of the arrogance so often found among those who possess power surpassing human understanding, he ignored the pealing alarm bells in his head and stayed put. That was a fatal mistake. Now, he was under attack by a peerless sinner: the one person in the world with the power to slaughter demons. The sinner, the judge, the girl in black, continued her mockery. "What's the matter, Duke? Floating there in silence won't change a thing, you know. Pleading for your life will prove just as futile. And I shan't let you flee. The time for judgment has come. Here and now, you shall meet an unsightly end at the hand of a fellow sinner." "Elisabeth... Elisabeth... Damn you, wretched child!" "You are aware of the position you're in, yes? The hour of your demise is upon you. Look upon me and know death incarnate." The girl named Elisabeth smiled sweetly. At that moment, the Duke let out a shriek and shot into the air like a missile. His arm wings spun in a bizarrely delicate fashion, carrying him high above the ground. When he reached the apex of his flight, the Duke opened his coffin lid. Stakes, the same kind that had been used as grave markers, shot out. As they landed, the stakes ripped up the ground and sent bones and coffins flying. But with minimal footwork, Elisabeth avoided the stakes and escaped unscathed. She moved with the graceful steps of a dancer, seemingly able to predict the trajectory of every rock and pebble. Her black hair fluttered as she tilted her head. A stake whizzed past and buried itself in the ground far behind her. She returned her head to its original position and then shrugged. "......Is that it?" *** The Duke screamed, in fear that his power would be insufficient and out of humiliation from her mockery. The arms that comprised his wings clawed at the air in anguish. They then swelled, extended, and rushed at Elisabeth like a fleshy, many-headed serpent. Embedded in their palms were countless open mouths, all scrabbling to consume her. Elisabeth smiled and then moved her pale hand. Crimson flower petals and palpable darkness swirled together in the air. She confidently plunged her hand into the swirling vortex and withdrew a long sword with a shining crimson blade. "Executioner's Sword of Frankenthal!" Elisabeth's voice rang out with the sword's name. As she did, the runes etched onto its blade glowed. You are free to act as you will. But pray that God shall be your salvation. For the beginning, the middle, and the end all lie in the palm of His hand. She pointed the sword at the Duke. In accordance with her declaration, countless chains appeared out of thin air. They coalesced into a unified mass, almost resembling the form of a great snake, and then shot out at the Duke. They crashed into his wings, as though challenging them to a battle of strength. After a moment's struggle, the chains pierced right through them. Fingers, flesh, and a torrent of blood rained from the sky. The Duke screamed and then truncated his wings in midair. Releasing a volley of stakes for cover, he frantically tried to use what remained of his wings to put distance between himself and his foe. But as she'd declared, Elisabeth had no intention of letting him get away. She brought her glowing, crimson blade down as if performing an execution. "Bull of Phalaris!" In concert with her shout, the earth shook violently. A storm of darkness and flower petals whirled upon the hill's peak. Then a colossal brass bull appeared from within the dark gale, causing a tremor as it landed. The bull's mouth snapped open as it stood before the Duke. Like a fly getting swept up by a cow's breath, the Duke was pulled inside. Simultaneously, crimson flower petals rained down upon the hill and set the grave markers ablaze. The flames burned brilliantly as they began lapping at the bull's golden torso. As a result, the Duke within it began burning. A wail of agony eerily resembling a cow's moo bellowed from the mouth of the brazen bull. The screams, distorted by a special mechanism within the bull's head, belonged to the Duke. They continued for some time, much like his victims' screams that had once shaken the hill. Elisabeth smiled upon hearing the Duke's ragged pleas among his screams. *** "...Don't be ridiculous, Duke. This is how torturers meet their ends. Those screams of yours are the perfect adornment for the death of a tyrantâ€”and besides, why bother begging for your life? As if there were a chance I'd pay you the slightest heedâ€”who exactly do you think I am?" Playing the part of the calm, impartial executioner, Elisabeth rejected him without hesitation. As she waited for his fat to melt off, his flesh to burn, and his bones to glisten like jewels from the heat, she made her full introduction. "I am the Torture Princess, Elisabeth Le Fanu. I am the proud wolf and the lowly sow." Perhaps the last of his sanity had burned away in the flames, because toward the end, his agony had given way to mirth. The Duke's loud laughter, amplified further by the Bull of Phalaris, eventually ceased. Elisabeth then snapped her fingers, and the flames died down. The Bull of Phalaris, too, transformed into crimson flower petals and vanished. Out from the space it once occupied came a mass of black feathers, proof of the demon's death. The feathers burst into blue flames and then burned away into nothingness. Elisabeth closed her eyes. She turned to the skyâ€”as if reflecting upon the deaths of the Duke and his victimsâ€”before speaking. "Now then, it's time for lunch!" "Yes, ma'am! I've been standing by!" "Wait, hold up. You're giving me emotional whiplash." Elisabeth's declaration elicited two responses: one cheerful and the other exasperated. Suddenly, a silver-haired maid