Chapter: 74. Blood Debts Must Be Paid in Blood
Fantasy monsters are born from human rumors and perceptions.
Just as the gods and demons in various myths and legends have human forms, some special fantasy monsters also take on human appearances.
Maria’s statement caused Garuda’s lips to twitch slightly.
Though Garuda wanted to retort, “What… nonsense are you talking about?”
Considering the rationality in the other’s reasoning, along with the fact that he could not disclose Nagi’s true identity, he ultimately chose to compromise. While mentally apologizing to Nagi, Garuda spoke:
“…That’s right.”
“Eh?” This small exclamation came from Amano, who was standing on the ground.
Her eyes widened, her beautiful purplish-red eyes reflecting Garuda’s white-haired loli figure while filled with confusion.
Maria’s attention was entirely focused on the astonishing “truth” right before her eyes, and she did not notice Amano’s subtle reaction.
“Is that so, he finally…”
Surprisingly, Maria did not show further signs of excitement; her words carried a hint of sighing.
“Who is that child’s mother?”
“…?” Amano sensed a strong gossiping vibe.
Curious about Maria’s identity, she turned her head towards Garuda, mimicking Maria.
“…It has already passed.” Garuda decisively chose to dodge the question.
No matter whose name he mentioned here, Garuda felt Nagi would severely settle the score with him.
However, Maria seemed unaware of Garuda’s current emotions and began to murmur to herself instead.
“Could it be Chiyo…no, the hair color doesn’t match, or maybe Natsuki…? But time-wise… Could it be Yui—!? So, it turns out that Kogane is indeed a loli fan!?”
Maria’s mumbling escalated into an involuntary outcry at the end.
Garuda silently broke out in a cold sweat as he watched Maria suddenly dive into a brainstorming session.
“…Looks like none of them are correct.”
But ultimately, Maria deduced from Garuda’s reaction that the people she mentioned were not the right answers. Regardless, she still wore a wry smile, her gaze filled with nostalgia for those memories.
“Ah, I really miss those carefree days… No, saying carefree is a bit too much, but those were surely days moving towards a beautiful future every day…”
“Even now, I wish I could return to such times.”
“No, it’s impossible now; neither I nor anyone can go back.” After saying this, Maria turned her face and looked down at Amano, as if recalling something:
“Speaking of which, that child is so close to the daughter of the Tenkan Institute… Could it be that Kogane ended up choosing the Tenkan family he always talked about…? Who would have thought that until the end, none of us could fulfill our promise to always stand by his side, but instead…”
At this point, Maria gently closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, the earlier sadness was nowhere to be seen.
What replaced it was a burning anger like a raging flame.
“Step aside, Garuda—” Maria raised the giant axe in her hand and pointed it at Garuda, who was floating in mid-air.
“That’s enough, Akagane. Don’t continue this meaningless revenge.” Garuda replied calmly.
But obviously, her words did not reach Maria’s heart.
“This is not a meaningless thing! Garuda, as the person involved, you should know what happened, why you are standing in my way—!?”
“…That battle?” Amano repeated Maria’s previous words like a parrot.
Garuda glanced sideways at Amano, seemingly weighing whether to let her know about this past.
However, in the end, Garuda chose to trust the girl—
“Akagane, what you know is not the complete truth.”
“Ah! Because I’m an idiot! A thorough idiot! But I believe in what I saw with my own eyes—The Three Great Academies! Special Circumstances SEMA! And everyone who promised to stand by him! They personally killed Kogane on the altar—!”
Maria’s eyes shone with an incredibly bright magical light, her heart filled with intense hatred, which transformed into an immense magical power surging from her body, creating pressure that caused Amano below to feel a brief moment of suffocation.
Behind Maria, the blood crows unfurled their wings, coalescing drops of blood towards her.
99.8% of the fantasy unfolded.
The blood of the Blood Crow transformed into a scarlet armor, thoroughly enveloping Maria.
Compared to the earlier combat with Amano, the newly formed armor featured hard lines, a more imposing and brutal shape, with spikes and angles glinting like steel in the bright moonlight, giving it the appearance of a scarlet mech with both human and beast characteristics.
ACE Blood Crow — Akagane Maria.
One of the main characters from the original work “Seiyuki.”
With fiery red hair, she played the role of a hot-blooded, foolish, and spirited girl in “Seiyuki,” characterized by her straightforward and boisterous personality, who formed a contract with the immensely powerful fantasy monster “Blood Crow.”
In the original “Seiyuki,” “Blood Crow” is a very special fantasy monster; its origin is a combination of the legends of “the ominous crow,” “the black death that swept the globe,” and “the plague doctor’s mask.”
To use a gaming example, it represents a “magical soldier type.”
However, due to Akagane Maria’s straightforward thought process, she struggled with the complex combat style of the Blood Crow, leading to her not demonstrating true power during the early stages of the game.
But if the protagonist enters Akagane Maria’s personal route, she will collaborate with the protagonist to develop a fighting method that uses the Blood Crow as armor for close combat.
Her technique of using a contracted beast was later adopted as a new mechanism in the sequel “Seiyuki 2,” which is a third type of relationship between a contracted beast and a contractor, besides “summoning” and “assimilation” — “fantasy armamentization.”
…..
Every time the scarlet feathers enveloped her skin, memories of happy times spent with that man would surface in Maria’s mind.
But shortly thereafter, the horrifying scene replayed itself in her memory of him collapsing in a pool of blood under the siege of the Three Great Academies, Special Circumstances SEMA, and her once-dear friends.
—Why, why did it come to this!?
—Clearly, we promised to always stand by his side.
The emptiness within her heart and the rift in her soul ravenously drained magical power from the void.
—The Three Great Academies! Special Circumstances SEMA! And those traitors!
—I will never forgive you!!!
—Blood debts must be repaid in blood!
An immense magical power surged toward the night sky, causing even the bright moonlight to dim, as if shrouded by a thin veil of dark silk.
“Answer me, Garuda, are you and that child on their side?”
The head of the scarlet mech opened like a beast’s massive jaw, producing a voice that was heavy and husky, difficult to distinguish between genders, even raising doubts about whether it was human, exhaling hot breath akin to white steam.
“Stop! You can still turn back—”
In the next moment, a wild wind howled.
Centered around Garuda’s small figure, an invisible wind subtly carried the color of magic.
“Amano, retreat.” Garuda warned.
Garuda’s scarlet eyes, symbolizing the fantasy monster, emitted a dazzling light, showing that he was ready for battle.
“Garuda, but—” The wind tousled Amano’s silver hair, and her instinct urged her to step forward to help Garuda, but she was halted by the impending storm.
“This guy has always been an idiot; if I don’t teach him a lesson, he won’t calm down.”
“…Garuda, I’m sorry that in the end, you still didn’t choose to stand by my side.”
As soon as Maria’s words fell.
In the eye area of the scarlet mech, a brilliant purple-black radiance erupted.
“GAAAAaaaa——！！！！！！！！！！”
A monstrous roar reverberated across the entire artificial academy island.
