Labyrinth of the Blue Witch

by Gakuto Mikumo

  Then Kojou, gasping for breath, arrived in the park that was his destination.

  The man was standing on the plateau just as before. He was coldly lording over the nighttime skyline as a faint surge of bloodlust rose all around him.

  “—Rudolf Eustach!”

  Kojou called out to the man by his name. He was a blond foreigner, a soldier with his hair cut very short. His left eye was covered up by a metallic, eyepatch-like monocle.

  He was over 190 centimeters tall, covered with a priest’s habit, and wore a metal suit of armor under that. It was an armored augmentation suit employed by heavy army infantry.

  You didn’t exactly confuse a guy like that with someone else.

  Two months prior, the Lotharingian Armed Apostle, Rudolf Eustach, Astarte’s master, had engaged Kojou and Yukina in a deadly duel, bringing Itogami Island to the very edge of destruction.

  “Why are you here?! Didn’t you go back to Lotharingia—?!”

  His tone was gentle, even as Kojou glared at him with a look of raw, shaking emotion.

  “To meet someone who knows my common name… Who might you be?”

  Kojou yelled indignantly.

  “Don’t play dumb with me! Itogami Island decided to return the holy relic already. You shouldn’t have any business here. Or did you come here to take Astarte back?”

  “If you have discerned my objective, this, I cannot ignore.”

  Eustach drew his weapon from the back of his habit. Kojou recognized the metal bardiche. It was a battle axe with a giant blade.

  His monocle flared red over and over as it scrutinized Kojou. Eustach’s vision was filled with a heads-up display from the analysis.

  “A vampire of unknown bloodline…? Mmm… If you are an abominable demon, you are here to interfere with my crusade. As an Armed Apostle, I have no reason to hesitate to execute thee!”

  “Don’t you remember who I am…?!”

  He and Eustach were talking past each other. That fact enveloped Kojou in despair. Kojou knew why he hated Itogami Island and had attempted to destroy it. That battle was over. Many had paid the price, but Itogami Island had escaped destruction by the skin of its teeth, and Eustach had returned to his own nation.

  “Stop it, old man. You and I don’t have any more reason to fight—”

  “Silence, demon!” Eustach roared.

  He unleashed his bardiche down at Kojou, his body accelerated by the augmentation suit. It was too fast to be dodged, but Kojou somehow managed to evade the attack anyway. He’d fought Eustach more than once before; he was well aware of the man’s might.

  “Stop, old man…!”

  Eustach easily pulverized the concrete bench Kojou had used as a shield. His destructive power was as nutty as usual. This was no opponent Kojou could defeat with his bare hands.

  At this rate, Kojou would be slain with ease before he could get through to the guy—

  “Shit, you damn hard-ass! C’mon over, Regulus…!”

  Out of other options, Kojou began to summon his Beast Vassal.

  These were beasts summoned from another world that dwelled in his own vampiric “blood.” When materialized, they were giant masses of demonic energy; they were the reason vampires were known and feared as the mightiest of demonkind.

  Only the unlimited negative life energy of a vampire could endure the extreme consumption of the host’s life force required to use a Beast Vassal. In turn, the destructive might of a Beast Vassal was overwhelming.

  That went even more for the Beast Vassals of the Fourth Primogenitor, the World’s Mightiest Vampire, with each said to unleash destruction equal to a natural disaster. Even a Lotharingian Armed Apostle had no way to oppose such might.

  But Eustach’s attacks did not cease even so—

  “—Too slow!”

  Eustach’s battle-axe was faster than Kojou’s Beast Vassal summons. Gazing dumbfounded at the giant blade lunging at him, Kojou resigned himself to death.

  Even with the power of the World’s Mightiest Vampire, Kojou himself was a combat amateur. The Lotharingian Armed Apostle simply was not an opponent he could defeat without Yukina’s aid.

  Yet the impact of the battle-axe did not assail the despairing Kojou.

  “…Old man…?”

  Kojou looked around the park in a daze, seeing nothing but the surface of the ground.

