Fremd Torturchen - Volume 5 - Chapter 4

4

The World’s End

Someone once said that the world has no end. The world is round, they proclaimed, and as such it has no terminus.

Someone once said that the world has an end. It’s like a waterfall, they proclaimed, one that swallows up anything and everything.

Someone once said that the world has an end. For God created that place, they proclaimed, and designated it “the World’s End.”

Was the world, in fact, round? Were the seas all connected? Or was there nothing but a waterfall at the edge and an abyss that swallowed up anything and everything? To this very day, the truth is yet unknown.

After all, nobody ever actually undertook the voyage to find out for themselves. Even so, though, one of the three proclamations can currently be held up as definitely true. For in this world, there is a location that God designated as its End. It’s said to be a pure place, one crafted from snow and water, wind and mana.

And it’s a place that only those granted knowledge of its location were able to reach.

“‘Even if one were to walk the whole earth over,’ it’s said. Being a mage, I’d of course heard of it, but to think that while I live and breathe… Well, no, I suppose I’m dead now. Either way, I never dreamed I’d actually be able to reach it! Yet, now I stand with my own two feet…or to be more precise, I should say I float! But in any case, it’s quite moving.”

“That’s a lot of corrections you’re making there. Are you quite all right?”

“Ha-ha-ha, as satisfied as satisfied can be!”

Leisurely shrugging off his beloved daughter’s cold stare, Vlad gave a hearty laugh.

With grace befitting his noble bearing, Vlad cast a sweeping gaze over the snowscape before them. The ground was frozen and hard, and no amount of digging would turn up soil. The entire region was made of mana-rich ice. Because of that, everything as far as the eye could see was blue and faintly glowing. The snowflakes were big enough to make out their individual shapes, and they piled up everywhere like little handicrafts. Above them, the sky was milky and white. Strangely, it was also covered in an oil-like rainbow sheen, although that didn’t appear to belong to clouds, the sun, or the stars.

The sky was simply empty. It was like a giant lid was sitting over their heads. Consequently, it was difficult to tell whether it was night or day. In a sense, it resembled the demons’ world. However, the sky wasn’t sullied like it had been back there. The wind was frighteningly clean and pure, and the atmosphere was sparkling.

It was beautiful, almost miraculously so. But at the same time, there was nothing there.

There was just absolute emptiness.

It was like a hollow vessel, with all the desolate solitude of everything having ended and the faint hope that something new would begin.

It was a place truly deserving of the name “the World’s End.”

And in that legendary land, Kaito Sena was currently freezing to death.

“I’m s-so c-cold! Cold, cold, cold, cold, c-c-c-c-cold!”

“Please, Master Kaito, pull yourself together! Oh, if only my surface area were a hundred times larger!”

“Hmm, I feel as though I just saw a vision of Kaito being fatally crushed.”

Despite being wrapped in Hina’s tight embrace, Kaito was shivering.

For the last little while, Hina had been laudably trying to warm him up with her own body. Just as she’d said, though, she lacked the surface area to cover him completely. Other than his face, which was buried in her opulent chest, Kaito was suffering an utter defeat at the hands of the cold. As she gazed at his frozen visage, Elisabeth nodded.

“’Tis true, though. The temperature is such that no human would withstand it unprepared.”

“The World’s End is a place of purity. In other words, this ain’t no place for respectable creatures to try survivin’.”

“H-h-how the hell are you two not cold in those r-r-ridiculous getups?!”

Kaito couldn’t stop himself from crying out. Elisabeth and Jeanne, in stark defiance of what they’d just said, seemed to be perfectly fine.

Vlad was a phantasm, and Hina was an automaton. It made sense for the two of them not to feel the cold. But the fact that Elisabeth and Jeanne seemed unaffected as well made no sense.

After all, the amount of fabric comprising the Torture Princess’s bondage dresses barely even rose to the level of “sparse.”

Jeanne appeared dumbfounded by Kaito’s exclamation. She shrugged her exposed shoulders.

“Allow me to pose you a question, mister. Why should any mage complain about the cold in a land as rich in mana as this? What, you think you classify as ‘respectable’?! You’re like some sorta masochist perv who owns clothes but walks around naked anyway!”

“’Tis just as Jeanne says. Using your mana better would serve you well. Are you ready? Hold the sensation of a lit fire within the pit of your stomach. Then form a layer of warmth in the air around… Wait, no. Stop. You were just on the verge of immolation, no?”

“Y-y-yeah, that’s right, I a-a-almost caught on fire! I’m bad at that f-f-fiddly magic stuff, okay, and I’m cold!”

As smoke sputtered from the top of his head, Kaito continued shivering.

Then Vlad returned, seemingly having grown bored of observing the scenery. He shook his head in exasperation.

“I take it you intend to secede, then, my dear successor? It’s a pitiful way to die, to be certain, but it is what it is. Partings are always sudden and always sorrowful. As comical of a farewell as it is, perhaps that, too, lends it deeper significance.”

“Listen here, you. When I die, I’m smashing your stupid jewel on my way out if it’s the last thing I do.”

Kaito leveled a glare at Vlad through his shivers. It was unclear what he found so funny, but Vlad responded with a chipper laugh.

Exasperated as she was, Elisabeth gave Kaito a firm clap on the shoulder.

“Calm down, now. I daresay you’re at no risk of actually freezing to death.”

“I—I—I mean, you’re r-r-right, but I feel like it’d still be a problem if I s-s-stopped being able to move.”

Elisabeth did have a point. Kaito’s soul was currently housed inside a homunculus.

