Fremd Torturchen - Volume 2 - Chapter 2

2

The Kaiser’s Contractor

Elisabeth’s castle sat atop a desolate hill, surrounded on all sides by dense forest. It was constructed firmly out of unworked stone, making it feel less like a castle and more like a fortress.

Within one of its rooms—a cold room wholly unfit for relaxation—Elisabeth lay in shallow slumber atop a finely constructed yet modest bed. Sweat beaded across her forehead.

Hina took a cloth cooled with ice water and gently wiped the sweat away.

As he leaned against the hard stone wall, Kaito observed Elisabeth’s condition.

She seemed frail, a far cry from her normal haughty, prideful behavior. She resembled a child, sick in bed with a fever. But compared to how she was a moment ago, her breathing was much more stable.

Hina blinked her emerald-green eyes as she turned to face Kaito. He silently gestured with his chin, beckoning her into the hallway. Careful not to make noise, the two of them left the room.

After waiting for Hina to close the door behind them, Kaito asked her a question.

“So what exactly is wrong with Elisabeth?”

“Well… I’m quite ashamed to admit it, but while I have stored within me all modern medical knowledge, I lack specialized treatment functions, so any hypothesis I could make would be imprecise at—”

“That’s fine. I’m positive your opinion is far more useful than mine. Please let me know what’s going on with her.”

“As you wish… It appears that Lady Elisabeth is suffering from a dramatic decline in the amount of mana within her body.”

Kaito nodded, Hina’s assessment aligning with his suspicions.

Having learned the basics of magecraft, he was better than he’d been before at understanding other people’s magical powers. Normally, Elisabeth gave off a sinister pressure as sharp as rose thorns, so cutting that even she herself was tormented by it. But now she seemed like a doll who’d had its insides scooped out.

“While Lady Elisabeth freely wields magic strong enough to defeat demons, her body consumes mana to protect itself in order to withstand its overuse. As a result, her current situation is no doubt quite painful for her… Oh!”

Suddenly, they heard a quiet groaning from inside the room. Hina and Kaito frantically rushed back in. Elisabeth was shaking her head and taking ragged breaths. Hina hurried to her side.

“Lady Elisabeth, my sincerest apologies. I’m back now.”

Little by little, Hina poured a decoction into Elisabeth’s half-open mouth. Kaito placed the towel back in the ice water, wrung it out, and then passed it to Hina. She thanked him and then wiped down Elisabeth’s slender neck.

There, too, ominous tracks pulsed. The red marring her pale flesh looked almost like an extra set of blood vessels beneath her skin.

…I’ve never seen her in this much pain… Dammit.

Biting his lip in frustration at his own powerlessness, Kaito thought back to the events from before she’d fallen asleep.

“La Guillotine, Saint of Beheadings!”

Propped up by Kaito and Hina, Elisabeth faced the Grand King and called out.

Dripping with cold sweat, she had summoned the torture device. Crimson flower petals and darkness swirled, and the white saint appeared to protect the three of them. It closed its arms and then opened them and set loose its rectangular blade. The Grand King forewent defense, simply yanking on one of the chains in her hand. One of her underlings came flying forward.

He became the Grand King’s shield, and his head and neck went their separate ways.

It was almost comical how abruptly his straitjacket-covered head rolled across the floor.

“Wh—?!”

As Kaito reeled in shock, Hina made her move. With flowing movements, she vanished from his side. Dropping as low as she possibly could, she slid into the Grand King’s blind spot and swung her halberd diagonally upward. Not even looking at the blade, the Grand King pulled on her chains again.

Another underling flew forward, and another underling lost his head, which rolled across the floor.

Tired of waiting for their chains to be pulled, the rest of the underlings swayed from side to side.

“Tch!”

Her attack repelled, Hina decided not to pursue and instead fell back. The Grand King laughed uncomfortably.

“You’re a reckless young lass, aren’t you? It brings me back, but youth really is a troubling time.”

The Grand King suddenly turned her gaze away from Hina and the saint. She removed the two chains connected to the dead underlings’ collars. Her heavy crinoline dress shook as she stooped over and touched one of the corpse’s straitjackets. The cloth melted away at her touch, and its arms fell free.

She took its hideous, sarcoma-covered hand in hers.

“You did well.”

She whispered gently and then placed a ring on its ring finger with a kiss. The living underlings collectively groaned, seemingly in envy. Then, having lost interest, the Grand King tossed the corpse’s arm aside and stood.

Her guard had been down throughout the entire series of actions, yet she hadn’t left so much as a single opening.

“Now, now, Elisabeth. Do you still intend to fight me? The Governor said it when he was under my needle’s control, didn’t he? ‘While I harbor no shortage of animosity toward you, as you can see, I have no desire to do battle with you.’”

“Ha, what a joke. Who’d believe the words of a seductress such as you?”

“Oh my, but I’m telling the truth. In order to win a fight to the death with the Torture Princess while she still has the power to summon La Guillotine, as well as one of Vlad’s automatons, I would have no choice but to assume my demon-fused form… But I find that form laughably hideous, you see. And think of how my subordinates would feel if I were to discard my beauty now.”

The Grand King drew a crow-feather fan from the cleavage of her voluptuous breasts and covered her mouth with it. She shook her head in refusal. After completing her innocent-seeming gesture, she heaved a heavy sigh.

“But alas, unlike Vlad, who brought about his own ruin, I’m a far more logical and self-interested individual. I am a woman, after all. If the necessity arises, I won’t hesitate. See now, Vlad refused to fuse with his demon, whereas I’m already one with mine. But as much as I can, I’d rather not show off that hideous form—a woman has her pride, you know.”

She thrust her closed fan toward Elisabeth, as if asking if she could appreciate that. Elisabeth didn’t reply.

The Grand King acted as though she’d heard an answer regardless, though, and gave a light shrug.

“You’re displaying your displeasure all over your pretty little face. Listen now, Elisabeth. Would you mind not constantly looking for openings like that? The fact that I’m not simply killing you all without regard for appearances may be due to pride, but it is a mercy as well. You’re carrying rather important baggage, after all. Isn’t that right, automaton girl?”

