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Fremd Torturchen - Volume 8 - Chapter 11




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11

The Saint’s Grief

The room was red.

Now the people were back at its plain, well-built desk. The man and the woman gazed down at the chessboard. What had once been a battlefield could no longer reasonably be described by that term. Now it was just chaos. Countless pieces lay broken, and even the board itself had been shattered.

Kaito Sena picked up one of the pieces.

It was shaped like a king, yet strangely, it had no crown.

For a moment, Kaito Sena just gazed at the piece with its cruelly broken face. He started to say something. In the end, though, he elected just to shake his head without saying a word. Still silent, he snapped his fingers.

The piece dissolved into azure flower petals.

Nothing of it remained.

The two of them had had their parting long ago.

In fact, it had taken place on the day Kaito Sena himself “died.”

Then Kaito Sena slumped back in his chair. He closed his eyes and sank into a deep silence. He seemed to be mourning someone’s death. Or perhaps he was lamenting the madness taking place atop the board.

It was unclear which.

Either would have sufficed.

“Who are you trying to wound exactly? Fool. I’ll have you forgotten on the morrow.”

For a moment, Elisabeth lapsed into thought. However, she soon shook her head and gave her fingers a snap. A blue ring floated up and shattered. Its jagged fragments hung motionlessly in the air.

Then those fragments dissolved into azure flower petals.

The ring was what Vlad had tossed her right before he teleported her away.

When it shattered, so too did the window she’d been looking through. Even before that, though, its image had gone completely dark.

Elisabeth dispelled it, closing the window as one would a coffin.

Nothing of it remained.

Considering how devious he had been, it was almost hard to believe he was actually gone.

Elisabeth closed her eyes and thought of nothing.

Suddenly, a clear, dignified voice sounded out.

“…So Vlad Le Fanu is dead?”

“Aye, so he is. He was as good as dead already, but Alice dealt the coup de grâce. And I don’t imagine he had any spare replicas lying around… Anyhow, the Sand Queen is in play too now. We need to make haste.”

Elisabeth spoke as though intent on moving past the man’s death as quickly as possible.

She intentionally redirected her attention to the passages she’d once read.

“A body unheld by death’s fell claim.” “A radiant form.” “A glittering frame.”

“Adorned with reddened scales.” “Like beautiful stones.” “Our eternal protector.”

There were countless legends of the Sand Queen’s glorious battles, and even in death, she was still a formidable weapon. Nobody could have imagined that the demi-humans would have a counterstrategy ready for the Three Kings of the Forest. Now things were going to get really ugly.

Elisabeth cast her fatigued gaze forward.

A gleaming crystal sat before her.

And in it, Kaito Sena and Hina were sleeping peacefully amid the boulders.

By all rights, Alice’s statement should have come true. Elisabeth shouldn’t have been able to make it in time. However, the crystal was still there, safe and sound. Elisabeth turned her focus to the duo responsible.

The two stood as a pair, gold on the left and silver on the right.

Jeanne and Izabella.

By the time Elisabeth got there, the mixed-race people had already been trounced. Two of them—likely Rubens and Huey—were lying unconscious on the ground, and Jeanne stood astride them with one foot planted on each.

According to Jeanne and Izabella, those two had fought tooth and nail to let the rest of their allies escape. The fact of the matter was, though, that it didn’t much matter what exactly had happened there. The bigger problem was why Jeanne and Izabella were there at all.

How had they gotten there on such an impossible notice? And what’s more, why weren’t they at the demi-human settlement to take part in the crucial battle happening there? However, Jeanne and Izabella had answered those questions in full earlier.

“Oh my, Fool, you didn’t know? Damn, you really did go soft! C’mon, how fuckin’ obvious was it that the best way for those jackasses to turn the tables on us would be snatchin’ up God and Diablo?”

“We knew that you two were handling Alice and Lewis, so we got permission to stand guard here. Jeanne was the one who figured out where to go. She reasoned that if you wanted to hide something, this would be the best place to do it. When we split up, I assumed she would be back immediately, but it turned out that she got it right on the first try. That intuition of hers is really quite something. I must admit I’m proud of her.”