As long as he didn’t unintentionally undergo severe blood loss, his body was immortal. In fact, if he were a normal human, he would have already succumbed to hypothermia and died. But if Elisabeth’s blood running through his veins was to freeze, so would his motor functions. And given their current situation, he wasn’t particularly keen on asking someone to lug him around as a paperweight.

Hina clenched her fists in determination. Her face full of resolve, she grabbed at her maid uniform.

“Now I understand! Now that it’s come to this, we only have one option left! As his bride, I will take extreme, extreme pleasure in removing my clothes and pressing myself against my precious husband to better warm him up!”

“Settle yourself down, Hina. ’Tis true that you replicate a human’s body heat despite being an automaton. But stripping and clinging to him will change little. Also, do try to hide your ulterior motives a bit more thoroughly. Promise me that, if nothing else… In any case, the red dragon seems to have stopped moving. We have nothing to use as a guide, and Kaito is on the verge of freezing.”

“I d-d-don’t like where this is g-g-going.”

“The matter now becomes, ‘what to do?’”

Elisabeth crossed her arms and hmmed. Then she snapped her gaze to the side.

The red dragon was lying on its belly there, seemingly unaffected by the cold. Ever since they’d arrived at the World’s End, she’d suddenly stopped moving. She was instead dozing off, as though she’d come home for the first time in a long while.

Upon hearing what Elisabeth had to say, Jeanne shrugged again.

“A good question. Leaving the pathetic mister to freeze to death won’t exactly do us any good. Nevertheless, walking about randomly would be foolish. We need to avoid wasting our stamina. Our best option is to await good news from my children. If things go well, it will give us a direction for our next course of action, as well. And if they don’t, well, we can just give up and let him die.”

“D-d-damn, that’s harsh.”

Kaito lamented, his face pale. However, he didn’t have any specific objections to Jeanne’s proposal.

After Deus Ex Machina had rematerialized, it had split up and begun scouting. In accordance with Jeanne’s orders, its four parts had gone out to search the vast untrodden land. Waiting for the four to return was the best option they had available to them.

After all, there’s basically nothing to use as a landmark here. If we started walking, odds are we’d just end up going in circles. Given that the Butcher invited us here, there should be something we can reach before we freeze to death, but…

Despite his racing thoughts, Kaito chose to put his trust in the four machines. In other words, the only thing there was to do was wait.

They spent the next little while in silence.

Sandwiched between the luminescent sky and earth, even Kaito’s sense of the passage of time evaporated. Given the fact that he was able to successfully put up with it, the time he spent waiting couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, but to him it felt like an eternity.

Then, with a start, he looked up. He could hear the crunching sound of something scraping at the frozen earth.

A distorted mass of silver approached from the distance, chipping lightly away at the ice as it moved. Bandersnatch, the beast made from nothing but fangs, had returned. It bored holes in the ice as it came to a quick stop.

Sitting in front of its master with its feet all lined up together, Bandersnatch let its mouth click open and shut. Apparently, it was using the rattling of its fangs to somehow give its report. Jeanne responded with a theatrical little gesture and covered her mouth with her hand.

“My, my, this falls outside my expectations.”

“Wh-wh-wh-what is it, Jeanne? D-d-d-did something happen?”

“I’ll praise you for having the grit to ask your question despite your teeth shivering to their roots, mister, if nothing else. Listen and be awed. Bandersnatch found a soldier encampment down the way. Who’da thunk that someone’d beat us to the World’s End? Barely even feels real.”

“What? The Church’s goons, then? They must have dragged something out of the Butcher.”

“That isn’t it. The flag they’re flying isn’t the Church’s. I recognize the design, but…describing it would be difficult. Draw it, if you would.”

Bandersnatch nodded obediently at Jeanne’s order. With unhesitating motions, it set its bladed legs to work. It looked something akin to a machine outputting image data. Silver whooshed through the air, carving a delicate, flowing pattern in the ground.

The first things it drew were animals. Then flowers. Eventually, the drawing of a white deer, an ancient wolf, and a colossal hawk all wreathed in an extravagant ring of flowers was complete. Kaito’s eyes went wide. Momentarily forgetting about the cold, he let out a dumbfounded whisper.

“The Forest King and the other two… And wait, the flowers in the crest vary by member of the royal family, and that one is specific to…”

“Yes, Master Kaito, I remember it, too.”

Still nestled beside him, Hina gave an obedient nod. Elisabeth narrowed her eyes in confusion.

His tone serious, Kaito stated the flag’s owner.

“It belongs to the private army of Vyade Ula Forstlast, the Forest King’s third imperial princess.”

With that, a new mystery arose. After all, Kaito and the others were currently at the World’s End.

Without being told exactly where it was, it was impossible to even reach.

So why are the beastfolk here? And what’s their goal?

No matter how hard he racked his brain, though, Kaito couldn’t come up with answers. He didn’t even have enough information to come up with a reasonable guess.

He scrunched up his face. Elisabeth responded by crossing her arms and puffing out her chest.

“When thinking fails, all that’s left is to act. And one way or another, we need to figure out the beastfolk’s reason and objective in coming to the World’s End.”

“Indeed. We can hardly chalk it up to happenstance. Which leaves us no choice but to find out why.”

“Yeah…you two are right. Guess we should get moving, then.”

Jeanne interjected in the affirmative, and Kaito nodded as well. Odds were that the beastfolk weren’t their enemies. Kaito didn’t think of them as enemies, at any rate, and he chose to believe that they’d feel the same way.

And with that, their course of action was set.

They were going to head to the beastfolk campsite and make contact with them.

Without further delay, they followed Bandersnatch and set off.

