died long ago. At this point, what use does anyone have for something so decent and proper? And at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if I choose to act or watch from the sidelines; it won't affect our ultimate fate. Salvation isn't coming, ladies and gentlemen. Not for you, and certainly not for me. Ah...I do grieve like a child sometimes. If only God were more merciful. Were that the case... ...there might have been another way. 1 A New Stage Three years ago, the world very nearly met a tragic end. However, that seemingly immutable fate was altered by a single person. And the one who accomplished that miraculous feat wasn't a grand hero of any sort. He was a boy who had reincarnated from another world following a life of abuse and a meaningless death. He got a chance at life, then had a number of experiences, some horrifying and some irreplaceable. Then after a long series of battles, he obtained a colossal amount of mana and used it to save someone precious to him. And while he was at it, he saved the world. By sacrificing himself. After burdening himself with God and Diablo, the boy fell into a deep slumber at the World's End. Thanks to his deeds, the people of the world managed to avoid the apocalypse. The greatest good for the greatest number was, surely, the greatest outcome. One could say they all lived happily ever after. And that would be all well and good. But whenever someone's story ends, there are some things that yet remain. With its lease on life renewed, the world continued on. But the bells would eventually toll on a new curtain's rise. For that is the way bells and curtains are. The play's continuation was unveiled in the beastfolk lands. And the new stage was the audience chamber of Vyade Ula Forstlast. The chamber was a tranquil space with a pedestal atop a short flight of stairs, complete with a throne in the center of the area. Curtains decorated with delicate embroidery hung gracefully on both sides. Their large-petaled floral patterns afforded the hall a gorgeous air, and their heavy, thick cloth gave the chamber the sort of solemnity one would associate with a majestic beast. Normally, each curtain would have a number of skilled soldiers standing guard behind it. Now, though, their presence was nowhere to be felt. All of them were dead. The throne room had been transformed into a grisly crime scene, its mystical atmosphere broken by the smell of blood and the grim pall of death. And worst of all was what lay on the throne itself. The two imperial beastfolk princesses were breathing their last. The pure-white, wolf-headed second imperial princess sat atop the throne, unmoving. Her hand hung low. The red-haired, fox-headed first imperial princessâ€”perhaps having tried to protect her sisterâ€”lay sprawled atop her. Their white and red fur, as well as their dress and military uniform, were soaked in fresh blood. Neither was likely to open her eyes ever again. A pair of humans stood before the sisters' bodies. "The true value of information lies in its ability to set people's minds in motion. Moving, how the three races managed to come together for a common goal. But the information that was shared between them and subsequently leaked can be described as nothing but a gross error. The possibility of people appearing from other worlds and the details regarding demon flesh, in particular, should have been concealed." The first one to speak was the man garbed in black standing by the throne. He was tall, well-proportioned, and, aside from his melancholy ambience, relatively attractive. However, part of his face was hidden beneath a white crow mask. It really was peculiar, seeing a man wear only half of a mask. His outfit, which oddly resembled that of a doctor or a researcher, was black from top to bottom. He continued his lecture in a level tone wholly unfitting for the situation at hand. "I summoned a pair of weaker demons into a man and a woman, then destroyed both their egos. They had two children. Then I bred the children together. By repeating that process, it was possible to create a pure, powerful demon. Eventually, I created a demon powerful enough to meet my needs. Of course, the whole process was a little more involved than merely breeding mice. As you can see, it took me three whole years to reach this point." "It's okay, Father. Please don't be sad. Really, we're just getting started!" At the end of the man's speech, his tone took on a hint of chagrin. His partner, an adorable little girl, offered him words of encouragement. Then she turned toward Elisabeth. Her hair was long, full, and white, and her eyes were red. She was somewhat lacking in pigmentation, but perhaps she had just been born that way. "I heard your story, Elisabeth. It's a very sad story. That's what I think. I'm thinking about you, even if no one in the world is." Her blue bondage dress was garnished so heavily with frills and ribbons that it was barely even recognizable as one. It was cute, but it was also so egregiously girly that some would consider it over-the-top. Even for a world where magic existed, her outfit looked like it had come straight out of a fairy tale. And it wasn't just her clothingâ€”her expression looked unnatural, too. Her bloody surroundings made the broad smile on her face come across as warped and twisted. The girl innocently extended her pale hand. "I'll help you! I'll help you, Elisabeth! I'll help you meet the people you care about!" "...Who the hell are you?" Elisabeth's reply was concise. The girl gave her a blank stare. However, after pulling herself together, she grasped the hem of her skirt and gave an adorably awkward