that looked almost childish, then raised his voice. "Last time, I ran away. I'm done running now. I'm not going anywhere, even if it means I have to stand here alone." The king's declaration echoed across the room. His entourage of high priests and influential nobles exchanged glances with each other. Izabella said nothing. Somebody tried to break the silence, but they were quickly interrupted. The door to the conference room swung open with great force. Heavy footsteps boomed out in concert with a soldier's voice. "That's just what we've been waiting to hear." "Royal Knight Commander Darius!" Izabella cried. Elisabeth blinked. The Royal Knights were a knight order ranked below the Holy Knight paladins, and this was Elisabeth's first time crossing paths with their commander. The man Darius was about as ordinary-looking as they came. He was a gruff, bearded soldier, and though his physique was rugged, Elisabeth couldn't sense an ounce of magical potency in him. Even so, just looking at him was enough to get a sense of what an impressive military career he must have had. Darius went and stood beside Izabella. He placed his arm over his chest and bowed, then grimly laid out the facts. "We saw those fixed batteries, so we know that the situation is as bad as it was during the end of days. But this time, the Mad King isn't here, and I'm not about to send my men out to fight under the orders of a man who isn't giving it his all. Not when we all know they'd be going to their deaths. But just now, we heard your resolve loud and clear." All of a sudden, Elisabeth realized that the hallway outside was packed full of Royal Knights. It was unclear how long they'd been there, but by the sound of it, they'd been eavesdropping on the meeting. The guard outside must have been complicit, too. It was a bald-faced act of treason on all of their parts, but given the current circumstances, it was best not to get hung up on little details like that. Darius's well-worn armor clinked as he took a few steps forward. Then he knelt before Maclaeus. The young king hadn't been expecting that, and he let out a small gasp. Darius bowed low and spoke with great reverence. "It will be our honor to accompany you, Your Majesty. Please, King Maclaeus, hold your head high. Each and every one of us is ready to stand here until the last man for you." Cheers rose up from behind him. That was what the knights had been looking forâ€”a reason to stand fast and fight. They were being faced with a calamity on par with the end of days, and all they'd been hoping for was someone to show up and lead them. They raised their fists high. One after another, the knights let out shouts of approval. That marked the moment that Maclaeus the Craven, the worst king in history, was recognized by the army as a leader worthy of succeeding the Mad King. *** Tears started beading up in the corners of Maclaeus's eyes. Before they could fall, though, he quickly wiped them away. As he did, one of the high priests nodded. It was the old man who had asked why Elisabeth couldn't have been the one to die. At some point, a small, glowing dove had appeared in his hand. The creases in his face wrinkled as he quietly spoke. "I see. In that case, I suppose there's no helping it... King Maclaeus, I have a message for you from the saints. There is the sin of La Filsell to consider, the one who reacted with hostility to the prospect of having her contract with God severed and attacked Madam Jeanne. But more importantly, they wish to honor La Christoph's vision of salvation and Her Holiness the Saint's noble sacrifice. As such, all of them are prepared to fight and die alongside the Torture Princess." "The...saints are?" The Torture Princess was shocked. That wasn't the choice she'd expected them to make at all. For most of the saints, their prayers had ultimately warped even their very flesh. God was all they had. And even though it wasn't the issue at hand, Elisabeth's eventual goal was to remove them all from God's influence. They should have viewed her as an enemy. But now they were choosing to help protect the world. Then the high priests all moved as well. They dropped to their knees as one and clasped their hands together as though in prayer. "The saints' resolution is firm. As such, we shall martyr ourselves before that same fate." "You lot, too?" It was only then, at long last, that Elisabeth realized something. All of them, the old man included, really were high priests. Beside them, the aristocrats straightened their posture. Then they all heard a flustered voice from outside. "Whoa, why's it so packed out here? I could smell the sweat from down the hallway!" The voice belonged to one of the civil officials who'd been waiting by the communication devices. For some reason, there was something almost goofy about his tone. The official waded through the sea of men and barged into the room once more. This time, there was a communication device perched atop his shoulder. He pointed at the white orb and shouted excitedly. "Madam Elisabeth! The device followed along of its own accord, but the point is, you have a message from Sir Vyadryavka! It goes, 'Our retreat was successful. We owe you a great debt, Madam Elisabeth. We know Alice Carroll has awoken, and we're in the process of reassembling the army to come to your assistance.'" "You're incorrigible, all of you!" Elisabeth barked with no small amount of vexation. The communication device flapped its wings in an odd display of pride, and Elisabeth combed back her bangs as a poignant thought crossed her