Strike the Blood, Vol. 6 (light novel): Return of the Alchemist

by Gakuto Mikumo

  “So the big shot from the Warlord’s Empire is sitting this one out because he’s well aware of that?”

  “…Probably. That’s all the better from where I’m standing, but…”

  As Yaze spoke, he glanced over at an elaborate ship floating on the surface of the sea, caressed by the morning breeze. The name of that ship, moored on the shoreline of Itogami Harbor, was the Oceanus Grave II—the personal mega yacht of the Duke of Ardeal, Dimitrie Vattler.

  Yaze had been quietly afraid that he, a well-known battle maniac, would display a personal interest in the Wiseman’s Blood. But there had been no sign of Vattler making a move. No doubt he thought that a sorcerous life-form created through alchemy was not sufficient for his purposes.

  “More importantly, Mogwai, you knew that the Wiseman’s Blood was sealed away in the ruins of the abbey, didn’t you?”

  “Now that you mention it, I did.”

  To Yaze’s pointed words, the artificial intelligence’s reply was casual.

  “So why didn’t you tell Asagi? She almost died as a result.”

  Yaze clenched his teeth. Asagi had been his friend since elementary school. Not that they had an amorous relationship, but she was still his friend, as close to him as any sibling could be.

  And she had one additional role to play—one most critical to the Demon Sanctuary.

  “Keh-keh,” laughed Mogwai, sounding terribly human. “But she didn’t die, did she?”

  Yaze’s eyes faintly wavered. “You mean, you expected what happened, up to and including Nina Adelard bringing Asagi back to life?”

  “Who’s to say? You can say anything you want after the fact. Keh-keh…”

  Yaze clicked his tongue in irritation. “What’s your goal here?”

  “Don’t worry, Yaze, my boy,” Mogwai said, rich with implication. “That girl is my precious partner. She won’t die as long as she’s on this island.”

  Yaze’s entire body shuddered when he guessed the meaning of those words. The artificial intelligence had just stated that he truly would protect Asagi’s life…by any means necessary.

  “More importantly, the show’s starting,” Mogwai announced.

  “Yeah.”

  Yaze shifted his gaze down. The asphalt ground was rupturing as a glossy mass of liquid metal emerged from the aqueducts.

  Itogami Harbor’s warehouses held large quantities of steel and precious metal brought in from outside the island. It wasn’t very hard to guess that a liquid-metal form desperate to feed on heavy metals would show up there.

  The Wiseman’s Blood freely altered its own shape, changing the location of its center of gravity to roll forward. Its speed was not all that quick. Its quaking movements were erratic, like a drop of rain rolling down a glass panel. However, the metallic life-form that had emerged was about the size of a midsize truck. It probably had a mass of several hundred metric tons. The size and weight alone made it a menace.

  The metallic life-form smashed with ease through the simple barricades the Island Guard had erected. Bullets, mines, gas, and electrical shocks—all failed to show any sign of affecting the amorphous opponent.

  Yaze gazed at the remnants of wrecked magic circles and said with displeasure, “I expected physical attacks would be ineffective, but to think that ritual wards had no effect, either…”

  “That’s because Spirit Blood, produced through alchemy, is more like a chimera or an Automata than a sorcerous life-form. You’re not dealing with a golem or a zombie here.”

  The artificial intelligence spoke with the detached air of a spectator. Coldly, Yaze declared back at it, “If that’s the case, then we’ve still got a shot at this.”

  There was already a unit deployed along the thing’s course. Instead of barricades, armored vehicles resembling water trucks barred its path. They were able to spit out water at dozens of standard atmospheres’ worth of pressure, but Yaze didn’t expect such a meager flow of water to affect an immutable metallic life-form.

  However, the liquid fired from the barrels was so cold it kicked up an incredible amount of white vapor. Simultaneously, magic circles appeared on top of the street, trapping the metallic life-form in a net of extreme cold.

  When Mogwai spoke again, its tone was one of admiration. “I see. You’re freezing it to stop it from moving.”

  The lustrous, jet-black surface of the liquid metal was now covered in pure white snow. Its frozen body had lost its fluidity, making it unable to stretch its tentacles to attack.

