"The Third Primogenitor!!!"
The moment Kojou Akatsuki learned her true identity from Giada, he cried out in shock.
He swallowed nervously, instinctively stepping back as he spoke, his voice trembling.
"Third Primogenitor, y-you… what do you want with me? Are you here to take back the power of the Fourth Primogenitor from me?"
Kojou Akatsuki was very aware of his situation. The only thing about him that could attract someone like the Third Primogenitor, who still stood among the top-tier powerhouses even after the World Fusion, was the power of the Fourth Primogenitor within him.
"Young man, there's no need to be so nervous.
I do have a purpose in coming here, but you can rest assured. Since we allowed the power of the Fourth Primogenitor to reside within you back then, we have no intention of going back on our word."
Sensing his unease, Giada smiled calmly, offering reassurance.
"We? Allowed?"
Catching the key words in her statement, Kojou Akatsuki frowned in confusion.
As if amused by his reaction, Giada looked at him for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, young man, you don't seriously think that after absorbing the Fourth Primogenitor, and with the potential to fight one of us Three Great Primogenitors once you gather all your Beast Vassals, you could live peacefully on this island without the approval of me, the Lost Warlord, and Fall Gazer, do you?
That's impossible. When you absorbed the Fourth Primogenitor's power, it caused quite a stir."
Hearing this, Kojou Akatsuki fell silent. The confusion on his face only deepened instead of fading.
"Ah, right. You don't have any memory of that… Well, let's skip that part."
Noticing his expression, Giada recalled the issue and lightly tapped her forehead.
"Your Excellency, Third Primogenitor, do you know what really happened back then? Why did I suddenly gain the power of the Fourth Primogenitor after waking up? Why don't I remember anything in between? And who is Avrora? Why does my head hurt whenever I hear her name?"
Giada had tried to move past the topic, but Kojou Akatsuki failed to catch the hint. Setting aside his caution, he fired off a string of questions, desperate to learn the truth.
"You want to know?"
Giada showed no annoyance at his bluntness. Instead, she looked at him with interest.
"Yeah."
Kojou Akatsuki nodded firmly.
"I don't know."
With a bright smile, Giada gave her answer.
"I only learned about it through reports from my subordinates. At most, I can tell you what was happening outside. As for what actually happened inside, only the people involved would know."
She kept the rest to herself, though she could more or less piece things together from the external reports. A faint, helpless smile appeared on her face, as if she found it regrettable.
"Is that so…"
Kojou Akatsuki looked visibly disappointed at not getting the answers he wanted. After a subdued response, he shifted his attention to another matter.
"Since you're not here to take back my power, then why did the Third Primogenitor come to see me?"
"Let me correct you. I didn't come here specifically for you. Meeting you was just something I did while visiting Itogami Island. And…"
The smile on Giada's face vanished.
A crushing pressure suddenly descended on Kojou Akatsuki. Under that weight, he felt like he could barely breathe. Even the Beast Vassals inside him, which had never fully obeyed him, fell completely silent.
"Don't mistake possessing the power of the Fourth Primogenitor for actually being the Fourth Primogenitor. As you are now, you couldn't even defeat my subordinates. Don't let it go to your head and think I would come to you for help."
After saying that, Giada made no further move. The pressure disappeared as quickly as it had come, and her gentle smile returned.
Only after the pressure lifted from his body did Kojou Akatsuki finally manage to catch his breath. When he came back to his senses, he realized that despite being in a hospital room with the air conditioning set to well below freezing, the back of his gown was completely soaked with cold sweat.
In the recklessness of youth, Kojou himself probably hadn't even noticed it. Gaining the power of the legendary Fourth Primogenitor at just a teenager's age had inevitably given rise to a heroic illusion, the kind that said, "with great power comes great responsibility."
That was why, when the Lion King Organization approached him and told him that Itogami Island was about to sink and needed his power to stop it, he had agreed so easily. He hadn't stopped to think at all about how ridiculous it was that a single Armed Apostle could destroy the entire island.
Before becoming the Fourth Primogenitor, Kojou Akatsuki had just been an ordinary person. The idea of facing death wasn't something he could truly grasp.
After becoming the Fourth Primogenitor, it was even less of a concern. The immortality of a Primogenitor meant that even when a Cross pierced straight through his heart, he had only passed out from the pain. There was simply nothing that could make him feel the threat of death.
That was how it used to be. But now…
In those few brief seconds just now, Kojou Akatsuki felt death closing in for the first time. The immortality of the Fourth Primogenitor had been suppressed by a higher-ranking bloodline. His own Fourth Primogenitor bloodline was incomplete; if it were whole, even if he couldn't defeat Giada, she wouldn't be able to kill him.
"Relax, I was joking. I didn't come here to hurt you. On the contrary, I'm here to save you."
