-1019- Just a warning

At the same time, on the frozen edge of the northern district's coastal area, space suddenly fluctuated, allowing a petite figure to appear.

Besides Natsuki, who else could it be?

Natsuki raised her head and looked forward.

There...

"I knew you would come looking for me, Witch of the Void."

With a calm and ancient voice, the girl standing in front of the frozen northern district turned around.

It was none other than Shizuka Koyomi.

"Did you learn the truth from your little brother?" Shizuka Koyomi asked calmly. "But this operation has government approval. Even you cannot stop it, Attack Mage Minamiya."

Shizuka Koyomi preemptively asserted.

It seemed Shizuka Koyomi had been prepared to confront Natsuki and demand answers.

For this ritual, Shizuka Koyomi must have expected some damage to Itogami Island, which the national Attack Mages protecting the island would not allow.

This was the relationship between the national Attack Mages and the Lion King Agency, which often led to conflicting positions.

Therefore, Shizuka Koyomi had prepared herself for Natsuki's challenges.

Unfortunately...

"I didn't come to talk about the ritual," Natsuki said lightly.

"Not about the ritual?" Shizuka Koyomi was surprised.

In the next moment...

Boom!

Space behind Natsuki suddenly trembled.

"What...!?"

Shizuka Koyomi, who had not expected this, was shocked.

In that gap, a massive figure emerged from the space behind Natsuki.

It was an elegant yet fierce figure clad in golden armor.

The golden knight's figure was tall and slender, seemingly a female knight, but wearing a helmet that obscured her face. She exuded an exceptionally fierce presence, shaking the atmosphere and the earth.

Contrary to the brilliant golden armor, there was a dark and terrifying aura emanating from the knight, completely opposite to its radiant color, exuding a sense of darkness and horror.

The essence of that aura was magic, but it definitely did not belong to this world, resembling dark magic from hell.

This golden female knight, like a flickering shadow, appeared behind Natsuki.

Natsuki coldly stared at Shizuka Koyomi, and from her, a similarly dark and terrifying magic pressure surged out invisibly, causing Shizuka Koyomi to pale.

As one of the "Three Saints" of the Lion King Agency, Shizuka Koyomi naturally knew what it was.

"Guardian..."

"Guardian."

It was a companion that only witches who made contracts with demons could obtain.

Witches who made contracts with demons could obtain vast demonic power comparable to high-ranking demons and wield powerful magic. However, their strongest power was not magic or demonic power but the companionship of demons.

Just like the name "Guardian" implies, they would protect the witch and grant them the power to fulfill their wishes. When a witch broke the contract, they would become executioners harvesting the witch's life, the embodiment of the contract made by the witch.

All witches had their own guardians and could command them to unleash extraordinary power.

Just like how vampires had their powerful beast vassals, the guardians of witches were their strongest reliance.

Now, Natsuki had summoned her own guardian.

"Arise, Rain Gold!"

Natsuki called out the name of her guardian with a ghostly voice, causing the golden female knight behind her to raise her head and lift the broad-bladed golden knight's sword in her hand high.

Shizuka Koyomi's gaze hardened, and without hesitation, she also raised her hand.

In the next moment, the guardian named Rain Gold seemed to cleave the world itself, swinging down her knight's sword.

Boom!

The atmosphere exploded.

The wide-bladed knight's sword, swung down abruptly, seemed to truly cleave the world, splitting the space and causing the heavens and earth to displace, crashing down and blowing away everything around it.

As a result, the earth collapsed suddenly.

As a result, a storm swept in.

"Ugh...!"

Shizuka Koyomi let out a groan of discomfort and retreated like a shadow.

In front of her, the barrier formed by countless runes arranged neatly shattered like glass under the guardian's blow, forcing Shizuka Koyomi to retreat.

"This is... Minamiya Natsuki's... Guardian!"

Enduring the terrifying power and the aftermath of the storm, Shizuka Koyomi struggled to regulate her breathing.

Legend has it that Minamiya Natsuki's guardian is an extremely ferocious entity. Just manifesting itself causes space to distort, and a single strike can twist dimensions. Among all the guardians of witches, it is considered the most terrifying, capable of effortlessly annihilating even the beast vessels of the old generation of vampires.

If Natsuki herself is the manipulator of space, then her guardian is the jailer, binder, and destroyer of space. Therefore, she never easily summons her guardian. Even if she does, she places seals on it to restrict its ferocious power, preventing it from causing immense damage to its surroundings.

Yet now, Natsuki unhesitatingly summoned her guardian.

Moreover, there seemed to be no restrictions set, causing everything around to be blown away. The space remained unstable, as if it could shatter at any moment, exceptionally terrifying.

"This is just a warning, Lion King Agency."

With her fierce guardian behind her, Natsuki, contrary to her role as a national Attack Mage upholding order on Itogami Island, resembled a true witch, coldly staring at Shizuka Koyomi.

"No matter what your plans are, I won't allow you to involve him."

For this, Natsuki summoned her guardian.

"I'll say this only once."

Natsuki declared coldly.

"You're not allowed to involve Minamiya Nichiyo."

This was the only point on which Natsuki refused to compromise.

As a national Attack Mage, Natsuki had feelings for Itogami Island and favored many students of Saikai Academy. She wasn't entirely devoid of concern; otherwise, she wouldn't voluntarily maintain order.

So, it wasn't surprising that Shizuka Koyomi thought Natsuki came to interrogate. However, compared to all this, Natsuki had something even more important, something she couldn't afford to make mistakes with.

That was Rozen.

If Rozen were to be harmed...

"I will become a true witch and destroy everything."

Only on this point would Natsuki never compromise.

Compared to Rozen, Natsuki could sacrifice the important things she protected.

That was what Natsuki wanted to express.

Then, Natsuki's guardian disappeared, and she vanished as well.

Shizuka Koyomi silently watched this scene and surveyed the surroundings.

Within a radius of several kilometers from her, the earth collapsed, burying everything.

If it weren't for the desolation here, the damage would probably exceed the intense battle between Rozen and Balthazar Zaharias.

Of course, even if Rozen's shikigami and Zaharias's beast vessal weren't battling in the sky but on the ground, Itogami Island would have sunk long ago.

Nevertheless, it was still evident how terrifying Natsuki's power was.

Although not comparable to the Primogenitors, ordinary second and third generations were definitely no match for Natsuki.

Shizuka Koyomi made this assessment.

And then...

"To attain this level of power, what price did she pay?"

The strength of a guardian is directly proportional to the weight of the contract between the witch and the demon.

In other words, the greater the price paid by the witches during the contract, the more powerful the guardian, the embodiment of the contract, would be.

Shizuka Koyomi, as the head of the "Three Saints" of the Lion King Agency, was well aware of this.

Because of this, even if one were to oppose Natsuki, even Shizuka Koyomi, who was acclaimed to be someone whom even the Primogenitors needed to be wary of, would find it troublesome.

"Minamiya Natsuki... Minamiya Nichiyo..."

How much change will these two bring?

"It's truly worrying..."

Shizuka Koyomi sighed silently.

The night continued.

The turmoil was only just beginning.