enemies. And I will protect everything you have. Please believe in me. You have no need to speak of such sad things, for that day shall never comeâ€”not for all eternity." Hina laughed, as if to reinforce her point. She let go of Kaito's cheeks, bowed deeply, and then raised her head. She bore the fierce, resolved eyes of one whose heart was firmly set. "I won't allow it. No matter what." She picked up her halberd and ran off, her silver thread hair glimmering as she went. Kaito, now alone, looked down at his hands in a daze. As he was now, would his eyes ever look like that? He calmly raised his hands and then clapped his face. "...Let's go." The warmth from Hina's hands still lingered on his face, and the stone containing Vlad's soul still sparkled within his pocket. He didn't know what was right anymore. All he could do at the moment was struggle desperately against the situation before him. He had to believe that terrible day would never come. Even if that was nothing more than a lie. 3 Battle by the Coast The salty sea breeze mingled with the scent of something rotten. The town, built within an inlet, spread out like a fan with its back to the mountains. Its plaster walls erected to keep out the sea breeze and roof tiles made of unglazed clay cast the town in magnificent shades of orange and white. As one got farther from the coastline and approached the mountains, the townscape followed a natural incline and increased in altitude. At the peak of its hundreds of small sets of dogleg stairs, a branch office of the Church had once overlooked the glittering blue sea and all its splendor. However, the building, which was adorned with a statue of an upside-down saint shedding tears of blood, was now tragically flattened beneath a massive flower. Meaty, tonguelike petals dripping with mucus protruded from the flower. At the ends of its thorny stem, disturbing, flesh-colored roots resembling human genitals extended outward. The roots crept through the town, crushing buildings as they wrapped around everything in their path. Countless corpses were strewn across the streets and atop the stairs. Strangely, all their abdomens were crushed, like so many deflated leather bags. Men and women alike had the aftereffects of prolonged anguish etched onto their faces. They had been run through by plant roots and had their organs forcefully sucked out. "This is...horrifying..." As he whispered in horror, Kaito traced the roots with his gaze. Right before they'd reached the sea, their growth had stopped. The massive flower had been avoiding the sea, which was dyed red. It, too, was contaminated. The stained seawater was violently frothing. The beaches and wharves were covered in piles of dissolved seaweed and dead fish. Out at sea, the corpses of whales and dolphins with distended bellies were also visible. Abandoned by their passengers, small boats belonging to the local elderly and large commercial ships alike were degrading at abnormal speeds. Their cargo had poured out of ruptured bilges and was floating among the corpses. And in the middle of that terrible spectacle the vague outline of an enormous island had appeared. Upon further inspection, it was pulsating. The island was, in fact, a flesh-colored jellyfish large enough to be mistaken for land. It was as though the sea itself had developed a tumor that leaked pus and rot. Both the flower and the jellyfish, made to grow without regards for their natural limits, were collapsing. They were too big to get a good view, so it was impossible to confirm whether or not they had needles stuck in the backs of their necks. However, it was clear to see that they had been unable to maintain their egos. Using the magical runes they'd received from the Church, the three of them had teleported to the bottom of one of the staircases connecting the inlet to the mountains, as teleporting directly to the crushed Church branch office wasn't an option. From that vantage point, the series of disastrous scenes was right before their eyes. Her black hair blowing in the sticky sea breeze, Elisabeth pressed down on her forehead. "...Ah, what a headache. It seems both of them are being controlled. What a pitiful pair they are, yielding to her so readily. Of all the possible situations I foresaw, 'tis easily the worst of the lot." "Are you all right, Lady Elisabeth?" "Exasperation will do little to improve our lot, I suppose... The flower is the Grand Earl, and the jellyfish is the Grand Duke. We'll take them down starting with the weaker of the two and before they can spit out their hearts." "Yes, ma'am." Bowing deeply, Hina adjusted her grip on her halberd. Kaito silently double-checked the corpses strewn throughout the town. As he did, he spotted a figure moving. "...A survivor!" His eyes wide with anticipation, Kaito quickly realized that he'd been off the mark. It was a grotesque soldier, a servant of the demons, its head now transformed into a flower. The creature was trampling corpses and climbing over roots in search of something. As Kaito wondered what it was looking for, the answer to that question became clear when a scream rang out from somewhere. Although they'd been told that the Church had gathered up the survivors and used teleportation circles to evacuate them, apparently not everybody had made it out. The underling was tracking them down and mutely killing them. Now that I think about it, that makes total sense. With the calamity falling on them so suddenly, of course they weren't able to get everyone out that fast. Fuck! Quietly clicking his tongue, Kaito called out to Elisabeth. "Elisabeth, there are underlings loitering about. We gotta save the survivors." "The battlefield shan't tolerate such naÃ¯vetÃ©. 