As they walked, they trampled snowflakes underfoot. But just after they got going, a serious problem reared its head.

“E-E-Elisabeth, this isn’t g-g-good.”

“What isn’t? Ah. I think I have the gist of it, but go on and say it anyway.”

“A-a-at this rate, I’m gonna die. Or r-r-rather, freeze stiff.”

“Hmm. I’m afraid I don’t really see the issue. We can merely simmer you in hot water later, I should think.”

“Wh-wh-whaddaya think I am, f-f-frozen peas? I don’t wanna be a s-s-statue.”

As they were talking, Kaito’s body heat was mercilessly fading away. For a moment, the insane thought of burrowing into the Kaiser’s fur passed through his mind. After all, the one part of his body that wasn’t cold was his left arm, which had been transformed into that of a beast. If he clung to the Kaiser’s canine pelt, he was sure it would warm him up. But the Kaiser was a proud demon. Rubbing his soft fur would no doubt incite his rage. And for that matter, Kaito wasn’t sure if demons even had body heat.

All right, brain, back it up. Let’s try to avoid getting ourselves bitten in half.

Narrowly coming back to his senses, Kaito began trying to think of a more realistic solution.

The plan he ended up going with was trying to get magical tutelage from Elisabeth again.

No matter how many times he tried, though, success eluded him.

“…N-n-no dice, huh?”

“Hmm. How else to go about teaching you, I wonder?”

Having already tried out a number of different explanations, Elisabeth tapped a finger against her forehead. Thin beads of smoke were coming up from Kaito’s head. Elisabeth frowned as she gazed at his sorry demeanor.

“The problem seems to lie in the fact that thermoregulation magic doesn’t use pain as its fulcrum. To you, that makes the sensation comparatively hard to grasp. Even so, though, I’m at something of a loss as to how else to explain it.”

“D-d-don’t give up now; you’ve g-g-got my life in your hands.”

“Worry not. I’ve all but dropped it already.”

“H-h-how the hell’s that s-s-supposed to make me feel better?”

“It’s okay, Master Kaito! Even if you can’t move anymore, I will make sure to dutifully carry you!”

“Hmm, transporting cargo under our present circumstances seems rather hazardous. Blast it, though! How can it be that a man who birthed a sword on his own strength has so impoverished an imagination?! One. More. Time. First, you—”

“May I, my precious daughter?”

“I’m sorry, does the charcoal briquette with delusions of grandeur have something to say?”

“Ha-ha-ha, as rebellious as always. Worry not, though; I’m a forgiving man.”

Vlad’s interruption was met with Elisabeth’s unconcealed scorn. However, he just laughed off her snide comment. He found his face riddled with stakes in reply, but he carried on undiscouraged.

“The reason your teachings are so ineffective is because they’re designed with a sane pupil in mind. If you want to teach him, then you’d best rethink your methods from the ground up… Now then, my dear successor, I want you to release fire and ice within your body at the same time. Don’t try to grasp the sensations. Actually release them. And put enough strength into both of them to kill yourself.”

“Wait, Vlad, are you mad? I mean, I’m well aware that you’re mad, but that’s—”

“Each one will offset the other. But of the two, your talent with fire is greater, and the difference should be precisely enough to warm your body.”

Kaito followed Vlad’s instructions and closed his eyes. He focused his mind, then tried burning up and freezing his innards. His mana immediately started flowing freely, as though all the lack of response up until then was but a distant memory.

Oh man, this is way nicer.

The two contradictory energies were clashing within Kaito’s body. It wasn’t without a degree of pain, but neither was able to fully take form without being quashed by the other. At the end, the only lasting effect was his body temperature successfully rising.

Kaito slowly opened his eyes. He then turned to Vlad, who was beaming triumphantly, and nodded.

“Yeah, the cold’s manageable now. Thanks, Vlad.”

“Y-you little… Do something about that irreconcilably twisted nature of yoooooours!”

Elisabeth evoked the image of a cat with its hairs standing on end as she screamed. As she did, she leveled a splendid roundhouse kick at Kaito’s back.

The attack itself was, by all means, no different than his usual treatment. Their location, on the other hand, was anything but usual.

As a result, the impact of the kick caused Kaito to lose his footing and slip.

“Wh—?”

“Oh?”

The frozen ground was all but devoid of friction. And to compound on Kaito’s misfortune, the ground had begun gently sloping up at some point. Without realizing it, they’d climbed up a little white hill.

One can imagine, then, what happened to Kaito when he slipped.

His black long coat acting as a sled, he began sliding down the hill at an alarming rate.

“Ahhhhhhhh, Elisabeeeeeeeeeeeeeth!”

“Kaitoooooooooooooooooo!”

“My beloved Master Kaitoooooooooooooooo!”

“Hmm. I seem to have lost my precious successor.”

“I don’t know if he was really all that precious.”

While the remaining members clamored among themselves, Kaito continued accelerating with no signs of stopping. He frantically thrust his beastly arm into the ground. However, he was unsuccessful in driving his claws into the ice.

So, uh, what exactly am I supposed to do now?

Although he wasn’t exactly being driven by negative emotions, the absurdity of the situation served to calm him just as effectively. Kaito narrowed his eyes and cast a glance over his surroundings. When he did, he realized something.

There were strange furrows in the ground right next to where he was sliding. The snowflakes had been carved up, and the ice had been shaved away. In all likelihood, this was where Bandersnatch had slid down the hill.

“Well, it looks like I’m headed in the right direction, so…I guess this is fine?”

After all, Kaito’s pace had been the slowest among the group. Deciding that continuing to slide was just fine by him, he stopped resisting. Of course, that said, it wasn’t like he had any way to stop. Growing slightly desperate, Kaito crossed his arms.

