Chapter 145: Nagisa-chan, come out and clean up the mess

Gozo Island, an archaeological excavation team fully equipped.

Akatsuki Kojou led his younger sister Akatsuki Nagisa, following behind their father, the archaeologist Akatsuki Gajo, as they stepped into the Underground Mausoleum.

Walking along the path that had been temporarily cleared, Akatsuki Kojou's face was filled with obvious anger.

"Gajo, why did you have to bring Nagisa here specifically?"

"Kojou-kun, I've told you, it's the helplessness of being an adult."

Facing his furious son, Akatsuki Gajo laughed with a flippant tone.

Explaining to Akatsuki Kojou that the investors behind the archaeological team had given a death order, and that failing the mission would mean jail time or paying a massive penalty?

Saying things like the family's livelihood would suffer a devastating blow was completely useless.

How could a child whose worldview is black and white care about your money? They would never understand the stench of copper that adults have.

"You guy!"

It was obvious that Akatsuki Kojou was angered by his unscrupulous father's rogue attitude.

That look of intense rage made Akatsuki Nagisa, who was already somewhat frightened behind him, unable to help but tug on Akatsuki Kojou's sleeve and say.

"Kojou-kun, I'm fine."

"As expected, Nagisa-chan is the most considerate."

Seeing his daughter being so sensible, Akatsuki Gajo said, feeling both relieved and pained.

At this moment, a white girl nearby, wearing a complex Western-style dress and with golden hair, looked at the wall at the end of the path and spoke.

"Akatsuki Gajo, prepare yourself, it's about to begin."

"Oh, I understand, Liana-chin."

Akatsuki Gajo looked all smiles, as if the girl beside him were his sweetheart, yet in reality, she was one of the investors behind this archaeological team.

Although she didn't hold many shares, she was still one of the culprits forcing him to conduct this archaeology.

Because he was annoyed, he teased her; this was Akatsuki Gajo's habitual way of treating women.

Liana Karuana glanced at Akatsuki Gajo, not pursuing his previous words, but instead locking her gaze onto Akatsuki Nagisa.

"Can this child really handle the wall ahead?"

The wall of the ruins that sealed the twelfth Fourth Progenitor.

In order to find the Fourth Progenitor and revive her family, Liana, who had almost exhausted her family fortune, knew all too well how thick the wall ahead was.

It was an iron wall that even high-yield missiles and the Familiars of Vampire Elders could not break through.

However, unlike the worried Liana, Akatsuki Gajo was quite confident about it.

"Rest assured, when it comes to the talent of a shrine maiden, no one is stronger than Nagisa."

"A high-ranking shrine maiden?"

Liana looked with some surprise at the girl Akatsuki Nagisa, who had a trace of unease on her face; this kind of high-ranking shrine maiden was actually this guy's daughter?

Isn't that just a total waste?

At this, Akatsuki Kojou, who was listening nearby, asked with growing unease in his heart.

"Gajo, what exactly are you trying to do by bringing Nagisa here?"

The closer they got to the Underground Mausoleum, the more uneasy Akatsuki Kojou felt, as if some terrifying beast had opened its eyes deep underground.

That sense of unease and fear made Akatsuki Kojou almost want to flee.

And at this moment, Akatsuki Gajo, who also sensed the strange aura, had no particular reaction, only explaining calmly.

"Kojou, have you heard of it? That sole, lonely, strongest vampire who possesses all fellow members of the Blood Clan, that monster who appears at every turning point in History, bringing slaughter and destruction."

"You mean, the Dream Vampire, the Fourth Progenitor, the Flame-Haired Night Lord? Isn't that just something the teacher uses to brag?"

Hearing this, Akatsuki Kojou asked back in astonishment.

"Brag? This isn't bragging, it's the truth."

Saying this, Akatsuki Gajo looked at the black wall in front of him and said.

"That legendary Fourth Progenitor is right behind this wall."

And only Akatsuki Nagisa could open the wall... Akatsuki Gajo did not say the latter part.

He didn't want his son to worry too much.

Moreover, this strange sense of unease also made him very concerned.

At this time, Liana nearby suddenly frowned and said.

"Akatsuki Gajo, your daughter, she..."

Hearing this, the Akatsuki father and son turned their heads to look, only to see Akatsuki Nagisa with her eyes wide open, staring blankly at the wall, her body slowly floating in mid-air.

"Oh my... has she already been possessed by the builder?"

A shrine maiden with high spiritual power can be possessed by the lingering thoughts of the ruins' creator; this was something Akatsuki Gajo knew, and it was also the key to his success in the archaeological world.

Although he felt sorry for his daughter, perhaps this was the helplessness of being an adult.

By using the lingering will of the builder to open the mausoleum.

After all, no locksmith is better at picking a lock than the manufacturer.

"Nagisa!"