'Tis best to overlook the victimsâ€”or so I'd like to say, but the Church would have my hide. 'Do some good for the world,' or so they tell me...but I haven't the resources. Kaito, you deal with it." "Wait, me?" "Worry not, I shall give you this." Elisabeth snapped her fingers. A sword with rubies spiraling around its blade dropped out of thin air. It was the magical tool they'd found in Vlad's castle. Kaito hurriedly picked it up. Kaito looked at the needle-thin sword with bewilderment. Unmoved by his reaction, Elisabeth continued speaking. "You possess a golem body, a first-rate creation of my own making. Your control over magic surpassed my expectations, so you have a number of tools at your disposal. Fight. As far as I can tell, 'tis what you desire, yes?" "Yeah, you're right. I'll do it... I can't just sit back and watch you all the time." "Hina, your task is...very well. I'll allow it. You may stay by Kaito's side. The prospect of standing alongside one whose expression has surpassed unease and started to become as fierce as yours frightens me, so I'll refrain from doing so." Glancing at Hina's face as she spoke, Elisabeth heaved a sigh. Hina, who'd looked so conflicted she seemed to be on the verge of stabbing either herself or Elisabeth, frantically wiped the anguish from her face. As she bowed to Elisabeth, she raised a question. "Hearing those words fills me with gratitude. It is my greatest wish to stay by the side of my beloved and protect him... However, um, Lady Elisabeth, what shall youâ€”?" "Ha, don't make light of the Torture Princess. My current power is more than sufficient to crush the Grand Duke like an ant." Elisabeth scoffed. Kaito and Hina, about to express their concern, held their tongues. The Torture Princess wasn't bluffing. Her expression made that much clear. Elisabeth wore a smile that was both ferocious and cruel. "Now then, let us be offâ€”they shall squeal like quartered swine and writhe like stuck caterpillars." Darkness and flower petals swirled, and Elisabeth took hold of the Executioner's Sword of Frankenthal. She then ascended the stairs with great leaps and bounds. She reached a nearby root and jumped on top of it. She then broke into a gallant run toward the flower's main body, remaining atop the root as she did. It was as though she was running atop her foe's arm as a display of her power. The root trembled as it rose into the air. Before it could come crashing down, though, Elisabeth yelled. "Nail Gun!" Darkness and crimson flower petals ran across the top of the root in a spiral. Then a thunking noise rang out in succession. Rusted nails appeared out of the air and nailed the root into the road and buildings. It looked like they'd run through a set of human genitals. Shuddering in pain, the flower began releasing foamy mucus from the bottom of its sepals. Kaito reflexively scowled. Mercilessly stepping on the nailheads, Elisabeth ran like an obsidian meteor. Kaito stared at her, entranced. However, Hina called out to him, and he returned to his senses. "Master Kaito, we must set out as well. Take care not to stray from my side." "Oh yeah, right. Let's go." Nodding, Kaito broke into a run. The two of them ran up the stairs, making their way toward the direction they'd just heard the screams come from. The town, wrapped as it was in roots, felt like a ruin that hadn't been inhabited in a millennium. The fact that signs of life could clearly be seen made the scene feel all the more eerie. As they continued down the main road and passed a bay window filled with well-maintained houseplants, the two of them discovered an underling. The underling, who was wearing scaly armor made of leaves, slowly turned to look at them. As it blinked its enlarged eyes, its last remnants of the human it had once been, Hina swung her halberd sharply. "Hiyah!" Her aim unerring, she chopped off its flowery head. However, even as it wobbled, it reached out for Hina. Perhaps because it lacked a brain or a spinal cord, losing its head hadn't proved fatal. "Don't get cheeky with me!" With a sharp rebuke, Hina chopped off the arm reaching for her. Perhaps sensing the difference in their power, the underling reached out with its other arm and extended a thorny vine toward Kaito. Hina immediately made to swing her halberd. However, Kaito stopped her with a look. He then held his sword at the ready, as if to block the underling's arm. Calm down and act rationally. If I can't deal with something of this level, I'll never stop being baggage. Right before the ivy could coil around his sword, Kaito focused his senses on the wound on his palm and then called out. "La (burn)!" A dazzling blaze burst forth. The magical flame spun in an ominous spiral, latching onto the ivy and devouring it. Its arm burning, the underling let out a cry of anguish. Seeing the corpses littering the town had actually calmed Kaito down due to his intimate experiences in life involving hating and getting angry at horrible situations. However, his physical tension was another matter. Having seen that his magic worked, he breathed a sigh of relief. His trembling hand finally settled down. That's Elisabeth for you, always on the ball. The flaming weapon seems like it'll be effective against these guys. The underling ripped off its burning arm and began fleeing with an awkward gait. Kaito made to chase after it. Suddenly, though, it turned around, waving its arm around as its body burst into flames and it charged at Kaito. "Gah!" It looked as though Kaito was about to pay for his carelessness. A second later, however, a thunderous noise rang out and the underling went hurtling to the side. After blinking a few times, Kaito finally realized what had just happened. Hina had mowed down the underling with the reverse side of her halberd, and it had