After hearing that, Elisabeth was satisfied.

Now that she thought about it, that did make sense. She hadn’t considered it at the time, but Jeanne knew how well hidden this place was better than anyone. Once she realized that was what happened, a flood of relief washed over her.

If those two had actually switched sides on her, it all would have been over.

Afterward, they used Vlad’s window to learn what was happening in the settlement.

Izabella shook her head and turned her gaze skyward. She whispered, her voice choked with bewilderment.

“Who would have dreamed that they would use the Sand Queen’s corpse like that…? I mean, that’s the object of their worship. How could they even think of doing something so blasphemous? I can’t even begin to wrap my head around it. It all just seems so unbelievable.”

“I can certainly see it seeming that way, especially to you. But I daresay you have it backward.”

“…How so?”

“Desecrating the Sand Queen’s corpse is a grave taboo, aye. But that’s precisely why the idea came to them. The mental weight of betraying everything cast the thing they were supposed to protect most of all in a brand-new light. If they were already going to sacrifice everything for the sake of their race, then there was no need for half measures.”

Elisabeth tried to conjure up an image of Aguina in her mind. However, she could no longer picture that sharp-tongued intellectual with any sort of accuracy. She had no idea what kind of expression he bore at the moment.

That fact was probably sad, all things considered.

At the moment, though, there were other issues that demanded her attention.

Once the Three Kings got injured, they would have begun beating a defensive retreat. Officially, though, I’m a traitor. My showing up would only serve to throw the human forces into disarray. I have to send Jeanne and Izabella back, move the crystal, and if at all possible, aid our side’s retreat while remaining unnoticed…

Such thoughts were highly unbecoming of the Torture Princess. Well aware of that, Elisabeth laid her hand on the crystal. It was cold and hard against her palm. First things first, she began trying to think of somewhere to send it.

Then Jeanne spoke.

“There’s something I really must ask, lady. What do you intend to do? The mixed-race folk have their sights set on the crystal, as do the masses. Plus, everyone’s got their asses all riled up now. Plus, the situation’s changed, and you know what that means.”

Given the current state of affairs, hiding the crystal for any prolonged amount of time would be nigh impossible.

The likelihood their foes would get their hands on Kaito Sena, as well as the danger if they did, had just gone through the roof.

Izabella picked up where Jeanne left off.

“With the beastfolk’s help, it would probably be possible to find somewhere safe to put the crystal. But with the Three Kings of the Forest injured, there’s a real danger that Sir Kaito Sena will end up being used as a bargaining chip. The situation really is different now. And whether we have the crystal or not, our enemies aren’t going to hold back anymore.”

At the moment, scores of people were dying over in the settlement. Every second counted. However, the two of them were willing to expend that precious time asking Elisabeth about her intentions. That was simply how large of a threat the prospect of God and Diablo falling into enemy hands was.

Elisabeth quietly returned Izabella’s gaze and nodded. She was all too aware of that.

The information has already leaked once, and no plan is ever perfect. Even if I hide it somewhere only I know, there’s a limit to the range of unexpected situations I can deal with. There’s no way to totally guarantee the crystal’s safety.

That meant that at the moment, the best course of action would be to destroy it.

However, that was something Elisabeth refused to do. And besides, there was something else she knew, too.

On a long enough timeline, even that would amount to folly.

Even if they destroyed the vessel and returned God and Diablo to their higher plane, someone would eventually just summon them again.

When that happened, it would truly mark the end of days.

In time, the world would surely be destroyed.

“If we smash it, a new contractor will eventually rise up anyhow. They already figured out how to make the Fremd Torturchen, and with each experiment a talented mage performs, the day of destruction grows that much closer. The only way to achieve true equilibrium is to free this world from God and Diablo and to end the cycle of creation and destruction altogether.”

The problem was, how?

Elisabeth knew the risks involved, and she knew she couldn’t do it alone. As she got to work drawing the teleportation circle to her chosen destination, she prepared to explain her plan. But then she heard it.