  There was no sign of the large Armed Apostle. He and the bardiche he had swung down had both vanished.

  There was no sign of anyone else in the park here at night, only Kojou and the unreliable light of a few lampposts.

  He thought he was hearing things, but it was actually the sound of firecrackers for the night before the Hollow Eve Festival’s opening far off in the distance.

  Save for the remains of the wrecked bench, all signs of Eustach had vanished.

  8

  Kojou dragged his tired body back to the apartment building.

  He still had no idea what had happened; he felt like he’d just had a bad dream.

  Properly speaking, encountering Eustach was something he should have reported to Yukina. But having tossed the thought around, Kojou decided to keep it quiet for a little while. After all, Astarte was right there in Yukina’s apartment. He didn’t want to make her worry without cause; after all, he still had no proof the Armed Apostle had really been there.

  Yuuma was the only one in the apartment to greet Kojou.

  “Welcome back, Kojou.”

  It’d been a while since she’d gotten out of the bath, with her hair now completely dry. When he glanced at the clock, it was close to midnight. He was late getting back because he’d blundered around the park looking for clues after Eustach vanished.

  “Sorry I’m so late… Huh?”

  As Kojou kicked off his shoes and returned to the living room, he looked around the apartment for any sign of his little sister.

  “Nagisa’s asleep already. Seems like she really wore herself out.”

  “…She’s such a grade schooler.”

  Kojou made an exasperated sigh as he checked and saw that the lights in Nagisa’s room were out.

  Unfamiliar clothes were scattered all around the living room. There was a Victorian dress; a pirate outfit; bunny girl and cat ears outfits; angel, vampire, and even jack-o’-lantern outfits—

  “What’s all this?”

  “We were trying them out.” Yuuma spoke, looking up at the bewildered Kojou in apparent amusement. “Apparently, it’s tradition for people attending the Hollow Eve Festival to wear a disguise.”

  “Cosplay outfits, huh…? That Nagisa, when did she get all these together?”

  Kojou was half beside himself as he murmured.

  His little sister loved events to begin with, but she wasn’t anywhere near this worked up the year before. No doubt she’d outdone herself this year because Yuuma was coming over to play.

  Looking more closely, half of the outfits were sized for boys. I’m soooo glad I was out, Kojou thought with a sigh of relief. If he’d still been in the apartment building, he’d have been getting fitted for outfits all that time.

  Kojou asked the question that was nagging at him a bit.

  “Are you gonna be wearing something, Yuuma?”

  At the moment, Yuuma was wearing a totally-not-sexy sweatshirt/sweatpants combo in place of pajamas. It was very Yuuma-ish on one level, but he did have a simple interest in what kind of outfit she’d picked.

  Yuuma stood up as she spoke.

  “Want a peek? I’ll have to change into it.”

  “Sure,” Kojou causally replied. “Sorry to make you work.”

  Yuuma moved a hand to her sweatpants as she spoke.

  “It’s fine. It’s not gonna take long anyway.”

  Then right before Kojou’s eyes, she suddenly strippped them off. The generous display of her white thighs drew in Kojou’s gaze.

  “Y-Yuuma…?! When you say change… Wait, here?!”

  Yuuma smiled teasingly as she shifted her hands
to the chest of her sweatshirt.

  “What’s the big deal? We used to do this all the time.”

  She slowly tugged it down like she was trying to get a reaction out of Kojou.

  “That’s when we were kids!! Now you’re—”

  Yuuma burst into a small giggle as she stripped off her sweatshirt.

  “Now I’m what…?”

  The moment before Kojou was going to avert his eyes as quickly as he could, he noticed she was wearing something else in place of underwear.

  “Yuuma…that’s…”

  Yuuma smiled proudly as she gazed up at the still thoroughly rocked Kojou.

  “Yeah, it’s witch cosplay. I put it on underneath to surprise you. It was kind of a tight fit, though.”

  The outfit she was now dressed in was a black dress with a very short skirt and one big ribbon tied over her breasts. Together with the triangular hat and the fishnets she was wearing, she sure did look like a witch.