Seeing that Kojou Akatsuki still kept his head lowered in silence, Giada knew he had been frightened, but she pretended not to notice.
"You and that interesting girl outside just now, choose one territory among mine or the other two Primogenitors. Then, on another day, you'll move there and settle down."
At the mention of where he and Nagisa would live, Kojou reacted and raised his head.
"Why do Nagisa and I have to leave Itogami Island?"
"For your own good, of course."
Giada shrugged, a genuine wry smile appearing on her face this time.
"Originally, keeping you on Itogami Island wouldn't have been an issue. And conveniently enough, isn't there an organization here in Japan called the Lion King Organization? Given how they usually operate, they would have taken the initiative to provide you with high-quality spirit mediums to help awaken your power.
But, as they say, things don't always go as planned. With this world fusion, the number of factions targeting you has suddenly increased, and we simply don't have the capacity to keep watch over you anymore.
So, after a few minutes of discussion between me and the other two Primogenitors, we decided to bring you to the territory of one of us. We'll assign people to help you get familiar with the power of the Fourth Primogenitor.
Once you've mastered it and can fully wield that power, we'll let you leave and choose a place to establish your own Dominion of the Night. Don't worry, we'll also prepare the spirit mediums you need for your awakening.
And don't blame us for this. We don't want it either. After all, the spirit mediums capable of fully awakening a Primogenitor's Beast Vassals are extremely high-grade. Giving them to you isn't something we can do lightly.
If it were up to us, we wouldn't want this world fusion to happen either… pfft, hahaha…"
By the end, Giada's expression shifted. It was the look of someone who knew this was supposed to be a bad situation, trying to appear displeased, yet unable to hold back her laughter.
Not want the world fusion?
What a joke.
Compared to breaking the dull, empty routine of the three great Primogenitors, what did a mere Fourth Primogenitor even amount to?
As three Primogenitors who have existed since the ancient era of World No. 2, back when the Deva Gods still walked the world, longevity has become synonymous with them in the eyes of mortals.
But that doesn't make it a blessing.
Over the endless passage of time, worn down by emptiness and boredom, the three of them have long hovered on the edge of madness. Yet bound by the curse of immortality, even death is beyond their reach.
Maybe their minds really have gone rotten. Otherwise, how could they have made the decision to leave Kojou Akatsuki, who devoured the Fourth Primogenitor, unattended on Itogami Island? Even if the Fourth Primogenitor poses little threat to them and they themselves cannot die, a single misstep could still lead to a complete disaster.
Still, compared to the world fusion, Kojou Akatsuki having devoured the Fourth Primogenitor is hardly worth mentioning.
If Kojou Akatsuki is like a fine wine aged for decades, then to the three Primogenitors, the world fusion is a lavish feast placed before someone who has been starving for three days and nights.
As for the earlier excuse that they didn't have time to deal with Kojou Akatsuki, that was complete nonsense. The world fusion happened a year and a half ago. No matter how you look at it, they had plenty of time.
The real reason was simple. They were having too much fun.
On top of that, nothing interesting had happened on Itogami Island during that period, so they simply forgot about Kojou Akatsuki altogether. It wasn't until two weeks ago, when the Lion King Organization made their move, that they remembered there was still a Fourth Primogenitor. Dimitrie Vatler, meanwhile, was on the world battlefield, having just as much fun.
Ignoring Giada's laughter, Kojou Akatsuki thought for a moment before speaking again.
"Why does Nagisa have to come? If someone has to go, can't it just be me?"
"No. Your sister has to come. As for why, that's not something I can tell you."
"Then… I'm sorry, but I don't intend to leave this place to go to one of your territories."
"Hm? Why? Care to explain?"
Once again caught off guard by Kojou Akatsuki's answer, the interest in Giada's eyes only grew stronger.
"There are a lot of reasons. I don't want Nagisa to give up everything she has on Itogami Island because of me. I also don't know if we'd be able to adapt to life in a Vampire territory. And honestly, I just want to live as a normal person. I have no interest in building any 'Dominion of the Night.'
Besides, this works in your favor too, doesn't it? You're not exactly eager to part with those spirit mediums either, right?"
"Hahaha…"
Giada burst out laughing at Kojou Akatsuki's confident tone.
Spirit mediums?
No matter how valuable they were, could they really compare to a Primogenitor? Besides, being bitten by a Primogenitor wouldn't even kill them.
"Alright, young man, you make a good point. I really am reluctant to give up high-level spirit mediums. In that case, the deal is settled. I'll inform the other two Primogenitors."
After laughing, Giada returned to her usual smile and agreed to the arrangement.
Let's just hope you don't come crying later, begging me to take you away.
As she turned to leave, a faint, mocking smile flickered across her lips.
A little-known fact: news that the Fourth Primogenitor was defeated by an Armed Apostle has already spread.