Becoming an Eminence in Shadow in the New World (DxD / StrikeTheBlood) Chapter 145: Kojou Akatsuki Captured — The Emergence of the

Leaning against the window and watching the stream of people outside, Nagisa Akatsuki greeted him listlessly.

"Hey, Kojou, when do you think we'll be able to get out of here?"

Hearing the question she'd been asking every day since they arrived, Kojou Akatsuki forced an awkward smile.

"Soon. Really, soon."

Getting the exact sa answer as the day before, Nagisa Akatsuki pouted. She knew he was just brushing her off. Normally, she would have complained a bit, but today, maybe because she had been stuck here for too long, she did not even have the energy to argue. She simply leaned against the window, letting her thoughts drift.

Seriously, can't sothing big just happen so I can slip out during the chaos? If I stay here any longer, my body is going to rust.

She grumbled inwardly, but she knew it was nothing more than wishful thinking. She would still have to stay in this freezer room for quite a while.

…Co to think of it, how is Kojou able to stay here?

Tilting her head, she glanced at the high-powered freezer unit mounted on the wall, her brows knitting in confusion.

The temperature in this room had already dropped to dozens of degrees below zero. Even with her body strengthened through Shrine Maiden training under her grandmother, she still needed to wear multiple layers to endure it.

So how was Kojou Akatsuki, an ordinary person, able to sleep here?

No, more importantly, how could any normal person recover in a place like this? Under normal circumstances, they would freeze to death overnight.

Yet Kojou Akatsuki treated this freezing environnt like room temperature. If anything, he seed to think it was not cold enough, wearing nothing but a thin hospital gown.

Nagisa Akatsuki had noticed this from the mont they arrived. But at the ti, being told she could not leave for a while distracted her. After that, she had been too busy complaining every day to think about it again.

Now that things had quieted down, the question resurfaced imdiately.

Turning slightly to block Kojou Akatsuki's view, a curious glint flickered in her eyes. She raised her right hand and began tracing a rune on the wall, one her grandmother had taught her.

She had always suspected there was more to Kojou Akatsuki than he let on.

Back when he said he had no talent, she had not doubted him. At the ti, she thought her family was completely ordinary, and having even one person with talent, herself, already seed lucky enough.

That belief shattered when her mother took her to et her grandmother, Hisano Akatsuki.

Only then did she learn that her family was actually a Shrine Maiden lineage. Her father, Gajou Akatsuki, was the fad "Returned One of the City of the Dead" in the mystical world. Her grandmother had once been a high-ranking mber of Japan's special agency. Her mother, Mimori Akatsuki, was both a senior figure in the MAR dical departnt and a psychic.

She had been completely stunned.

All her life, she had thought they were just a normal family. Her parents were rarely ho due to work, so she had taken care of everything herself, cleaning, laundry, cooking, even looking after her older brother, and she had done it willingly.

Then suddenly, she found out she was basically one of the most prominent second-generation figures in Japan, with countless high-ranking officials owing her grandmother favors.

What kind of ridiculous situation was that?

Nagisa Akatsuki's first reaction had been wanting to strangle her parents.

Is this how you treat your own kids? Would it kill you to hire a nanny?

After venting in her mind, doubt followed.

No one in her family was ordinary. So was her older brother, Kojou Akatsuki, really as simple as he seed?

She had her suspicions, but without proof, she could only hold back judgnt.

But now, she might finally have evidence.

A smile crept onto her lips. Her fingers moved across the wall, guiding Magical Power as she carefully traced the rune, stroke by stroke.

Just as she was about to complete it...

"Boom!"

A violent explosion erupted at the doorway. The shockwave disrupted her movents, and both siblings instinctively raised their arms to shield their eyes.

Before the Akatsuki siblings could react, a group of Beastn poured in through the blasted opening. Wearing goggles, they were unaffected by the black smoke and imdiately locked onto everyone in the room.

All of them rushed straight toward Kojou Akatsuki.

The one at the front swung his arm and hurled a sphere engraved with Magic Circles.

Through the narrow gap between his fingers, Kojou Akatsuki caught sight of the incoming attackers. Realizing they ant harm, Magical Power surged within him as he prepared to summon his Beast Vassal.

"Thud!"

The sphere struck him.

