"BANG!"
At the very moment the Eight Trigrams Formation in the sky shattered, in a corner of the harbor district, an identical Eight Trigrams sigil etched on the ground also explosively fragmented—dissipating into shards of jutsuryoku that vanished without a trace.
"Hmm?"
Rozen, kneeling on one knee, subtly changed expression and turned his gaze toward a specific direction.
"How is it, Senpai?"
Yukina—who had been watching everything unfold beside him—held her breath and hurriedly spoke.
Rozen didn't answer immediately. He stared deeply in that direction, then shook his head.
"Failed," Rozen stated calmly. "The opponent seems to have shattered the captive Eight Trigrams Formation using brute force—and then simply disappeared."
"They escaped?" Yukina was momentarily stunned.
"Yes, escaped." Rozen replied expressionlessly and then rose to his feet.
But inside, Rozen was far from calm.
Because...
"This opponent may be beyond our expectations."
His words froze Yukina once more.
And that was Rozen's honest feeling in that moment.
Since he had only hijacked the opponent's deployed Eight Trigrams Formation, he merely redirected it—it wasn't a formation he'd cast himself. The strength depended wholly on the precision of the enemy's sigil and the scale of their jutsuryoku.
Had it been a formation cast by Rozen, it wouldn't have been broken so easily.
Yet even this pre-existing formation was no pushover.
"It was built using Itogami Island's Feng Shui, powered entirely by the dragon vein—so it's definitely potent," Rozen explained. "For them to so easily break it with brute force… they must be at least Primogenitor-level."
Yukina gasped at this.
Primogenitor-level?
Could their opponent truly be that powerful?
Little did she know—this adversary wasn't only Primogenitor-level.
Rozen continued to stare at the direction of the shattered formation, silently sensing within himself.
At the moment the formation broke, he clearly felt the ten Beast Vassals residing in his blood surge to life.
It was as if they'd sensed the presence of their kin.
"Kin…?"
Rozen guessed the truth.
And if that were so...
"This opponent… no matter how well we handle it, it won't end well."
Rozen sighed silently.
They needed to report this to Natsuki and Avrora as soon as possible.
Otherwise, if something went wrong, the sacrifices from the Blazing Banquet might repeat on Itogami Island.
Keeping this hidden from Natsuki could lead to disaster.
As for Avrora, there was no need to explain—she'd likely already sensed it. And perhaps even she couldn't escape unscathed from this.
Meaning Avrora might once again get caught at the center of this upheaval.
"Is this the fate of Kaleid Blood?" Rozen sighed.
Since her awakening, Avrora seemed unable to escape fate—time after time drawn into major crises.
There was the Blazing Banquet, then the vampire hunter targeting her power, then during the Harurouin Festival, she was entangled by a third Primogenitor and No. 6 of her kin, and during New Year's she was involved in the God of Sin inheritance—now yet again.
But these were challenges she must overcome—
Otherwise, this girl might never see the peace she longs for.
With that, Rozen made a decision in his heart.
"I can't stay on the sidelines."
Thinking this, Rozen turned to Yukina.
"Let's go back and discuss with Natsuki-nee, Himeragi."
Upon hearing this, Yukina nodded gravely. Obviously, she too realized this wasn't something they could resolve on their own.
Together, Rozen and Yukina departed.
Meanwhile, at Saikai Academy, many students gathered in the courtyard, hallways, and by windows, buzzing with discussion.
"That was definitely new magitech."
"I think it was a hologram."
"Could it be an urban legend?"
"Are you stupid? Legends don't just appear in front of you."
The students talked excitedly about the just-dissolved Eight Trigrams Formation.
Among them, Akatsuki Nagisa, wearing her cheerleader uniform, joined in.
"I think it's not magitech or a hologram—it was definitely real spiritual energy. Someone incredible on Itogami Island used it, don't you think, Avrora?"
Nagisa chattered non-stop from the start.
Beside her, Avrora was pale and trembling, both disbelieving and resigned—caught in conflicting emotion.
Nagisa noticed.
"What's wrong? Avrora?"
Avrora only replied in a near-tearful voice:
"I want to see Nichiyo."
"Nichiyo-kun?"
Nagisa froze.
Shortly after, Nagisa and Avrora left Saikai Academy, heading toward the Minamiya residence.
Elsewhere, discussions about the Eight Trigrams Formation continued.
Today, Itogami Island was bound to be lively.
At the same time, in a remote, deserted corner, two figures lay on the ground, gasping intensely.
"I thought we were done for."
December forced a bitter smile—Senga Takehito was speechless.
To break the Eight Trigrams Formation, they had exerted themselves to the limit.
"Unexpected," Takehito calmed himself before asking, "We just arrived on Itogami Island and started the plan—not long ago—and now we've already hit such a counterattack."
"So, what's next? December?"
The answer was obvious.
"Looks like we need to speed things up," December said casually, "Bypass the isolation stage and begin dismantling, Takehito."
Takehito considered, then nodded.
December smiled faintly, pulled out her smartphone, and called the companions who had split up after arriving on the island, each ambushing different places.
"Let's start working, Carly, Rogi, Rahn."
At her words, voices responded in turn over the phone.
Thus, the real chaos on Itogami Island was about to begin.