————Blazing Banquet.
The ritual that awakens and resurrects the Fourth Primogenitor, returning him to the world.
For most people, this is an incredibly ominous ritual that they wouldn't want to see take place. It brings the world's strongest vampire into existence, disrupting modern order.
However, there are those who anticipate the resurrection of the Fourth Primogenitor.
For example, petty individuals like Balthazar Zaharias, who intend to use the Fourth Primogenitor as a weapon.
And then, there are those like the sisters of the Caruana family, who hope to support the new Primogenitor and restore their family's glory.
Now, the three individuals present here belong to a different category.
They are all vampires who have lived for endless ages, possessing unparalleled power. Over the long years, they have experienced various events and now find life dull and uninteresting, experiencing a feeling of being worse than dead.
This feeling affects almost all vampires of the old generation to some extent.
It's precisely because of this that the gods bestowed upon the Primogenitors the curse of immortality, turning them into vampires, to make them experience this feeling of being worse than dead.
Given this, any vampire who has lived for a long time will risk everything to seek excitement.
For example, Dimitrie Vatler, who devoured two third-generation elders. This is an insane act that ordinary people would never do, but he did it without hesitation. Now, he seeks even more powerful blood and stronger enemies for his enjoyment, making him the epitome of a battle maniac.
Although Iblisveil Aziz isn't as extreme as Vatler, he also seeks formidable opponents.
As for the sudden appearance of this girl, it's even more so.
For these individuals, the resurrection of the Fourth Primogenitor is indeed a surprise in their long lives. Many people anticipate the resurrection of the Fourth Primogenitor, even hoping that he will bring chaos to the world, to rid themselves of their boredom and dullness.
Therefore, for these individuals, this ritual is truly a feast, a banquet to please themselves.
Otherwise, they wouldn't personally appear here, let alone intervene in this ritual.
In such a scenario, a human barged in.
"Thank you for responding to my summons. On behalf of the Lion King Agency and Itogami Island, I express my gratitude to you all."
These words came from an intellectual girl holding a book, wearing glasses and sporting braided hair, dressed in the Saikai Academy's high school uniform.
It was Shizuka Koyomi.
"Oh?"
The girl, gazing at the city night view, turned around with interest.
"Are you the arbitrator of this banquet?"
Iblisveil Aziz's gaze shifted from the girl and turned towards Shizuka Koyomi, assessing her.
"The head of the 'Three Saints' of the Lion King Agency, the 'Paper Noise,' right?"
Dimitrie Vatler raised an eyebrow, looking at her eyes with a hint of excitement and challenge, typically seen when facing consecutive formidable foes.
"Yes."
Facing three terrifying vampires who could easily sink Itogami Island if provoked, Shizuka Koyomi remained composed, displaying her usual calm demeanor.
"Thank you all for coming. Earl Ardeal, Prince Iblisveil Aziz, and..."
As she continued, Shizuka Koyomi turned her gaze towards the wild-looking girl.
"Call me Giada," the girl said bluntly. "Giada Kukulcan, that's my real name. I don't like it when people address me too formally."
The girl named Giada unexpectedly spoke up.
"...Understood, Lady Giada."
Without dwelling on it, Shizuka Koyomi nodded and continued.
"This Blazing Banquet is indeed convened by us, the Lion King Agency, as the arbiters. Each of you is a chosen selector possessing the matrix of 'Kaleid Blood.' Although your final goals are not to support the new Primogenitor as king, you are all pursuing the Fourth Primogenitor. This is a fact. Therefore, each of you is a candidate of this banquet. In addition to Balthazar Zaharias from Nelapsi, the four of you are the candidate of this banquet. Therefore, we have summoned you all here to officially announce the beginning of the Blazing Banquet."
Shizuka Koyomi's words evoked different reactions from the three present.
"So, everyone here is a candidate?"
Dimitrie Vatler nodded knowingly.
"It's not surprising. The matrices are spread all over the world. Anyone who has managed to obtain them for various reasons over the long years, even if they haven't been found, only the Three Night Empires could have managed it."
Giada's response was indifferent.
"It seems I heard a petty name. Does the leader of Nosferata also want to become a candidate?"
Iblisveil Aziz squinted, looking extremely displeased.
But Shizuka Koyomi remained calm.
"Regardless, Balthazar Zaharias holds the matrices, and he possesses a total of four, the most among all of you. He has the qualifications to convene this banquet. It's also true that Nosferata does indeed possess territories, and in all fairness, he can become a candidate."
Shizuka Koyomi spoke calmly.
"On the other hand, there's another individual currently undergoing scrutiny by the Lion King Agency. We're undecided about granting him the qualifications to be a candidate."