Maintaining that posture, he continued sliding away.

Eventually, the ground became flat again. Despite that, though, Kaito’s speed showed no signs of abating. He merely continued rushing along the ground beneath the milky-white sky. Then, suddenly, he got caught on something and came to a stop.

“Hmm? What’s that?”

Kaito squinted. It felt as though he’d been caught by countless pairs of transparent hands.

He then reached out and checked to see what it was that had actually stopped him. It turned out to be a fat bundle of wire-thin plants. Each one of the snow-white vines was covered in fuzzy, bur-shaped blossoms.

Narrowing his eyes once more, Kaito surveyed his surroundings. The ivy stretched out around the entire environs.

He tried giving the vine a tug. The more he pulled it back, though, the more it stretched. It didn’t look like it was going to snap, nor was there any end to it in sight. It was far longer and sturdier than he’d expected.

What’s a plant doing here, though? I thought stuff wasn’t supposed to be able to live here. What’s going on, then? And did Bandersnatch manage to avoid this stuff?

Faced with the plant’s contradictory existence, he cocked his head to the side and double-checked the shaving in the ice. Bandersnatch’s tracks stopped just before the ivy, then reappeared on the other side with deep holes at the very beginning. It must have noticed the ivy just before running into it, then jumped to avoid it. Kaito, on the other hand, hadn’t had such luck. Crossing his arms again, he tilted his head back to the side.

“What’s up with this ivy, then? I mean, there are definitely things that come to mind when I think plants, but…”

“I came to see who was caught, but this? To think that a human would make it to the World’s End. It would appear we were not the only ones invited… Who are you? State your name!”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, he heard a deep voice addressing him. Kaito’s eyes went wide. But the animosity present in the other party’s voice wasn’t what he was reacting to. The expression flooding his face wasn’t one of tension and alertness but one of shocked familiarity.

“…No way.”

He knew that voice. Flustered, he cast a glance at his surroundings.

It was then that he realized there was a group behind him leveling swords at his back. The approaching soldiers were all clad in vermilion armor. Its scale-and-leather aesthetic gave the same unique impression as always. In addition to their breastplates, though, they were also wearing thick winter coats. The coats had likely been made from the fur of their comrades, as that was their people’s custom. Just as Kaito had expected, masculine, inhuman faces peeked out from within their heavy hoods.

At the front of the group was a beastman with copper fur and a wolf’s head. And the subordinates standing behind him looked familiar as well.

Kaito somehow managed to avoid slipping as he stood up. Then, making no efforts to defend himself, he called out to the wolf-headed beastman.

“Lute!”

“Hmm? Why do you know my…? Wait, you’re—!”

Lute, the commanding officer of the first squad of Vyade Ula Forstlast’s private army, stopped dead in his tracks.

At that point, Kaito finally came to a realization. The reason the plants hadn’t withered away in this frozen world was because the beastfolk had brought them there. They must have been using them in place of a fence to keep out intruders. What beastfolk lacked in magical prowess they made up for in their peculiar brand of engineering. Armor and magical tools made from the corpses of their comrades and plants that could grow inside buildings without any soil were just a few examples. It made total sense for them to have developed breeds of plants that were resilient to the cold.

At any rate, Kaito found it a great relief that the beastfolk he’d run into had been people he knew. He opened his mouth, about to casually ask them how they were doing. At the last moment, though, he swallowed his words.

No, no, no, no, no… This isn’t some situation where I can just stroll up and say, long time no see.

This was the first time Lute had seen him after Jeanne had forcibly taken him away. And ever since then, the situation had gone completely pear-shaped. The relationship diagram of the people Kaito was involved with had grown more tangled by the minute.

And above all else, they were currently standing at the World’s End.

Under normal circumstances, people couldn’t even reach it without being told its precise location.

And I don’t have any idea what Lute and his men are doing here.

Depending on what their objective was, they could very well perceive Kaito as an enemy. And even if they didn’t, the way he’d just suddenly appeared was suspicious in the extreme. Having their reunion take place due to him getting caught in their guard netting could hardly be regarded as desirable.

Kaito clutched his head. He could feel a headache coming on.

Man, why couldn’t we have reunited under some easier-to-explain circumstances? —Wait, hwah!

“Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Sir Kaito, you’re alive!”

All Kaito’s concerns were blown away in an instant. A hearty smile spread across Lute’s face as he unhesitatingly wrapped Kaito up in an embrace, his thick, burly arms holding Kaito firmly in place. Perhaps getting slightly carried away, Lute swung Kaito from side to side as he spoke in a tone full of heartfelt delight.

“You’re alive, you’re alive, thank goodness you’re alive! Oh, could there even be a more joyous reunion?! How wonderful it is that you survived! Look, everyone, it’s Sir Kaito! He’s alive!”

Lute set Kaito down and gave him an affectionate thump on the back. Feeling woozy, Kaito pitched forward, nearly toppling to the ground. As he did, Lute’s subordinates surged toward him.

One after another, they thrust their oafish, gloved hands into his and shook.

“We missed you! Captain Lute is right; it’s wonderful to see you alive.”

“You look well. That’s good to see.”

“We were all so worried about you.”

“Oh, uh, thanks, you too, nice to see you all.”

Thoroughly flummoxed, Kaito did his best to respond to his overly enthusiastic welcome. While he did, though, another part of his brain coldly analyzed each beastperson’s reaction. However, much to his surprise, not a single one of them cast so much as a doubtful glance his way.

Wait, seriously? Should they really be welcoming me so openly?

