The Battle for Prototype No. 12 (5.1K) (Continued)

"You must be Uncle Jou Akatsuki, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Yuuma Sengakuji, a friend of Kojou and Nagisa Aiba."

"What are you doing here?! No, wait, why are you dressed like this?!"

Compared to Jou Akatsuki, Kojou Akatsuki, as the son and playmate, reacted faster. He quickly walked up to the girl, his eyes full of surprise and astonishment.

Because Yuuma Sengakuji at this moment is completely different from the best friend he remembers; today, Yuuma Sengakuji is actually wearing a beautiful dress!

Does that mean my athletic friend is actually a girl?!

In contrast to Kojou Akatsuki, Jou Akatsuki only showed a hint of amazement when he saw the girl before turning his gaze to the two adults who had followed him.

Upon seeing the woman in the kimono, a look of astonishment, shock, confusion, and fear flashed across his eyes, as if he couldn't understand why this woman was there.

When he looked at the man next to the woman in the kimono, he felt the same shock and confusion, but also a hint of curiosity.

"Turn your gaze away, the one who returns even in death, he is not someone you can fathom."

Just then, the black kimono blocked Jou Akatsuki's view.

Yotsuba Mahiro Aya Sengakuji stepped forward and blocked Jou Akatsuki's view, forcing him to look at her.

This startled Jou Akatsuki for a moment, then he burst into laughter, completely disregarding his image.

"Oh dear, I didn't expect Librarian Witch to be so protective of her own."

Jou Akatsuki stared directly into Aya Sengakuji's eyes without any hesitation.

Yotsuba Mahiro a little curious, never expecting that these two people who had no connection at all would know each other.

But then I thought about it again, and it made sense.

After all, both the Witch of the Librarian Witch Aya Sengakuji, and the archaeologist, Jou Akatsuki, were renowned figures in this world.

Even if you've never met them, you're certainly aware of their existence.

However, just as the two were locked in a fierce standoff, neither willing to back down, a slender figure appeared in front of Jou Akatsuki.

It was the woman who followed Jou Akatsuki.

Just as Aya Sengakuji had just done, he stared at the witch in front of him.

"I never imagined that the infamous Librarian Witch would have a man she needed to protect."

The woman introduced herself with a light laugh and impeccable politeness, "Nice to meet you, Miss Aya Sengakuji. I am Liana Carl, the sixth head of the Karjana Family and a noble Earl in the War King's Domain."

Liana's voice was gentle, without the arrogance and rudeness of someone in a superior position; her first impression was that of someone delicate and fragile.

However, as she spoke, she intentionally or unintentionally tucked a strand of long hair behind her ear, as if deliberately showing them the demon registration certificate on her fair wrist.

It's like a warning.

Seeing this, Aya Sengakuji simply sneered disdainfully.

"Who did I think it was? It turns out to be the fallen heiress of the Karjana Family."

Compared to Aya Sengakuji's attitude of not taking Liana seriously at all, Yotsuba Mahiro had a look of sudden realization.

He knew this woman; to be precise, he was familiar with her.

"I didn't expect to survive the attack by my Dead Emperor's Younger Brother."

He couldn't help but murmur to himself.

Although the sound wasn't loud, and was masked by the noise of the airport, it still reached the ears of the two people opposite them clearly.

Upon hearing the title "Dead Emperor's Younger Brother," both Jou Akatsuki and Liana's expressions changed drastically.

"What did you say?!"

"Ah, it's nothing, sorry."

Mahiro apologized without changing his expression.

"What I mean is, since you two have introduced yourselves, let me introduce myself as well. My name is Yotsuba Mahiro, and I am a traveler."

Yotsuba Mahiro?

Jou Akatsuki frantically searched his memory for the name.

Unfortunately, after racking his brains for a long time, he couldn't recall a single piece of information about the name.

But how could a man who could follow the Librarian Witch and be so pampered be an ordinary person?!

Could it be that they came for the No. 12 prototype unearthed on Gozo Island?

Thinking of this, Jou Akatsuki's gaze towards the two people opposite him changed, becoming wary.

Jou Akatsuki's gaze, however, made Aya Sengakuji feel a slight displeasure.

Seeing that Aya Sengakuji seemed to be planning to make a move, Liana also mobilized the magic power within her body. If the other party dared to make a move, she would immediately summon her familiars to counterattack!

Just when the two sides were deadlocked, a child's innocent voice finally broke the silence.

"So the handsome older brother's name is Yotsuba Mahiro. My name is Nagisa Akatsuki. This is my older brother, Kojo-kun, and Gajo-kun is my father."

Nagisa Akatsuki introduced herself, a hint of shyness appeared on her rosy face, but her eyes lit up when she saw Yotsuba Mahiro.

The saying that women are all attracted to appearances is very true; even little girls are not immune to this rule.

Seeing his younger sister being too affectionate with someone she had just met, the older brother, Kojou Akatsuki, didn't look too pleased and simply nodded in response without saying anything.

Is this the Fourth Progenitor as a child from the original work?

Arrogant and aloof.

Meanwhile, Yuuma Sengakuji, who was also a girl, seemed to have sensed Nagisa Akatsuki's intentions and stood in front of Mahiro with her arms outstretched, as if declaring her ownership.

