accomplished my goal. We were able to pick out presents for Hina." "Ha, you just wanted to get gifts from the capital for your bride? What a faithful fellow you are." "Now we just have to go back together so we can give them to her." Elisabeth shut her mouth tight. From beside her, Kaito examined her face. Her expression was pained, as though clearly stating that she understood what he meant. Still, he didn't falter. "Now that you've bought souvenirs, you gotta go back." Elisabeth still said nothing. Kaito was about to say more. Then Elisabeth let out a light sigh and relaxed her whole body. Spreading her arms wide, she fell over backward. Eventually, she whispered about something wholly unrelated to Kaito's emotional appeal. "Behold, Kaito." "Behold what?" "Look at how bright the stars are. It's as though all the tragedies of the world are nothing more than illusions." Elisabeth spoke in a voice very unlike her; one that sounded almost as though she were dreaming. She didn't say anything more. After spending a moment puzzling at the meaning of her silence, Kaito broke the ice again. "You know, I called it a date... I'll grant you that the phrasing was weird, but I didn't want to go alone. I wanted to walk around the capital with you." "Why?" "I wanted to see what you'd do." "In what sense?" "I wanted to see how you'd spend the time, knowing that the battle tomorrow could go either way and that certain death awaited you. And you chose to pick out souvenirs for Hina. 'Ones that would definitely make her happy,' you said." Elisabeth's response was delayed. This time, Kaito didn't look at her face. Glaring at the distant mass of flesh, he went on. "Someone who was totally satisfied with dying, who'd given up on life, wouldn't do that, would they? Don't you actually want to go home?" "...Listen, Kaito." Just as Kaito had guessed, she didn't deny it. Her voice rang out softly, along with the rustling of clothes. Elisabeth had raised herself up and appeared to be once more clutching her knees. "Look at me." Responding to her call, Kaito turned toward her like his head had been yanked. Then he gulped. Lowering her face to her knees, Elisabeth wore a gentle smile. It was the kind of smile one would direct toward a child who was asking for something unreasonable. "You've killed none but your enemies, not a single innocent. You shoulder no sin. And for the innocent to be punished for their existence alone is absurdity. Once this battle is over, return to the castle. Then take Hina and flee. As you are now, you should have power enough to be able to evade capture." For a second, Kaito wasn't sure what she'd just said. Before he'd fully understood it, he instinctively opened his mouth to speak. "What the fuck are you talking about?!" "However, you mustn't kill people. I forbid you from hurting them, as well." Suddenly, Elisabeth's voice became sharp. Her expression, too, transformed into that of a proud warrior. She gave Kaito a stern command as the Torture Princess. "This is the final order from your master, the Torture Princess." "Elisabeth..." "Don't give in to the demons' temptations. If you think you are likely to, then end your life yourself. 'Tis a heavy thing, to harm others, to be loathed by the world, and to constantly shoulder sins." The further she got in her sentence, the softer and more disorganized her words became. She closed her eyes, as though in prayer. When she continued, it was in a small voice. "... 'Tis too heavy a burden for you to bear." Her hair gently rustled as she turned her head up. Her eyes still closed, she gazed up at the sky. "The stars are bright. Yet, down here the screams well up." "What do you mean by that?" "'Tis simply the way of things. The pleasant time we spent together just now does naught to change what has come before or the things that shall come after." "Why does it have toâ€”?" "I drew enjoyment from people's pain, pleasure from their screams. Such was the life I chose. One must square their accounts for the tab they've driven up. Should the deeds I've done be forgiven, it would warp the world of mankind. I myself cannot allow that." Abruptly, Elisabeth opened her eyes. Kaito found himself speechless. Her perfect, jewel-like crimson eyes held no fear or hesitation. They were so tranquil it bordered on madness. "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. And in this capital, a fitting stage has been set for that finale." "A fitting...stage?" Swallowed up by the beauty of her eyes, Kaito parroted her words back to her. Elisabeth nodded deeply. Turning back toward the mass of flesh, she resumed speaking. "The Royal Knights belong to the king and the paladins to the Church. The Church may specialize in fighting demons, but they're also permitted quite powerful arms. That comes as a result of the fact that in this world, the Church's status is higher than that of the king's." "...I...see." "Whenever a king wishes to assume the throne, permission from the Church is needed. But the Church isn't a fully autonomous organization. While the Church has historically held a strong say in the way the kings have ruled, their decisions are also influenced by the times the country is facing. Given the unstable state the country is in, it will take countless years for people to return to the capital and for trade and commerce to recover, even once the demons are eradicated." Kaito nodded. He now understood a part of this world's power structure, as well as the trials