Gesturing at Kaito with her chin, the Grand King winked at Hina.

Hina readied her halberd, tension racing through her body as she prepared herself for whatever might come. She resembled a guillotine, blade ready to drop at any moment. The Grand King licked her lips as she whispered to her.

“A lesson for you, young pup. You’re still young, so you might not understand, but love is something you keep hidden. It isn’t something you bare for the world to see, you know? Especially against a female opponent—otherwise, a wicked woman with a taste for other people’s men might just snatch him up.”

The Grand King cast a flirtatious glance at Kaito, and her pale hand moved. One of her rings, not attached to any of her underlings, shot out a chain. It hurtled toward Kaito at full speed.

The chain was right about to wrap around his neck when a thunderous noise rang out, and the chain was cut to pieces.

Hina had swung her halberd, cutting apart the chain and taking a chunk of the floor with it.

“Go die in a hole, you vixen.”

Her pupils dilated, Hina moved her legs. She hurled her halberd, and it spun as it sped at the Grand King. But she yanked on her chains once more, and another underling flew in to receive the blow in her place. There was the sound of a neck snapping.

The front of the underling’s straitjacket split open, and blood sprayed everywhere. Kaito and the rest momentarily had their vision blotted out by red.

Then a hand reached out from an unexpected direction and grabbed hold of La Guillotine’s hair.

“See, you lost your cool, didn’t you? How adorable you are, young lass. You seem difficult to take, so I’ll end things here for today—but next time, who knows? You may want to learn a thing or two about provocations in love affairs.”

Chuckling, the Grand King put force into the hand holding La Guillotine’s head. At some point, that hand had become nothing but bone, demonic and much larger than that of a human.

Its head buckling under the pressure, the saint’s skin began to split. The unseemly mechanisms within it became exposed.

The sound of creaking iron rang out.

“I’ll be taking this.”

The Grand King crushed the saint’s neck with her grotesque hand. The now-headless body collapsed on its side and transformed into rose petals.

Amid their crimson dance, the Grand King’s cheeks reddened, and she fanned herself with her crow-feather fan.

“Oh, good gracious. How improper of me. Please just pretend you didn’t see that arm.”

“Damn you, Grand King… Damn you, Fiore!”

“How pleasant it feels to hear you cry out my name, Elisabeth. Of all the demons you’ve killed, they were always the ones pitifully crying out yours, right? …That’s plenty enough for me today.”

Her arm returning to that of a lady’s, the Grand King nodded.

She placed a ring on the ring finger of her freshly killed underling and then suddenly, as if bored, turned her back on Elisabeth and company. However, she turned her head back around and twisted her lips seductively.

“I hope we meet again, little princess—and as for you, lover boy, do try to get a bit stronger.”

The Grand King began majestically making her way down the stairs. Like pet dogs, her underlings obediently followed as she pulled on their chains. As the unsettling group finally faded from view, Elisabeth murmured in disgust.

“…What a vile woman. However, pursuing her is beyond me. I am quite certainly—”

“Elisabeth?”

“Lady Elisabeth!”

“—at my limit.”

As if the strings holding her up had been cut, Elisabeth collapsed on the spot. Crimson runes wriggled atop her pale skin.

Flustered, Hina and Kaito hoisted her up and carried her to the entrance hall.

Using the knowledge recorded in Hina, they activated the teleportation circle and somehow made their way back to the castle.

It was the first time the Torture Princess had ever had to beat a retreat after being face-to-face with a demon.

At the moment, Elisabeth was still sleeping in her room.

Although keeping her comfortable was about the extent of the treatment Kaito and Hina were capable of, her breathing had calmed down again. After confirming that Elisabeth was stable, Kaito turned his weary, wavering gaze toward Hina’s back.

Then he looked back at Elisabeth, who was sinking into her bed.

“…Elisabeth.”

After murmuring softly, he closed his eyes and frowned.

He thought back on everything that had just happened. He thought back to how innocent Elisabeth’s expression had been as she stuffed her cheeks with food and how Hina had gently smiled beside her. He thought back to how the Grand King had sadistically laughed as she peeked out from behind her crow-feather fan. Suddenly, her expression blended together with the one his father had when he had tried to kill Kaito. While one had been much scarier than the other, they’d shared the same fundamentals.

They’d both thought of Kaito as a worm, vermin they could crush as they pleased.

Finally, Kaito turned to face the phantom of a red-haired boy. The boy looked at him worriedly, and Kaito muttered a few words.

“I know, Neue… It’s too early to panic. But even so…”

As he opened his eyes, Kaito loosened his grave expression.

He calmly rose from his chair and then called out to Hina.

“Hey, Hina. It doesn’t look like there’s much more for me to do here. And because both the butler and the maid were occupied, the chores are starting to pile up. I’m going to go clean up a bit.”

“Master Kaito, I can deal with that later—and there’s the matter of the Governor’s invasion. It’s dangerous for you to be alone right now.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine on my own. Can you let me leave?”

“But—”

“…Hina.”

“…I understand. If anything happens, please call out at once. Although I’m protecting Lady Elisabeth, I won’t waste a moment in rushing to the side of my beloved.”

Although she didn’t seem convinced, Hina nodded. No doubt she’d seen Kaito’s pained expression and suspected that he’d wanted to be alone.

…Sorry about this. And thanks.

Thanking her internally, Kaito left the room. But while Hina’s conjecture had been right, it also missed the mark.

It’s true that I want to be alone, but… No, I need to be alone.

Kaito closed the door behind him and then took a short breath.

He looked down and then raised his head and strode forward with an expression brimming with resolve. After stopping by the kitchen and picking something up, he walked briskly down the stairs and made for the underground corridors.

The corridors were filled with the stench of rust and a noise that sounded like groaning, and they resembled a labyrinth.

If one entered them carelessly, they could easily get lost and die without ever finding an exit. But Kaito, taking advantage of the fact that his experiences in life had left him with the ability to remember any information that was accompanied by pain, had once carved a map of the important parts in his flesh. As a result, the pain had caused him to memorize the route he needed to take.

After entering the empty, unused room, Kaito closed its heavy door and locked it from inside. After surveying all the room’s stone walls and triple-checking that nobody was there, Kaito stuck his hand in his pocket.

