Fremd Torturchen - Volume 6 - Chapter 11

11

The Mad King and the Kaiser

“Not one to die, then? Hmph, as I thought. You know, Accumulation of Seventeen Years’ Pain, you really can’t be called ‘human’ anymore.”

“Thanks, I guess. So what’s up all of a sudden?”

As he watched his own flesh get bitten off and swallowed, Kaito gave his calm reply. The bottom half of his body was being eaten as he spoke. However, new flesh rapidly grew forth from the foul cross section.

Viscera wriggled and knit together like tentacles. Bones regrew, and skin and muscle fibers pasted themselves onto them. Kaito kicked off against the air with his newly regrown legs so he could face his demon. Back when the Kaiser had first given his opinion of him, Kaito had gotten one of his arms bitten off. Unlike back then, though, he didn’t feel an ounce of fear this time.

Ah… I get it.

Now that things had gotten to this point, a visceral feeling finally hit Kaito. He was on an equal footing with the Kaiser. But a human existing on the same level as a demon was an aberration that the world couldn’t permit.

In other words, he was beyond salvation.

“‘What’s up,’ hmm? Ha, you titter so casually, even when faced with a demon. Isn’t that right, boy? O unworthy master of mine? O Accumulation of Seventeen Years’ Pain?”

“I’m asking you, what’s going on? If you’ve got something on your mind, then out with it already.”

“I could ask you the same—just what do you intend to do from here?”

The Kaiser narrowed his burning eyes as he posed his question to Kaito. It was similar to the one Izabella had asked him.

It was a rebuke, like one asked before making a final judgment.

Far below them, the fierce battle raged on. The three races were putting up a solid fight, but it was clear that the scales would eventually tilt against them. The favorable position they held was temporary.

At the moment, time was a treasure more precious than diamonds or gold. However, Kaito gave no answer.

He simply smiled a silent smile. The supreme hound let out a low growl.

“Is it something you can’t say, O master of mine?”

“…”

“Something you can’t say to me?”

Kaito persisted in his silence. In a way, that made perfect sense. It was just like that time with Hina. In fact, it might have been worse. He had nothing he could say to his hound, no excuse left to make.

…It’s time for a story.

It’s the story of a boy who was brutally killed by another, and a story of a monster who cruelly killed others.

Or perhaps it’s a story of a child who was abandoned by his parents, and a hero who was abandoned by the world.

Either way, it’s a story of admiration and folly.

It’s a story of love, but not a story of romance.

And it certainly isn’t a story that demons have any place in.

Consequently, the next words that came out of Kaito Sena’s mouth hardly served as an answer.

“Sorry, Kaiser, but I’m gonna be making use of you until the bitter end.”

“This marks the first time, boy. The first time I, the supreme Kaiser, have ever experienced hatred.”

The Kaiser bared his fangs. The flames burning in his eyes had changed color ever so slightly. For the first time, they bore the hue of true rage. Yet surprisingly, they also seemed somehow pleased.

Perhaps it was the result of him bearing the influence of not just his mediator, but his master as well. The Kaiser let out a passionate roar.

“I took a liking to you. That madness, that perversion, the foolishness with which you seized despair in hope’s name! Watching you fall was to be quite the show. But you—you—you would sink to such depths?!”

“Yup. And I’m gonna do what I need to do, whether you like it or not.”

“You think I would allow such a thing?”

“Not a chance, right?”

“Then there remains but one path for me to take.”

The Kaiser opened his jaw wide. His neatly lined-up teeth flashed, and his vast oral cavity looked almost like a coffin.

The smell of blood and carrion flooded the air. Kaito silently sighed. He knew what would come of this.

Welp, this is gonna be unproductive.

After all, no fight between the two of them would ever be settled.

Whenever Kaito gathered pain, the Kaiser’s mana was restored as well. In other words, the two of them were only growing stronger. All that would happen would be that they’d eternally shred each other to pieces and revive back to life. The Kaiser was no fool. He undoubtedly was already aware of that fact. Yet even so, he made no moves to temper his bloodlust.