Kaito was taken somewhat aback. At the same time, however, he felt a strong feeling wash over him.

Lute had once told him that beastfolk took much more pride in repaying debts than humans did.

It would seem that he hadn’t been lying.

The words of celebration eventually died down, and all the hands were successfully shaken. The mood was amiable and calm. “Very good, very good.” Lute nodded in satisfaction. At long last, though, he cocked his head in puzzlement.

“Hmm? But, Sir Kaito, whatever are you doing at the World’s End?”

“Wait, don’t tell me you only just started wondering that.”

“And for that matter, whatever became of you after you were taken away by that eerie golden girl?”

Lute’s questions were starting to come out in force. Kaito nodded. In the midst of the storm of greetings and handshakes, he’d been hard at work trying to straighten out all the information in his head. He opened his mouth, prepared to begin explaining the particulars.

“Okay, Lute. You gotta promise not to get too freaked out. Right after that, I—”

It was at that moment that the crunching sound of ice being shaved away began growing audible from afar.

The timing was atrocious. Oh, shit, thought Kaito as he spun to look behind himself. But he was already too late.

New colors were visible atop the snow-white hill. The silver, black, and gold were especially eye-catching.

Leading the group was a twisted silver machine. Right behind it was a young woman wearing a risqué bondage dress running alongside a maid, and floating a ways behind them was a man dressed like an aristocrat. And dashing along calmly directly beside him was a young lady wearing a white bondage dress comprised of little more than just belts.

When you see them from a distance, they look kinda weird, don’t they?

“Kaitoooooo! Are you okaaaaaaaaaay? I was a bit careless back there—I’ll admit to that! Having you die on me like this would haunt not just my dreams but my waking hours as well!”

“Master Kaitooooooooooooo, are you all riiiiiiiiiight? You’re okay, riiiiiiight?! If you aren’t, I’ll be sure to follow right afterrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

“Good heavens, what a troublesome man he is. Sheesh, it’s a miracle he managed to get himself a wife.”

“I find myself agreeing, but hold on a minute… A wife? Now that I think about it, did my dear successor swear an eternal oath with that automaton I made? Boasting of loving a doll is an absurdity among absurdities, but I suppose the same could be said of a human partner as well. Love is pleasant enough as a temporary indulgence, but it’s far too insubstantial a delusion to spend one’s whole life bound to. Human or doll, that fact remains unchanged. But that’s not the important part. That doll is a creation of mine, which means…that in a sense, he’s become my son-in-law both in name and in substance?”

The group’s ramblings were just as self-indulgent as always. There was no background noise to interrupt them, so their voices traveled well. Kaito especially wanted to declare his staunch objection to Vlad’s assertion. But now wasn’t the time for that.

Oh, shit.

The beastman’s eyes had come to a stop on the girl in the questionable white bondage dress—the golden Torture Princess with honey-blond locks and sparkling gold adornments, Jeanne de Rais. Their tails were jutting out from their coats, and they all puffed up in unison. The beastfolk grabbed for their weapons and went on high alert.

Elisabeth noticed their change in demeanor and came to an abrupt stop. Her expression turned grave, and she reached out and snagged Hina by the collar. Hina responded by kicking and squirming, wanting nothing more than to dash over to Kaito’s side.

“What are you doing, Lady Elisabeth? Master Kaito is right there in front of us, Lady Elisabeth. All I have to do to be with my beloved husband is walk straight forward, Lady Elisabeth!”

“Calm yourself. Look around him. He’s surrounded by beastfolk, but… I see. He must have gotten himself caught on the guard netting they’re wont to place around their campsites. Little matter, that, though… Although it seems we arrived a tad too early to join up with them and a tad too late.”

With only a glance, Elisabeth had read the situation like a book.

Back in the underground tomb, Kaito had told Elisabeth all about what had happened when he was on the run. In other words, she knew about the grave injuries the golden Torture Princess had inflicted on Lute and his men when she’d whisked Kaito away from the beastfolk lands. Jeanne herself, on the other hand, seemed utterly nonchalant about the whole situation.

Jeanne de Rais is the oppressor of slaves, the saint, the whore…and the self-proclaimed maiden of salvation.

According to Jeanne, salvation could be obtained only by human deeds. And she was haughtier than both God and Diablo. She probably didn’t even harbor a shred of guilt toward those she’d sacrificed with noble intentions.

As though to provide proof of that, Jeanne turned to the beastfolk and began casually tossing cruelties their way.

“Oh, why, it’s been some time. You seem to be in better health than I expected. How nice. Y’all are a bunch of sturdy old pups.”

“Positions!”

Lute shouted, his voice tinged with rage. The sounds of swords being drawn could be heard, one after another in succession. Bows stretched to their limits.

Dammit, they’re practically at each other’s throats already. If a fight breaks out, all this will have been for nothing!

Kaito immediately realized that he was going to have to be the one to stop them. Leaping out in front of the beastfolk, he spread his arms wide.

“Wait, hold up! Jeanne might not make any sense, and she might be a total asshole, but she’s not your enemy!”

“I feel as though I’m being mocked. Not that I’m disputing the charges, mind you!”

“Have you gone mad, Sir Kaito?! Why would you protect the monster who mercilessly wounded and cruelly slaughtered our people…? Curses, she must have brainwashed you! Or perhaps you were accomplices from the start… I truly don’t want to believe that, but…”

Lute ignored Jeanne’s comical interjection as he ground his fangs. Kaito gave a silent thanks for Lute’s rationality. If he hadn’t hesitated just then, arrows would already be flying.

Now, how should he go about breaking the deadlock? Kaito frantically racked his brain.