From within, he drew out a clear stone wrapped in a handkerchief and a fruit knife.

“…Here goes nothing.”

As he muttered to himself, he opened his hand wide. Then he plunged the fruit knife deep into his flesh. Biting down on his lip a little, Kaito drew the blade horizontally across his palm.

The sound of flesh tearing rang out, and blood spilled forth onto the floor.

“That should be good, right?”

As he stared at his wound, which was gruesome enough to make any ordinary person balk, Kaito coolly gauged the pool of blood atop his hand.

After deciding that the quantity was sufficient, he took the stone from the handkerchief and placed it atop his palm.

The bottom of the stone sank into the mana-rich crimson pool. As it did, the blue rosebud within in bloomed, as if it had just been watered, and the black feathers grew in quantity. However, no decisive change occurred.

…Was that not what I was supposed to do? No, wait, the kindling is in place. Now all it needs are live coals.

Kaito opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, and then closed it again.

Suddenly, he felt a chilly hand on his shoulder. Frantically, he looked to the side. However, nobody was there. Even so, the sensation on his shoulder remained.

In tune with the hallucination, a low, velvety, youthful male voice resonated in his ear.

“Now, you just have to whisper like this.”

“—La (become).”

Black feathers blew through the room like a blizzard.

The feathers, which should have only existed within the stone, piled up elegantly on the floor. Quietly mixed in with them were azure rose petals. As the shades of blue and black beat an erratic waltz, their movements became more and more purposeful. The petals and feathers melted together and spun to create a thin cylinder.

Then the curtain dropped.

Like a magic trick, a man stood in its place.

Wearing his silk shirt, cravat, and black coat decorated with silver thread, he looked just like a titled aristocrat. His lustrous black hair and crimson eyes gave him a certain androgynous beauty, and he looked directly at Kaito. His fetching features bore an uncanny resemblance to Elisabeth’s.

Having confirmed his hypothesis, Kaito spoke to the man.

“It’s been a while, Vlad Le Fanu.”

Vlad Le Fanu. The Kaiser’s contractor.

Before she’d killed him, he’d been Elisabeth’s most terrible foe. He smiled, a smile clearly full of heartfelt affection.

“You could say it’s been a while, for a while it has been. You could also say it’s nice to meet you, for nice to meet you it is. Now then, which would be better to greet you with? I’m at quite the loss… Hmm, if you were in my place, which would you pick?”

Vlad meaninglessly raised his index finger as he posed his question to Kaito. As always, his words and actions had a peculiar innocence to them. However, his voice sounded like he was speaking through a veil of water.

Upon further inspection, his body and clothes were partially see-through.

Just as I suspected… He doesn’t have a physical form. But he still has his will.

Silently, Kaito reaffirmed that reality. Shrugging at his lack of response, Vlad looked around the room and snapped his fingers. Darkness and azure flower petals swirled around his feet. As Kaito wondered what he was summoning, a gorgeous seat made of beast bones and covered in animal pelts—and just as immaterial as Vlad—appeared.

With great pomp and circumstance, Vlad took a seat on the phantom chair.

“I’m well aware that you’re not the kind of person who takes these things into account, I suppose. You really ought to invite your guests into rooms with chairs in them. Although even if you had, it’s not as if I’d be able to use them in my current state, so it really is a rather presumptuous request of me to make. After all, I’m well aware of what the old ‘me’ did.”

“…I don’t know if I should refer to it as back when you were alive, but you have all those memories, right?”

“Indeed, that I do. I recall asking you to become my successor, and I recall you turning me down. I even recall being killed. Hmm? Now that I think about it, shouldn’t I have chosen my opening remarks to be slightly more coldhearted? Oh, what a helpless softy I am.”

Vlad began pondering to himself. As he took a tense breath, Kaito asked him a question.

“So you really know about it all, huh…? But you don’t seem to be the same as the old you, the you from back when you were alive. What are you, then?”

“Well now, that’s quite the problematic question! It’s the height of folly, summoning something you don’t even know the true nature of! …Or rather, that’s what I’d like to say, but you have some idea, don’t you? Go on, say it. I’ll let you know if you’re right or wrong.”

Vlad urged Kaito on by gesturing with his chin, arrogant yet amused. After staring at him for a moment, Kaito responded.

“If I’m right, then you’re Vlad Le Fanu’s soul—or rather, an inferior replica thereof.”

“While it’s most irritating, being referred to as inferior, you’re quite correct! Would you look at that, a perfect score! The young man I set my sights on as a successor has grown rather impressively in quite a short time! Even though you rejected me, I’m oddly pleased in spite of that. Perhaps this is what they call parental love… In any case, what led you to that conclusion?”

“The heat I felt from your stone was a lot like my body—the kind of heat produced from a soul squirming around inside a homunculus. That was what first made me think that your stone had a soul sealed inside it as well.”

“I see, quite the impressive intuition you have. And?”

“And if you’d been able to get your actual soul to safety when you were on the verge of being killed, there’s no way you wouldn’t have been bragging about it and saying all sorts of annoying bullshit by now.”

Hearing Kaito’s incredibly impolite explanation, Vlad raised the corner of his mouth in annoyance. However, just as Kaito had expected, no rebuttal was forthcoming. He probably wasn’t able to make light of the facts.

In stark contrast to the way he’d liked to live his life, by no definition had Vlad’s death been elegant.

As Kaito played with the stone in his hand, he continued piling on conjecture.

“If that was the case, then that meant in some sense you were unrelated to the actual person who died… A perfect reproduction didn’t seem possible, but I felt like this world’s magic could probably produce something of that level.”

“Indeed, with an emphasis on finding a successor, the old me searched for ways to exert his influence on the world in posterity. While I can’t do much more than talk, I yet remain, so I can take part in the affairs of the world. Even if it’s not the same ‘me’ who died, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m carrying out actions—good heavens, what was I thinking? Well, as long as it’s entertaining, I suppose.”

Speaking as if it were somebody else’s problem, Vlad replied freely. Even though he’d been killed, it didn’t seem as though he planned to hold a grudge against Elisabeth or Kaito. As Kaito made that determination, the tension he’d secretly been enduring unwound. Looking directly in Vlad’s eyes, he asked him a question.