It instantly unfolded, several anchoring points extending and piercing into Kojou Akatsuki's body. Then, the restless Beast Vassals inside him fell silent.

The seemingly endless Magical Power vanished from his senses.

"Gah..."

He did not even have ti to react.

The Beastn had already closed in. The two leading attackers moved in sync. One drove a punch into Kojou Akatsuki's abdon, while the other struck the back of his head with a knife-hand.

One blow robbed him of the ability to fight. The other took his consciousness.

In a seamless combination, Kojou Akatsuki collapsed on the spot, completely unconscious.

The Beastn behind them were only a step slower. Each of them took out restraints and quickly fastened them onto Kojou Akatsuki with practiced efficiency.

Each of the Beastn carried out their roles in perfect coordination. The entire process took less than three seconds. In that short span of ti, Kojou Akatsuki went from a powerful fighter capable of wielding a Primogenitor's Beast Vassal to a completely immobilized captive, unable to move a single muscle.

After finishing, the Beastn exchanged glances, clearly surprised at how smoothly everything had gone.

But they quickly got moving again, lifting Kojou Akatsuki and preparing to leave.

"Hey, where are you taking Kojou?!"

Nagisa Akatsuki's voice rang out. A phantom rune pierced through the dense black smoke and struck the Beastman at the very back. The impact sent him flying on the spot. Although his strong vitality kept him from dying imdiately, he was completely incapacitated.

Everything had happened too quickly. Nagisa Akatsuki still had not fully processed what was going on, but the mont she saw them trying to take her brother, she acted without hesitation.

Realizing she was not the staff mber they had assud, the Beastn exchanged looks. The one who had been leading stepped forward.

"You guys take the Fourth Primogenitor and leave. Don't let the Island Guard catch you. I'll deal with her."

At the command, the Beastn imdiately rushed toward the exit with Kojou Akatsuki.

"Don't take Ko…"

Nagisa Akatsuki dashed forward to stop them, but before she could finish, the sound of sothing slicing through the air reached her ears.

Sensing danger, she abandoned the attempt and leapt back, narrowly dodging the incoming punch from a Beastman.

"Tch, looks like I have to deal with you first."

The Beastman assigned to cover their retreat did not pause after missing his strike. He pressed forward, launching another attack, his fist carrying trendous force.

Nagisa Akatsuki frowned, unwilling to be held up any longer. Gritting her teeth, a trace of reluctance flashed through her mind as two peculiar talismans appeared in her hands. She pressed them firmly against her palms. A white glow flared from the talismans and spread across her entire arms.

Feeling the surge of power, she fixed her gaze on the charging Beastman and threw a heavy punch to et him head-on.

"Crack…"

The sound of bones breaking rang out from the Beastman's arm. They held for barely a second before he was sent flying, smashing straight through the wall. Large chunks of debris broke loose and ca crashing down onto his body.

The falling stones crushed him with ease. His entire body was mangled, flesh torn apart, parts of him reduced to pulp.

Blood splattered everywhere, staining the floor and walls. His limbs twitched weakly. He was clearly beyond saving.

That strike was not without cost. The recoil forced Nagisa Akatsuki back three steps. Her head throbbed as if it were splitting apart, and both her arms trembled violently, swollen and numb.

Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself and rushed toward the exit, determined to chase after the Beastn and take Kojou Akatsuki back.

But the mont she stepped through the doorway, a massive boulder shot out from the rubble where the Beastman had crashed earlier.

Caught completely off guard, Nagisa Akatsuki had no ti to dodge. She hastily raised her arms, relying on the power of the talismans to block the incoming blow.

The mont she made contact, Nagisa Akatsuki's expression changed drastically. The force carried by the boulder far exceeded the strength she had just clashed with. This was no longer sothing she could withstand.

The impact sent her flying. She hit the ground and rolled several tis before barely managing to steady herself.

Looking up, she saw the Beastman who had looked on the verge of death just monts ago now standing again. His muscles swelled, split apart, then fused back together in an instant. His entire body had turned into a grotesque mass of writhing flesh.

"Clink!"

From what could still be recognized as his head, a glass bottle was spat out. It fell to the ground and rolled a few tis. Inside, a red pill still remained. It was obvious that this was what had caused the Beastman to transform into such a state.