"Nagisa Aiba, Father is mine!"

Father... Master?

This time, Jou Akatsuki was shocked again.

Just by looking at their appearances, anyone could tell that the little girl in front of them was definitely related to Aya Sengakuji by blood.

They could be sisters, or mother and daughter.

But no one has ever heard of that Librarian Witch having any sisters, so the former is definitely impossible.

However, given the Librarian Witch's personality, the latter would definitely involve using genetics to clone a girl in order to help her achieve some kind of goal.

But now, this girl is actually calling a strange man "Father".

In other words, this child is the husband of the Librarian Witch!

This is even more shocking than how Aya Sengakuji somehow escaped the Prison Barrier!

"Um, um, did you bring Yu here for a trip, Yotsuba Clan- san?"

At this moment Nagisa Akatsuki spoke up again, as if she couldn't wait to strike up a conversation with him.

Perhaps if someone else did this, they would be perceived as frivolous, impolite, and offensive.

But when applied to this cute and sweet-looking little girl, it doesn't feel that way; instead, it's quite pleasing to the eye.

This behavior can be attributed to the girl having a lively and cheerful personality.

However, the girl's liveliness still Mahiro for a moment, then a perfect smile appeared on his face, and he reached out to touch Nagisa Akatsuki's hair.

"Yes, Yuuma Sengakuji said she wanted to see the outside world, and she'd heard that Rome has a long history, so she came to visit."

The harmonious scene between the two made Jou Akatsuki a little jealous, but more than that, he was wary.

He subtly pulled his daughter back behind him and said apologetically:

"I'm sorry, Yotsuba Clan. We still have some things to take care of, so we won't bother you any longer."

With that, he led the brother and sister away from the airport under Liana's cover, as if trying to escape from their sight.

Run away from this man.

For him, the appearance of this man, as well as the appearance of the Librarian Witch, were all things that Jou Akatsuki had not anticipated.

Especially that man, although he looked very ordinary, he gave off a mysterious feeling, perhaps even more dangerous than Aya Sengakuji!

This is an intuition born from years of archaeological experience!

However, the sudden departure of the group left Yuuma Sengakuji completely bewildered.

She couldn't help but tug at Mahiro's sleeve and ask:

"Father, did Yuuma Sengakuji do something wrong?"

When he met his old playmates again, he didn't feel the warm reunion he had read about in books. Instead, they avoided him like jinxes.

Why is that?

Young Yuuma Sengakuji simply couldn't understand it.

Until a large hand gently pressed down on the top of her head.

"It's not your fault Yuuma Sengakuji. They're just busy with other things, and you'll be seeing them again soon, Yuuma Sengakuji."

And it's estimated to be not too far off.

For the next period of time, they did not rush to Gozo Island. Instead, Aye instructed the Library secretly investigate the exact location of Number Twelve.

Although MAR has a great reputation, it is also very wealthy, with seven or eight outposts even in the small Gozo Island.

It was as if this was intended to mislead the enemy.

Fortunately, Aye's men were skilled at intelligence gathering, and even false information could not fool them.

Besides, during this period, Aya Sengakuji seemed to have changed her personality.

Although he usually maintained a stern, unsmiling face and remained as aloof and noble as ever, this woman unexpectedly chose to go out with him and Yuuma Sengakuji for the first time, leaving their footprints all over Rome for several days.

Yuuma Sengakuji was very happy.

She said that at that moment they truly felt like a family of three.

However, Aya Sengakuji did not react in any way, not even with a hint of tenderness or blush. She merely gave the child cloned using her genes a cold glance.

This trip to Rome also came to an end with the arrival of intelligence from the Library.

They have located the exact location where MAR Corporation hid Body No. 12.

A medical research institution under the MAR.

And so, the three of them set foot on the unfamiliar land of Gozo Island.

Gozo Island, like Itogami Island, is a Demon Sanctuary.

However, unlike other Gozo Island is not an artificial island. It is also the world's oldest Demon Sanctuary and an ancient ruin island that has been registered as a World Heritage Site.

Because of the numerous ancient ruins here, it continues to attract scholars and professors from all over the world to explore and try to uncover the historical secrets hidden in the ancient past.

However, in reality, there are quite a few tourists visiting Gozo Island.

The development and construction on the island are also comprehensive, and almost all of them are investments by MAR.

Therefore, beings like demons are ubiquitous.

Now that the approximate location of the Twelfth Prototype had been determined, Mahiro naturally made a corresponding plan in advance, intending to seize the Twelfth directly from the heavily guarded MAR Research Institute that night.

After all, a Black Wind and stormy night is the perfect time to commit evil deeds.

So, after spending the day taking Yuuma Sengakuji on a tour of various tourist attractions, and then having Yuuma Sengakuji fall asleep after a long day, Mahiro took Aye and left the hotel to head to their destination.

Instead of traveling by car, they used magic to move swiftly under the cover of darkness.

But soon Mahiro and Aye both stopped in their tracks.

Something's not right.

Although this medical research institute under MAR is located in a sparsely populated suburban area, and there are very few vehicles around at midnight.

But it was too quiet all around right now.

It was so quiet that not even a single insect chirped.

Even the closer you get to the research institute, the more a strange, rusty smell permeates the air.

It smells like blood!