“Now then, there’s something I want you to tell me. It’s about the Grand King.”

“Was Elisabeth defeated?”

Kaito swallowed. He had concluded that Vlad’s knowledge of the outside world was limited to what the man himself had experienced up until death. He hadn’t expected Vlad to have figured that out. As Kaito frowned, wondering if Vlad had been able to hear even when the stone was cut off from mana, a truly unpleasant smile floated to Vlad’s face.

“Until just now, I had essentially no ability to perceive the outside world. That was but simple conjecture. After my death, that would have been the natural result of her running across the Grand King. The woman is far more vicious than I. As far as combat goes, her specialty lies not in her personal strength but the cruelty of her tactics—while she is inferior to me, she is stronger nonetheless.”

Vlad readily acknowledged that fact. His eyes half-closed, he spoke as if waxing nostalgic about the past.

“Fiore and I were friends even before we made our demonic contracts. We would liven up balls together and transfix men and women alike. While we were quite close, however, our ideologies were at stark odds. I focused my efforts on what would come after we had taken control—prioritizing my bonds with my comrades, preparing a successor, and readying my army, although that army was annihilated after Elisabeth and I had our falling-out and I was captured—whereas Fiore paid no heed to such things and instead held the individual, that is to say herself, in sole regard.”

“Yeah, I can believe that.”

“She rejected my principles and refused to aid in rescuing me from the Church, but at least she took our long years of friendship into account and refrained from taking any selfish actions. But with my death, no doubt she’s stopped holding herself back. Any lower-ranked demon whose brain she sticks her needles into will become her puppet.”

Kaito narrowed his eyes. A brain-shaped needle had been stuck in the back of the Governor’s neck.

“So that’s what that needle was…”

“Once the needle’s been placed, pulling it out will accomplish nothing. The only one immune to her needles is the Kaiser. She likely won’t take control of those ranked close to her—the King, the Grand Monarch, and the Monarch—but most of the rest of the demons are probably already her pawns, their hearts free for her to wrench out as she pleases. And faced with her specialty, Sacrifice, even Elisabeth would be at a disadvantage.”

As far as Kaito knew, the demons held a great deal of attachment to their own lives. Even though they mercilessly slaughtered others, they would balk at the thought of meeting the same fate. That was precisely why none of them had been able to use Sacrifice, as it would have required giving up their own heart. However, the Grand King, Fiore, was able to take advantage of it by using her comrades as scapegoats.

She could probably only use it as many times as there were demons remaining.

…Dammit.

Kaito bit down on his lip. Vlad, taking pleasure in seeing his pained expression, continued.

“And? Is that all you wished to ask me? As far as Fiore is concerned, that’s the sum total of the useful information there is to know. May I take my leave now? Not that I would mind wiling away time making idle banter, mind you…”

“I have…one request.”

“Ah, music to my ears. Ask away.”

A wicked smile crossed Vlad’s face. Kaito clenched his fist.

As he was then, Vlad wasn’t contracted with the Kaiser. But even on his own, demonic was a perfectly apt descriptor for him. Vlad Le Fanu was a man who constantly probed at the weaknesses in people’s hearts.

Knowing just how foolish it was to ask a favor of such a man, Kaito raised his voice.

“Could you teach me how to use magic?”

“…Oh?”

Vlad frowned in surprise and then leaned back in his beast-rib chair and crossed his hands.

“That wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I had been quite certain that you would ask me how to go about freeing Elisabeth from Sacrifice’s influence.”

“When Elisabeth wakes up, I’m gonna follow her lead as far as dispelling Sacrifice goes. If I asked you, there’s a fair shot that you’d teach me a method that would end up killing her.”

“How rude. I would never tell you such a lie.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“It’s true! How could I bear using your filthy hands to kill my dear Elisabeth? As I no longer have hands to crush her slender throat myself, I wish merely for her to keep living so that she may continue suffering. I wish for her to suffer foolishly, helplessly, and endlessly, until eventually she meets the same fiery end as I.”

“You’ve got some fucked-up tastes.”

Vlad ran his tongue across his lips as Kaito derided him and then shrugged lightly.

“While it feels odd to come out and admit it, people with healthy tastes generally don’t form contracts with demons. Their very existences are wicked and twisted… But in any case, why seek instruction from me? Wouldn’t you be better off simply having Elisabeth teach you?”

“When we faced off against the Grand King, I was just baggage. I need to get stronger and fast. And one other thing…”

“One other thing?”

“I can’t rely on Elisabeth.”

“Oh?”

Vlad opened his eyes wide in an abrupt show of glee. Kaito met his crimson gaze.

Ever since he’d arrived in this world, all his experiences had taught him one thing.

The Torture Princess was a terrible sinner and a cruel woman. And if the need arose, she could even be merciless to those who’d earned her trust. If Kaito asked, she’d probably have been willing to use her torturous means to train him in the ways of magic. However, she’d probably choose the specifics of her methods herself.

And while she could be callous toward Kaito, she wasn’t a monster.

And that means…she probably won’t push me hard enough for me to become truly useful.

Dark magic was accompanied by pain, and the power of demons demanded it.

Lastly, Kaito’s body was accustomed to pain.

When he’d put those three truths together, Kaito had realized the key implication therein.

And to check if he was right or not, he needed Vlad’s help.

Vlad was a man who had once trained Marianne, an ordinary tutor—and a woman Kaito himself had killed—into a necromancer. No doubt he would gleefully cast open doors that Elisabeth wouldn’t have dared touch.

The reason Kaito had hidden Vlad’s soul from Elisabeth was to obtain information and knowledge. It would have been too much of a waste to simply throw away access to the memories of the Kaiser’s contractor. But if not for the current situation, Kaito wouldn’t have had any intention of actually summoning Vlad.

Rational as he was, though, Kaito could be rash and cruel when it came to matters involving himself. As long as he didn’t fall into madness like Marianne had and all he did was receive education, the only person this decision would affect was him.

After making that judgment, Kaito continued making his request.