Despite himself, Kaito let out a chuckle. He called out to the higher entity in sheer amusement.

“Hey, Kaiser, have you noticed yet?”

“Noticed what, O fool who proclaims himself a Mad King?”

“You’re acting just like a human.”

The beast’s eyes burned bright. At least, it looked that way to Kaito. Then with no warning, the Kaiser launched himself like a meteor. The black streak ignored its muscles’ limits as it descended on Kaito.

The Mad King braced himself. When he did, though, he suddenly found another figure standing before him.

“Huh?”

“Come now, this should hardly come as that much of a surprise.”

No, thought Kaito, this is definitely surprising. However, he didn’t have time to put that thought to words. The black meteor was drawing nearer.

The man standing before Kaito calmly thrust out his arm. Black darkness and azure flower petals billowed from his white-gloved palm, then transformed into a host of blades. But the Kaiser didn’t stop. He just plowed right through them. His jaws were almost upon them.

“Hmm.”

Vlad Le Fanu muttered, seeming greatly interested.

That was the only reaction he gave.

Then a moment later, Vlad’s right arm was bitten in Kaito’s place.

“I see, so this is what it’s like to have a dulled sense of pain. I knew about the whole getting burned alive thing, but still, this is most intriguing. And it’s awfully convenient to be able to avoid dying merely by stopping the bleeding. Using that to render attacks invalid… My, you are strong.”

“What are you playing at, Vlad? Buffoonery has its limits, you know.”

The Kaiser growled menacingly. Vlad, on the other hand, just waved his right arm. The bleeding had stopped. The hem of his aristocrat’s coat rustled. Strangely unconcerned, he responded in an affected, operatic manner.

“You know, Kaiser, you and I were supposed to rule the world, once. But dashed as our dreams may have been, the vicissitudes of fate have led us here. Given that fact, isn’t there something more pressing we should be doing than whiling away the hours killing each other in vain?”

“What are you babbling about, He Who Rears Hell Within His Mind? Has your own hell finally consumed that mind of yours?”

“Oh, please. Hell is but a place—one you can find just about anywhere. How could such a thing possibly hope to consume me?”

A twisted grin crept across Vlad’s face. However, he made no moves to step away from his place before Kaito. Instead, he spread his arms wide, leaving the gnawed chunk of his arm as it was. He tilted his head to the side in the same strangely childish manner as he always did. Suddenly, though, his expression flooded with unbridled hatred.

Kaito was taken aback. He hadn’t seen him make that face in a long while. When Vlad next spoke, his voice was icy cold.

“I am a hedonist, capable of enjoying even the most bitter of hardships. But I was not born to lose.”

“Just what exactly are you going on about?”

“The end of days? Splendid. The destruction of all? Wonderful. I’ve no complaints in the slightest. And that pillar, in particular—it’s the peak of beauty, the apex of ugliness. Truly, magnificent is the only way to describe it. And yet…”

Upon hearing those words, Kaito was reminded of something.

It had been right after Elisabeth and Jeanne had been captured at the World’s End.

At some point, Vlad had moved over to where the two pillars stood. His arms were spread wide, and his eyes were glittering as he gazed at the Torture Princesses’ transformations.

“It’s magnificent… It’s the peak of beauty, the apex of ugliness… Truly, ‘magnificent’ is the only way to describe it.”

His face was as innocent as a child watching a meteor shower. However, his expression suddenly took a more serious turn.

As he began rapidly coming back to his senses, Vlad started thinking.

“…Still, though… Hmm…”

Back then, what was it he’d been thinking about?

Now the answer to that question would become clear.

“Think about it. At the end of the day, the thirteen demons and their king were nothing more than the prelude to the end of days. What greater insult could there possibly be?”

“You… Wait. Considering how oddly obedient you’ve been acting toward the Accumulation of Seventeen Years’ Pain, you can’t be… You were plotting revenge on God and Diablo?!”

“Wait, you were?”