bow. "That's right; I have to introduce myself first. That's what you did. So I should do the same. My name is Alice Carroll. I am the ideal girl of men and the sinful harlot who deserves to be stoned. However, that's the name Father gave me and the words I thought up. My real name, the one I lost, is Sara Yuuki." "Sara Yuuki? Wait... That strange pronunciation...that self-introduction... No, you can't beâ€”" "You're the Torture Princess, so... Yes, it would be strange to be the same. Being the exact same would be odd. So as someone who was reincarnated, I suppose I should say it like this: I am..." The girl let out an amused chuckle. And with purity in her voice, the girlâ€”the one unburdened by that world's original sinâ€”made her proclamation. "...the Torture Princess from Another World. The Fremd Torturchen, if you will." Thus the curtain rose on a new stage. The performers, who'd finally found peace, were given no say in the matter. "The Fremd Torturchen? A new reincarnation?" Elisabeth verbally reviewed the astonishing information. So someone had reincarnated other than Kaito Sena. And there was a Torture Princess other than herselfâ€”Elisabeth Le Fanuâ€”and Jeanne de Rais. But combining the two defied every shred of logic in the world. Such a being should not exist. Elisabeth was struck by a sensation much like vertigo. However, she quickly pulled herself together. After forming a small vortex of darkness and flower petals, she thrust her hand in and withdrew a long sword. The inscription carved on its crimson blade flashed as she cried out its name. "Executioner's Sword of Frankenthal!" In short, she was completely rejecting Alice's greeting. However, the girl in question didn't seem offended in the slightest. She merely broadened her smile. Beside her, the man placed a finger on his jaw and stroked the line where mask met flesh. "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. Its appearance and inscription match the report to a T. It's odd, thoughâ€”I've never seen it in person before, yet somehow, it feels like I have." "Ah, you know of my sword. But a thousand reports will tell you nothing of the sting of its blade. Come, then, have your fill of it. 'Tis an honor rarely granted to fools such as yourself, but I'm prepared to make an exception." Elisabeth spat out a naked threat, to which the man in black nodded with a strange, scholarly composure. Then he retreated a step and gave Alice's back a little push. Her cheeks flushed scarlet as she stepped forward. "Father? I can go? Really and truly?! Yippee, I'm so happy!" "Pendulum!" Elisabeth pointed at the ceiling, immediately launching her attack. Darkness and flower petals swirled up high. Then a massive sickle-and-chain shot out from the black and crimson. Thanks to the momentum from its fall, the blade swung backward. Right before it hit the wall, though, the fiendish Pendulum stopped and swung back the other way. In other words, straight for Alice. It accelerated toward her at a far greater rate than gravity should have allowed. A number of chains shot at her back, too. Then Alice Carroll was impaled between the twoâ€”or rather, she should have been. Yet no spray of blood filled the air. Everything was just still and quiet. Elisabeth frowned. Out of the blue, Alice and the man had vanished from atop the stairs. A large black egg sat in their place. Its sleek shell seemed to have repelled all the attacks. Then a young voice echoed from within. "Humpty Dumptyâ€”once it breaks, 'all the king's horses and all the king's men can't put it back together again.' But it won't break unless it 'has a great fall.'" "Hmph. A rhyme I've not heard, and a most peculiar rule. Influence from your original world, I take it?" "Yeah, that's right. There's this story, see, and I used it as a base for all my Fremd Torturchenâ€” H-hey, you startled me! What did you go and do that for?! That was tooâ€” Eek!" Alice let out a little shriekâ€”the egg had just risen into the air atop a stone Pillory. Elisabeth had completely abandoned the device's intended purpose and was instead using it to give the egg its prescribed "great fall." Alice looked decidedly alarmed. She and the man burst out of the shell. The chains attempted to follow them, but Alice repelled the attack with a spray of flower petals. The man remained calm throughout, but Alice's eyes soon grew wide. Elisabeth had prepared a mountain of pins at their landing site, too. "Just let the skewers run you through and be done with it." "Huh? What? Pins, too? Eeeeenough already!" But the moment before Elisabeth's lethal trap came to fruition, Alice drew a circle. Hers wasn't made of darkness and flower petals; it was just a black disc, like a rabbit hole. She drew a checkered tablecloth like one might use for a tea party from within it, then draped it gently over the needles. The ground beneath returned to its original flat state. Alice and the man landed with a thump. As she caught her breath, she wiped away beads of cold sweat. "Pant, pant... Now, listen here, Elisabeth. You're waaaaaay bigger than me, so I think surprise attacks like that are quite unbecoming of a lady like you. Didn't your father ever scold you and tell you it was uncivilized? Whaâ€”? Hey! I'm trying to talk to you!" "Scold me? To the contrary. My foster father, for one, is a brute who's rather fond of surprise attacks himself... My, my... You blocked my strike with your bare hands? Your words may be dull, but your reactions are quite another story." "Oh, are you mocking me? Or are you complimenting me?" "Both, much as the latter pains me. Fool." Elisabeth clicked her tongue as she attempted to put more strength