  Mindful of Kojou’s silence, Yuuma had a rare look of unease on her face as she asked, “Weird to see me wearing something like this, huh?”

  Kojou replied as his gaze wandered about.

  “No, I think it’s a good fit, but…”

  The skirt was extremely short and the shoulders were wide open. Plus, it really showed off all of her body lines. Certainly, you had to call it a good fit for Yuuma’s stylishness. But in addition, it was far too exposing. He felt like it wasn’t a getup he should be seeing her in late at night with just the two of them.

  For some reason, watching Kojou slip into suspect behavior apparently made Yuuma happy as she murmured, “That so. I’m so glad.”

  Then, she suddenly drew her face close, right before Kojou’s eyes.

  “Kojou.”

  “Huh?”

  Yuuma touched her own cheek.

  “You’re bleeding. On your cheek.”

  Kojou stroked his own face, mimicking her.

  “Whoa, you’re right… A piece of that bench must’ve cut me.”

  Feeling the unexpected slipperiness of blood, Kojou stared dumbfounded at his fingertips. Perhaps his current arousal had opened up a wound sustained during the battle with Eustach.

  “Hold on a sec. I’ll get a Band-Aid.”

  As Yuuma spoke, she fetched a portable first aid kit out of a pocket of the gym clothes she’d stripped off. At her invitation, Kojou sat down on the spot. Yuuma leaned over him from the front, resulting in them looking at each other at a very close, intimate distance.

  Kojou flapped his lips casually to break the tension.

  “This kinda brings me back.”

  Yuuma mixed a strained smile into her nod.

  “That’s because you got hurt a lot, Kojou. That got me into the habit of walking around with a first aid kit.”

  “Wasn’t that ’cause I was following you around doing reckless things with you?”

  Yuuma played dumb about that part as she reached out to touch Kojou’s cheek.

  “That so?”

  This isn’t good, thought Kojou with internal apprehension. The extremely exposing outfit together with Yuuma leaning forward like that made him unable to ignore her cleavage. She laughed at Kojou’s obvious nervousness.

  “Your cheeks are red, Kojou.”

  Kojou turned his face as he spoke in a faint voice.

  “That’s ’cause you’re too close.”

  Yuuma gently narrowed her eyes.

  “I’m glad.”

  “About what…?”

  “I thought you’d act exactly like you used to and wouldn’t be able to see me as a girl. I put a fair bit of work into it, you know.”

  Kojou felt quite surprised at Yuuma’s unexpected confession.

  “You sure caught me by surprise, though. You wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing that outfit way back.”

  Yuuma’s smile seemed to carry disappointment as she slumped her shoulders. Kojou didn’t understand the reason that’d deflate her.

  “Well, that’s not really true, but anyway…”

  “Well, you’re you, I mean.” Kojou couldn’t think of it any other way so he just said it. “I mean, you’ve been cute since way back, Yuuma.”

  For a moment, Yuuma was at a loss for words, looking at Kojou with her eyes wide open. A very lonely expression came over her. “That’s just like you, Kojou. So, for example, if I stopped being human anymore, would you be able to say the same thing?”

  Kojou answered Yuuma’s joking words with a decisive declaration. “Don’t worry about that, I know lots of people who aren’t normal folks. One more ain’t gonna surprise me.”

  In just the room next door was an apprentice Attack Mage from a special agency, a homunculus, and a former angel. More important than all of that, Kojou himself had become the monster known as the Fourth Primogenitor. He didn’t think Yuuma was gonna turn into anything stranger than that.

  Yuuma murmured in visible satisfaction as she moved her hands around Kojou as if to embrace him.

  “That so… This is a Demon Sanctuary after all… Now I know for sure. You really are the only one for me, Kojou.”

  Kojou was in shock at the sensation conveyed by his cheek.

  “…Yuuma?”

  Yuuma was licking Kojou’s wound. She was licking the blood of the vampire called the Fourth Primogenitor.

