen...!?" Kojou was left in shock.

This blow seemed to be too much for the brother who doted on his sister. Meanwhile, Gajou noticed this revelation, and his expression became increasingly grim.

"Minamiya Natsuki."

At that moment, Gajou turned to Natsuki.

"You are a witch who has made a pact with demons regarding souls. Souls are not unfamiliar territory for witches like you. Do you have any way to remove the spirits from Nagisa?"

Surprisingly, Gajou sought help from Natsuki.

Natsuki furrowed her brows, then spoke calmly.

"Exorcism is the work of shrine maidens and onmyoji. I am a witch, and my expertise lies in magic. Dealing with spirits is beyond my scope."

Her words indicated that she couldn't be of assistance.

This caused Gajou to take a deep breath, and he resignedly concealed his emotions.

On the other hand, Kojou, realizing the situation, immediately approached Rozen.

"Rozen! You must have a solution, right? I remember you mentioned dealing with what got into Nagisa after everything settled down below. That's referring to these spirits, isn't it? So, do you have a way!?"

Kojou's words surprised both Natsuki and Gajou, who then turned their attention to Rozen.

"Do you have a solution?" Gajou asked, a mix of astonishment and anticipation in his expression.

"...," Rozen raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything, just maintaining eye contact with everyone.

Under the gaze of everyone present, Rozen shrugged.

"Well, let's give it a try."

Saying so, Rozen approached Gajou, crouched down, looked at Nagisa in his arms, and extended his hand. He pressed it against Nagisa's forehead and closed his eyes.

After a while...

"————One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten————"

Rozen suddenly chanted a spell.

The chant lacked rhythm, making it both sacred and eerie. While chanting, ten magical symbols flew out of Rozen's body.

These symbols glowed faintly, transforming into virtual images of various items—one for each ritual tool.

Shikitsu Mirror.

Henitsu Mirror.

Hachiaku Sword.

Seigyoku.

Soku Gyoku.

Shi Han Gyoku.

Michi Han Gyoku.

Hebi no Hirezumi.

Hachi no Hirezumi.

Hina Hina Mono no Hirezumi.

Ten virtual images of ritual tools with their respective names appeared around Rozen, filling the space.

"————————"

Rozen, surrounded by virtual images of ritual tools, continued chanting the spell.

The next moment...

"Boom————!"

A violent surge of magic power emanated from Nagisa's body.