The Sekirei’s Covenant

Location: Sardinia, Southern Italy

A silent night, everything asleep, the vast sky glittering with countless stars shining endlessly.

Boom!!!

At one moment, on this somewhat remote island, a sound as if from ancient times erupted, and a pillar of light shot straight up into the sky. The overwhelming power spread in all directions like a towering pillar connecting heaven and earth.

However, this stunning scene did not last long. After about fifteen minutes, the light pillar gradually faded and completely disappeared.

The island returned to silence as if nothing had happened.

Rustle rustle rustle… A few blurred figures flickered in the night sky.

At a quarry near the riverbank, the ground had collapsed, revealing a dilapidated temple ruin beneath. The light pillar had burst out from here!

Several blurry figures stood at the temple entrance, seemingly wary of something. They looked inside with expressions of surprise, confusion, but mostly solemnity and shock.

At that moment, a silver-blue figure descended from the sky and landed before them.

"Lady Liliana!"

The newcomer was Liliana Kranjcar, the genius girl of the Bronze-Black Cross. Although the others held high ranks in the organization, they all showed great respect before this girl.

Liliana nodded to them but said nothing. Her fairy-like, neat face was cute yet carried an aura of authority. Though expressionless and somewhat cold, she was not off-putting.

Ignoring the others, Liliana's gaze turned to the temple interior, where a black pillar made of obsidian-like stone stood, growing like a tree. About twenty meters tall, the pillar's surface was carved with coiled serpent-like patterns.

"This is… the Heraneion!!!"

Recognizing the pillar's origin, even the usually calm Liliana showed a shocked expression and exclaimed.

The Heraneion, a legendary Grimoire, was once used by ancient witches for sacred rituals. Its immense power was beyond human control and once brought disaster to the earth.

According to legend, hundreds of years ago, the Pillar of Hera was sealed by a powerful witch named Naples. But who would have thought it would actually appear here!

Feeling the essence of water and earth continuously flowing into this stone pillar, even Liliana couldn't help but show a trace of surprise. It was actually absorbing and storing magical power!

Recovering from her astonishment, Liliana's face turned serious, realizing the situation might already be very grave. If not handled properly…

…

Unconsciously, another semester has passed, and the school friends finally welcomed the long-awaited summer vacation.

The final exams are over. Needless to say, with a certain little girl who claims to be the goddess of wisdom on his side, all those mortals can just eat dust. First place will always belong to Sora.

Very satisfied with Athena's performance and in a good mood, as a reward, Sora decided to add three extra pieces of chocolate to Athena's daily ration from now on!

Ahem, although the little girl seemed quite unhappy with this outcome, Sora ignored her. After all, he was the big boss, and everything was decided by him. Hahaha…

Sora called Kusanagi Ichirou. That old man had been away for almost a year, and no one knew if he was still alive. Considering his age, he probably didn't have many years left anyway, sigh…

Hmm, luck was on his side; the old man was still alive. According to the old man himself, he was experiencing the purest native customs in a primitive tribe in Europe. It's best not to disturb him in the future.

Black lines appeared on Sora's forehead as he was speechless. The old man was already quite old but didn't stay home to enjoy retirement; instead, he was always restless. But whatever, if he wanted to be restless, let him be. At worst, when he dies, Sora would go get him back.

As the last remaining elder in the family, Ichirou still gave some advice, such as—

"Sora, I heard from Shizuka that you've become a Demon King? Not bad, kid. Work hard and try to be better than your grandpa!"

Or—

"Kid, it seems you have quite a few women around you? Knights and mikos! Tsk tsk, showing your true nature as soon as you became Demon King? I knew you weren't a good kid when I found you back then!"

And also—

"Men, I understand you. Back in the day, I had at least eight hundred beauties chasing me, if not a thousand. If it weren't for Shizuka's grandmother…"

"Ahem… I'm getting off track. What I want to say is, no matter how many women you have around, don't forget that girl Shizuka!"

Well, although Sora had long been familiar with the old man's character, hearing these words still made him twitch uncontrollably at the corner of his mouth.

"Old man, do you have to sell your own granddaughter like this? If I tell Shizuka what you said, you'll never set foot in this house again!"

Seeing Shizuka busy packing and not paying attention, Sora said to the phone with a helpless expression.

"Hahaha… So don't tell Shizuka these things!"

"You little rascal, don't act innocent after taking advantage. That silly girl's heart was stolen by you since she was little, and she probably doesn't even know it herself. Take good care of her, or I won't forgive you!"

"Alright, alright, I'm busy here. Don't bother me unless it's about your wedding with Shizuka! Goodbye…"

Beep beep beep… Looking at the ended call, Sora was stunned for a moment.

"That shameless old man!"

Muttering curses, Sora put his phone in his pocket.

"Onii-chan, were you talking to grandpa? Geez, why didn't you say a word to me?"

Not wearing her usual school uniform or home clothes, today Shizuka wore a cute princess dress and a big sun hat. She came up to Sora, pouting and complaining.

Feeling a little guilty, knowing she hadn't heard the conversation just now, Sora secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Pfft, that was men's business, how could he tell a little girl like her?!

"Ahem… Alright, Shizuka, grandpa is fine. He's living well. If you have anything to say, just talk to him next time."

"Are you all ready? If so, let's go!"

Patting Shizuka's head to comfort her a little, Sora said to Erica, Arianna, and the others who were also dressed to go out.

Yes, Sora and the girls were preparing to go out. How could they stay home during the wonderful summer vacation? Of course, they were going on a trip.

At first, Shizuka hesitated a bit, but when Sora said, "If you don't go, you'll be all alone at home," she immediately gave in. She didn't want to be lonely at home!

Seeing the girls all ready, Sora didn't hesitate either. Yuri was probably almost at the airport, so they had to hurry.

The girls carried many bags, probably clothes and snacks for the trip. Sora was the lightest, carrying only Athena.

As for their destination, it was none other than the origin of all fate—

Sardinia!