“I won’t let you do to me what you did to Marianne. But you asked me to become your successor, so you must know some way that I can make full use of myself, some way that Elisabeth doesn’t.”

“Oh, that I do indeed.”

A beastly grin crossed Vlad’s face. However, he wiped it away a second later.

Then he spoke in a calm, gentlemanly tone.

“I see the makings of one who can surpass Elisabeth in you, after all. You understand pain, and you can regard wounds with a calculating eye. But in spite of that, you act strongly when driven by hatred, and you possess a fastidious side as well. You’re a person with great capacity for malicious growth. However, it seems that you reject the notion of taking from others. That will make it difficult for you to develop, but…you did come out of your way to ask me for help. First of all, there’s one thing you’re suited toward that I can teach you right now.”

As Vlad spoke gently, he opened both his hands. He was clearly plotting something.

Even though he realized that, Kaito nodded. The disparaging remark the Grand King had thrust at him still rang in his ears.

“And as for you, lover boy, do try to get a bit stronger.”

She was totally right. I need to become stronger—I need to prepare for the worst, going forward. At this rate, I’m going to lose all the things that I worked so hard to obtain.

Kaito thought back to all the sadistic things the Grand King had done and said. She clearly numbered among those who took things from others. Even compared to the other demons, whose very lives she took advantage of, Fiore was in a league of her own.

At the rate things were going, Kaito was going to remain a member of the oppressed and have everything taken from him.

That was something he refused to let happen. But in order to surpass the trials before him, the only chip Kaito had to gamble with was himself. He slid it forward; however, he didn’t take his hand off the chip just yet.

Sensing his caution, Vlad continued talking in his coaxing voice.

“The fact you were able to summon me means that you learned how to activate magical devices, correct? The next lesson is the practical test. Carve a deep wound in your flesh and then, using the pain as your anchor, gather the mana flowing through your blood. Once you’ve gotten used to gathering it, try to merge its heat and your pain within your body. Then, when you can clearly feel the mana atop your palm, use your voice to set it off. That should allow you to give it form.”

Kaito looked down at his bloody palm, which still clasped the stone. After passing the stone to his other hand, he began gathering mana around the pain of his wound. The wound gradually grew hot.

As he felt the heat and the pain mix together, it reminded him of the injuries he’d grown so used to in life, and he felt a faint weight atop his hand. However, it still didn’t have a form.

Kaito envisioned the closest thing he could to the heat—fire.

“—La (become).”

As he whispered, a golden flame rose into the air. It quickly vanished, but Vlad clapped his hands.

“Brilliant. For a beginner such as yourself, it’s quite rare to become so proficient with pain so quickly! Unfortunately, though, the magic that technique will allow you to use is limited. Generally, turning the pain of others directly into mana is by far the most efficient method. To that end, you’d need to consume the flesh of a demon…”

At that point, Vlad licked his lips again. Then he whispered, his voice dripping with the cloying sweetness of honey.

“…or summon a demon yourself.”

“Master Kaitooooo! Where are youuuuu?!”

Suddenly, Hina’s voice rang out. As it did, Vlad’s body began crumbling. Apparently, he planned to beat a retreat of his own volition before they could be discovered. How gracious of him.

From the tips of his toes, his body transformed into black feathers and azure flower petals. The phantasmal petals and feathers swirled as they were sucked back into the stone.

“Master Kaitoooo!”

Kaito could just make out Hina’s voice from a distance. Before long, she’d end up making her way into the underground corridors in her search. Kaito was at a loss for what to do.

It’d probably be better for me to go out on my own. But I don’t think there’s any way I’m going to be able to hide this wound on my hand.

After pondering his options for a moment, he shoved the bare stone into his pocket and set the fruit knife on the floor. Then he roughly wrapped the handkerchief around his hand and tied it off tightly with his teeth.

“Master Kaitooo, where are youuuu?!”

“I’m coming!”

After surveying the room one last time, as if looking for Vlad, Kaito took off at a dash.

Behind him, all that was left was a fresh bloodstain.

“Master Kaito, thank goodness, I was so worr— What happened to your haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand?!”

“Huh? What?”

Even though he’d wrapped it up with the handkerchief and hidden it behind his back, there had been no hiding his injury from Hina’s sharp eyes. Right after they’d found each other in the first-story hallway, she’d let out a scream, circled around Kaito, and grabbed his hand.

The handkerchief wrapped around it was already stained red, and blood was dripping off it.

Wondering what excuse to give, Kaito unconsciously looked up at the ceiling. But Hina didn’t ask.

…What? She’s…not going to ask how I got hurt?

Hina stared silently at the blood-soaked handkerchief. Then, as Kaito was thinking, a torrent of tears came pouring from the corners of her emerald-green gemstone eyes.

“Wh—? Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, Hina, why are you crying?”

“Lady Elisabeth is wounded, and while I wasn’t watching, my beloved Master Kaito has been injured as well… My artificial tears won’t stop coming… My pardons, my sincerest pardons. Even though you instructed as such, this happened because I wasn’t able to be with you… Even though I am your lover and your shield, I—”

“No, no, this isn’t your fault! I mean, hey, my hand just slipped when I was cleaning up the knives… Even if you’d been there for me, I was just being clumsy, so please don’t apologize! I’m the one at fault here!”

“No, Master Kaito, that isn’t the case. If I’d been there, I would have immediately taken your hand in mine and stopped the bleeding and then snapped that violent bastard of a knife in two… Wahhhh!”

“Hina, the knife didn’t do anything wrong.”

Kaito was lost as to how to convince Hina not to assign blame to inanimate objects. While he thought, Hina stroked his hand over and over while being careful to avoid his wound.

Her tender, sorrowful gesture filled Kaito with guilt. As he was about to open his mouth to speak, Hina’s expression suddenly changed.

“That’s right! I mustn’t just stay here like this! We have to treat your hand! All the medical equipment is in Elisabeth’s room, so we should head—that’s right! Before that, there’s something I must tell you!”

“Something you have to tell me?”

“Lady Elisabeth has opened her eyes!”

The instant he heard her say that, Kaito took off at a run.

“Oh, Master Kaito! Please wait for me!”

