Shinji Matou at Your Service

Yes, Shinji was very conflicted.

Before entering the Millennium Castle Brunestud, he did not want Arcueid to awaken.

Each of Arcueid's awakenings would exacerbate her blood-sucking impulse, which was an unbearable torment for her.

Moreover, it was now the late autumn of 1999, and the story of Tsukihime takes place in 2000. Arcueid's next awakening would signify the beginning of the Tsukihime story.

To be fair, Tsukihime is a very good story, but it starts with Arcueid being killed once by the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, leading to a 70% reduction in her power. Depending on the ending, she might die again and eventually have to fall into eternal slumber.

This was not what Shinji wanted to see, which is why he had Touko go to the Tohno residence to find Roa's 18th reincarnation, SHIKI Tohno, and have Ryougi Shiki kill Roa completely before Roa could make his decision—this being the only known way to kill Roa.

Although this would make the story of Tsukihime disappear, it would free Arcueid from her shackles, allowing her to do whatever she wanted.

But upon arriving at the Millennium Castle Brunestud and seeing that pure white vampire princess with his own eyes, he wavered.

It wasn't out of any improper thoughts; he simply wanted to talk to her, chat with her, to satisfy the admiration and affection from his past life. After all, she was his most beloved Arcueid.

Shaking his head to clear his chaotic thoughts, Shinji exhaled a long breath.

"Thinking about this now is pointless. Touko has already been at the Tohno residence for quite some time; it's impossible to stop her now. And I have irreplaceable bonds, so I can't harm them for the sake of nostalgia and affection. Therefore—"

Once again, he pushed open the living room door, gazing at the figure that had amazed him countless times.

"—this is fine. Just being able to see you with my own eyes is enough. Rest assured, the Roa who deceived you, and any other Dead Apostles, we humans will handle it. Please be at ease."

After speaking, Shinji closed his eyes, as if to sever ties with the affection and nostalgia from his past life.

Just then, a clear sound suddenly echoed in the empty room.

It was the jingling of interlocking chains, filling the entire room and even winding around Arcueid's body. The silver chains were retracting.

Before long, all the chains had retracted into the walls, leaving only an ancient throne and the sleeping white princess sitting on it.

With the final chain retracted, Arcueid's body lost its support and began to sway, about to fall.

Shinji's heart tightened, and he instinctively rushed forward, wanting to catch that beautiful form.

Just before he reached the throne, Arcueid's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and a pair of eyes more brilliant than blood opened, meeting his blue eyes up close.

The sleeping Arcueid had awakened.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Arcueid was in a daze, possibly because she had just woken up and had not yet grasped the situation.

Shinji was also in a daze, once again stunned by Arcueid's beauty.

If the sleeping princess resembled a serene and beautiful painting, then the awakened princess brought that painting to life. Although it might seem inappropriate to say so, at that moment he truly understood the meaning of "adding the finishing touch to a masterpiece," with her red eyes elevating her beauty to another level.

However, this was only the beginning. During their gaze, Arcueid's eyes gradually changed.

A hint of gold appeared in the depths of her pupils and began to spread outward. Before long, the gold had dyed her entire eyes.

Golden.

Eyes that seemed capable of absorbing the soul.

Arcueid's allure reached its peak at that moment.

Breathing became heavy, almost frenzied.

His consciousness blurred, eroded by those golden eyes.

His body inexplicably became scorching hot.

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

The throbbing pulse of his heart and blood surged.

His breathing was chaotic.

His vision blurred.

Just a second before his raging blood was about to explode, a trace of coolness sprouted from the depths of his soul, quickly sweeping through his entire body.

In an instant, the abnormal emotions stirred by the golden eyes vanished like smoke.

His breathing, blood circulation, and body all returned to normal.

No, there was still one part that hadn't returned to normal—his right hand.

At some point, his previously well-behaved right hand had turned black. The curse that had been tamed and become part of his power was now fully activated, entering the Black Hand Mode capable of assimilating others' magical energy.

Arcueid's eyes were fixed intensely on this black hand.

That unwavering gaze made Shinji feel an indescribable sense of danger.

The black hand originated from Ortenrosse, one of the oldest Dead Apostles and a target of Arcueid's hunt.

This is bad!!!

By the time he reacted, it was already too late.

A palm grew larger in his field of vision. The hand was very fair, with fingers curved like claws, both the hand shape and the fingers were beautiful. However, this seemingly perfect hand contained unimaginable terrifying power. The mere gust of wind it generated tore through Shinji's outer clothing. If it caught his body, it would undoubtedly be ripped apart.

Shinji didn't dare to take it head-on. He propped his hands on the ground, using his waist and legs to spring backward in a frog-like leap.

Though it looked quite ungainly, it was the most effective way to dodge. After a Holy Grail War in a parallel world, Shinji's combat awareness and techniques had significantly improved.

"Wait, I'm not—"

Even as he retreated, he tried to explain. But Arcueid had no intention of listening, continuing her relentless attack without pause.

This time, she used both hands, one aiming for his throat, the other for his heart, each strike deadly and merciless.

"Damn it!"

Shinji cursed inwardly as he retreated, using both hands and feet—barely able to fend off one hand, let alone two.

Yes, the gap between them was that vast.

Arcueid was the perfect replica of the Moon's Ultimate One, and also a candidate for Earth's Ultimate One. Though she lost some power to Roa and had to expend considerable mental energy to suppress her blood-sucking impulse, she had never died once and still retained her terrifying strength.

This immense power was most directly demonstrated by her incredibly strong physical attributes. Even though Shinji used reinforcement magecraft and activated golden body mode, he was still overpowered by her strength and easily outpaced by her speed. If it weren't for the predictability of Arcueid's attack patterns, allowing him to anticipate her moves, the battle would have been over already.

At this moment, Shinji deeply missed the body that had been blown up like a bomb.