"Turn around, my heart."
It was an ordinary phrase, spoken without any particular emphasis, but when it came out of Heartless' mouth, it turned into a melody.
In an instant, everyone felt a strong sense of dissonance, as if the world had been turned upside down, making them feel nauseous.
The source of the discomfort was soon identified. In the direction the train was heading, something appeared—something as formidable as a bipedal dragon.
Arcueid, who had been either eating or daydreaming, twitched her nose, jumped onto the adjacent carriage and looked into the distance.
"A new vampire scent. It's somewhat similar to Einnashe, but not quite—"
"As expected of the True Ancestor's princess, you can sense it from so far away."
Heartless slightly smiled and nodded.
"It's not Einnashe, whom you defeated; it's its offspring or perhaps a remnant, commonly called the Child of Einnashe. Didn't you find it odd how easily the last one disappeared? Even if it's just a child, it's still a descendant of a great mystery. To be defeated so easily is indeed shameful."
As he spoke, the train continued to move forward. With the decreasing distance, the presence obstructing the train became increasingly clear, so much so that everyone could feel its nauseating power swelling.
This was the contingency plan Heartless had prepared, a crucial part of his Heroic Spirit Summoning plan—the Child of Einnashe. Heartless had placed it in the path of the Mystic Eyes Collection Train, creating a massive distortion that connected with the Holy Grail in Fuyuki.
Unlike Einnashe's main body, this forest was not black or red but pure white, the color of ice and frost, indicating its evolutionary direction. On the second day of Waver's attack, the train encountered this frosty forest, and Waver's closest friend Melvin arrived just then, using the same method as Lorelei—by private helicopter. Unfortunately, the helicopter flew too low and was captured by the forest, nearly freezing Melvin to death. Fortunately, he crashed close to the train and was quickly found. Otherwise, Waver might have painfully lost his friend.
Thanks to the efforts of Gray and others, the train successfully left, and the Child of Einnashe was destroyed—or so they thought.
"I secretly retrieved the core of the injured Child of Einnashe and sealed it in an imaginary pocket. I just released it in the path of the train. Although I'm not an imaginary attribute, I can still do something similar—as the price for this heart."
Heartless had his heart stolen by a fairy, and in exchange, he gained privileges surpassing magecraft, which gave him the confidence to face even the strongest without flinching.
"No matter what, it's a tenacious Dead Apostle. The more injured it is, the more it seeks a powerful opponent to replenish itself."
Before his voice fell, a huge sound came from the silent forest.
The frost-covered forest began to change its original form, starting to expand. The once rigid branches became soft, like tentacles, still wrapped in a layer of ice. But from the bark, it was clear that the pulsing red substance, like blood, was the Child of Einnashe in its newly evolved state, pushed to its limits by severe injuries.
"Unlike before, the current Child of Einnashe has never been so hungry. Now, tell me, where is the most abundant source of magic in the area?"
This question was unnecessary. It was right under their feet—the Mystic Eyes Collection Train they were on.
Heartless showed a satisfied smile, but in the next second, that smile froze on his face because of a single sentence from Shinji.
"If Einnashe's gone, its child will do. Arcueid, tear it apart!"
"Oh, finally, it's my turn."
Arcueid stretched towards the approaching branches, her curves beautifully extending, but what emerged from beneath them was a terrifying power far surpassing that of humans.
Her hands, more delicate than a human's, effortlessly tore apart the nearest branches into two pieces—literally tore them. Having promised to tear, the princess kept her word.
And this was just the beginning. From the point where her hands started tearing, the violent power spread outwards, shredding everything connected to it.
The mutated branches and trunks, including the ground where the Child of Einnashe was rooted, were all affected, collapsing and sinking, leaving the train's front and its tracks untouched.
This fully demonstrates Shinji's influence on Arcueid. The Arcueid of the past only knew how to kill, never caring about her surroundings. Destroying an entire area to kill Roa was her standard practice. But after meeting Shinji and having new contact with human society, she learned to restrain herself and to think of others. She no longer unleashed her power recklessly and knew how to control it without harming those around her.
Even so, she still overwhelmed the entire frosty forest with her power. The passengers on the train widened their eyes, gasping or exhaling deeply, including Lorelei and Heartless.
Those familiar with vampires knew that the True Ancestor was the source of Dead Apostles and that the True Ancestor was immensely powerful. But few had seen a True Ancestor in action, so they had no direct understanding. Earlier, when the female warrior appeared, the power and presence of the Age of God's magecraft made many think that the True Ancestor wasn't all that and that Arcueid's strength was limited.
But now they realized they were wrong—terribly wrong. The shadow warrior was like a tall building on the ground, while Arcueid was like an iceberg on the sea, with only a small part visible. If the sea were drained, the true terrifying sight would emerge.
"A god—?"
The shadow warrior's golden-silver demonic eyes lost their luster for the first time, muttering to herself.
Having experienced that era, she understood better than any magus what Arcueid's performance meant.
Physical strength was secondary. The Age of Gods never lacked great warriors like Heracles, the hero admired by countless warriors.
The key was the way the power spread. In front of her, the rules of physics were completely overturned, with the direction of force propagation changing arbitrarily according to her will. In the female warrior's understanding, this was an ability only gods possessed—Divine Authority.
"If you say so, it's not entirely wrong."
Shinji, taking a moment to return Add to Gray, remarked with some comment, "Arcueid's birth is similar to that of the original gods, just without divinity. If it were a fully-powered Arcueid at her peak, even your god-king Zeus wouldn't be her match."
That's right; the princess is that strong. Without suppressing her bloodlust and without Roa draining her power, she's almost as vast as the Ultimate One on the Moon, Crimson Moon, who could manifest a pyramid-sized structure on the Moon. As for god-king Zeus, he'd be stuck on the second floor.
"This isn't her full power!!!"
Lorelei finally couldn't maintain her queenly demeanor, feeling an intense sense of defeat.
Whether it was human amazement or frustration, Arcueid remained indifferent. Though she was gradually understanding human emotions, her essence was still not human. She only cared about a few specific individuals, and others were no different from dogs or cats in her eyes, far less important than tearing apart the vampire in front of her.
With the driving force of the highest level of Divine Authority, Marble Phantasm, Arcueid's transcendent physical strength spread to every corner of the Child of Einnashe, shattering the great mystery vampire that Heartless had praised, revealing a core that resembled a blue gemstone or a plant fruit. It bore evident scars, undoubtedly the result of Gray's previous battles.
"Sigh, it's flawed after all."
Shinji thought of the trophy he had once given Lorelei and sighed with regret.
"Well, it's better than nothing. Arcueid, control your strength and leave the core for me—I need it."
"Ah, okay!"
Arcueid, who had already reached the top of the train, halted her attack and grabbed the exposed core from a distance with her right hand.
Instantly, an invisible force appeared out of nowhere, lifting the core into the air.
At that moment, a red shadow suddenly appeared, striking the blue core and sending it back to its original position.