Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 866 - : Pleasure

A middle-aged man in a black coat, whose voice was similar to Roa's but deeper, stood with a golden light glowing from his palm. From beneath his feet, circular patterns extended outward.

There were six rings in total, their design reminiscent of the orbits of planets. These rings overlapped and nested within each other, creating a sacred, three-dimensional impression, despite being flat images. The patterns seemed to symbolize the cycles of life, death, and rebirth.

Although five of the rings had already lost their luster, with the last one continuously rippling, these six rings were still able to block the combined attacks of Ciel and Caren.

Once the final ring stabilized, the master of the Bounded Field spoke.

"Fugu, Kongou, Dakatsu, Taiten, Chougyou, Ouken—"

With each word he uttered, one of the rings would light up.

Seeing this, Ciel gritted her teeth and raised the Seventh Holy Scripture, firing a spike imbued with ancient mysteries.

Previously, she had destroyed Araya's bounded field using this exact technique. This time, however—no, this time, it didn't work. Just as the spike roared out, Araya lifted his other hand, intercepting it mid-flight and gripping the spike directly with his hand.

"What—"

Ciel's eyes widened in shock. She had never imagined that her ultimate trump card, the Seventh Holy Scripture, could be neutralized in such a way.

Indeed, the ancient, nearly supersonic spike had been stopped by a mere hand, with only a superficial injury—the spike had merely punctured the man's palm, penetrating less than a centimeter into his flesh.

What was even more shocking was that the blood flowing from the wound was not the usual red of human blood but gold, the same color as the rings.

As the golden blood dripped onto the ground, the barrier master recited the final verse.

"—Vajra of Buddhism!"

"Araya Souren!"

At that moment, Caren finally discerned the origin of Araya Souren.

The concept of the Rokudou Kyoukai, an incredibly powerful bounded field, and the golden blood that differed from that of ordinary people—all of these were hallmarks of Buddhism.

The Bounded field is a Buddhist concept, and the term barrier also originates from Buddhism. The most powerful bounded field techniques recognized in the mystical world are Buddhist secrets. Furthermore, the golden blood is tied to an ancient Buddhist tradition—the relic body.

It is said that when a Buddhist monk achieves a certain level of enlightenment, their body enters a miraculous state—indestructible and immortal, remaining in the world even after the soul departs. In this state, the monk's skin, muscles, and blood transform into gold, a process also referred to as attaining Buddhahood in the flesh or the Vajra Body.

Although Araya hadn't fully achieved the Vajra Body, the golden blood indicated that he was on this path—a being on par with the Saints of the Church.

"Why would a Vajra of Buddhism protect a vampire?"

Caren demanded. Araya's already somber face grew even more pained.

"I am not a Vajra of Buddhism; I simply gained some insight between life and death. I'm not protecting Roa either, just taking what I need. He's not in a state fit for battle right now, and I don't enjoy fighting. I would ask you both to leave."

"Not a chance!"

"That's impossible!"

Caren and Ciel responded with surprising unanimity.

"That's a shame. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to die here."

As he spoke, Araya lowered his hands, dispelling the bounded field. Despite this action, which signaled a cessation of defense, the oppressive force emanating from him only intensified. It was enough to make their throats quiver, almost causing them to vomit.

"Roa, I'll handle the girl named Ciel. The other one is yours."

"Alright!"

Roa agreed immediately. This was the ideal division of labor. Ciel, with her Seventh Holy Scripture designed to counter him and her immortality that surpassed his own, would indeed be difficult for him to handle right now.

Caren, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. Sharing a similar body type and a comparable method of acquiring power, their battle would come down to experience—a domain in which Roa excelled.

Indeed, despite Caren's hard effort and desperation, even resorting to mutual destruction or perish-together tactics to kill Roa, she was still too inexperienced in the face of Roa's accumulated experience from eighteen reincarnations. Before long, Roa, at the cost of one hand, dispersed her demonic power and pinned her to the ground.

"Gaining such power in just a few years is commendable, my daughter. But your use of it is still unrefined, and your mentality lacks maturity. You need to work on that."

"Just kill me."

Pinned by Roa, Caren did not resist; she merely looked calmly at the man who was once her father.

"Otherwise, next time, I will kill you."

"It's unfortunate, but that's beyond your ability. Even if Merem Solomon, who gave you this power, came himself, he might stand a chance."

Roa's tone was just as calm as Caren's, echoing Kotomine Kirei's usual demeanor. Having just fought her, he had gauged Caren's abilities. While Merem was indeed formidable, no amount of demonic power infusion could overwhelm Roa, who was on the same level as the Ancestors.

Caren's expression remained unchanged as she spoke softly, "I will ask Lord Merem. If Lord Merem isn't enough, I'll seek the help of the True Ancestor Princess. I'll do whatever it takes to kill you."

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"You've given me a difficult problem," Kotomine Kirei said, continuing to speak in a calm tone as if they were having a contest of endurance. "While I'd like to say, 'Go ahead and try,' if they don't come for me, I'll go for them. But that has to wait until I finish my plan. I'm still not ready yet—so, tell me, should I kill you or not?"

"Any potential threat should be eliminated before the plan is completed."

Araya Souren approached, dragging Ciel's corpse behind him. Almost simultaneously with Caren's defeat, he had also killed Ciel.

Most of Ciel's abilities were designed to counter vampires, making them ineffective against Araya, who was human. Coupled with the super high defense of the Six Realms of Existence and the Vajra Body, as well as Araya's strength, which rivaled that of a Servant, the outcome was inevitable—sometimes, the concept of natural enemies can be terrifyingly absolute.

"If you can't do it, I'll do it."

"Can't do it?"

Roa burst into laughter as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke.

"You dull fellow, you don't understand me at all. It's not that I can't do it—I'm just considering how to do it. How could I not savor the joy of familial slaughter? I missed out on the deaths of Claudia and Risei; I can't afford to miss this one. Honestly, I'd love to let her go, let her come after me again and again, fail each time, lose all hope, and then kill her myself. That would be the ultimate pleasure."

"You're a hopeless lunatic!"

Ciel, who had just resurrected, awoke to these words and immediately cursed.

"Thank you for the compliment."

Roa's lips curled up on both sides, forming a smile that resembled a double-sided grin.

At that moment, Roa's will and Kotomine Kirei's aligned perfectly. This emotion was called pleasure.