Shinji Matou at Your Service

Although Touko accepting Satsuki as her disciple was big news, it was merely a small interlude tonight. The gathering of these strong individuals was to defeat the Death Apostle Night of Wallachia that had been wreaking havoc on the city. Especially after Sion explained the mechanism of Night of Wallachia, their determination became unprecedentedly strong.

"What? Do you mean this dead apostle called Night of Wallachia devours the blood and souls of an entire city? A phantom materialized from rumors?"

Shiki's face turned pale, and Akiha's complexion grew ashen.

"Is it possible to do such a thing?"

"It's possible," Sion nodded solemnly.

"Every time Night of Wallachia appears, it happens. The last time, three years ago in Italy, I saw him devour an entire village. I was the only one who survived."

"How exactly did you survive?"

This was Riesbyfe's most pressing question.

"Because I ran away," Sion lowered her head in guilt.

"Tatari's barrier has a range limit. As long as you leave the barrier's range, you're safe."

"So, leaving the city would be safe, right?"

To Akiha's question, Sion gave an affirmative answer.

"In theory, yes. Additionally, Night of Wallachia is a dead apostle and cannot act during the day, so daytime safety is also assured."

Shiki urged, "Then what are we waiting for? Quickly notify everyone to evacuate!"

"I think that might be difficult," Satsuki, who had been quietly observing the discussion, lightly touched Shiki.

"For me, just a few hours ago, I wouldn't have had enough reason to leave. I think it's the same for everyone in the city. Besides... even if they wanted to leave, evacuating everyone would take a lot of time."

Shiki's heart sank, but he still held onto a glimmer of hope.

"Akiha, what about contacting the government? I remember the Tohno family has special channels with the government. With the church and mage association as witnesses, the government should believe us, right?"

"There are channels, but as Miss Satsuki... said, evacuating so many people would take a lot of time. I'm not sure if we can make it before the barrier is fully activated. Miss Sion, can you determine when the barrier will be activated?"

Sion, who was addressed by Akiha, pointed out the window.

"Yes. A dead apostle's power is closely related to the lunar cycle. When the full moon arrives, a dead apostle's power is at its peak, which is also the best time for him to activate the barrier."

"Less than three days left... it's too late. Even if the government issued an emergency evacuation order, it wouldn't be in time."

Akiha sighed. Although their city wasn't large, it still had hundreds of thousands of residents. Evacuating all of them wasn't like a regular earthquake evacuation; it would cause a series of problems.

"The only option left is to defeat the dead apostle before he devours the entire city!"

If Akiha had held onto a sliver of hope that they could escape if they couldn't win, that thought was now completely dismissed. The Tohno family was the city's overseer. If the city were truly devoured, the family would be finished as well. Japan's mystic society wasn't dominated by one family; many forces were eager to replace the Tohno family.

"Regarding this, I have a plan. First, we need to determine the center of the barrier."

As Touko spoke, she spread out a map on the coffee table, clearly marking the city's structure, including above and below ground. It was a military map of the entire city.

Seeing the map, Akiha was initially stunned but quickly realized and glared at Touko.

"You, you—did you know this would happen?"

As the local overseers, the Tohno family naturally had detailed maps, regularly updated. These maps were usually stored in Makihisa's study, and rarely used. Now that Touko had them, it was clear she was prepared.

Immediately, Shiki and Satsuki's gazes also changed.

Touko waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't look at me like that. I only found out recently."

"How long is 'recently'?"

"I only found out at noon today. A certain little rascal called and told me that Night of Wallachia might appear, advising me to be cautious and also asking for my help in finding Miss Sion."

"Find me?"

Sion furrowed her brows slightly.

"Is it because of a request from the Association?"

"That's part of the reason," Touko admitted without hesitation. "Additionally, he wanted to make a deal with you."

"What kind of deal?"

"I don't know. He didn't say, and I didn't ask. I assume it has something to do with Atlas' alchemy. But that's a matter for later. The immediate priority is to deal with Night of Wallachia."

Touko slapped the map, on which several points had already been circled with a pencil.

"Miss Sion, this is the map. The marked points are where I observed unusual concentrations of spiritual energy. Which one do you think is the center of the barrier?"

"This one," Sion pointed unhesitatingly to the very center of the city.

"I observed this area beforehand. It's the tallest building in the city, allowing for observation of the entire city. Additionally, since it's not yet completed, no one would disturb it. There's no more suitable place."

Sion's greatest asset was her computational ability. Although she couldn't sense non-human auras like the Church's Executors, with enough data, she could reach the most accurate conclusions.

"'Temple'... huh, what an ironically fitting name."

Touko scoffed.

Temple was the name of the still-unfinished skyscraper. It was indeed extremely ironic for it to serve as a vampire's hideout.

Riesbyfe clenched her fist.

"Great, let's go take him down and avenge my subordinates!"

"No, wait a moment. The enemy is one of the Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors. We can't act rashly. We must be fully prepared before making a move."

Compared to a group of youths in their early twenties at most, Touko's experience was more seasoned.

"First, we need reconnaissance to determine the exact nature of the enemy's presence and the best method to kill him. I've already dispatched mechanical dolls for this purpose. In the meantime, you should rest. After a busy night, your physical and mental states must be exhausted. Don't worry about safety; I've made specific adjustments against phantoms. If anything unusual happens, an alarm will go off immediately."

"Although your secrecy displeases me, I still appreciate your arrangements."

Akiha said haughtily, and the others also found Touko's plan quite reasonable.

"The first part was unnecessary. Ah, it seems they've arrived. Let me take a look—"

Touko closed one eye, synchronizing her vision with that of the dolls.

"Huh?"