Akatsuki Kojou looked at Akatsuki Nagisa with some unease and wanted to approach, but at this moment, Liana stopped him.

"If you don't want your sister to get hurt, it's best not to touch her right now."

Hearing this, Akatsuki Kojou suppressed his unease and waited on the spot, feeling somewhat restless.

Meanwhile, Akatsuki Nagisa walked to the front of the wall with hollow eyes, remained silent for a few seconds, and waved her hand.

The wall vanished silently before everyone's eyes.

And at this moment, Akatsuki Gajo, as an archaeologist, also realized the key to opening the lock.

"So that's it, the way to unlock it is to shift the door into a different dimension? Does that mean the mausoleum was originally in a different dimension? Those ancient scholars were way too reckless, weren't they?"

But before he could finish his sentence, an extreme cold suddenly struck; the ruins, which were clearly located in a tropical region, now felt as if they had entered the frigid Arctic zone.

"What's going on? Why is it suddenly so cold?"

Akatsuki Gajo couldn't help but shiver and hug his arms, yet no one responded to his words.

When he finally reacted, he raised his head and looked inside the ruins.

Within that icy world surrounded by layers of ice and snow, a man with black hair and black eyes, dressed casually and possessing an exceptionally handsome appearance, was leaning against a pedestal with his arms crossed, watching them with great curiosity.

And behind the man, a bird-like monster with wings on its back, resembling a mermaid, was holding a treasure vase and staring at the group.

"No. 12 Familiar, Al-Meissa. I can't be mistaken; it is the Familiar of the Fourth Progenitor recorded in history."

Liana Karuana said with a trembling voice.

"Are you serious? The Fourth Progenitor actually broke free from the seal and is standing on the ground waiting for us to open the door."

The strongest Vampire in the world was waiting for them at their leisure; such an exaggerated treatment was something they would rather never encounter.

As for Su Nian, he rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment; he seemed to have figured out the timing and world selection for his transmigration.

If he remembered correctly, the current point in time seemed to be exactly the beginning of the plot, the period when the Fourth Progenitor was unsealed, and also the start of the original protagonist Akatsuki Kojou obtaining the power of the Fourth Progenitor.

As for this group of people in front of him, to be honest, if they hadn't opened the door at such a coincidental time, Su Nian should have already been on his way to Itogami Island by now.

"There is no mistake, the one controlling Al-Meissa must be the Fourth Progenitor."

Beside him, after a brief moment of shock, Liana quickly composed her emotions and knelt on one knee.

"The sixth-generation Head of Household of the Kalyana Family, Liana Karuana, pays respects to His Majesty the Fourth Progenitor."

Su Nian waved his hand casually, unconcerned; he looked up curiously at the long staircase and couldn't help but sneer.

"Beast, who gave you permission to radiate malice toward me?"

A wave of disgusting malice had been locked onto Su Nian ever since the gate opened, and Su Nian was also somewhat speechless.

Does he feel like his intimidation factor has dropped? Or what? The Primordial Soul is the same, and this Beastkin, whoever they are, is the same.

Are they all this brave? Radiating malice so intensely?

However, this Beastkin is not some cute beautiful girl, so naturally, Su Nian would not hold back in the slightest.

Of course, even if they were, at most he would just be a bit gentler and let them die without pain.

As Su Nian's voice fell, a figure gradually emerged from the dark corner of the bend.

It was a wolf-headed Beastkin with a body full of explosive muscles and jet-black skin.

"As expected of the Fourth Progenitor, you actually saw through my brilliant disguise?"

At this moment, Liana beside him hurriedly stood up and said with an angry face.

"This form? The Dead Emperor Brother Glan Hasalov, the Black Death Empire Faction that was crushed by the Snake actually dares to come to this sacred mausoleum!"

Hearing this, Glan glanced at her and sneered.

"Oh? A stray dog of the Kalyana Family? Having had your territory conquered by a trash Vampire without a Familiar, losing your noble status, and now you've rushed here to fawn over the Fourth Progenitor?"

"You!"

Liana was suddenly furious; not to mention that losing her noble status was already a great humiliation, but digging up her past in front of the Fourth Progenitor was even worse than the hatred of a father's murderer.

She had exhausted her family fortune precisely to regain her noble status and prevent the Kalyana Family's lineage from being severed.

Now that he had said that, the success rate of the Fourth Progenitor accepting her had clearly dropped significantly.

How could this not make Liana angry?

"You bastard!!"

Liana couldn't help but summon her Familiars to kill this rude fellow; two Familiars flared with raging flames and flew toward the Dead Emperor Brother.

But at this moment, the Dead Emperor Brother smiled hideously, jumped directly, grabbed the throats of the two Familiars, and squeezed hard.

With two 'Crack!' sounds, the necks of the two Familiars were snapped directly, and they dissipated under his control.