  Yaze casually explained, “It’s liquid nitrogen at −196 degrees Celsius combined with freezing spells. Even if alchemy put it together, it’s still metal in the end. Not even Wiseman’s Blood can ignore the laws of physics.”

  At normal atmospheric pressures, mercury solidified at −38.83 degrees Celsius. He’d expected that Spirit Blood, possessing a body formed of the same liquid, had the same weakness.

  “Well, that sure ended in a hurry,” Mogwai murmured in disappointment.

  Even if they couldn’t destroy it, Wiseman’s Blood was harmless if you could keep it immobile. Indeed, it would serve the Demon Sanctuary well as a priceless research sample. All they had to do was hunt down Kou Amatsuka and the incident would be wrapped up.

  “That’s just fine. I have regular classes waiting for me after all this. Besides, I don’t know how long Kojou will maintain his sanity taking care of Asagi.”

  “Keh-keh, jealous, are we?”

  “Oh, please,” muttered Yaze, shrugging his shoulders in response to the tease. “It’s not that. I’ve got my own arrangements. Though, I suppose I will be annoyed if he scores before I do with my sweetie…”

  Yaze looked around to get off the crane. But the next moment, his extended hearing detected an odd set of footsteps. The left foot was flesh and blood, but the right footstep was metallic. And he was carrying a silver cane in his left hand—

  The man, wearing a bizarre red-and-white checkered hat, was making his way toward the frozen metallic life-form.

  “Don’t tell me he’s—?!”

  “Kou Amatsuka?! A Dummy… No, the real one?!”

  Mogwai whistled as its voice spiked. This was the sole apprentice of the Great Alchemist, Nina Adelard. He was also the criminal who had betrayed her to awaken the sealed Wiseman’s Blood. The alchemist Kou Amatsuka, a wanted fugitive, was walking right under the Island Guard’s noses.

  Amatsuka ignored the bloodthirsty Island Guard unit and spoke to the frozen metallic life-form instead.

  “Ahh, Senmu. You seem to be in good health. How does it feel to have the immortal body you desired?”

  The next moment, the surface of the metallic life-form cracked, emitting a ghoulish roar that made the very air tremble.

  “A…AMATSUKAAAAAAA—!”

  “Ha-ha, this is quite something, Senmu. To think you’d remember me even after taking this form? I am honored.”

  A sadistic expression came over the young man as he laughed, taunting. In response, the dark shimmer of the metallic life-form grew more intense.

  “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!”

  As the metal form cracked apart, countless tentacles burst out from within. These turned into giant blades and began indiscriminately slashing apart the warehouses and buildings in the area.

  Only the metallic life-form’s surface had been chilled, apparently. The Wiseman’s Blood created an internal cavity to insulate the interior, protecting the main body from freezing in much the same manner as a thermos.

  Yaze desperately yelled into the microphone, “Captain, more liquid nitrogen! If you keep freezing it, you can hold it in place—!”

  But the order never reached the Island Guard in the confusion. Instead, they turned toward Amatsuka and the metallic life-form, bathing them in a fusillade.

  Having lost their comrades to the alchemist and the monster, fear and hatred had filled the armed guardsmen with a killing rage.

  A madman’s smile came over Amatsuka as countless bullets rained do
wn upon them. “Ha…ha-ha…ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

  A change took place as the Wiseman’s Blood was bathed in gunfire. The glossy surface’s glow intensified, turning scarlet like anger. The Spirit Blood, diluted due to the Dummy Core, was regaining its purity. It was as if it feasted on the anger and hatred of man—

  Yaze, finally realizing the alchemist’s goal, yelled,

  “Crap—! Cease fire! Amatsuka’s after the bullets!”

  The Island Guard’s Anti-Demon Unit employed high-purity electrum chips and Silver-Elysium-tipped bullets.

  Both possessed properties that made them exceptional catalysts for use in alchemy.

  The Wiseman’s Blood was being hit by concentrated fire amounting to dozens—no, hundreds—of kilograms of bullets. That was more than enough raw resources for an alchemist to use top-level magic.