In the end, he decided to hit the beastfolk with the most appropriate card he had.

“The golden girl…Jeanne de Rais didn’t slaughter the people in those villages!”

“What did you just say?”

Lute was visibly shocked, just like Kaito had expected. He breathed a sigh of relief. The beastfolk were proper soldiers; they cared more about their people who had fallen victim than about the wounds they themselves had suffered.

He could take that to mean he’d been successful in buying them another chance to discuss things over and explain themselves.

In order to give both himself and the beastfolk a chance to calm down, he took his time laying out his next few points.

“Would you mind hearing me out? Right now, she and I are working together. And it’s to prevent the killer you guys are looking for from achieving their ultimate goal. If it’s okay with you, Lute, I wanna give you a proper explanation of everything that’s happened. Do you have somewhere we could sit down and talk?”

Kaito already knew that the beastfolk had set up camp, but he decided to feign ignorance. However, the response he got was lethargic. Lute’s subordinates seemed unsure as well.

Looks like they need another push. C’mon, think. How much information can I safely give out?

The terrible truths he’d come to learn floated through his mind one after another. Each and every one of them was like a bomb with the power to shake human society to its foundations. If he let them slip carelessly, he could very well end up bringing about an international incident. Despite the fact that he was short on time, he considered his options as carefully as he could.

I really want to be able to see eye to eye with Lute and his men here.

They had no idea what was waiting at the World’s End. Given that the Butcher had brought them there, it had to be something important, but they were critically short on preparation and manpower. They didn’t even have a home base to speak of.

We need to get the beastfolk to work with us. Because most importantly, if we lose Lute, we lose our connection to Vyade Ula Forstlast.

Kaito and the others were trying to face off against the Church, a massive, influential organization. It was vital that they get someone powerful to back them up, and there was no guarantee that they’d have another chance to negotiate with the beastfolk. At worst, the world might even be destroyed before then.

I don’t want to start a war between them and the humans. But right now, I need to maintain my relationship with the beastfolk.

Kaito clenched his fists. Steeling his resolve, he opened his mouth.

Then he threw down one of the most crucial cards available to him.

As far as humanity was concerned, it was a perilous card indeed.

“There’s something I want to tell you, something the Church has been working to conceal.”

That one sentence was more than sufficient to insinuate the Church’s involvement with the beastfolk murders.

Lute’s ears twitched beneath his hood. As they did, he stared straight at Kaito and studied his expression.

Kaito responded to Lute’s piercing gold gaze with silence. The shoe was on the other foot now. This time, Kaito was the one concealing information and asking for help. And he was well aware of how self-serving he was being.

But what we’re trying to do ends up being in Lute’s best interest, too.

Kaito’s conviction stemmed from his desire to stop the world from ending. Thanks to that, he was able to avoid looking away.

The two of them stared at each other, the way they had when they’d first met.

Eventually, Lute closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them. Having made some sort of decision, he raised his arm straight out to the side.

Kaito’s shoulders twitched. However, he made no motions to flee, nor did he ready himself to defend or counterattack. Staring fixedly at him as he did, Lute abruptly turned his palm down.

All at once, his subordinates lowered their swords and bows. They relaxed their postures.

Kaito let out a sigh of relief. The tension in his body had faded away so rapidly, in fact, that his knees began to awkwardly give way. As he looked at Kaito, Lute narrowed his eyes. Then he placed his palm atop his vermilion breastplate.

As he did, he spoke in a respectful tone.

“I suppose this marks the second time, then, that we extend an invitation to the enemy of mankind.”

Bright red flames crackled up within the stone-enclosed hearth.

In a sense, seeing light and heat in that closed-off world of ice and snow was practically moving.

On top of the fire was a pot filled with scooped-up snow. After slowly melting, the clumps had transformed into shockingly pure water. Hina was hard at work shredding flower petals and pouring them in. The water boiled, and as it changed to a vibrant shade of orange, she scooped the petals back up before they could go tart. Then she replaced them with some diced-up dried fruit. Beside her, a gray wolf beastman was setting out bowls.

As the preparation of the tea steadily advanced, Lute, Kaito, and Elisabeth sat down in a circle.

They were currently resting, having made their way to one of the portable dwellings of the beastfolk’s campsite.

The inside of the ceiling above their heads was supported by an umbrellalike frame. Comprised of wood and beastfolk hides, the hut had been prepared in advance so that it could be set up by anyone. After the planks that made up its round floor had been laid out, they’d been covered twice over with rugs woven from various types of fur. According to Elisabeth, they’d been made from the pelts of powerful mages, and the patterns woven within served to ward off the cold.

Given all the measures they’d taken, the inside of the hut was surprisingly warm.

With no need to worry about the cold, Kaito and the others sat cross-legged as they talked.

“After that, we went back to Elisabeth’s castle for a bit. But the Butcher had already been…”

As he relayed his story to Lute, Kaito cast a number of furtive glances to the side.

Jeanne was sitting in the corner hugging her knees under the watchful eyes of several guards. Her hip adornments interfered with her ability to sit, so she’d done away with them, but as a result, she was practically naked from the waist down. If they hadn’t been beastfolk, her guards would have likely been at a loss for where to look. Originally, the plan had been for her to be confined to a different room altogether. But with just a few words, Jeanne herself had gotten that plan amended.

“If confining me in name alone will satisfy you, then do as you wish. But if a couple of nobodies guarding me will put your minds at ease, then you’re all a bunch of dumb shits. Looks like living till old age just ain’t in the cards for ya.”

Her words had evoked no small amount of displeasure from the beastfolk. On the other hand, she did have a point.

