Prologue

From behind, a sharp projectile of earth, launched by magic, shot toward her.

The girl with rose-pink hair that fell to her shoulders—Lilitia—twisted her body, but she couldn't dodge it completely. The earthen shard grazed her left arm, sending a spray of blood into the air. A shattering crash echoed as the barrel in front of her exploded into splinters.

"There she is! Don't let her get away!"

A full moon shone brilliantly in the night sky. The royal capital lay silent in its residential district.

"Hah... hah...!"

Lilitia ran through a filthy back alley, clutching a young girl who couldn't have been more than six.

The child in her arms looked up at Lilitia, her eyes wide with fear. Beads of sweat dotted Lilitia's forehead, but she flashed a smile, revealing her sharp canines as if to say, Don't worry.

But the situation was far from good.

She had rescued a young Succubus who was about to be sold off to a slave trader in the capital. She had no regrets; it was an act that aligned perfectly with her own goals. Still, using magic in the middle of the city had been reckless. She'd gotten too emotional. Seeing the little girl's hair being pulled, seeing her treated so violently... she just couldn't stand by and do nothing.

Three pursuers. All of them were likely magic knights belonging to the kingdom.

If only I had the mana, I'd turn these small fry into mincemeat in a second!

To shake them off, she kept changing direction, darting through the labyrinthine alleys.

A high wall blocked her path. She gasped and skidded to a halt.

"Alright, we've got you cornered. Die, you Rare Species trash!"

She glanced back to see a magic knight raising his arm, preparing to cast a spell.

But Lilitia's own magic, fueled by the last dregs of her power, detonated a few moments faster.

"—【Fireball】."

A massive sphere of fire, large enough to burst from the very ground, erupted forth. In an alley barely wide enough for one person to pass, there was no escape. The fireball shot forward in a straight line, hugging the ground.

"With a basic, general-purpose spell—Guaaaaargh?!"

It swallowed the magic knights whole—along with the attack spells they themselves had just launched.

After shaking her pursuers, Lilitia, completely out of breath, managed to flee back to their safe house.

She lifted a section of the floor by the altar of a ruined church, revealing a staircase that led down to a hidden room.

The moment she stepped inside, a wave of relief washed over her, and she collapsed to the floor.

A white-haired girl with fox-like ears—Maihime—rushed to her side.

"Lili! What happened? Are you okay?"

Maihime's gaze fell upon the wound on Lilitia's arm and her exhausted state, her expression pained.

Maihime was typically expressionless, often looking a bit dazed, but Lilitia knew that deep down, she cared for her comrades more than anyone.

"I'm fine, this is just a scratch! A Vampire's healing ability is the best of any race! More importantly, please take care of this child."

Lilitia handed the rescued girl over to Maihime. She had no external injuries, but she must not have been eating properly. Her complexion was pale, and she looked malnourished.

Maihime gave a solemn nod and carried the child deeper into the room.

A short while later, she returned with a book in her hands. It was a thick, sun-faded grimoire with a worn cover. Maihime traced its surface as she spoke.

"Lili. I finally got it."

"Is that the forbidden text you were talking about?!"

Maihime nodded once to the astonished Lilitia.

"If we go on like this, we'll just be worn down. There is no future for us Rare Species. I believe we need a powerful icon, a symbol beyond myself as royalty of the Lunarl. A symbol of power so extraordinary it will captivate all eyes and become our hope."

Maihime, usually a girl of few words, spoke with a fiery passion, a strong will burning in her eyes.

"...Elysion, the Unresting Box."

"A kiss that bestows limitless mana and turns wishes into power... That is the strength we, who lost our magic in the Spirit Collapse Disaster, need."

"I understand! Leave it to the super-cute Lili-chan!"

"Can you do it...?"

"Yeees! Even if it means sacrificing whoever I draw forth, I will use that power for my friends. So, Maihime-chan, you just keep being your usual self!"

"Mm. Then I'll leave it to you, Lili."

With that, Maihime entrusted the grimoire to Lilitia and offered a faint, reserved smile.

◇

—He'd always wanted to be someone special.

Sasaki Higure's seventeen years of life had been painfully ordinary.

He was born to a family that was neither particularly rich nor poor, raised by perfectly normal, kind parents. He was an only child. He was a little more athletic than the average person, but his grades were squarely in the middle.

He'd never experienced a failure so profound it fostered any kind of obsession. The closest thing was failing his first-choice high school entrance exam, but once he'd actually enrolled somewhere else, he stopped caring.

There was nothing to his life.

That was his complex.

It wasn't that he wanted some special talent or a prestigious family name. It could have been anything—a soul-searing heartbreak, the death of a loved one as morbid as that sounded, or even pain so intense it made him desperate for life.

He just wanted something, anything, that would make him feel special.

But the very fact that he longed for something special felt like the ultimate symbol of his own mediocrity, and he hated himself for it.

If I were reborn...

If there's a next life...

He indulged in such fantasies every single day.

He wanted a catalyst, something to shed the boredom and lethargy of his current existence.

If he had that, he would risk his life for someone, stay positive no matter the situation, and act out his ideal self. He would live every day to the fullest, so busy moving forward he'd never have time to look back.

With such thoughts swirling in his mind, Higure opened the front door to head to school, just like any other day.

The world he stepped into—was one he had never seen before.