carrying a basket appeared from the foot of the hill. She wore an adorable maid's cap and clutched the hem of her classic long skirt as she ran. Following behind her was a young man with grim eyes. The skinny young man, Kaito Sena, wore an unflattering butler uniform. His faded brown hair matched his eyes, and he appeared dejected as he hurried to Elisabeth's side, ravenous though she was. He was a mere humanâ€”one who had died once alreadyâ€”yet he pledged his service to the Torture Princess, Elisabeth Le Fanu. And there was a profound reason why he worked for her. It all began back in another world. The world in which he was murdered. Following a lifetime of abuse at the hands of his biological father, Kaito Sena's life reached its end after a mere seventeen years and three months. His death was as meaningless as that of a wormâ€”a death most pitiful, most unseemly, most cruel, and most gruesome. Ordinarily, there is no life after death. But because his soul was summoned to another world, Kaito received an opportunity. In truth, he had no desire to be brought back to life. Nevertheless, as soon as he was made flesh again, he was forced to serve an overbearing master. This master was the very person who had summoned him: the Torture Princess, Elisabeth Le Fanu. She had the pride of a wolf and was as low as a sow, a sinner ordered by the Church to butcher fourteen ranked demons and the people who had formed contracts with them. Once she was finished, she herself was destined to face execution. After being forcibly resurrected and experiencing a number of events, Kaito had made the choice to continue serving her. Throughout Elisabeth Le Fanu's bloody life, she was accompanied by a single foolish servant. He had made the choice to live a life that would bring about such a tale. And as for the present day, Elisabeth's demon hunt was proceeding smoothly. "This is deeeeeeeeeeeelicious!" Having taken large bites of her sandwich and stuffed her cheeks, Elisabeth cried out like a child. Elisabeth's favorite food was entrails, so the sandwich ingredients followed that trend. Atop savory, toasted buns sat thickly cut foie gras sandwiched between fresh onion and tomato, all adorned with a red wine sauce. Slices of baguette became vehicles for heaps of liver pÃ¢tÃ© and figs drenched in honey and sprinkled with black pepper. The basket also featured various palate cleansers such as vegetable marinades and egg-based dishes, making its contents a veritable culinary flower garden. Elisabeth was beaming, her expression absent of any of the cleverness or ruthlessness it bore just moments before. One could practically make out cat ears bobbing happily up and down atop her head. The silver-haired maid beside her hoisted a bottle of white wine and flashed an elegant smile. "As you are Master Kaito's master, Lady Elisabeth, I feel blessed that my cooking suits your tastes." "Indeed, Hina, you are without peer in the culinary arts! Kaito may be unable to cook, as he appears to be committed to his uselessness, but activating you may be the one act I can actually praise him for!" "Hey, I feel like I've been pulling my weight around here. I mean, I've been doing all sorts of things." "Ah, 'tis all in your imagination!" "All in my imagination, huh? Is that right?" With an expression that practically screamed fine, whatever, Kaito bit into his sandwich. Due to his harsh upbringing, Kaito never had the privilege to pick and choose when it came to food. As long as it wasn't tainted with laundry detergent or drugs, he could eat just about anything. But even though he typically didn't care about what he ate, he found Hina's cooking to be quite tasty. As he finished eating, the maid peered at him out the corner of her glittering emerald-green eyes. "How was it, Master Kaito? Was it satisfactory?" "Yeah, it was really good. Impressive as always, Hina. You being able to handle the cooking day in and day out is a huge load off my back." "Oh, oh, Master Kaito! Being constantly by your side and cooking for you every day... What a splendid coincidence, those are the things that bring me the most joy! I consider them to be my greatest victories!" "What in the blazes are you two going on about?" "Unfortunately, while I can't speak for her, I'm not really saying much of anything." As he gave his answer, Kaito patted Hina's head over her maid cap as she giggled, "Master Kaito, Master Kaito!" and smiled in delight. She looked to be on the verge of sprouting a puppy tail and wagging it back and forth. Hina was an automaton that Kaito had activated. When she was first activated, Kaito had selected "lovers" as their relationship, and as a result, a roaring flame of passion had been sparked within her. However, according to Hina, her love for him was genuine, welling up from deep within her soul to surpass the framework it had been initially set in. And her love for him had never once faltered. As she giggled and hugged Kaito, Elisabeth sat beside them, nodding as she held a wineglass in one hand and polished off a second and third sandwich. "Ahh, another demon exterminated and a splendid lunch to top it off! Ah, how wonderful it is, washing down rich foie gras with crisp white wine!" "I made sure to prepare a dry wine thoroughly chilled with spirit ice today, ma'am!" "Well...yeah, I'm with you. This isn't half-bad." If not for the fact that we're in a graveyard and the Duke just burned up here, that is, Kaito thought to himself. Of all the venues they could have chosen for a picnic, the three of them chose to eat right atop the hill where the Bull of Phalaris had just disappeared. True, they were sitting on the blanket Hina had laid out, but that didn't change the fact that this