Locking her up would accomplish little. It took a thief to catch a thief, and it took a Torture Princess to stand up to a Torture Princess. Even so, they didn’t want to upset the beastfolk any more than they already had.

Having been given strict instructions by everyone to say nothing, Jeanne was currently sitting in silence. Next, Kaito had dispelled Vlad’s phantasm and thought back to the complaint Vlad had lodged.

“Hold on now, my dear successor. Lumping me in with her and getting rid of me as well is rather unjust, no? Respect might not be either of our strong suits, but we are different people, I’ll have you know. Hmm? ‘Did you forget all that you said back in the beastfolk village?’ Good heavens, is a man forbidden from enjoying a smart remark now and again? But very well. I am a dead man, after all; being forgotten about seems appropriate enough.”

Now that I think about it, was he being sarcastic back then? Eh, whatever.

Kaito then turned his focus back to the exposition he was giving to Lute.

At long last, the story reached the point where they’d arrived at the World’s End.

“…And so basically, we ended up flying here.”

“I…see. I must admit, it all seems rather implausible.”

Apparently at a loss for words, Lute stroked his chin. He had just gotten a huge amount of information dumped in his lap.

Kaito could certainly appreciate his bewilderment. After all, the entire story felt almost surreal.

If I hadn’t lived through it myself, I probably wouldn’t believe it right away, either.

After receiving Elisabeth’s approval, he’d gone ahead and told Lute almost everything.

Even while he was talking, he felt like he’d been spinning some sort of tall tale. Despite that, though, he unfalteringly laid out the truth. The one thing he did make sure to do, though, was stress the fact that the culprits behind the beastfolk killings were only a group of fanatics within the Church who’d taken advantage of the chaos of Godd Deos’s death to run wild, and that their wishes ran contrary to those of humanity as a whole. Furthermore, he added, he felt that they should be treated like demons and their contractors and viewed as enemies of the entire world.

If the beastfolk see that as an “act committed by humanity” and decide to retaliate, then even avoiding the world’s restructuring won’t be enough to stop the world from falling into an age of darkness. Both sides would suffer tremendous casualties.

Lute had avoided giving Kaito a firm answer to his request. Given his position, doing so made perfect sense. Even if he knew who the killers were, the choice of how to retaliate wasn’t Lute’s to make. Everything lay on the shoulders of Vyade and whichever other members of the imperial family to whom she chose to disclose the information.

Vyade’s the Wise Wolf. She holds harmony in high regard, and she desires peace for her people.

Kaito chose to believe that she wouldn’t start a war in retaliation. Before him, he could see Lute’s face growing more sullen by the minute. He looked as though he’d just bitten into a piece of meat that not even his beastfolk fangs could tear.

“The first demon slumbering in the royal underground tomb, the truth about the Saint, the Apostle yet living… It’s like something out of a myth or a fairy tale.”

“Man, tell me about it.”

“If not for the land on which I heard it, I’d have written it off as idle fancy.”

“If not for where you heard it, huh…? So you believe me?”

“It would seem I have little choice. You see, Sir Kaito, the way we arrived here, at the World’s End, was given to us abruptly and by a mysterious individual.”

Suddenly, Kaito recalled what Lute had said back when he’d been caught on the ivy that had served as guard netting. Even though he’d been astonished at the unexpected reunion, he’d heard Lute’s words loud and clear.

Back then, Lute said…

“To think that a human would make it to the World’s End. It would appear we were not the only ones invited…”

“You said you guys were ‘invited,’ right?”

“Precisely. It would probably be faster to show you the object itself. Have a look.”

Lute withdrew a piece of paper from the sack on his back. Kaito took it, then stared at it intently. Elisabeth, who was right next to him, peered at it as well. They scrunched up their brows in unison.

“This is…”

“…Aye.”

Complex magical runes were piled up along the left side of the paper. Together, they made up a formula designed to interfere with a teleportation circle. Even Kaito, who was generally ignorant when it came to magical matters, could tell how abnormally chaotic they were.

It reminded Kaito of the letter the Governor had once given them.

Back then, the formula dissolved, paper and all, after a single use.

This paper, on the other hand, had survived even after Lute and his men had teleported. Frightened by its incomprehensible construction as he was, he turned his gaze to the paper’s right side. A few words were written on it in a round scrawl.

The beginning, the middle, and the end all lie in the palm of His hand.

If you wish to reject those words, make for the World’s End.

The right shall be granted to all races impartially.

The invitation was almost reminiscent of a poem. The artwork at the end, though, stood out like a sore thumb.

A massive piece of bone-in meat was drawn on the paper. It was so impressive, it practically deserved fanfare.

“…Aye, the Butcher wrote this.”

“Yup, definitely the Butcher.”

“You can tell from so little information? Consider me impressed.”

Lute’s words rang with frank admiration. In truth, Kaito had come to that conclusion off the bone-in-meat drawing alone, but some things were better left unsaid. His expression turned meek as he handed the paper back to Lute.

After glancing over its contents again, Lute frowned.

“The first time I saw it, it seemed like some manner of practical joke. But it was impossible to write off as such, as the circumstances under which it was delivered were far too peculiar.”

Apparently, the letter had been delivered to Vyade’s third villa.

Ever since Jeanne’s invasion, Vyade had changed residences and fortified her defenses. But someone managed to not only find where she’d moved but also slip past the guard netting and invade her bedchambers.

The culprit had been a small dragon. After leaving the letter on Vyade’s pillow, he’d flapped his way out.

Afterward, one of the few beastfolk mages had immediately gotten to work analyzing the formula written on the letter. What they’d discovered was that there was an unknown set of coordinates recorded within it.

