In the living room.
"What's going on?!"
Tohru, Shuzen Ya'ai, and Shuzen Kokoa all changed expression at the same time when Moka's aura suddenly flared. Confusion flashed in their eyes.
Then they all looked at Arthur.
And only then did they notice — he was holding a woman in his arms.
They all froze for a heartbeat.
They were curious, obviously.
But this didn't feel like the right moment to bombard him with questions.
So they watched.
With a soft clink—
The Rosario that sealed Akashiya Moka's vampire power fell off on its own and floated up, flying past Arthur…
Heading not for him, but for the woman in his arms — Akasha.
Seeing that, Arthur's eyes flashed.
He stayed put and watched too.
As terrifying vampiric yōki burst off Moka, her pink hair turned silver-white, and her eyes turned crimson.
The cross hovered above Akasha.
A powerful spiritual will rushed out of it and poured into Akasha's body.
Then the cross dropped onto her.
"Moka-sis!"
On the side, Shuzen Kokoa saw Moka return to her true vampire form and couldn't help bursting into a happy smile.
Shuzen Ya'ai's eyes also brightened.
Compared to "Outer Moka,"
they clearly liked Inner Moka more.
Because the first Moka they met… was this one.
It just felt more right.
At the same time…
Arthur glanced once at Moka, then lowered his head to look at Akasha.
About twenty seconds later…
Akasha's lashes trembled.
She slowly opened her eyes.
Those clear, gemlike green eyes were hazy for a moment.
Arthur's face was reflected in them.
Akasha blinked.
Then the memories that belonged to her surfaced — clarity returned to her gaze.
"Can you put me down?"
Facing Arthur, she showed a gentle, sweet smile.
"Sure."
Arthur smiled back.
He set her down.
Her pale, jade-like feet touched the floor. Akasha glanced down at herself — she was only wearing Arthur's coat — and a touch of shyness flickered in her eyes.
Luckily, the coat was big enough.
It covered her upper body and the important places — only a pair of long, straight, beautiful legs showed, that snowy skin flashing in and out as she moved.
"Mother?!"
Moka — now fully in Inner mode — looked at the revived Akasha, eyes widening, joy spilling out.
"It's me, Moka."
Akasha looked at her and nodded with a warm smile.
"?…!!"
Tohru, Shuzen Ya'ai, and Shuzen Kokoa all looked at each other, clearly shocked.
So the woman Arthur was holding…
was actually Moka's mother.
And she wasn't even dressed — just wearing Arthur's coat.
So… what exactly had happened?
Arthur spoke up:
"Moka, take your mother to a room and let her change. Grab one of your outfits for her first."
"Okay."
Moka nodded at once, a smile on her lips and warmth in her eyes. She turned to Akasha.
"Mother, come with me."
"Mm."
Akasha nodded with a smile, glanced at Tohru, Shuzen Ya'ai, Shuzen Kokoa… then at Arthur…
And followed Moka upstairs.
"…"
Arthur watched her back for a moment, eyes narrowing slightly, thoughtful.
Something was… off about Akasha.
When she'd looked at him, her eyes weren't just gentle — there was… affection there?
It felt familiar — just like Outer Moka.
And Moka right now was pure Inner.
From what Arthur knew, once Akasha's avatar separated, Moka's outer and inner personalities were supposed to fuse.
Her personality should've become a blend of the two.
But that… hadn't happened.
And just now, the Compendium had lit a new entry.
Arthur replayed his memories of meeting Moka.
Seeing him fall into thought, Tohru, Shuzen Ya'ai, and Shuzen Kokoa all exchanged a look — and didn't interrupt him.
About a minute later.
"…Could it be…"
A guess rose in Arthur's mind; his eyes narrowed slightly.
There was surprise in them.
Whether his guess was right would only be clear after he asked Akasha herself.
He pushed those thoughts down.
Then Arthur looked at the three of them and smiled.
"If you want to ask, ask."
The words had barely left his mouth when Shuzen Kokoa blurted:
"Moka-sis — and her mom — what was that?"
Since she'd asked, Tohru and Shuzen Ya'ai also waited for the answer.
Shuzen Ya'ai, actually, already had a rough idea.
Arthur sat down on the sofa.
Looking at the three curious girls, he said:
"As far as I know — back then, in order to stop Alucard from rampaging, Moka's mother sacrificed herself and became the seal."
"She entered Alucard's body."
"Later, somehow, she still gave birth to Moka — and Moka inherited her powerful True Ancestor power."
"To stop Moka's True Ancestor power from affecting Alucard's seal, she made the sealing Rosario."
"Now that Alucard's been completely killed by me, I pulled Akasha out of him too."
"That was just now."
"The pink-haired Moka you've been seeing is actually a clone Akasha created to suppress Moka's power."
"So that's how it was…"
The three all showed understanding.
"Wait…"
Kokoa suddenly grabbed the key part.
She stared at Arthur, shocked. "What did you just say? You said you killed the True Ancestor Alucard?"
"You're not joking?"
That was Alucard.
The supposedly-unkillable True Ancestor, the one called invincible in the Yōkai Domain.
And Arthur was saying he killed him?!
Hey hey hey — for real?
She'd guessed Arthur was very strong, but this strong?
"Ask your sister."
Arthur only smiled.
"Ya'ai-sis?"
Kokoa turned to Shuzen Ya'ai.
"It's true."
Shuzen Ya'ai nodded, eyes soft.
If Arthur said he'd killed him, then he had.
After all, she'd personally watched his avatar, Fujisaki Miyabi, die.
"Waaah!!!"
Kokoa's mouth dropped open. She stared at Arthur in pure shock.
So it was true!
Was Arthur a god?
Right then and there, she fully gave up on the idea of "taking Moka back."
Nope. She was scared. She was not the opponent.
Now that she knew Arthur's real level, Shuzen Kokoa finally understood… why he had four partners.
Yes — four, not three.
They'd been chatting earlier, and she'd already heard about Yotsuya Miko.
Thinking about the chasm between her and Arthur, Shuzen Kokoa suddenly felt a little… sad.
Wuwuwu… my Moka-sis…
We can't stay together forever…
Arthur noticed the way Shuzen Kokoa's eyes flickered — shock fading into a tiny, helpless kind of sadness. He raised a brow.
"What's wrong?"
Tohru and Shuzen Ya'ai also looked over, a little puzzled.
"N-no, I'm fine."
Kokoa snapped back to herself, hurriedly shoved down what she was feeling, and shook her head.
Arthur gave her a long, meaningful look.
Kokoa's gaze instantly dodged, a little guilty.
While he was chatting idly with Tohru and Ya'ai, waiting for Moka to come back downstairs with Akasha, Arthur also summoned the Compendium of All Things to check the newly lit entry.
…
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