comprehend, and although a powered-up Fremd Torturchen numbered among their foes, their side had no mages on par with Kaito Sena. The only ones who could take on foes surpassing the fourteen demons were entities of a similar caliber. Then, right as Elisabeth finished arriving at her conclusion, she heard something. It was the sound of hooves striking the ground. And pretty close to her, at that. She looked up with a start. There, she spotted a summoned beast that looked like a cross between a lizard and a horse. Elisabeth had seen those creatures before. The three races summoned them during Ragnarok, and by the looks of it, the beastfolk still owned some. There were just over a dozen of them, and they cut through the foul air and dodged the chunks of blobby flesh hurtling between the trees as they raced forward. As the pack passed her by, Elisabeth saw something more. The people mounted on the beasts were none other than her own Peace Brigade. Randgrof Elephabred was riding at the vanguard, and beside him on the same mount, Lute was manning the reins. 5 A Valorous Charge Randgrof Elephabred held his father in disdain. In a sense, that wasn't how he really felt. On an intellectual level, he held a great deal of respect toward his father. If he didn't, he never would have taken Aguina's advice to move to the hidden village. His father was easily an accomplished enough man to be worthy of his admiration. At the same time, though, Randgrof did not have a high opinion of his father. For Randgrof Elephabred knew. He knew that Aguina Elephabred was a kind, loving father. But he also knew that the man was capable of making unbelievably vile choices without an ounce of remorse. Randgrof grew up under the watchful eyes of his mother, who was wise yet was also a bit of an oddball, and his wet nurse, who was calm and gentle. He didn't even interact with his father that much. But before he knew it, he had realized something. His father was a monster. Someday, he was sure to sell his own master out for thirteen coins of gold or commit some other equally grave sin. And at the same time, Randgrof knew. His father was a hero. Someday, the people might well hail him as their one and only savior. It could just as easily play out either way. For that was the kind of person Aguina Elephabred was. And that wasn't all. Aguina was a man saddled with a tremendous contradiction. If he became a monster, he wouldn't regret a thing, and if he became a hero, he would take no pride in the fact. Everything Aguina did, he did for his race. No matter what became of him, all that would remain was his anguish. No amount of grieving, boasting, laughing, or crying would change who he was or what he needed to do. Those words were straight from the horse's mouth. And Aguina was right. None of that would've changed the aggregate amount of anguish he would have borne. That was the thing Randgrof hated most about his father. For he was wrong. Wrong beyond belief. "Look, Father, if I may be so bold, all I wanted was to help you bear that anguish." "Either that or for you to just be my father." "You could've just not been an enemy of the world or a heroâ€”and I'll confess, that's all there was to it." "Nevermore." Elisabeth called forth a massive raven. Crimson flower petals and black darkness swirled through the air, and the ebony bird burst out of them with its lustrous wings spread wide. As it glided forward, Elisabeth leaped astride it. However, the raven's nature was to be used for torturing people. It wasn't meant to be ridden. The bird let out a loud caw! of protest at the unexpected weight. Fraught as her attempts at steering it went, Elisabeth did eventually manage to get the raven under control. After catching up to the summoned beasts by some miracle, she decelerated. Eventually, she ended up side by side with her men, causing several of them to notice their captain's arrival. Some of them hung their ears, others balled up their tails, others still slouched awkwardly, and all of them averted their gaze. Elisabeth was livid. They were in no position to go and pretend they hadn't seen her. In fact, she had half a mind to go kick some sense into them, but the other half just barely won out. Instead, she cut through the thick air and made for the front of the pack. She pulled up alongside the fastest of the beasts. "By the look on your face, you already know what a scolding you're about to get... Oy, Lute!" "Captain Elisabeth!" To her surprise, Lute gave her shout an immediate response. He turned and met her eyes. Meanwhile, Randgrof continued clinging tight to his back. He clearly wasn't used to riding the summoned beasts, and his posture was downright precarious. Elisabeth's sleek black hair blew back in the wind as she glared at the two of them. When she shouted, it was directed at them both. "You're an absolute dunce! And that goes for you as well, Randgrof. What the hell do you two think you're doing?!" "We're no dunces, I promise! Please, just hear us out!" Surprisingly, the reply she got back was calm and collected. It seemed they had some sort of plan. She frowned contemplatively, then went quiet for a bit. As the silence wore on, the summoned beasts continued making their way onward. The sound of their spry footsteps overlapped with the noise of the flesh blob's writhing. Lute hurriedly explained himself amid the ever-thickening fumes. "With the Sand Queen's original form, her ears were too far from the ground for us to try calling out to her! But now there's a good chance that her entire body is like a big sensory organ! As Sir Aguina's