"Roar…"

A deafening roar erupted from the Beastman as he charged at Nagisa Akatsuki at a speed she could not react to, raising his claws high.

The roar shook her mind. Nagisa Akatsuki froze on the spot. By the ti she regained her senses, the incoming fist was already right in front of her.

Faced with an attack she could neither dodge nor block, a golden light burst from her blue eyes.

...

"Ha... ha... ha..."

Yukina Hiragi and Sayaka Kirasaka stood back to back, facing off against more than a dozen Beastn surrounding them.

Unlike the earlier group that had bypassed Sayaka Kirasaka's detection spell and launched a close-range ambush while she was alone, the situation now was different.

One was a Sword Shaman, the other a Shrine Maiden. One excelled at long range, the other in close combat. On top of that, their coordination was seamless. For the mont, the Beastn did not dare to advance.

Sayaka Kirasaka shot Yukina Hiragi a glance, signaling her intent to break through. The space was far too cramped. She could not move freely, and she did not dare use high-powered arrows for fear of causing a collapse.

The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she beca.

Yesterday's situation with Yukina Hiragi was understandable. They knew each other too well. Without prior awareness or ti to adjust, sneaking up on one another was not difficult for either of them.

But how had these Beastn managed to bypass her techniques, conceal their presence, and get close to her without her noticing?

If the exit had not been blocked and the room was not so confined, forcing her into close combat, she could have wiped them out on her own. She would not have needed Yukina Hiragi's help.

After all, she had always maintained the image of a dependable older sister in front of Yukina Hiragi. Ending up in such a sorry state and needing to be rescued was downright humiliating.

A light touch ca from her shoulder. Sensing Yukina Hiragi's response, Sayaka Kirasaka moved.

Lowering her stance, Yukina Hiragi gripped her silver spear and rushed toward the Beastn. At almost the sa mont, Sayaka Kirasaka drew three arrows from her inner thigh, nocked them, pulled the string, and released in one smooth motion.

In just a few steps, Yukina Hiragi had already reached the front of the Beastn. She raised her silver spear high and swung it down in a sweeping strike.

Drawn by Yukina Hiragi, the Beastn focused their attacks on her. But before they could act, Sayaka Kirasaka's arrows had already arrived. While still in midair, the arrowheads transford.

The three arrows linked together, triggering a reaction. A powerful electric current instantly spread across all the Beastn.

Their bodies froze montarily under the shock. Seizing that instant, Yukina Hiragi altered her swing, and a streak of white light burst from the spear tip.

"I, Sword Shaman of the High God and priestess of the Lion, beseech thee. Dawn light of exorcism, spirit wolf of snowy mist, grant the divine might of thy steel, that I may smite a hundred evil spirits!"

With the rapid chant completed, the blocked exit was blasted open. The Beastn in the path were thrown aside by Spiritual Energy, wounds tearing across their bodies. Those at the center were killed outright.

"Let's go!"

Grabbing Yukina Hiragi's hand, Sayaka Kirasaka pulled her forward and dashed toward the exit.

"Step!"

The mont she crossed the doorway, she stopped.

Her pupils shrank, her body trembling as she stared at the figure before her.

A tall, muscular man stood there, his body bearing three heads, each wearing an expression of interest.

"How amusing!"

"That useless Beastman said he only needed to capture one person, but there are actually two here. Even better."

"Can I kill one? Can I kill one? Being ordered around by that useless Beastman and not even being allowed to kill is so boring."

The three heads spoke over one another, even starting to argue, barely paying attention to them.

But Sayaka Kirasaka did not dare move.

An overwhelming pressure radiated from the man, pressing down on her.

It looked like there were countless ways out, but in truth, every path led to death.

"Hello, my na is Aži Dahāka. I'm a Heavenly Dragon."

"Enough nonsense. Whoever has that docunt gets to live."

The left and right heads began arguing again. Only when the previously electrocuted Beastn recovered and stepped forward to stand behind him did the middle head intervene.

"Alright, stop arguing. You two heard it. Whoever has the Lion King Organization credentials gets to live."

His voice carried a strange, enticing quality that amplified their instinct to survive. The two of them were almost compelled to speak.

"Boom!"

Another explosion rang out, accompanied by a bone-chilling cold.

The sudden chill ran through their bodies, snapping them back to their senses.