As he ran, ignoring the voice calling out for him to stop, he passed through a hallway decorated with imposing stone statues as he pulled ahead of Hina. He dug his feet into the ground atop the unpleasant designs cast by the stained-glass clerestory windows as he rounded a corner.

He continued dashing straight down the hallway and then vigorously cast open the door to the bedroom.

“Elisabeth, are you okay?!”

“…Hmm?”

Elisabeth was sitting on the bed, stark naked.

Their gazes met, then parted. After an awkward silence, the two clumsily voiced their confusion.

“……Huh?”

“……Hmm?”

Kaito looked once more at the scene before him, unsure of what to say. Elisabeth’s pale limbs, each like a piece of art without a single wasted stroke, were adorned with captivating crimson runes. Her slender, crossed legs cast a precarious shadow between them, her waist was so thin it seemed to invite an embrace, and the curves of her breasts were shapely.

After looking over Elisabeth’s tender, beautiful body from top to bottom, Kaito opened his mouth and spoke mechanically.

“I’m very sorry.”

“I’ll have your head.”

Kaito slammed the door shut with all his might. As he wiped away his cold sweat, he took a deep breath. Hina, who’d been chasing after him, stared him straight in the eyes and lifted a hand.

She then loudly slapped Kaito across the forehead.

“Ow.”

“You mustn’t enter a lady’s bedroom without so much as calling out first, Master Kaito. Bad boy, sir.”

“Yeah, that…that was my bad.”

“Please wait here for a moment. Lady Elisabeth, pardon me, I’m coming in.”

Hina opened the door a hair and then slid inside. When she came out, she was holding medicine and bandages.

She lathered a magical dark-green poultice—apparently of Elisabeth’s make—on Kaito’s wound and then wrapped it in a bandage. Although it worked more slowly than a healing spell, it was supposed to close up wounds without the need for stitches.

At about the time Hina was finishing up Kaito’s treatment, a voice called out from inside the room.

“’Tis fine now; my analysis is finished. Enter.”

“As soon as I open the door, are you going to torture me?”

“Ha. Any other day, I’d sit you atop the Ducking Stool, but at the moment I haven’t the mana to spare. Be grateful for my poor condition.”

“Man, I’m not gonna be glad about something like that. I’d rather just get dunked underwater.”

“…True, I misspoke. If a demon came to attack, we would find ourselves in quite the pinch. ’Tis a nasty situation.”

As he listened to her quiet voice, Kaito opened the door.

Just like before, Elisabeth was sitting atop the bed. However, she was no longer naked, instead wearing her usual bondage dress. The crimson runes were still visible upon the exposed sections of her skin. Elisabeth was in better shape than he’d expected, though, and she was gently tracing the runes on her shoulder with her finger.

“To put it simply, these runes inhibit the mana running through my body. They act much like blood clots. Because of their obstruction, I cannot use my mana as freely as I’d wish.”

“They hold it back? Your mana’s not gone?”

“Indeed, nothing has been taken from me. If such a thing happened, I would cease being able to preserve the roots of demonic flesh running through my body, after all. I slaughtered my people until their corpses piled up, and doing so afforded me just enough power to maintain my body even without constantly harnessing the pain of others. If that was impaired, I’d not last long.”

Elisabeth raised her arm out in front of her and then grabbed her elbow, her fingers sporting painted black fingernails. The crimson runes pulsated almost like veins.

“My magical energy is silent, like how water that is too clear can appear as if it is nothing at all. However, as I slept, my blood fought against the runes, and most of my mana flows once more… At the moment, I can summon torture devices, but their power is reduced. It’s really quite annoying.”

Elisabeth clicked her tongue. As she did, Kaito thought back to what Vlad had just told him. The Grand King could only use Sacrifice as many times as there were demons remaining.

What exactly would happen if Elisabeth was on the receiving end multiple times over?

“Is there any way to cure it?”

“Both yes and no, in a sense.”

Elisabeth scrunched up her face in annoyance. Biting down lightly on one of her fingernails, she revealed the sole method.

“The only way to remove Sacrifice is to infuse my body with blood that has more powerful magical energy than my own. That would wash away the spell.”

“Blood with more powerful magical energy than yours?”

“Aye, indeed. More powerful than mine, the blood of a grand sorcerer and peerless sinner. Vlad would have qualified, but his body has already turned to ash… As far as other mages who can boast power surpassing mine, the Grand King is likely the only one. I’ve little choice but to defeat her and use her blood.”

Kaito’s eyes widened. They’d wanted to dispel Sacrifice before they had to fight the Grand King. But in order to do that, they needed blood with stronger magical energy than Elisabeth’s—and that meant they needed the Grand King’s blood.

I’m having a real hard time envisioning us pulling that one off. Is there really nobody else whose blood would qualify?

He bit his lip. Elisabeth no doubt understood just how problematic the method was. Her expression was grave. But she shook her head and then stood up.

“’Tis little use sitting around and coming up with bleak predictions all day. We make for the throne room, Kaito.”

“The throne room? Why?”

“Because it has a convenient hole in it.”

Kaito tilted his head at her declaration. The cloth extending out below her waist fluttering, Elisabeth set off.

Her heels clicking loudly as she walked, she spoke decisively.

“’Tis time to train in the ways of magic, Kaito. The fighting will likely only get fiercer from here. Hina is what she is, but she won’t always be able to reach you in time—if you remain as weak as you are, you’re liable to die.”

Hearing her harsh assessment, Kaito nodded. From here on out, he was going to need to be able to protect himself.

Also, although Elisabeth likely didn’t intend for him to take matters that far, Kaito wanted to become even stronger than that, if possible.

The weak get stolen from.

While he didn’t intend to become a pillager himself, he was going to be forced to fight.

Sometimes, protecting the peace carried a price. He’d known that since long ago.

An arrow of flame flew through the air, an arrow of ice pierced the ground, and a hammer of lightning smashed into a tree.

While the flame had been the most impressive, all three had gone without a hitch.

“Did…did I do it?”

His breath ragged, Kaito wiped away the sweat beading up on his forehead. As he did, blood smeared across it from his freshly reopened wound. He felt dizzy, almost anemic. That was likely because he’d expended the mana in his blood. While it would replenish given time, the sensation was none too pleasant.