  Amatsuka had caused numerous fatalities among the Island Guard and sent the Wiseman’s Blood running amok. It was all to bring about this exact situation—all to gather the resources he needed for his alchemy.

  Amatsuka continued to laugh loudly as he gripped the cane in his left hand like a spear.

  “Your blood, as I promised! Now, return to life just as you desired, Wiseman!”

  Then, he thrust it down into the Wiseman’s Blood with all his might. The black gemstone in its way shattered, and the cane was pulled deep into the innards of the Spirit Blood.

  Atop the gantry crane, Yaze leaned forward and muttered, “Wiseman…he says?! Don’t tell me that thing’s—!”

  The ritual Amatsuka had performed brought about a lethal change in the Wiseman’s Blood. The metallic-crimson life-form was enveloped by light as something emerged from within, like a hatchling breaking the shell of a warm egg—

  “This is bad! Run, Yaze, my boy!!” Mogwai shouted in warning, its voice filled with uncharacteristic urgency.

  “What?!”

  Yaze lifted his face with a gasp.

  But then—

  A flash of light emitted by the Wiseman’s Blood silently swept across his field of vision.

  There was an explosion. The enormous crane came crashing down like a log pile as flames enveloped the harbor district.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  THE SACRIFICIAL VICTIMS

  1

  She was right before Nagisa’s eyes—eyes Nagisa had shut, because she and the girl were so close together their breath intertwined.

  She was a girl with a serious expression and straight black hair dusting her shoulders. Long, wavy eyelashes extended beyond the rims of her glasses. Her lips were slightly pursed, with a glint shining from her glossy red lipstick.

  She brought those lips closer to Nagisa’s and closed her eyes, too…

  And just as it seemed like their lips would press together—

  “I-I can’t…! I’m at my limit!”

  —Nagisa shouted and broke away.

  There was a satisfying snap as the candy stick suspended between their mouths cleaved in half.

  Their friends, watching the display, went ooh in marvel and disappointment.

  It was the first day of the middle school field trip. Nagisa and the other girl were playing the Pocky Game while their ferry was on its way to Tokyo Harbor. The game’s purpose was to sit opposite each other with one crunchy chocolate-covered stick between two people, and see just how far you could nibble it down.

  Nagisa sighed. “Haah… That was close. I almost had my first kiss stolen by the class rep.”

  Nagisa rolled onto the floor, drained of strength. The black-haired girl with glasses coolly looked down at her.

  “That goes for both of us.”

  Her name was Sakura Koushima. Ever since she’d started living on Itogami Island during her fifth year of elementary school, she’d been selected class representative every year running, making her something of a class rep lifer. For someone who was a teacher’s pet and looked completely serious at all times, she had a surprisingly easygoing personality, leading to exceptionally high support from her classmates.

  Another classmate, Cindy, spoke as she shuffled a deck of cards she’d brought out. “I have to say, Yukina’s a tough customer. You haven’t lost even once, have you?”

  “Cindy” was a Japanese girl born in Akita. Her family name was Shindou, a name she’d mangled out of stress when introducing herself, and the name Cindy had stuck ever since. Cindy, the class rep, and Yukina constituted Nagisa’s group for the excursion.

  Cindy shot Yukina a suspicious look. “You’re not using probability-altering charms or magical devices, are you?”

  Yukina swiftly shook her head. “…I-I’m just lucky…”

  Of course, there was no way she’d use an extravagant charm against classmates when playing Old Maid. But she kept to herself how she’d subconsciously used her Sword Shaman Spirit Sight a number of times. After all, if she lost at Old Maid, she’d be on the receiving end of a cruel humiliation game. There was no place for mercy in the games schoolgirls played on a class trip.

  Nagisa, having suffered three losses in a row, murmured ruefully as she looked over her hand. “You sure have quite a poker face, Yukina.”

  Actually, Nagisa was the type to project whatever she was thinking onto her face, enough that you had to consciously convince yourself she wasn’t doing it to just throw you off.

  Nagisa breathed heavily through her nostrils as she tendered cards toward Yukina in a fan shape. “Here you go, Yukina. It’s your turn.”

  Yukina didn’t even need her Spirit Sight; it was plain as day that Nagisa had a joker mixed into her hand. Based on the movements of her big eyes, Yukina knew exactly where the joker was. She stretched a finger out toward the card next to the joker.