awaiting its people. Elisabeth went on, even more dispassionately. "Moreover, at this rate, the curtain will be drawn on the war against the demons far from the eyes of the people. They will find themselves unable to shake their fears, unable to purge their unease. Society requires a rite of passage." A moment later, Kaito's eyes went wide. Thus far, he hadn't been able to figure out the point of her story, but it had finally clicked. He'd realized what she'd meant by a "fitting stage." "You don't mean..." "The most effective method by which to unite people is to give them a common enemy. The Torture Princess has slain far too many. Burning her at the stake should prove a fitting symbol." Elisabeth looked at the mass of flesh, as though gazing toward her own demise. A self-deriding smile spread across her lovely lips. "Despots are killed, tyrants are hung, and slaughterers are slaughtered. All for the sake of the people." Elisabeth's whisper was gentle, as though saying that that was simply how things were. That that was how things ought to be. Kaito clenched his fists. He tried to shout at her, but the words wouldn't come out. As he closed his eyes tight, a thought he'd once had crossed back through his mind. Something's wrong. He didn't know what it was, but he knew that there was some detail that was off about the whole situation. He bit down on his lip. The words he'd once spat at Godot Deus went off in his ears like firecrackers. "If you guys had just been stronger, the Torture Princess wouldn't have even been born, would she? "If someone were to ask if the Torture Princess was good or evil, then obviously the answer would be evil. It was crazy to ask the allies of her victims to come and save her. If I were on the side of her victims, then I'd be cheering from the rooftops to work her to the bone then put her to the stake. Which means that this doesn't have anything to do with you guys. I'm the one she summoned, and this is really all just me being selfish, so it's really my problem. "What I'm trying to say is that person who saved me wasn't God or a hero. It wasn't faith, and it wasn't you guys." "It was the Torture Princessâ€”the most evil woman in all the world." Why, why, why, why, why? Why? Why? Then Kaito realized something. Deep in his heart, a young version of himself was crying out. The young boy hadn't shed a single tear, even when he was kicked, and burned, and beaten, and had his teeth ripped out. Yet he was crying at the top of his lungs. As though to say that this, if nothing else, was unforgivable. "I finally found a hero," he cried out. "Why are you taking her away from me?" he cried out. "She saved me," he cried out. "From a life that was fated to end in despair." "She lifted me out of that hell!" he cried. Kaito opened his mouth, then closed it. He tried to say something. He tried to make his younger self see reason, to respect Elisabeth's wishes. Yet, he didn't give voice to a single one of the objections and logical arguments that sprang to his mind. Eventually, he just gently grasped his crying self by the hand. Yeah, I know. I know. In this world, Kaito Sena had found someone to believe in for the first time. He'd found a family for the first time. He'd finally been able to take his life in his own hands. Who had been the one who'd given him all that? Out of the two worlds he'd lived in, who'd been the sole person to save him? Trust me, I feel the same way. At that moment, a quiet, firm resolution welled up within him. A resolution for his hero's sake. Kaito gently withdrew his teeth from his now-bloody lip. The confusion and anger he'd felt earlier had been completely wiped from his face. Elisabeth hadn't noticed anything. Turning toward her, he began speaking, his words as much for himself as they were for her. "You know, you're the only one who ever saved me." "...What are you talking about?" "The person who saved me after I was tortured and killed like a worm wasn't God or some noble hero. Those guys can all eat shit." Belief in God ran deep in this world, and Kaito's words were incredibly blasphemous. Without hesitating, he went on. "The only one who saved from that hell was the Torture Princess. Just you, Elisabeth Le Fanu." Elisabeth's eyes widened. That probably wasn't anything close to what she'd been expecting to hear. It was rare to see her so genuinely astonished. She blinked a few times. However, she eventually shook her head, a thin smile creeping its way across her face. "...And here I was, wondering what you'd have to say. Are you an idiot? Don't go getting all grandiose on me. 'Twas on a whim, nothing but coincidence. Feeling indebted for such a thing would be creepy." "Coincidence, a whim, it's all fine by me. Hey, Elisabeth. I told you, right? That until you start walking the road to Hell, I'll try and stick by your side for as long as I can, even if I'm the only one." "Mm, so you did. And what of it? That time is upon us, that's all." "It's not here yet." Kaito spoke definitively. Elisabeth frowned at his strangely forceful statement. Looking into her crimson eyes, Kaito spoke with the sincerity of a man giving his wedding vows. "I'm not going to let you die." Elisabeth's face froze. She looked like she was about to say something, but Kaito ignored her and stood up. He forced the bag carrying Hina's souvenirs onto Elisabeth. Then he ran down the hill at full speed. "Hey, Kaito, wait! Just what do you intend to do?!" Elisabeth shouted after him. But