son, Sir Randgrof's voice may well be able to get through to him! If nothing else, it's worth trying!" "You would try reasoning with that horror?! Aguina's mind is broken! This is no time for naive hopes!" Elisabeth barked back. At the moment, Aguina himself was the one forcing the Sand Queen's corpse to undergo an even more profane transformation than it already had. The situation was far too grim to be expecting any miracles. However, Randgrof felt otherwise. "I'm well aware of that! But the thing is, my father was obsessed with blood purity, and he lamented the future more than any other! It's not his emotions I'm counting onâ€”it's his sense of reason and his broken thought processes!" Elisabeth narrowed her eyes. It was true that Aguina was one of most fanatical blood purists there was. That was the whole reason he'd become an enemy of the world. It stood to reason that a pureblood voiceâ€”one that shared his own bloodline, no lessâ€”would carry special weight with him. Even so, the odds of success were slim. Elisabeth started to go on. "But, even soâ€”" "And more importantly, as things are, we're of no use in the fight. So...this is fine," Randgrof said firmly. He was prepared to place his own life on the scales of victory to try and tilt them in their favor. Elisabeth narrowed her eyes once more. Randgrof had a point. She herself had realized the same thing. The counterweights are practically weightless. The Sand Queen's body had melted away, and her new form was simply absorbing their poison arrows. There was nothing for the small folk to do. Lute and Randgrof were nothing more than powerless pawns, and in the grand scheme of things, them dying would change nothing. In contrast, the Three Kings of the Forest were heavily wounded, and every bit of stamina they had to expend cost them dearly. There was value in having Lute and Randgrof put their lives on the line to test this idea of theirs. However, that was only true if the person performing the calculus had no feelings at all. Elisabeth clamped her mouth shut, and when she opened it, it was the Torture Princess who spoke. "I've no intention of dying alongside you, you know." "Of course! We knew that all along, ma'am, and we leave the Fremd Torturchen to you!" "And what do you intend to do about Ain? About your child?" That question, however, came from Elisabeth. A certain rational goatwoman healer rose to the forefront of her mind, as did the eagerly awaited child now gestating in her womb. Lute's snout contorted in anguish. However, he glared forward with steel in his eyes. His gaze was fixed on the hideous flesh blob writhing before them. As he spoke, he pointed at the comprehension-defying quagmire of a battle raging on before them. "I'm sure Ain will understand. Well, no. She'll be furious. But she'll see why it was necessary. If that monstrosity is still here when the Fremd Torturchen arrives, our future will be consumed by darkness. And besides, it's not just me. Sir Randgrof has a boy and a girl, too. We all do. Yet we came to this fatal battle anywayâ€”to secure a future for those very same children." His words were foolish, there was no mistaking that. It was an absurd thing for someone as powerless as him to say. However, Elisabeth knew. Most of their world's people clung desperately to life in the ugliest way imaginable. Nobody wanted to die. They would kill others, they would drench themselves in blood, and they would shout at the top of their lungs. I don't want to die / So you should die instead / You should die in my place / Someone other than me should die It was all perfectly illogical. However, the fact that the fear of death could overcome any and all morals was plain enough to see. That was what had ultimately led to an avenger sitting in the judge's chair. Everything that had gone down had happened because of the three races' sins. Even in a world like theirs, though, there were still some people who were willing to throw themselves to the wolves in order to protect those who needed protecting. Who could possibly mock resolve and determination such as theirs? How could they, in a world where nobody wanted to die, and where everything was loathsome, and where people killed each other? "That's right, we've made our choice!" "We are the Peace Brigade, and it is our pride to serve at the pleasure of Lady Valisisa Ula Forstlast and Captain Elisabeth Le Fanu! We know what it is we need to protect!" "Please, Captain, let us do this!" This is our chance, her men pled desperately. It was aggravating, how shrewd their blunt sincerity could be. However, Elisabeth gritted her teeth. Her men had decided to do everything that was in their power. They'd chosen to fight to the bitter end. That meant that this entire act was their story. Elisabeth pursed her lips. She cast her gaze downward and recalled something. It was a thought she'd had some time ago. The soldiers who'd survived Ragnarok seemed to carry a certain sense of guilt, and perhaps because of that, they were generally kind to her. However, Elisabeth had done her best to keep to herself. If she wanted to best protect the world, she knew it would be best to avoid nurturing new bonds. There was no way of knowing whom or what she would eventually have to sacrifice. Now, though, Elisabeth was struck with a bitter realization. I was mistaken, completely and utterly. Now, it was precisely because she was proud of them with all her heart that she was able to make the decision to send them to their deaths. Elisabeth noddedâ€”and her expression did a complete about-face. The grin she wore now