The Kaiser gnashed his fangs in comprehension, and Kaito let out an unsuitably plain interjection as he stared at Vlad’s back. Vlad puffed up his chest magnificently.

“Quite! All this, all that I’ve done, has been for the sole purpose of obstructing God and Diablo and returning them to the nether! My dear successor’s resolve just so happened to be convenient for carrying out my revenge, and fitting to boot! Go on, now, roar! Rage, seethe, madden! Those feelings are the sole fruit of the humiliation I supped on!”

“Carrying out an act of personal revenge when faced with the end of days? Are you daft?”

“Heeeee’s a dumb-ass.”

Kaito was in no position to talk. In fact, he was by far the more foolish of the two. He himself was aware of that fact. But Vlad’s tone was just so proud that he couldn’t help but get in a quip. Not disheartened in the slightest by their assessments, Vlad went on.

“Oh, a fool I am, but none the worse for it! Our world is a farce, after all, not a tragedy! I was unwittingly cast as an actor, and once my precious daughter was snatched from me, my own death was reduced to a mere opening act! It stands to reason that such a stage would make a buffoon of its star, no?”

“You’re the same as ever, I see. The way you think is entirely deviant from the norm.”

“And Kaiser, as the apex of what man’s hands can reach, as a supreme hound, and yet as a demon who could no longer escape his master’s influence—as you are now, surely you understand this thing we call hatred.”

“Hmph.”

“Whose neck should you truly be turning it on? Fruitlessly gnawing away at an unkillable man is hardly enough to satisfy you, is it?”

The Kaiser offered no response. Instead, he chose silence.

The sounds from the battle down below echoed on. Up in the air, though, it was impossibly quiet. It was as though they had been completely cut off from the world. However, that, too, came to an end.

Vlad opened his mouth to speak again. When he did, his tone was deadly serious.

“The proud should remain proud until the bitter end. For my sake, cast aside your anguish and wear your arrogance freely.”

“…”

“It wouldn’t do for the Kaiser to disappoint a mere human.”

The Kaiser didn’t move. Vlad, too, stood still. Eventually, the Kaiser snapped his tail.

Seeming wholly displeased, he spat out his words.

“Go, O unworthy master of mine.”

“Kaiser…”

“It’s true. Gnashing at that madness of yours would accomplish nothing. So go, before I change my mind. O ye who bestowed hatred upon me. Know that to the end, your twisted mind remined clear.”

Kaito gave a brief nod, then started making his way forward. For a second, though, he stopped. He turned and looked back. Vlad was still standing beside the Kaiser.

Vlad gently waved his right arm, which hadn’t yet finished regenerating. He called out in an innocent tone.

“Farewell, my lord, my dear successor—my son.”

Just this once, Kaito chose to allow Vlad to call him that.

For some reason, Vlad was smiling. A strangely childlike smile was spread across his face.

“Thanks to you, I enjoyed every one of my days.”

“Is that…so?”

There were no lies or falsehoods in his words. Vlad was just indicating his gratitude as honestly as he could.

And because that was the case, Kaito snapped his fingers. At this point, he didn’t need the ability to convert pain into mana anymore. He unilaterally dissolved his contract with the currently inattentive Kaiser. The black beast’s figure nearly vanished from existence. Right before he did, though, Kaito bound his knot to Vlad. Upon receiving the new contract, Vlad widened his eyes.

“My oh my, I suppose that means the Kaiser has now truly lost his reason to stop you, but… Are you sure about this, my lord? Do you truly think I won’t terrorize humanity?”

“Don’t forget about that self-destruct device I planted in your head.”

After whispering in a deep voice, Kaito turned around for good this time. Leaving behind his black army—in a sense, the only subordinates who’d followed him this far—he advanced alone. He didn’t turn back.

As he faced forward, though, he gave his hand a gentle wave.

“Bye, Vlad. At the end of the day, it was you who turned Elisabeth into the Torture Princess and gave rise to the reconstruction sect. I can’t forgive you for that…but you did make my days pretty fun, too.”

“Good heavens, will his rebellious phase never end?”

