The girls quickly reached out before he could make a break for it, binding his limbs with their metal restraints. Then they hoisted him up like a pig on a spit and began carrying him in cordial unison. """"Heave-ho. Heave-ho. Heave-ho. Heave-ho. Heave-ho."""" "Please, no, no, stop, I'll do anything, no, aaaaaaaagh!" The girls plopped the fat man down on the stone pedestal like it was a cutting board. Then they began pulling on his limbs. His joints began breaking and dislocating. His skin tore, and his flesh started to stretch and snap apart. His voice was hoarse by then, but he continued screaming all the same. However, the girls just kept on smiling. They launched into a happy song. """"Father asks a question, aren't you glad? Have you been good, or have you been bad? If you've been bad, then it's stretching time, until you decide to confess your crimes! You can scream and say no, no, no, but even if you do, we won't let you go!"""" "Stop, stop, please, Elisabeth, ELISABEEEEEEEEETH!" "Oh, don't go squealing like a pig. Surely you people should know from your own experience, but it normally takes far longer for a torture victim to die. Though I can't exactly keep your compatriots waiting, so today, you get the abridged version. 'Tis little reason to weep and moan, no? If anything, you should be grateful for how merciful I'm being." Elisabeth scoffed. The man started foaming at the mouth, unable to even scream anymore. His eyeballs swelled up, and urine began dripping from his nether region. Then came a squelching noise, and the man's innards began gushing out. Once little more than sinew and intestines were left connecting the two halves of the body together, the girls stopped pulling. They tossed it aside, as though they'd grown bored of it. Then they turned around. Their hair rustled as they blinked their eight innocent eyes. There were barely any survivors left, but the few remaining ones stayed paralyzed in fear by the wall. The girls strode forth once more. One of them began pointing her dainty finger from person to person. "Are you next? Are you next? Are you next? You're next!" "Forgive us! Please, Torture Princess, have mercy!" The woman's thick, black-painted lips quivered as she rushed toward Elisabeth. She knelt, knees trembling, and held her hands together as if in prayer. Tears streamed from her eyes as she made her desperate supplication. "Is our sin truly worthy of such punishment? Surely, you realize how twisted the Church is, don't you? But if so...then why?! Why subject us to such cruel judgment?!" "Oh, I'm well aware of how perverse the Church is. Any group that employs inquisitors, lets extremists run rampant in their ranks, and retains saints the way Church does is liable to bring about disaster hitherto unseen. But I ask this of you." Elisabeth reached out a slender finger and propped the woman's chin up. Then she curled her crimson lips as she offered her a sweet whisper. "What in the world does that have to do with your banquet?" "Th-that's... We needed to demonstrate our rebellion against the Church, to venerate demons..." "No, no. There's no need to be shy. Come now, say it with pride. 'Twas fun, wasn't it? I should know. The pain of others is a delight beyond compare, and their screams are like the finest of symphonies. You supped your fill of those luxuries, did you not? But now the bill for your feast has come due. Dissatisfaction with some other group hardly begins to justify your grim indulgences." Elisabeth swung her foot and kicked the silver plate the woman had used. It went flying, as did the sticky chunks of meat atop it. Her plate had been piled notably higher than the others. The woman let out a pained squeak. As the woman's teeth began chattering, Elisabeth lovingly stroked her chin. "As long as the Church opposes the demons and works to maintain order in the world, I shall willingly serve as their lapdog. And once my task is finished, I shall pay my bill in kind and give myself to the flames. Such is the fate I've chosen. And, ah, what a fitting end it shall be." "B-but...why? Why subject yourself to that humiliation? Your power is beyond that of even the demons... You could just summon a new demon, make a contract, and break the Church's shackles, couldn't you? Why just resign yourself to dying a cow's death?!" "Then I shall ask you the reverse. Why should I have to do any of that?" "Huh?" The Torture Princess's question rang with honest curiosity. It was enough to make the woman forget the peril she was in for a moment. A dumbfounded silence descended on them. The smell of blood wafted through the air as Elisabeth quietly gazed down at the woman. Then with an expression that seemed almost reminiscent of the Saint's, Elisabeth dispassionately went on. "Despots are killed, tyrants are hung, and slaughterers are slaughtered. Such is the way of the world. The demise of torturers should be garnished with their own screams as they sink to Hell with no chance for salvation. Only at such a time is a torturer's life truly complete. So why balk at it? Were you people ignorant of even that basic truth?" Elisabeth looked downward as though in newfound comprehension. Her black hair cascaded in front of her, concealing her expression. Yet even in spite of that, the woman could tellâ€”the Torture Princess was furious. Scathing malice danced on Elisabeth's tongue as she spoke once more. "Ah, I see. I see... So you indulged in the flesh of the innocent, not even knowing that." The Torture Princess looked up. Elisabeth curled her lips into a fierce smile. All of a sudden, the woman felt a heavy tap on her shoulder. She nervously turned to