undoubtedly heard Lewis's words. Elisabeth clenched her fists tight. Then and there, the proclamation had been made. The opening act was over, and the war had begun in earnest. They'd escaped the end of days and been saved, but now the curtain had well and truly risen on a new stage. The avengers were revolutionizing the world. At long last, punishment had caught up with sin. 'Tis only natural those killed should bear grudges. The day of forgiveness would never come. And the victims had every right to curse, resent, and detest the world. However, Elisabeth thought as she dug her nails into her palms. Before she could finish the thought, though, she heard a familiar voice call out from behind her. "Ah, Madam Elisabeth, there you are! I imagine you heard that just now. They're moving faster than we expected!" "That was a rather bold declaration of war they just made. I had thought they would lie low for a little longer. In any case, though, the humans and beastfolk intend to hold a conference, and... Lady? Whassup? That face you're makin' ain't like ya." Izabella and Jeanne came running toward her. It would appear that when they heard the decree, they'd immediately come looking for her. However, Elisabeth remained silent. She gazed out over the now-quiet forest. Then after narrowing her eyes as though trying to see to the world's end, she finally spoke. "Aye, I suppose that's necessary... However, I hope you'll excuse me if I slip away for a bit. It shall take some time to get things set up, I imagine? I've every intention of returning before I'm needed... Or rather, should Iâ€”?" Elisabeth glanced over at Ain. There was something she needed to tell Lute. However, Ain returned Elisabeth's crimson gaze and shook her head. She stroked her still-thin belly. "It would seem you and I were thinking much the same thing. If you have somewhere you wish to be, then by all means, go. I'll speak to him. Besides, if he heard about the pregnancy from anyone but me, he might well faint." "Aye, true. Lute has many traits, and getting overly shocked by things is certainly one of them. I leave him to you, then." Elisabeth gave her a small nod and walked off. Izabella watched her, puzzled. That said, she didn't move to stop her. She bit her lip in thought. Her face, which was still beautiful despite the drastic change it had undergone, contorted in sorrow. Jeanne remained expressionless, but her voice took on a concerned tone. "My lady...is something the matter?" "Forgive me. I just remembered some business I need to attend to. There's somewhere I have to go before the meeting. You should stay with His Majesty." "No, I'm coming with you. I'm yours, in body and soul." "I appreciate the sentiment, but I ask that you let me go alone. Please don't follow me." After making her wishes exceedingly clear, Izabella strode off as well. She passed Elisabeth and left the area. Elisabeth glanced back over her shoulder. The golden Torture Princess was standing in abject shock. Then all of a sudden, she collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Jeanne accompanied her over-the-top reaction with a small whisper. "Have I already been rejected, by any chance? Maaaaan...are you for real?" "I can't say I know the particulars of your situation, but are you sure you aren't just jumping to conclusions?" Ain immediately began consoling her. As she listened to them, Elisabeth started walking again. She withdrew her jewel, then flipped it into the air. A teleportation circle traced itself atop the ground. Crimson flower petals and black darkness whirled through the air, and a cylindrical wall the color of blood rose up around her. When it shattered, the Torture Princess was gone. Once again, Elisabeth had vanished from the beastfolk lands. She materialized in a place with no night or day. It was a pure place, one crafted from snow and water, wind and mana. Above her head, a rainbow curtain fluttered in a milky-white sky with no sun or moon. Her surroundings were beautiful, but it was a hollow beauty. Dainty crystals fell from the sky and crunched underfoot as she walked. Eventually, she reached a sight she'd seen time and again. There were two pillars of ivy toppled over, like corpses of giants. The two of them were lying on top of each other and propping each other up. A shrine-like cave sat at their center. Elisabeth sat down in it, surrounded by ivy decorated with azure and crimson roses. Suddenly, she let her body go limp. A small thump echoed as her back impacted the crystal. She quietly closed her eyes, as she had once before. Two people were sleeping inside the crystal at her back. They were as silent as ever, and unchanging smiles adorned their faces. The crystal was cold and hard. The distance its clear walls separated was slim, yet it was farther than the World's End. Kaito Sena wasn't the Torture Princess. He wasn't a saint. He wasn't even the Mad King. He was just a boy. Yet now he was slumbering with his bride, bearing the burden of a world that by all rights he should have had nothing to do with. Elisabeth thought. The boy had known just how horrible people were. He knew that fact remained true, even across worlds. Yet even so, he saw the world as beautiful. Because that was where the people he cared about lived. "So I'll protect it," he'd boasted. He'd smiled to the very end. And now people were trying to rob that smile of its meaning. Everyone is the same. Indeed, even I. They were all but swine, hideous beyond compare. Humanity had made a mistake, countless people had stood by and watched, the mixed-race folk had turned to