To. Fro. Chitter. Chatter.

There was a voice.

It was a young girl singing, her voice loud and full of pride. She called out, her tone that of a person dashing through a field with deranged abandon and laughing their head off. “Holy, Holy, Holy!” she cried. “Lord God Almighty!

“Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

“Amen.

“Hallelujah.”

Elisabeth could definitely make out someone whispering. A chill ran down her spine. She didn’t know why, but she felt as though she had just been asked to do the impossible. That she’d just been given a perverse order.

Until the day of your death, try to do some good at least.

And if you cannot do good, then die.

Then someone continued that thought in a strangely childish voice.

“So if you say that God, too, should perish…”


Then doesn’t that mean the world should perish?

Wouldn’t that be the greatest good of all?

Suddenly, Elisabeth recalled the sight of a young saint’s eyes.

So much had happened since then that the memory was a bit foggy. But the hatred in those eyes had been something else.

Apparently, the saint’s explanation was that her body had moved on its own when she saw the danger Izabella was in. However, that didn’t explain the intense emotion she had expressed. And that wasn’t all.

Izabella had probably only told Kaito Sena’s location to a few trusted confidantes. That way, the information wouldn’t have been lost with her if she failed her mission. But no matter how tight-lipped a paladin was, there was one type of person they would always willingly divulge anything to. After all, the saints were the most respected people in the Church.

Realization shot through Elisabeth like a bolt of lightning.

She knew who had leaked the location to Alice’s men.

Suddenly, Izabella looked up. After looking around, she gave a relaxed greeting.

“Hmm? Who goes…? Ah, pardon my rudeness. Might I ask what brings you—?”

“Izabella, you fool! Get back!”

However, Elisabeth’s shout came too late.

At some point, a girl with dead eyes had appeared before them.

Her slender legs were bound, but without a word, she unfastened all her restraints.

When she did, the wounds on her pale legs opened up, revealing the rows of saliva-covered teeth inside her flesh. A snake slithered out from within their warm darkness. Then, with a flash of light, it shot toward Izabella’s throat.

Elisabeth conjured a shield of darkness. However, the divine beast shattered her hastily improvised defense with ease.

Izabella’s half-mechanical face froze in shock.

Then the divine beast bit deep into human flesh.

Namely, the back of Jeanne’s neck.

“J-Jeanne…?”

“Rgh… Gah… Well, that stings…like a bitch…”

“That won’t do. Won’t, won’t, won’t do. That won’t do.”

Izabella let out a dumbfounded cry. As she did, Jeanne’s groan and the saint girl’s words came in unison.

As she whispered, the girl slowly rocked from side to side.

Sure enough, her eyes burned with an intense hatred. The mouths on her legs wriggled and squirmed in accordance with the saint’s quiet fury. Several more divine snakes poked their heads out of the openings.

They emanated a slithering sound, as though trying to imitate the real things.

Meanwhile, Izabella’s confusion grew ever deeper.

“B-but why? Why…why would a saint such as yourself…? Jeanne? Jeanne!”

The Torture Princess clicked her tongue. Izabella was too straitlaced to understand what was going on.

For now, that made her useless. Upon reaching that verdict, Elisabeth moved to provide the other two with cover and squared off against the young saint on her own. The girl’s skin was deathly pale, and she was still rocking from side to side.

She directed a quiet whisper at Elisabeth.

“You. I, knew it… Ever since, I heard, you were moving the crystal. I knew, you would reach that blasphemous conclusion. Because that’s all you have. You want, to cut Him off.”

“…Interesting. I see your mind’s clear enough when it comes to matters involving God, then.”

“You want to, separate the world from God, and take us saints, and cut off our connections to Him, don’t you?”

The young saint’s head slumped to the side at an odd angle.

Elisabeth raised both eyebrows. The girl had her pegged.

She was right—Elisabeth wanted to find a way to free the world from the system that was God and Diablo. That was the only way to save the people who lived in it.

To those two higher entities, their world was nothing more than a castle of sand.

As things currently stood, stability would remain forever beyond their reach.