"I have no interest in playing here with small fry like you."

"Ugh!" Liana groaned in pain, knelt halfway on the ground, and looked at the Dead Emperor Brother who had completely transformed into a giant wolf, saying in terror.

"This is Divine Beast Transformation?"

It was the Divine Beast Transformation that only a very small number of Beastkin with ancestral bloodline regression could use.

"Next, it's your turn!"

The Dead Emperor Brother, who had transformed into a giant wolf, turned his head to look at Su Nian, opened his mouth full of sharp teeth, and smiled hideously.

"Killing a Vessel of the Fourth Progenitor, if that happens, even the First Progenitor won't be able to sit still, right?"

Then the Dead Emperor Brother stomped hard, preparing to pounce on Su Nian to end his life.

With a 'Squish!', he seemed to have stepped on an unknown piece of flesh.

"What is this? Actually..."

Then, before he could even finish his sentence, he collapsed to the ground.

Su Nian shrugged his shoulders helplessly, looking at the Dead Emperor Brother who had collapsed on the ground with no wounds on his body other than some flesh and blood on his claws, and said.

"Actually, I was planning to remind you that your heart had fallen out."

"But before I had the chance to remind you, you stepped on your own heart and crushed it."

Su Nian was imitating the ability of the Op-Op Fruit from One Piece, a move he had just developed on a whim, and was planning to test whether taking a heart through space would have any effect on the original owner.

It was just that he accidentally forgot to teleport the heart over, and then it accidentally fell to the ground.

Who knew the Dead Emperor Brother would be so careless as to step on and crush his own heart?

It really is a pity.

So, that was his heart?

Akatsuki Kojou couldn't help but open his mouth wide as he looked at Su Nian; if he remembered correctly, it seemed to be right from the moment that Beastkin jumped out.

It was as if his heart had dropped out?

In other words, this powerful Beastkin had actually been dead from the very beginning?

Is this the level of strength of the Fourth Progenitor, the strongest Vampire in the world? Akatsuki Kojou was deeply shocked.

Meanwhile, Liana, still looking at Su Nian and the body of the Dead Emperor Brother with a sense of disbelief, muttered.

"A Beastkin capable of Divine Beast Transformation actually died so easily?"

Hearing this, Su Nian looked at the corpse of the Dead Emperor Brother and couldn't help but sneer.

"This is a Divine Beast Transformation? It feels inferior even to an ordinary Six-digit magical beast; at the very least, a Divine Beast wouldn't die from a mere fatal wound like losing its heart."

"It was just an ordinary atavistic Beastkin."

As he spoke, Su Nian turned his head to look at a place with spatial fluctuations and slashed his hand through the air.

A petite girl holding a parasol and wearing a complex black gothic dress slid out from a spatial rift and landed on her bottom on the ground.

"Ouch~~ that hurts!"

Nangong Nayue clutched her bottom in pain and glared fiercely around the area, especially at a certain Fourth Progenitor who had a mischievous smile on his face.

"You guy definitely did that on purpose!!"

Nangong Nayue couldn't help but widen her eyes in anger, glaring fiercely at Su Nian as she questioned him.

Spatial Control Magic—she had been using it for who knows how many years, and it had long since been ingrained into her instincts; it was impossible for her to make a mistake, and as for tearing open space?

Was that something a mere Witch like her could do?

So someone else must be playing tricks, all to see her make a fool of herself!!

"Ahem, Nayue-chan, it's time to come out and clean up the mess."

Su Nian coughed lightly twice and pointed to the corpse of the Dead Emperor Brother lying on the ground.

"Hmm??"

Nangong Nayue looked at the corpse on the ground and couldn't help but frown.

The corpse of the Dead Emperor Brother lying on the ground, the frozen earth at the scene, the strange Magic remaining in the air, and that huge, terrifying demon bird.

All of these things were taken in by Nangong Nayue.

Then, holding her parasol, she sighed and said.

"A wasted trip? Well, this can also be considered completing the mission."

Nangong Nayue had accepted a commission from the War King Domain's new generation noble, Dimitrie Vatler, to track down the whereabouts of the Dead Emperor Brother.

And now that the Dead Emperor Brother was dead, as long as she brought the body back, it would be like getting a high bounty for free; no matter how you looked at it, it was a profit.

However, Nangong Nayue looked at the demon bird and then at Su Nian, who was observing her with great interest, and felt increasingly helpless.

"The Vessel of the Fourth Progenitor? This really has dragged me into a huge mess."

Although it was strange that the Vessel of the Fourth Progenitor was male, the Familiar behind him could not be faked.

Especially the powerful aura of that Familiar, a vast amount of Magic sufficient to freeze the entire ocean in an instant.

A Blood Servant could not control such a powerful Familiar.

(End of chapter)