  That was when Cindy asked in a nonchalant tone, “So, Yukina, how’ve things been with Nagisa’s brother lately?”

  For a moment, the girl’s question made Yukina’s mind blank out. Thanks to that, she didn’t realize her hand had gone astray until it was too late. She had made a fatal mistake.

  “Aah…”

  Yukina let out a small sound when she saw that she’d drawn the joker from Nagisa’s hand.

  The class representative did not fail to take notice, adjusting her glasses slightly as she said, “That threw her off.”

  Cindy captured the moment to snatch away Yukina’s safe card. “I’ll take that!”

  Cindy discarded all her numbered cards, leaving her with two. Yukina had six, which was a fairly difficult situation to recover from.

  Cindy, sensing weakness after Yukina’s repeated victories, tenaciously pressed the attack.

  “Kojou’s changed a lot lately, hasn’t he?”

  Even though Yukina knew it was a trap, it was not a subject she could avoid. The girl was a current member of the basketball team, so she’d been Kojou’s junior when he was in middle school. In other words, the girl knew things about Kojou that Yukina did not. And so, Yukina asked, “H-how so?”

  “Hmm, I’d say he’s back to how he was when he was playing basketball? He was kind of a scary person until not long ago.”

  “Akatsuki? Scary?” Yukina looked dubious. But Cindy had been completely serious.

  As far as Yukina knew, Kojou didn’t have an aggressive personality. He had the power of the World’s Mightiest Vampire, but had no clue what to do with it, so he lived his days in languid idleness. That was why Yukina couldn’t let him be. Even Yukina, his junior in years, considered him a guy who just needed to straighten himself out. Hearing him described as a scary person didn’t resonate whatsoever.

  So Yukina replied in all honesty. “I find that hard to imagine…”

  Cindy made a pained smile as she narrowed her eyes. “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s like, he wasn’t hostile, more like, he was a hard guy to talk to? Plus, he was really beat-up here and there.”

  Yukina raised her eyebrows. “When…was that?”

  Cindy hummed and looked up at the ceiling as she sifted through her memory. “Spring brea
k, Golden Week maybe, something like that? It was, like, right around when Nagisa went into the hospital for tests, so maybe it had something to do with that?”

  “Spring break…”

  Yukina let out a heavy sigh.

  That was immediately after Kojou graduated from middle school—and about the time he obtained the power of the Fourth Primogenitor. What could have happened to Kojou other than that to make him so hostile that his affable junior could barely raise a word to him…? It seemed worth looking into.

  Cindy murmured to herself as she reached toward Yukina’s cards. “See, back when Akatsuki played ball, he was pretty full of himself when he was on the court, but outside of that he was spaced out, and that was a good mix. I think it’s good he’s like that again. That’s because you dragged him there, huh, Yukina?”

  Yukina gave the girl a mystified look. “You watch him a lot, then?”

  “Ah…? Er, I mean, we were in the same club. Akatsuki stood out a ton when he was in the middle school basketball club.”

  This time, for whatever reason, it was Cindy’s turn to be thrown off. And when it was finally Yukina’s turn, she drew a joker from the deck, practically bringing tears to Cindy’s eyes. She protested, “Er, no, really, it’s not like that. I mean, he doesn’t just have you, he has Aiba, too. There’s no place for me in all that.”

  As Cindy became flustered and panicked, Nagisa, waiting for her turn, chimed in. “Come to think of it, Kojou’s had kind words for you, Cindy.”

  Cindy looked up, taken by surprise. “Ah? What’d he say?”

  “He said you got back on defense fast and that you’re good at layups.”

  “Ugh… He’s that kind of person, isn’t he?” Cindy moaned, shoulders slumped.

  Yukina could only sympathize. Though neither meant any ill will whatsoever, they were a brother-and-sister wrecking ball in various ways.

  “But earlier, you said there was something scary about Kojou…?” Nagisa countered.

  Cindy replied in a peevish-sounding tone, “I just knew you were going to say that… He’s super-sweet with his little sister.”

  Not at all. Nagisa shook her head.