The area surrounding the desolate hill the castle sat upon was blanketed by a thick forest.

One section of it was stained a bloody black from when the Knight’s beast had been skewered. Other than that, though, the rest of the forest was serene, save for the newly scorched tips of some of the taller trees.

Kaito’s magic had a good deal of force behind it. He’d felt a proper weight in his hands, and he turned to Elisabeth—who was sitting atop a new throne brought from the Treasury—with an expression steeped in anticipation.

“How…how was that?”

“Perfect—”

Her response was clear and concise. Kaito’s expression loosened at her praise. However, she quickly cut off the congratulatory words as they left her mouth. For some reason, she bore a thoroughly displeased expression.

“Elisabeth, your face…you’re scaring me here. Was there some sort of problem?”

Kaito posed his question timidly. As she placed her elbows on her armrests and her cheeks in her hands, Elisabeth glared back at him.

“There were none, which is precisely the problem. Now, Kaito…where exactly did you get that wound on your hand?”

“Wh-what, this…? I just cut my hand a little when I was cleaning up the knives.”

“’Tis rather deep, for a ‘little’ cut…and a rather convenient one, at that. All it takes to become able to use magic is a small trigger, but even so, you’re too proficient… I find it hard to believe this is your first time.”

As Kaito listened to her speak, he felt himself break out into a cold sweat. The prospect of trying to deceive her and having it going poorly was terrifying. He elected to remain silent. Elisabeth licked her lips, as if troubled by something.

“Why might that be? True, your familiarity with pain dwarfs that of most others…meaning the most difficult-to-lay groundwork was already in place, but… Kaito.”

A bead of sweat ran down Kaito’s chin.

The next moment, a high-pitched noise like something scraping against glass rang out.

Everyone there jumped when they heard the screech. Something white was soaring over the treetops and letting out a grating whine as it flew toward the throne room. Upon further inspection, it was a milky-white orb, remaining airborne by rapidly flapping its wings.

Whatever it was, it wasn’t any sort of respectable life-form.

Immediately, Hina leaped off. The hem of her apron dress fluttered as she held her halberd aloft. As she did, Elisabeth called out to stop her.

“Hina, halt! That thing is a device containing urgent communications from the Church!”

Hina, lowering her weapon, fell straight down and landed.

The orb stopped in front of Elisabeth. Then its wings fell out, it returned to being an ordinary jewel, and it plopped into Elisabeth’s palm. Throngs of runes whizzed across its surface.

Elisabeth, having deciphered the torrent of glowing magical runes, opened her eyes wide.

“Demons are attacking a port town to the south? The Grand Earl and the Grand Duke have joined forces?”

“What?”

Kaito let out a surprised exclamation. As he understood it, ever since the Torture Princess and the Kaiser had their falling-out and struck each other down, the demons had avoided conducting large-scale attacks and instead preferred to amass power individually. Furthermore, after Vlad, their mediator, had been captured, none of the demons had worked together with one another.

Yet, after all this time, two demons were coordinating and attacking a human town.

Narrowing her emerald eyes, Hina spoke in a strained voice.

“This is clearly the work of the Grand King… Is it not, Lady Elisabeth?”

“To be sure. Either that wench revealed my weakened state to them or is controlling them both directly…but in either case, we’ve no choice but to go. The Church has given me direct orders to subjugate them.”

“Wait, what? No! What are you talking about?!” Kaito shouted.

Seeing the anger in his face, Hina closed her half-open mouth and took a step backward.

Kaito glared hard at Elisabeth. Until just a moment ago, she’d been stuck sick in bed. Even though her condition was somewhat better, she was a long way off from being fully recovered. Regardless, though, she rose from her throne.

“Have you forgotten, Kaito? Should I defy the Church’s orders, I’ll meet my death at the stake.”

“Even so, they can’t just expect you to run at full throttle twenty-four seven! We can contact the Church and tell them—”

“What are you, a dunce? They’d not excuse me over a matter as trifling as that. The Church cares little for my condition. Their God sits idle, saving no one. In the name of that God, they brandish their whips at their restrained hounds and, in doing so, make the world go round. In the name of their God, all is well.”

“Well, that’s screwed up! You know, I’ve been thinking this for a while, but now I’m gonna come out and say it.”

Kaito’s breathing was ragged. Due to his fierce anger, his mind was conversely starting to clear up. As he calmly put his thoughts in order, he gave voice to the sense of discomfort that had been growing within him for some time.

“You’re eventually gonna get executed. After you kill the fourteen demons, they’re gonna kill you at the stake. That’s your obligation, and that’s your atonement. But even so, your sins won’t be forgiven. And sorry, but I agree. You’ve left too many corpses in your wake.”

“I have no rebuttal; everything you say is as it is. But what of it?”

“But it’s messed up that you’re the only one fighting.”

“…”

Elisabeth elected to remain silent. Kaito took that as affirmation.

She herself should have noticed just how unreasonable it was. Between the demons’ countless tragic victims and him having watched their battles, Kaito, for one, had had doubts and frustration pile up inside him.

“I get that other people can’t match up against demons. After having left so many corpses in your wake in order to gain power, you’re the only one who can face off against them. But why is nobody else shedding their blood? Why aren’t they laying down their lives to protect others? How can they leave all the fighting to someone who knows they’re going to be killed—how can they keep their own hands clean while they leave cleaning up the swine to the sow? That’s fucked up! How can they get away with that shit?!”

“Kaito.”

“How can they just sit up in their box seats? It’s one thing when things are normal, but when you’re as weak as you are now—”

“Mind your tongue.”

Her voice, sharp as a knife, stopped Kaito in his tracks. Feeling as though he’d just been stabbed in the throat, he closed his mouth. But overpowered and silenced as he was, he still glared at Elisabeth. On the receiving end of his gaze, she wore a cold—yet somehow gentle—expression.

“I am the Torture Princess, Elisabeth Le Fanu. I have tortured and killed more than any other, been captured by the Church, and been tasked with slaying fourteen demons. And once I’ve executed them all, I myself will be put to the stake. I have harmed, oppressed, and killed mercilessly, brutally, and arrogantly. And now the feast and feaster have switched places. Mankind has the right to use me up and slay me as they please. That is what I decided.”

