"————"
When that extremely oppressive magical energy radiated from Rozen and filled the surroundings, the gravity on the rooftop seemed to skyrocket instantly, making it hard to breathe.
"Senpai!"
Yukina hurriedly grabbed Rozen's hand.
"..."
Koyomi, meanwhile, fell silent.
Ignoring Yukina, Rozen stared straight at Koyomi, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"The Lion King Agency's methods truly never change—picking up promising talents from outside, molding them into tools, and even using others as pawns to solve problems. I see. So this is what a national intelligence agency is like. How enlightening."
If Rozen's earlier provocations had been deliberate, his words now were genuine mockery.
"Big organizations and powerful factions really are different, huh? Everyone else is just a disposable chess piece in your eyes. Should I applaud you for that?"
His words were sharp as knives.
This time, it was Yukina who fell silent.
Because she knew all too well—she herself was one of those so-called "tools."
Thus, she could no longer speak.
Only Koyomi, feeling the weight of that dense magical energy and gazing at the young man before her, sighed once more.
"No matter what, you refuse to turn a blind eye?"
She sought final confirmation.
"Yes." Rozen replied calmly. "And if I say that, what will you do?"
"Then I may have to resort to more forceful measures." Koyomi lowered her eyelids slightly. "You must have heard of my ability, haven't you?"
Koyomi's ability—or rather, the inherited power of the Paper Noise, leader of the Three Saints—was known as Silent Destruction.
Rozen, of course, was aware of it.
"I've heard it forcibly inserts nonexistent time into reality—neither stopping time nor moving at super speed, but launching attacks from a time that shouldn't exist, leaving only the results behind. Right?"
He laid bare the nature of her power.
"Correct." Koyomi nodded with icy composure. "By attacking from a time that doesn't exist, I can strike without any possibility of prediction or evasion. It's an absolute first-strike privilege—Silent Destruction."
It was an overwhelmingly unfair ability.
Once activated, Koyomi could insert her attacks at any point in time, making them reality and inflicting damage.
There were no tells before activation.
By the time the ability was used, the attack had already landed.
Even if an enemy tried to strike her, she could insert her own attack a second before theirs, interrupting them—or even killing them first.
This was the absolute first-strike privilege—Silent Destruction.
With this ability, even the Primogenitors of the vampire world feared the leader of the Lion King Agency's Three Saints.
This was Shizuka Koyomi—one of the strongest Attack Mages, Japan's most powerful Attack Mage.
"For example, I can do something like this."
As these words left Koyomi's lips—
"————"
The world was abruptly filled with an indescribable silence.
"Senpai!"
Yukina shouted, as if trying to act.
But Rozen raised a hand, stopping her.
His expression unreadable, he looked ahead.
There, Koyomi stood perfectly still.
Yet in her hand, she now held something that hadn't been there before.
A scrap of fabric from Rozen's clothes.
A clean slit had appeared on the chest of Rozen's outfit.
The piece had been cleanly removed—without a sound.
"This..."
Yukina shuddered.
Because she understood what this meant.
In a moment no one could perceive, Koyomi had attacked Rozen, slicing open his clothes.
Had she truly intended harm, Rozen's heart would already have been pierced.
"This is my ability—manipulating time that doesn't exist in the normal flow, acting freely in that silent world, then breaking through that silence to manifest the results in reality as established fact."
"Because it's nonexistent time, only I can move within that silent world."
"Because it becomes established fact, any attack launched there can inflict real damage."
"Enemies can't evade, can't defend, can't even react—by the time they realize, the attack is already over, the damage already done."
"Even you have no counter for this, do you?"
Koyomi spoke with unsettling frankness.
"Please reconsider, Your Highness. Don't force our hand."
It was a veiled threat.
Koyomi was telling Rozen that even if he tried to confront her here, he could do nothing.
Because not even Rozen was her match.
Or rather, anyone who couldn't break Silent Destruction would never defeat her.
The only effective counter was large-scale attacks that would take the user down with them.
For example, if Rozen summoned a Beast Vassal and razed all of Saikai Academy, even if Koyomi's attack had already wounded him, she would still be caught in the destruction—forced to either flee or perish alongside him.
This was why the Primogenitors only feared Koyomi rather than dreaded her.
As immortal beings, they could casually employ mutual destruction tactics, making it impossible for Koyomi to truly defeat them—only fight to a stalemate.
Though Rozen possessed terrifying power, he was ultimately human—not ageless like the Primogenitors. For him, mutual destruction would be pure suicide.
Thus, Koyomi advised restraint, hoping to resolve this peacefully.
But...
"So this is your so-called 'forceful measure'?"
Rozen didn't even glance at the tear in his clothes, his gaze fixed on Koyomi with sheer disinterest.
"You haven't even figured out who's at whose mercy, yet you dare spout such arrogance."
Koyomi's brow furrowed slightly.
Just as she was about to respond—she felt it.
A faint stinging sensation on her neck.
Koyomi reached up, touching the spot—then froze as she saw the result.
"Drip..."
A single drop of blood fell from her fingers—and her neck.
Vivid. Unmistakable.
"...!?"
Koyomi's eyes widened in shock.