vengeance, the imperial princesses had died nobly, the demi-human man had betrayed the world for those he cared about, and the saints' representative had died with a heart full of belief in both God and creation. Now the survivors were jumping at shadows and starting a new battle. And the world would keep turning, just as properly as ever. Humanity, demi-humans, beastfolk, and mixed-race folk were all the same. When they were viewed not as individuals, but as groups, none of them were deserving of belief in the slightest. Yet even soâ€” ...Even so? "Say, Kaito..." Still facing forward, Elisabeth let out a whisper. The Torture Princess refused to turn around. Yet even so, she let out a quiet murmur, like a single drop of blood shed straight from the heart. "...would it not be better for a world such as this simply to end?" She received no answer. Inside the crystal, the world's two saviors simply kept on smiling. Afterword It's gotten quite cold lately, hasn't it? Now, who was it that wrote "the next book is coming out this summer" in the end of Volume 6? Ah, right, that idiot Ayasato. I'm truly ashamed. Still, thank you for buying Torture Princess, Volume 7. Not only did I run into a number of unforeseen complications after I finished Volume 6, but I also ended up exhausting myself so badly that it affected my health. Thanks to my editor giving me both advice and time, though; I'm confident I was able to finish the book itself without having to compromise on its quality. I offer my deepest apologies to everyone who was eagerly awaiting the series' continuation, but I really hope you enjoy the book now that it's finally out. Now, I'm running out of space here, so I have to get to the acknowledgments fairly quickly. To Saki Ukai, for all your wonderful art; to my editor O, for all your kindnesses; and to Hina Yamato, for your lovingly crafted manga adaptation, thank you so much. I'd also like to extend deep thanks to everyone else involved in the process, as well as to my beloved family, particularly my sister. And most importantly, to all the readers who waited patiently for Volume 7 and are now finally reading it, you have my sincerest thanks. If it isn't too much to ask, I hope you see both the book and the series as a whole through to their coming conclusions. What lies beyond that single lamentation and that single meeting? Is it somethingâ€”or is it nothing? Epilogue, as well as Their Prologue Down at the bottom of the well, Sara Yuuki had a dream. Her frail arms were covered in cigarette burns, her broken fingers were stiff from how they'd knit, the right half of her body was crushed from when she'd been thrown down there, and her eyeballs were clouded over. It was unlikely that her body would ever be found. Her fourth father and her mother, who was head over heels for him, would probably just claim she'd run off. Just like how Alice had gone off to Wonderland. They'd say she'd gone far, far away. As the pain continued weighing heavily on her, she gazed up hazily at the sky. The falling rain clogged up her throat. By that point, she couldn't even tell if bugs were crawling into her mouth or not anymore. For a moment, the thought I don't want to die flashed through her mind, but the young girl wasn't even sure if it had been caused by a legitimate attachment to life or merely by fear. Sara Yuuki's life was fading away. But instead of infinite blackness, she saw a dancing light. It was almost like her life was flashing before her eyes, like in stories. But this was something else entirely, something sinister. There were corpses of some strange creatures as far as the eye could see. Tons and tons and tons of some part-lizard, part-dog, part-human creatures had been cast aside. All of them were dead. Their chests had been torn open, and their limbs had been ripped off. Their eyes, ears, teeth, and tongues were all missing. Each of them lacked so much as a shred of basic dignity. Someone was weeping before the mountain of corpses. He tenderly stroked each one as he wailed. The man's face was shockingly ugly. Its right half was reptilian, and its left half was human. However, both sides were filled with a profound grief. It made his face look much more human than either of Sara's parents' had. The weeping continued for a long, long time. Suddenly, though, he stopped, as though he had no tears left to shed. He turned his golden eyes toward Sara. She gasped. It was clear from his expression that he was a victim. No, his eyes burned with malice and rage, and there was a warped smile plastered across his face. Sara could tellâ€”that man was broken. And just like her, someone had broken him. Then an overpowering voice filled the air. "â€”God and Diablo failed to bring down the hammer. "â€”So I must do it in their stead." And then with a firm thump, Sara Yuuki's heart stopped as though the bell signaling the end had been rung. Sara Yuuki, the girl who should have been dead, opened her eyes once more. The light of a bonfire filled her gaze. She appeared to be in a dimly lit stone room. She blinked. Standing in front of her was the man from before. Now, though, he was wearing a mask that had been cut in half. His visible eye had none of the passion she'd seen in it earlier. Now it was empty and hollow. All of a sudden, the man in black parted his thin lips, looked straight at Sara, and spoke. "O Sinless Soul, stricken down in a manner most foulâ€”from this day forth, you will live as our weapon." His tone left no room for refusal. However, Sara didn't understand what he meant. She was simply confused. Then the man in black shook