However, there were still many members of Vyade’s private army who had yet to recover from the wounds Jeanne had dealt to them.

Because of that, she’d chosen Lute, who was naturally resilient and deeply loyal, and put him and his subordinates through a round of intensive healing. While that was going on, she’d also sent out scouts to the designated location and had them bring back reports.

Then, armed with their newfound information, the squad had prepared themselves for the environment and set off.

Upon reaching the site themselves, Lute and his men had come to realize just where it was that they’d come to. Beastfolk held little piety toward God and the Saint, but even they were versed in their legends.

In this world, there exists a place that God designated as its End. A pure place, crafted from snow and water, wind and mana. A place that only those granted knowledge of its location are able to reach.

“Given everything you just told me, Sir Kaito, it follows that the first half of the letter—‘The beginning, the middle, and the end all lie in the palm of His hand. If you wish to reject those words, make for the World’s End’—refers to preventing the world from being restructured. But what is this ‘right’ it says will be granted? Why, it’s not even clear what the letter’s writer would have us do in order to attain it.”

“Yeah, it really isn’t… What does the Butcher want with all the races anyway?”

“In truth, we were at a loss for what to do after we finished setting up camp and laying out the netting. With only the letter at our disposal, we couldn’t make heads or tails of things.”

Lute scratched his head. Apparently, the arrival of Kaito’s group had been a great help to him as well. For a moment, the conversation came to a lull. Kaito and Lute crossed their arms, and Elisabeth immersed herself in thought. Silence filled the room. Then a bright voice piped up.

“Thank you all for waiting—it’s ready! Go on and drink it while it’s still hot!”

Hina was nearly prancing as she began passing out tea. Her smile was, to borrow an idiom from Kaito’s old world, like a breath of fresh air. Kaito and Lute thanked her as they received their bowls.

Kaito took a sip from his. It was as sweet as honey, and it had a fruity tanginess mixed in as well. Elisabeth, on the other hand, sat unmoving, her bowl remaining perched in her hand. Eventually, she let out a quiet murmur.

“‘The beginning, the middle, and the end all lie in the palm of His hand. If you wish to reject those words, make for the World’s End. The right shall be granted to all races impartially.’ Given that he used the phrase ‘all races,’ we can assume that, while their coordinates are unknown to us, the demi-humans must have received his invitation as well. And rejecting the notion that everything from the beginning to the end lies in God’s hand, eh?”

“What do you think it means?”

“In all likelihood, something exists here that would serve to hinder God’s restructuring of the world.”

It sounded like Elisabeth already knew what that was. Kaito’s eyes widened. The surprise of that realization almost caused him to drop his bowl. The moment before its contents spilled, though, Hina grabbed it from beside him.

“Are you all right? Not a single drop spilled on your leg, my dearest Master Kaito, did it?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, no, I’m fine. Thanks. Sorry about that.”

Kaito’s thanks was decidedly absentminded. Reflexively, he cast a glance toward Jeanne. The golden girl was as expressionless as always, but the corners of her mouth were ever so slightly curled up. She nodded, affirming his suspicions. Elisabeth went on, her voice low.

“’Tis but one thing I could imagine it to be.”

“Yeah, same.”

Kaito offered a brief agreement. But he left the role of saying it aloud to Elisabeth.

Lute leaned forward in anticipation. Elisabeth reverently opened her mouth to speak.

“Here lies—”

“Why, indeed, our revered Saint is here.”

A sweet, bell-like voice rang out.

Who the soft interjection belonged to, nobody there knew.

At some point, a petite individual clad in scarlet cloth from head to toe had taken a seat beside Kaito.

The long garment reached all the way to the floor, spreading out wide like a carpet of rose petals. Half-hidden within its folds, she was also wearing a gold-hemmed vestment of the same color. She looked to be affiliated with the Church.

The most surprising bit, though, was what lay beneath the clothes.

Their sudden intruder was a young girl. She looked to be less than ten.

She had simple flaxen hair and marvelously clear eyes the color of amber. Her short, evenly cut hair paired well with her attractively proportionate facial features. Her appearance was more than sufficient to classify her as cute. But there was just something about her.

There’s something…catastrophically broken about her.

No matter how you looked at her, she was nothing more than a sweet, simple little girl. But Kaito couldn’t dispel the strange impression he was getting from her. And the fact that she’d appeared out of nowhere without catching anyone’s attention served as proof that she wasn’t just anyone.

Due to the intrusion of a single young girl, the air in the room was stretched thin and tense.

Lute and his men reached for their swords. However, their opponent was simply too young to cut down or cross-examine. Hesitation welled up in their eyes. Hina alone assumed a battle-ready stance as she swiftly moved to protect Kaito. Jeanne merely blinked.

Still cross-legged, Elisabeth planted her chin atop her hands. Then she spoke, making no effort to hide her displeasure.

“As I suspect. And that’s why you’re here, I suppose.”

“Yes, exactly. Lovely to see you again, Elisabeth Le Fanu. I remember the last time we met, you know. You may have known my name, but you didn’t have the faintest clue as to the gravity of the role I play. You’ve matured quite splendidly, O ignorant sheep. I can hardly make light of you after you’ve come this far.”

The girl chuckled, clearly amused. Elisabeth’s brow furrowed even further. Kaito cocked his head to the side. It would appear that the two knew each other, although their relationship seemed anything but cordial.

Who is this girl? What is she?

Kaito opened his mouth, about to give voice to those questions.

Before he could, though, Elisabeth continued, spitting out her words with a look of utmost resentment plastered across her face.

“Is it really fine for you to be out of the Capital like this, Grave Keeper?”