look. There, she was greeted by four identical smiles. She screamed, but the girls captured her without missing a beat. And with that, Duke of Exeter's Daughter dragged her off, kicking aside corpses as they sang their merry song. """"Father asks a question, aren't you glad? Have you been good, or have you been bad? If you've been bad, then it's stretching time, until you decide to confess your crimes! You can scream and say no, no, no, but even if you do, we won't let you go!"""" "No, no, nooooo! Please, Torture Princess, have mercy, I beg of you! I... No. No, I'll never apologize! Curse you, dammit! I curse you to death, you shameless sow! You're no different from me! Nobody will save you! Not God, not Diablo, not anyoooooooone!" "Aye, indeed! None shall save me! God and Diablo have abandoned me, as has all creation! And so be it! So be it. Go on, you fool, curse me to your dying breath!" "Go to hell, go to hell, GO TO HELL, ELISABEEEEEAAAAAARGH!" Midway through, the shrill shout transformed into a muddled scream. The woman's torso was beginning to tear. Her back audibly creaked through her tight corset. Her tongue flopped out of her mouth, and blood and drool spilled out along with it. It was only then that her chest finally burst. Elisabeth didn't flinch at the spray of blood or guts, just as she hadn't at the woman's hatred. The girls let go of the body, and it collapsed with a splat atop the veritable mountain of corpses. No more desperate pleas were forthcoming. The executions continued on dispassionately. Eventually, Elisabeth calmly surveyed her surroundings. The room was empty of movement. The banquet was over. Or so she thought. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Suddenly, an absurd cry sounded out, and someone dashed off like an arrow from the corner of the room. Elisabeth, thinking she'd missed someone, made to snap her fingers again. The moment before she did, though, she stopped in her tracks. "...You?" It was a young man, his fists clenched and his face as pale as a sheet. He ran deeper into the room, some sort of resolve evident on his face. He reached out, grabbed the ornamental ax hanging from the wall, and turned its massive blade toward Elisabeth. Elisabeth quietly returned his gaze. It was the one person she had planned to leave alive. The sole man who hadn't participated in the banquet. Impulsive bravery burned bright in his eyes. It was plain as day what he had resolved himself to do. Elisabeth shrugged in exasperation. "What's this now? You fancy yourself a hero or something? You never took part in the banquet to begin with, so it's not as though I've any intention of killing you." "Shut up! You...you're no different than they were! How could you do something like this?!" Spit flew from the youth's mouth as he shouted. The pair of atrocities he'd just borne witness to had stretched his spirit to the breaking point. Now, powerless as he was, he was choosing to fight. However, Elisabeth only shook her head. "A question, then. Where was this foolhardy bravery of yours to be found when the girl was still alive?" *** The boy squeezed the ax so tightly that it made the bones in his fingers press up against his skin. Elisabeth sighed, then looked around at the ghastly scene surrounding them. Having finished her task, Duke of Exeter's Daughter was standing in a neat little line. Elisabeth turned her gaze back away from her, then spoke. "Why, if it's the brutality you object to, you could have even made this stand of yours back when they were alive. So why now? What will this baying of yours accomplish? Whose pain will it heal? At this late hour, howâ€”?" "Be quiet! Shut up already, you monster! Yeah, you're right. I regret it. I regret it, okay! This is what I should have done the moment I stepped into this damn room! I don't know how long it'll take me to atone for not doing so, but I'll do whatever I have to!" "I see. Well, I know not the scale of your resolve, but if it's resolve you have, then I shan't say any more." "But here and now, what I need to do is kill you! How am I supposed to move forward if I let a monster like you live?!" Tears welled up in the youth's eyes as he shouted. Elisabeth nodded her understanding. When a person met a monsterâ€” â€”even if it posed no threat to them personally, it was still their duty to kill it. Such was the fate of people and monsters. The young man raised his ax high and charged at the Torture Princess. However, his movements were so slow, it was almost sad. One snap of her fingers was all it would have taken for Elisabeth to end things. However, she didn't move a muscle. She merely returned the youth's gaze. That, too, is one of this world's many truths. Sometimes, the only thing that could kill evil was a different brand of evilâ€” â€”but in the end, only good could break that cycle of malice. Elisabeth Le Fanu stood motionless. The executioner's ax drew ever closer. Then it happened. "That's right. If this was the only thing you saw of her, then that would be a perfectly reasonable conclusion to draw. After all, it is an undeniable truth." "...Huh?" A dignified voice cut through the air. A slender figure made its descent and swooped down in front of Elisabeth. Then a maid made a gentle landing. Her outfit looked wholly out of place, but the emerald eyes beneath her silver hair were as serious as could be. "...However, I refuse to let you call her a monster." "Hina?" Elisabeth spoke the woman's name aloud. The maid, Hina, swung her halberd. The young man's ax head was cut clean from the handle. Its blade went spinning through the air, eventually planting itself in corpses' torsos. As the