With that said, the three vampires present were all taken aback.
However, Shizuka Koyomi didn't give them much time to ponder.
"Warlord Dominion territories, held by Duke Dimitrie Vatler of the Ardeal Duchy, holds No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5."
"The ninth prince of the Dynasty of Destruction, ruler of the northern eight provinces, Iblisveil Aziz, holds No. 7 and No. 11."
"The Chaos Zone, Giada Kukulcan, holds No. 6 and No. 10."
"Furthermore, the Chairman of the Nelapsi Provisional Autonomous Government, Balthazar Zaharias, possesses No. 1, No. 2, No. 8 and No.9."
"The total number of kaleid blood held by these four candidate is eleven."
At this point, Shizuka Koyomi looked at the three individuals in front of her and revealed something.
"We recently confirmed the awakening of No. 12."
In other words, all twelve domains have been assembled.
The question is...
"Who holds the twelfth matrice?"
Vatler, sensing something unusual in Shizuka Koyomi's words, spoke in a jovial mood.
"Is it the person you mentioned earlier, the one uncertain about his qualifications as a candidate?"
This statement wasn't just from Vatler; Giada and Iblisveil Aziz also shared the sentiment.
As if catching a scent of intriguing changes from the anomaly, the long-lived vampires showed a hint of expectation and excitement.
And Shizuka Koyomi did not disappoint.
"The holder of the twelfth matrice is Minamiya Nichiyo."
Shizuka Koyomi calmly announced.
"He's the younger brother of the Witch of the Void."
With just a simple statement, the gaze of the three individuals present changed.
It became unprecedentedly radiant.
"Are you referring to the child who appeared fifteen years ago on Itogami Island with immense divine aura?"
Giada couldn't help but ask, her tone filled with joy and delight.
Not only Giada, but Vatler and Iblisveil Aziz also showed signs of excitement at the prospect of the child who, it is said, descended with immense divine aura and had a thousand threads connecting him to the divine.
For these vampires, who seek change and excitement, the Fourth Primogenitor could already be a pastime, but the child said to have a profound connection with the divine and who appeared with such grandeur fifteen years ago was even more so.
Indeed, among those who once had thoughts about the young Rozen, there were also these long-lived vampires.
"I didn't expect that the divine child would also be involved in this banquet."
Vatler smiled with great satisfaction.
"But he doesn't have territory. Even if he holds a matrice, he can't become a candidate, right?"
Iblisveil Aziz calmly raised an objection.
"That's correct," Shizuka Koyomi admitted. "The standard for becoming a candidate is to possess at least one matrice and one piece of territory. Minamiya Nichiyo doesn't meet the latter condition, so he can't become a candidate. However, he does indeed hold a domain and repelled Balthazar Zaharias when he tried to take it. As for whether to recognize his qualifications as a candidate, the Lion King Agency is currently deliberating."
At these words...
"Let's acknowledge his qualifications."
Giada spoke without hesitation.
"It's rare that the child we've been expecting shows up on his own. How can I sit idly by and watch?!"
Giada expressed her anticipation eagerly.
"If he needs territory, I can allocate part of my empire to him."
The wild-looking girl made this decision without hesitation.
Among those present, only this girl had the courage to make such a decision. Vatler and Iblisveil Aziz couldn't do the same. After all, their territories were part of the Warlord Dominion and the Dynasty of Destruction, respectively. The true owners of the territories were the First and Second Primogenitors, and even they couldn't just give them away.
"Understood."
Shizuka Koyomi fell silent for a moment, then nodded expressionlessly.
"In that case, on behalf of the Lion King Agency, I formally recognize Minamiya Nichiyo's qualifications as a candidate and allow him to participate in the banquet."
As soon as these words were uttered, Vatler seemingly kindly reminded.
"Is it only up to us to decide? Shouldn't we ask for the opinion of the one from Nelapsi?"
This question prompted a direct response from Shizuka Koyomi.
"The Chariman of Nelapsi has expressed willingness to accept any decision from us, so he did not attend this discussion."
Shizuka Koyomi's response elicited a disdainful snort from Iblisveil Aziz.
"He knows what's good for him. Otherwise, if that dirty arms dealer shamelessly appeared in front of me, I couldn't resist blasting him away."
Surely, this was no joke?
Therefore...
"Then let's make that decision."
Shizuka Koyomi nodded and said, "Please proceed with the preparations for the ritual."
The three vampires nodded happily and then disappeared from the scene.
Shizuka Koyomi watched this scene.
"I hope everything goes smoothly..."
A dreamy voice leaked from her lips.
The night deepened incessantly.
And the conflict had only just begun.