  Then, just like that, she pressed her own lips against Kojou’s.

  “Wha…?!”

  The space behind Yuuma swayed, wavering like a ripple. Something from the other side gently showed its face as if rising from the bottom of a deep lake.

  It was a giant blue malevolent silhouette—

  Yuuma’s voice gently echoed into Kojou’s ear.

  “Now, let the festivities begin, Kojou.”

  As if responding to that sweet echo’s invitation, Kojou’s consciousness gently fell into a haze, and then, deeper and deeper into the darkness…

  CHAPTER THREE

  FANCY DRESS PARADE

  1

  There was once a girl who lived alone in a small castle deep in a forest.

  The castle had everything she needed. It had clean rooms and an uncountable number of exquisite pieces of clothing. Her diet was completely controlled. Her compulsory education had a tightly packed curriculum. In that castle, the girl felt like even her dreams were being controlled.

  The girl did not know the faces of her parents. She was separated from her mother immediately after birth and was raised by maidservants dispatched by the organization. The girl felt no emotion whatsoever when she was told she would meet her mother in a place far away once she turned sixteen.

  The girl awoke at the appointed time, dressed in the appointed outfit, and went to study at the appointed school. She had no close friends; she did not think any were needed. She had been taught that school was where one learned to deceive others. Even there, the girl’s performance was perfect: Her classmates doted on her, and the teachers recognized her as an excellent, trouble-free pupil.

  Then, at the appointed hour, the girl returned to the castle within the forest. Every day passed like this without a single thing going awry. They were days that passed exactly as planned—

  The small tear in the seam of that plan was formed in the afternoon of a day just before summer.

  A brother and sister had come into the girl’s forest to play.

  They were far from perfect beings. Their skin was sunburned, their hair was disheveled, and the brother’s front teeth were missing. They argued over the smallest things, made each other cry, and then held each other’s hands, laughing as if having more fun than anyone else.

  The young siblings had apparently built a secret base inside the forest. It was a grand cottage built from a discarded cardboard box and tree branches they had gathered together. It wasn’t something that should have existed on private land controlled by the organization.

  However, the girl did not report it to the maidservants who administered the land, for she wanted to watch the si
blings at a distance while they played.

  Finally, the girl cropped off the long, beautiful hair she had been granted. It was quite some time later before she realized that she’d done it out of her fondness for the young siblings.

  A short time after that, the girl exchanged words with them.

  Outside the forest, when the girl just happened to be passing close to them, the brother of the two called out to her without warning.

  “Hey, you! Hold my hand and don’t let go!”

  “Ah…?”

  When the bewildered girl firmly gripped his hand, the boy held on as he went right over the edge of a precipice. Without any idea what was going on, the girl desperately supported his body, for if she had not, it was possible she would fall right down with him. The cliff was not so high, but pointy tree branches were sticking out all over it. It was unlikely she’d escape unscathed.

  Finally, the boy clawed his way back up from the precipice. His hand was gripping a small hat that had fallen below, blown away by the wind.

  The boy put the dirty hat right on top of the head of his moist-eyed little sister.

  “Here, Nagisa.”

  A beaming smile came over his little sister’s face. The sight gradually gave the girl a sense of accomplishment. It was the first time she’d been enveloped by emotion. It was the only thing she’d ever obtained that defied the plan.

  The boy tried to talk with a cheerful, smiling face, missing front teeth and all.

  “Thanks, you were a huge help. You’re stronger than I figured, er…”

  Drawn in by that look, the girl’s lips subconsciously formed a smile.

  “—I’m Yuuma. Yuuma Tokoyogi.”

  “Nice to meet you, Yuuma.”

  Even now, the girl had not forgotten the warmth his hand conveyed when pressed to her own.

  However, now that the girl had betrayed that warmth, it continued to torment her soul.

  It was a perfect plan, and it would be executed perfectly, heedless of the girl’s wishes.

  2

  Kojou opened his eyes atop the bed. It was the very familiar sight of his bedroom.