Elisabeth unashamedly explained her theory to the saint.

“And what’s so wrong about that? At the end of the day, God and Diablo are naught but natural mechanisms! Entities that do nothing but repeat their cycle of creation and destruction! ’Twas man that decided God worth worshipping, but both of them are terrifying in equal measure! Why is it, then, that you cling so steadfastly to your connection with it?!”

“No, no… I—I, you see. I, believed, in God. Believe, in God. Believed, really, reeeeally hard. But ever, since, my legs, were blessed with, these holy wounds, my memories, have, been really, spotty, you see? But, you see. There was someone, who believed, even if salvation wasn’t coming. He, I mean—he—”

Suddenly, the saint’s voice began to tremble. For once, she was whining in a manner befitting a girl her age.

Large tears glistened in her eyes. Elisabeth was struck silent. The vast majority of saints had had all but the barest of human emotions stripped from them, but the girl before her was crying in unmistakable grief.

“He said it, right through to the end. That God was with him. He said that God was with him!”

“…Wait, you know of La Christoph’s final moments?”

“I do! I— We, we all do! We’re all, the same. We all believe in God, and we all love God, so, so, so why? Why would you take Him away?”

The girl shouted as she cried. However, her expression itself never changed. The tears merely streamed down her cheeks. She was heartbroken, just as anyone would be if someone they loved was on the verge of being killed.

Whether she wanted to or not, Elisabeth could tell. Compared to the Torture Princess, who was fighting for a brand of justice disconnected from any worldly desires, the girl’s stance was almost more respectable. She had faith in God, belief in her compatriots, and sorrow for those she’d lost.

In fact, she probably didn’t even care.

She didn’t even care that her prayers were going unheard.

She didn’t care that God was just a name they’d affixed to an utterly alien entity.

She’s driven by a simple love of God, so explaining to her that God is unnecessary will never get through.

It was as a child loved their parent

or as a parent loved their child

or as anyone would rail against having someone they needed ripped from their bosom.

And because of that, Elisabeth spoke.

“See, I can scarce think of anything further beneath my interest.”

For to her, that was something

that didn’t matter in the slightest.

Nothing in the world was wrong or mistaken anymore.

After all, justice, righteousness, and goodness had all been lost.

For instance, how could anyone truly come up with answers?

Was the mixed-race people’s hatred just? Was the beastfolk’s fury just? Was the demi-humans’ desperate struggle just?

If you asked any of them why they did what they did, they’d all give you the same answer.

It was the only choice we had. But that wasn’t true, now was it?

They could have always choked back their hatred and fury. And they could have always just shut up and let themselves be killed. But they rejected that tragedy. Instead of staying silent, they reached for swords. They refused to let themselves fall victim to tyranny.

They chose to fight for something.

And once that choice was made, they had to see their conviction through to the end.

The girl believed that the world needed God.

Elisabeth had decreed that it didn’t.

That was all. There was no good there, nor was there evil. And right and wrong didn’t even begin to factor in.

“As such…”

“—!”

“…I shall cut you down. Go now to your end, with belief in your heart and hatred for me on your lips.”

Having already stepped forward, Elisabeth held the Executioner’s Sword of Frankenthal aloft. But the moment before the blade met its target, the wounds on the girl’s legs loudly opened up.

Inside, hundreds of teeth sat in shiny rows, like she had undergone some sort of macabre surgery.

The mouths laughed as one.

Then light gushed from their throats like vomit. A massive serpent wrapped itself around the girl, so large it seemed almost to be strangling her. Elisabeth carefully adjusted the tip of her blade to aim at a gap between its coils.

The serpent writhed and it reared its many heads.

Then, all at once

the deadly balance was broken.

“The thing is, people’s worth lies solely in their value as playthings. And your faith is uninteresting to me. Begone from my sight.”

A voice boomed out that sounded almost human, and a presence of overwhelming darkness made its appearance.

Sensing imminent danger, Elisabeth stopped in her tracks, then quickly leaped backward.

And with a single sweep of the Kaiser’s mighty tail

the frail young saint was sent flying.



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