Epilogue:
Zelyse Past and Present
“AWW, they got poor Dianne.”
“And we gave her the strongest one, too. She turned out a lot weaker than I thought, though. Not that the other three weren’t pathetic in their own ways, eh?”
“Maybe things would’ve worked out if they hadn’t been up against Fran. The other three just ran off and started doing random things, but good old Dianne actually tried to capture Theraclede.”
“Actually managed to remember her orders, that one. She could do simple tasks, but her cognitive abilities were suspect at best. Still, it was the hellion crystal of a C-Threat Earth Titan, with some other stuff thrown in the mix. I was expecting a better showing than that.”
“Once a fallen knight…”
“Aha ha ha! Oh, you’re awful! You’re the one who found her, you know.”
“I told her she could return to the Crimson Flags if she helped me with this mission and she accepted at once! I didn’t even get a chance to tell her she’d never regain her human form!”
“Her, a Red Knight? But she was so weak.”
“Oh, she barely made it in the first place. They just stuck her with menial tasks since she was the daughter of a superior. She sure thought of herself as a knight, though. She got kicked out after causing trouble, at which point I picked her up and snuck her into Morley’s place.”
“Why’d they kick her out?”
“She leaked information about the Crimson Flags to the Duke of the South.”
“Yikes. Last I checked, those two didn’t get along.”
“And they still don’t. It’s a well-known feud across Raydoss, but good old Dianne told them everything when she heard it would be for the glory of the Raydossian empire.”
“Aha ha ha! They are so screwed! They’ve gotten so good at brainwashing the people that they washed the brains right out of their knights!”
“No hellion crystal could’ve helped improve that raw material. Not to mention the enemy she was up against.”
“I wasn’t expecting Fran to be at the Magic Academy. I’m even more surprised that she took out a Black Bone. Has that happened before?”
“The Black Bone wasn’t there before, though Fran was. She was with Winalene.”
“You know, what surprised me most was Dianne meeting Fran along the way!”
“I didn’t see that coming, either.”
“It didn’t happen for you?”
“No. The whole thing ended without Dianne ever making contact with Fran. Also, I sacrificed her for the creation of an enchanted sword instead of sticking a hellion crystal in her.”
“Which means history has diverged. Well, there goes another pawn.”
“It’s all right. There will be others.”
“I guess, but I still have to increase the quality of the hellion crystals.”
“I think you need to focus on better surgical procedure and contracts, rather than the raw quality of the hellion crystal.”
“Contracts, hm? You’re saying that embedding hellion crystals in them without letting them know what’s really going on…”
“Reduces the power of the contract significantly, yes.”
“So even if they consent, they need some understanding of the contract itself for the contract magic to take full effect.”
“Probably. It weakens the link with the hellion crystal, thereby creating a weaker monster. I think subjects being turned into monsters without becoming hellions might be the result of a defective contract.”
“What now? Recruit criminals with the promise of freedom?”
“I wouldn’t trust criminals to listen carefully enough. They won’t have anyone we can take hostage, and they definitely won’t follow orders.”
“We’ll leave the hellion crystal improvements for later. I think it’s time we took matters into our own hands.”
“No, no! We’re so close to finishing our plans for Lake Vivian!”
“Hmm. Yes, I suppose you’re right.”
“Let’s just stick to the plan for now.”
“Indeed. We’ll concentrate on the great monster.”
“That’s right. It’s going to be fun! And remember our dream!”
“You’re right! With the success of this plan, our name—Zelyse the alchemist—will be carved into history! Oh, I can’t wait!”
“Aha ha ha! Yes, yes, yes! We shall be forever remembered as the mastermind who destroyed an entire kingdom!”
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