Vlad let out an exasperated moan. In all likelihood, he was shrugging. But Kaito didn’t look his way. This time, he flew straight ahead.

Not toward the Diablo pillar.

But to the God pillar beside it.

“S-Sir Kaito!”

“That’s the wrong one!”

The voices came from the ice, far down below.

Izabella and Lute let out cries of dismay in unison. Even though they’d been absorbed in their own battles, Kaito’s flight path had caught their attention. After all, Kaito Sena was the Mad King, as well a servant of Elisabeth, the Diablo pillar’s core. He was so dangerous, he might well destroy the whole world in pursuit of his objective.

And for some reason, instead of going to the Diablo pillar, he was heading for the God pillar beside it.

We should stop him… No, but how—?!

Lute ground his fangs. At the moment, Kaito Sena had reached the pinnacle of magecraft. He was standing atop a summit so high that no one else could stand in his way. He had perhaps even surpassed the Saint in her heyday. Thinking he needed to at least try, Lute opened his mouth and got ready to convey the situation and his orders to the demi-human cannoneers and the beastfolk archers. At that moment, though, almost like he’d sensed Lute’s bewilderment…

…Kaito Sena suddenly looked down.

Ah…

Upon seeing his face, Lute remembered something.

Now that they were in the game’s final turns, it finally came back to him.

I’d…forgotten…

“But I’m fine… I’m still me, after all.”

It was a scene from back at the World Tree. Lute’s wife, Ain, had asked Kaito a question, and that had been his response.

Then Kaito had given her an awkward smile. Upon seeing his face, Lute had secretly felt a tinge of relief.

After all, that good-hearted expression had definitely been Kaito Sena’s.

At that moment, a strong thought had suddenly crossed Lute’s mind.

Perhaps… Perhaps he ought to make sure to remember that smile.

It would be best if he made sure to remember it, no matter what happened.

He hadn’t quite known why, but he’d been certain of that.

And yet I…

Why had he forgotten? Why hadn’t he called out to Kaito? Why hadn’t he talked to him? Had he been overwhelmed by the sheer power commanded by that boy who’d become the Mad King? That was hardly a decent excuse.

And just a short while ago, he’d even gotten a chance to remember.

“Take care, Lute! And try not to get hurt, or you’ll make your wife sad!”

Those hadn’t been the words of a man planning on forsaking the world.

How could I have forgotten?! And that’s not all; I…I forgot oh-so-many things!

Lute howled internally, his thoughts racing. That expression Kaito had made hadn’t been the only thing to slip his mind.

He’d forgotten who Kaito Sena was by nature.

Lute thought back over the information he’d once checked in the beastfolk lands. Kaito Sena came from another world, one where he’d been abused and eventually killed. Then the Torture Princess had summoned him as an Unsullied Soul to act as her servant.

Originally, Kaito had been nothing but a powerless boy, a tragic child victimized without anyone to protect him. In this world, there were many his age who lived and worked as adults. However, he was different. And there certainly wasn’t anyone as young as he who had scraped away at their own limits for the sake of the world like he had.

Yet somehow, everyone had forgotten that simple fact.

Not a single one of the adults who were supposed to be protecting the world had remembered.

“Sir Kaito!”

“Sir Kaito Sena, you mustn’t!”

As Lute shouted out to him, so did Izabella. Startled, Lute glanced to his side. Her half-mechanized face had sternly stiffened. In all likelihood, she’d come to the same realization Lute had.

They had collectively placed the burden of the entire world on the back of a single boy.

They were the ones who were soldiers. It should have been their burden to bear.

Kaito Sena offered no reply to their cries of regret.

All he did—

—was smile a vaguely awkward smile.

Then after thinking it over for a moment, Kaito reacted. He waved with big, childlike sweeps. The meaning of that gesture was the same across worlds. And because of that, Lute and the others gasped. Kaito kept frantically waving.

He was saying one word.

“Good-bye.”

The God pillar was swathed in white feathers and red roses. Kaito hovered in the air before it.

