-961- [ Sleeping Beauty ]

"No. 12."

"A part of the Fourth Primogenitor."

In these sentences, concealed were extremely confidential and important pieces of information.

Due to these two sentences, Rozen's mind raced with speculations.

Thus, Rozen remained silent, like the others present, gazing at the girl sleeping in the ice coffin, seemingly unable to look away.

There was no denying that the appearance of the girl in the ice coffin was too fantastical. She looked like a fairy trapped in amber, exuding a beauty distinct from ordinary humans.

Countless sharp ice pillars surrounded the ice coffin, resembling thorns guarding the girl's slumber. This added an air of nobility and sanctity to her.

"It's like Sleeping Beauty..."

Unconsciously, Kojou uttered these words.

However, the girl lying in the ice coffin indeed resembled a princess from a fairy tale who had fallen into a deep sleep. She didn't look like a deceased vampire primogenitor needing burial in an underground tomb.

Moreover, it wasn't only Kojou who thought so.

"Princess Avrora Florestina, the king of the kingdom Florestina's daughter, trapped in eternal slumber..."

Liana murmured, looking at Kojou.

"You were referring to her right?"

Liana said so.

However, Gajou was the first to laugh instead of answering the question.

"Not bad, instead of using dull numbers, having a fairy-tale-like name can make things more interesting." Gajou patted Kojou's shoulder, unusually praising him. "Occasionally, you're somewhat useful for in this trip."

"That 'Occasionally' is unnecessary!" Kojou immediately retorted to his father.

But it seemed like the matter was settled.

"From now on, let's call our 'king' Avrora Florestina!"

Liana's eyes filled with expectation as she looked at the girl in the ice coffin.

Her demeanor wasn't like someone observing a relic in a ruin or a legendary being. Instead, it was like looking at hope, the last straw for salvation.

"'King'?"

Kojou was puzzled.

Gajou, on the other hand, smiled without saying anything, as if he knew what Liana was referring to.

Only Rozen, while observing the girl in the ice coffin, spoke as a reminder.

"By the way, shouldn't you guys go check on Nagisa?"

Rozen's words immediately awakened everyone present.

The crowd then noticed that Nagisa was still not out of her spiritual trance, continuing to walk forward like a ghost returning to her body, slowly heading towards the ice coffin.

"Crackle... Crackle..."

In this situation, layers of frost began to form on Nagisa's body.

This was due to the intense cold emanating from around the ice coffin.

Apparently, the chilling air blowing through the entire tomb, which had been constant, was coming from the ice coffin.

Thus, the closer one got to the ice coffin, the stronger the chill became. A mere human attempting to touch the ice coffin would inevitably pay the price of being frozen into an ice sculpture, sleeping eternally here with the Sleeping Beauty.

"Nagisa! Wait...!"

Seeing this, Kojou finally realized and immediately tried to rush over to bring Nagisa back.

Unfortunately...

"Boom..."

Suddenly, the entire ruin, as if experiencing an earthquake, began to shake with a thunderous roar.

"Whoa!"

Just as Kojou, who was about to run towards Nagisa, lost his balance and fell.

"Earthquake...!?"

Liana was equally surprised.

"No! It's an explosion!"

Only Gajou, as if understanding something, revealed a hostile expression.

"Is it here?"

Rozen, on the other hand, didn't seem surprised at all, remaining remarkably calm.

Because, moments ago, Rozen had sensed a change in the atmosphere inside the entire ruin, and there were subtle magical fluctuations outside the ruin as well.

What did this indicate?

It indicated that someone had secretly initiated large-scale magic.

And if Rozen's guess was correct, the other party was likely someone he knew.

That's why Rozen chose to remain silent, observing the situation.

It seemed that the other party had detected Rozen's group unlocking the seal, finding the location of the Fairy's Coffin, and immediately launched an attack.

Liana also finally realized what had happened and stood in shock.

"An attack? How is that possible? We've already set up a barrier around the camp!"

Rozen had noticed this upon arriving at the camp.

It was only natural.

Since this was an important site jointly excavated by the Warlord Dominion and the Japanese government, it was expected that it would attract the attention of lawless individuals.

Liana and others were well aware of this, so they had already set up a barrier around the camp.

"Did the barrier get broken? How is that possible?"

Liana quickly calmed down but couldn't hide the gravity on her face.

At this moment...

"Nagisa!"

Kojou exclaimed.

Because Nagisa had finally reached the vicinity of the ice coffin, reached out her hand, and touched it.

"Clang!"

The entire ice coffin flashed with brilliance and then quickly disappeared.

"Huh?"

Rozen looked at this scene, suddenly puzzled.

However, Rozen's confusion was quickly overshadowed by Kojou's shout.

"Nagisa!"

Kojou rushed over.

In front of him, Nagisa, who had touched the ice coffin, collapsed like a broken puppet.

Kojou rushed over, but the intimidating cold forced him to retreat.

"Nagisa!"

Watching Nagisa fall to the ground, Gajou, feeling helpless, showed a regretful expression.

"Hmm!"

Almost at the same time, the space around Nagisa suddenly fluctuated like a whirlpool, swallowing her in.

The next moment, Nagisa appeared in Rozen's arms, being held by him.

"Thud!"

At the same time, the frost on Nagisa's body shattered abruptly, turning into ice particles and disappearing.

This was naturally Rozen's doing.

"Space manipulation magic?"

Gajou raised an eyebrow.

"So, you really are...!"

Liana looked at Rozen, breathless.

Rozen, ignoring Gajou and Liana's reactions, stared at the unconscious Nagisa, frowning.

"If I had known, I should have stopped her from going there in the first place. It's counterproductive to divert attention to the outside and end up making mistakes..."

Rozen muttered with a troubled expression.

"Nichiyo!"

Seeing Rozen like this, Kojou hurriedly ran over.

By the time Kojou reached Rozen, Rozen had already handed Nagisa, who was in his arms, to Kojou.

"Here, take care of Nagisa first. Deal with what got into her later."

Ignoring the others' confusion, Rozen handed Nagisa to Kojou and emanated magical power.

Rozen was preparing to use spatial teleportation to return to the surface.

However, before that...

"Take me with you, Minamiya!"

Gajou placed his hand on Rozen's shoulder, showing a fearless smile.

Rozen deeply looked at Gajou and nodded.

"Well then, let's go."

With those words, the two of them flickered and disappeared from the spot.

Leaving only Kojou, Liana, and the unconscious Nagisa, who took a while to react.