mind. Nobody wanted to die. Yet in spite of that, everyone was choosing death. And they were doing it to protect those who needed protecting. Maclaeus looked straight ahead and, in his role as the sad, lonely man bearing the weight of the world, he spoke. "Madam Elisabeth, would you do the honors? We've all chosen to tie our fates to yours, and for the sake of the people, we're prepared to dance this dance to the bitter end. Now, say the word and lead us into hell." At that moment, Elisabeth felt as though her entire body had been buffeted by a fierce gale. However, the sensation hadn't been caused by the wind. Innumerable people were listening to her words. The strength of their gazes was striking her like an arrow. The high priests were kneeling, Vyadryavka was crossing his arms, Izabella was staring ahead with great dignity, Jeanne was grinning ever so slightly, and the human king was blinking back tears. Countless soldiers were hanging on to her every word. Her next few words would no doubt lead many of them to their deaths. Even so, she had no regrets. And so the Torture Princess made her fearless declaration. "We go now to our deathsâ€”to our dawn. Let Armageddon begin." "This time, foolish child, I, too, will join the fray." The hallway was aflutter with activity as everyone rushed to and fro in preparation for the battle. Suddenly, Elisabeth heard someone call over to her from behind. She turned back to find that the darkness in one corner of the hallway was deeper than it should have been. A smooth ripple spread across the shadow's surface. Then, like a fish leaping from the water, a fell beast appeared from within. It was the Kaiser, the supreme hound. The knights present all leaped where they stood, but the Kaiser ignored them. He gave his head a great shake. Elisabeth narrowed her crimson eyes. During the battle with the Sand Queen, the Kaiser had steadfastly chosen to remain on the sidelines. She couldn't imagine what was different now. "What are you up to, Kaiser? Here I was thinking you had no intention of fighting at all." "Ha. Fool. I told you, didn't I? The stage wasn't suitable for me to come out on, and that a more fitting moment lay later on. Now that time has come. That's all there is to it. You need wings, do you not? Just this once, I shall allow you to ride me." His final offer caught Elisabeth completely by surprise. It was an exception among exceptions for that proud beast to allow a human atop his back. Elisabeth sank into thought for a moment. The fact that "the time had come" allowed her to arrive at a conclusion, and she confronted the Kaiser about a fact that, on some level, she had realized all along. "When your contractor Vlad died, you should have disappeared. Yet here you are, just as ever. It stands to reason, then, that in Vlad's final moments, you used the person who appeared before himâ€”the Saintâ€”as an intermediary to make a new contract." The Kaiser offered little in the way of a response. He just silently sneered at her. Elisabeth stared into his hellfire-filled gaze and cut to the chase. "Your new contractorâ€”is it Kaito Sena?" "The one and only. Foolish child. I say, that certainly took you long enough to figure out." As he replied, the Kaiser scratched the back of his ear in much the manner an actual dog would. For some time, the question had been, what exactly happened back there? Perhaps having grown tired of growing tired, the Kaiser finally filled in the blanks. "The Saint appeared the moment Vlad died, and part of what she did there was ensure the succession of my contract. To do so, she returned it to its original owner, and Kaito Sena received it. And when he did, he asked something of me: 'When Elisabeth is in peril, I want you to save her,' he said. What a dolt that one is. As always, the things that come out of his mouth are nonsensical beyond compare." The fact that the request came from someone he deemed worthy notwithstanding, the Kaiser had probably been loath to admit that something like that was the sole reason behind his actions. Upon recognizing that further silence would cause problems down the road, though, he had given up and explained himself. However, Elisabeth's response was to narrow her eyes. Surely that condition had been met long ago. "I feel I've been in no small amount of peril up till now." "Ha! How so?! The rabble died off, certainly, but I see you're still standing. But this time is different. You'll die if things go on like this. There can be no doubt of that. So consider this something to be proud of. I shall accompany you to the depths of Hell itself. After all, failing to carry out that single request of his would be a blemish on my reputation." The Kaiser scoffed. Elisabeth stared intently at him. The supreme hound didn't seem to realize it himself, but Elisabeth couldn't help but give voice to her observation. "You sound more human than ever." "In what way?! I'll bite your head off, child," the Kaiser growled back. Even his expression seemed oddly human. That said, Elisabeth had no idea if there was any deeper meaning to the fact. Thus, the battle began. So that the people of the world could struggle valiantly and die believing in the future. So that they could bring the story to an end. 8 Armageddon It's time for a story. It's the story of a boy who was brutally killed by another and a story of a monster who cruelly killed others. Or perhaps it's a story of a child who was abandoned by his parents and a hero who was abandoned by the world. It's a story of what happened after the two of them parted ways. For