Hidden away between the tangled web of briars was a golden princess. She was sleeping, and her body was adorned with the same feathers and roses. Her form resembled that of both Sleeping Beauty and a crucified saint.

As he faced Jeanne de Rais’s cruelly bound body, Kaito snapped his fingers. Azure flower petals flashed across his wrists. After transforming his mana, blood and all, he sent it over through Jeanne’s lips. As the petals melted in her mouth, she faintly opened her eyes. Kaito nonchalantly raised a hand in greeting.

“Hey, Jeanne. Long time no see.”

“Mis…ter…why…?”

“Sorry, Jeanne. All this time, I’ve been going on and on about Elisabeth, Elisabeth, Elisabeth. But I was worried about you, too. And if you don’t believe me, then hey, Izabella’s been concerned enough about you for both of us. Cut me a little slack, will ya?”

“Are…you…quite…dense…? I’m ask…ing…why… you’re…here…”

Blood dribbled from Jeanne’s mouth as she spoke. Kaito didn’t answer her question.

Instead, he spoke as if he were chanting an incantation. His weak smile was still plastered across his face.

“‘God desired a contractor so He could maintain His peaceful rest, but He wasn’t picky about who that was. As long as there was someone there who wouldn’t fall apart the moment the contract was formed, it would be possible to push the burden onto them.’ And ‘Even though God’s supposed to exist to oppose Diablo, it sounds like He’s clearly the superior of the two.’ In other words, it’s possible to use God’s power to keep Diablo in check.”

Kaito laid out the information he’d heard from the Saint. Jeanne narrowed her eyes, seemingly unable to understand what he meant. However, Kaito didn’t elaborate on his explanation.

He simply snapped his fingers.

All at once, a shower of white surrounded Jeanne as the feathers growing from her body burst off. Countless invisible shackles clattered as they successively came undone. This time, Jeanne widened her eyes in shock.

Her contract with God had been forcibly transferred.

The other party, of course, went without saying.

“Hanged Man, you can’t—!”

“You did good, Jeanne. Time for you to go home.”

The way Kaito spoke those words, they sounded almost like a normal salutation. White feathers were sprouting from part of his cheek, but he had God’s power under control and was keeping his transformation to the bare minimum.

“Izabella, your first love, is waiting for you.”

“That ain’t the problem here, you dumb motherfucker!”

In an uncharacteristic gesture, Jeanne frantically extended her hand toward him. But her fingertips met nothing but air.

The briars had released her. The pillar itself was nothing but a husk now, so it had no more need for its sacrifice.

Jeanne began falling. The golden girl descended like a bird struck out of the air. However, a bolt of light hurtled toward her landing point like a meteor. Before Jeanne could hit the ground, Izabella dashed up and caught her.

It was the very image of a knight catching a princess in their arms.

After making sure Jeanne was breathing, Izabella let out a sigh of relief and hugged Jeanne’s wound-riddled body, golden hair and all. Jeanne, comically flustered, was saying something to her.

As he gazed down at them, Kaito murmured in admiration.

“Well, that’s nice… Seems like there’s hope for her yet.”

As he stood on his tiptoes, Kaito gave a pleased nod. Then he grabbed the feathers on his face and wrenched them out by the handful. Blood gushed forth, but he ignored it.

He turned toward the Diablo pillar and headed straight for its briar-enclosed core.

A single woman was sleeping inside it. She had black hair, white skin, crimson eyes, and a radiant beauty.

And she was the person Kaito admired most.

“Good work, Elisabeth. Don’t worry, I’m here now. You’re probably gonna be pissed at me, though.”

He’d once boasted that he’d save the world. That he’d rescue everything.

However, killing Elisabeth Le Fanu was impossible for Kaito Sena.

* * *

If he couldn’t kill her, then…

…that would mean…

At that moment, he gave voice to the sole, unspoken answer.

“Because I’m taking charge of God and Diablo both.”

That was the act of selfishness Kaito Sena had decided on.

He’d take on a burden greater than even the Saint’s.