The Torture Princess, a woman who had tyrannized and stolen from many, spoke with a serenity that evoked the image of a martyr. Her crimson gaze pierced through Kaito. She had the eyes of a solitary wolf.

The peerless sinner, prouder than any other, pressed on.

“I, and none other, decided that. And I shan’t let any criticize that decision. Not a soul.”

No matter what he said, he wouldn’t be able to budge that resolve of hers.

As he realized that, Kaito swallowed the rest of what he wanted to say. After all, he understood that he, too, was constantly protected by the Torture Princess. He was in no position to casually judge others.

Yeah, I get it. I’m just a dim-witted servant—I don’t have the qualifications to get mad about that.

As Kaito involuntarily turned his face away, Elisabeth began walking. Her lustrous black hair fluttered behind her as her heels clicked sharply on the stone floor.

“We head for the town in question. Hina, Kaito, come—but be prepared to defend yourselves.”

Kaito nodded in ready assent and then tightly squeezed his blood-drenched hand.

Then he tried to follow after Elisabeth.

Suddenly, he felt a tug on his elbow.

“Huh?”

Kaito turned to check behind him, and he saw Hina standing there. She was looking directly at him with her beautiful, transparent emerald eyes.

Right before he could ask her what was going on, she placed her halberd on the floor and abruptly extended her arms.

“Pardon me, Master Kaito.”

“Hina, what are—?”

Then she pressed down on his cheeks.

As she sandwiched his face between her hands, Hina wore a serious expression. Although her hands were those of a doll, they were just as warm as a human’s.

After a short silence, a question mark appeared over Kaito’s head.

“Hina, whuff thiff all of a fuffen?”

“Have you settled down, Master Kaito? If you have, I have something I would like to say.”

Hina took a deep breath.

Her eyes filled with worry and unease, she spoke eloquently and in a single breath.

“The wound on your hand is not something you could have gotten by putting away knives. You are hiding something—and furthermore, it appears to be something that you cannot tell myself or Lady Elisabeth about.”

“…”

“I have no intentions of defying your wishes and attempting to pry information out of you. But there is one thing I ask that you please remember. No matter what secret you may harbor, I will always be on your side. So no matter what happens, please do not hesitate to call on me. Do you understand?”

It was like she was trying to etch her thoughts in Kaito’s mind. The words shook him.

Hearing her concern brought him nothing but happiness. During his life, not a single person had ever shown Kaito kindness or goodwill. And nobody, not even his parents, had once tried to protect him. But regardless of what he was hiding from her, Hina was telling him that she would defend him.

Even so, he couldn’t reveal his secret to her.

If I told her, there’s no doubt that she and Vlad would go for each other’s throats.

Keeping her in the dark was painful, but he didn’t have any other options.

As he remained silent, Hina loosened her grip on his face. Her expression seemed somewhat forlorn. Seeing that, Kaito opened his newly freed mouth and, as if to pile on to what she’d just said, suddenly brought up something he needed to tell her.

“Hey, Hina…why do you go so far to protect me?”

“Because I love you.”

“Yeah, I get that. You told me, right? That you may have the preconfigured heart of an automaton, but it’s still yours and yours alone. That the moment you chose me as your master, and I chose you, that you decided to dedicate your love to me and none other… That made me really happy.”

“Master Kaito… Of all the things that have happened to me in this world, meeting you was the most… If not for that, none of the other good things would have happened. It was my sole moment of fortune and my supreme joy.”

“But why me?”

“…Master Kaito?”

“I don’t have anything to offer you. I’m just an ordinary human. I can’t understand why you picked me. I don’t have nearly that much value, which means that… Or rather, even if that wasn’t the case, even if I did have value, I can’t let you get dragged down by how weak I am.”

Hina was about to open her mouth but then closed it. She prompted Kaito to continue. He nodded deeply.

“From here on out, even more so than before, I could die at any moment. So I’ll say it one more time. Even if I die, I want you to keep on living. That alone I refuse to give up on.”

Kaito made his declaration. She’d offered out her hand to him and told him to rely on her, but he couldn’t take it.

Hina inhaled deeply and then exhaled and pursed her lips tight.

She then put a great deal of force into her hands. Kaito’s cheeks were squished even flatter than before.

“Ahain, why are you squiffing my sheekf?”

“First of all, as to why I chose you… It would take an entire week to go over everything, is that all right?”

“Why?”

Kaito blinked, having not expected her response. Hina fixed her gaze on him, her eyes overflowing with warmth and affection. She smiled as if looking at someone incorrigible.

“In time, I will explain why I chose you. Why it couldn’t possibly have been anybody else. However, at the moment, we don’t have the time. We must go together to where Elisabeth is.”

“…! Hina, about what I just said, I need your response.”

“I understand perfectly. These peaceful days that you hold so dear, that we all love, are on the verge of falling apart…and you’re afraid. But don’t worry, Master Kaito. You needn’t make such assumptions.”

Hina kneaded Kaito’s cheeks. As she pulled them horizontally, she smiled.

“It is in predicaments such as these that it’s most important to smile. It’s going to be okay. I will absolutely protect the both of you. Even if you say you don’t want me to, I will stand in the way of all your enemies. And I will protect everything you have. Please believe in me. You have no need to speak of such sad things, for that day shall never come—not for all eternity.”

Hina laughed, as if to reinforce her point. She let go of Kaito’s cheeks, bowed deeply, and then raised her head.

She bore the fierce, resolved eyes of one whose heart was firmly set.

“I won’t allow it. No matter what.”

She picked up her halberd and ran off, her silver thread hair glimmering as she went. Kaito, now alone, looked down at his hands in a daze.

As he was now, would his eyes ever look like that?

He calmly raised his hands and then clapped his face.

“…Let’s go.”

The warmth from Hina’s hands still lingered on his face, and the stone containing Vlad’s soul still sparkled within his pocket.

He didn’t know what was right anymore.

All he could do at the moment was struggle desperately against the situation before him.

He had to believe that terrible day would never come.

Even if that was nothing more than a lie.