girl who resembled a mannequin was coming toward them from the main road that led to the village's meeting hall. Her porcelain skin gleamed under a bondage dress even more risquÃ© than Elisabeth's. The girl shook her head lightly to the side. Doing so caused her golden hair to sway luxuriously. Her rose-red eyes were fixed emotionlessly on the scene before her. It was yet another Torture Princessâ€”Jeanne de Rais. "As suspected, I found this lurking in the belfry. Fucker was watchin' us pull cleanup duty!" Jeanne took what she was holding and violently tossed it on the ground. The hideous creature crashed onto the cobblestones with a thud. It was a familiar, one that looked like someone had taken an eagle and affixed it to a piglet. There was no doubt that it belonged to the rebels. Izabella grimaced and shook her head. Jeanne's tone was dispassionate, but her eyes gleamed like rubies. "I also found traces of a teleportation circle behind the meeting hall. It was the same as the ones we found in the other villages' churches, graveyards, and other large buildings. And just as before, it was impossible to trace back to its source. Those punks are a lotta things, but weak ain't one of 'em. They work quick and dirty, but that just ends up makin' it harder to track 'em. Shit's like tryin' to follow a hunting hound who dug up the whole damn neighborhood along the way." "That's what they used to abscond with the villagers, no doubt." Jeanne gave Elisabeth's low murmur a nod. Izabella clenched her fists tight. "Not again... They can't keep getting away with this barbarity. Their desire for revenge is one thing, but these acts are beyond forgiveness." "That goes without saying, my lady. Thing is, though, they don't give a rat's ass if you forgive 'em or not. That's just how avengers roll." Elisabeth thought over one of the words Izabella just said. It was that again. All the other attack sites they'd gone to had had the exact same pattern of victims. The kidnappings were no doubt happening because the rebels needed "mothers" for their demon grandchildren. Jeanne was right. Death would be far preferable to the fate that awaited the taken. To hammer that point home, the rebels had begun leaving the burst corpses of such victims in various towns and villages, almost like a warning. Committing sporadic acts of slaughter and plunder and leaving provocative displays in their wake... This is no normal war. Elisabeth narrowed her eyes as she thought. Jeanne, guessing at what was going through her mind, replied. "That's rightâ€”what they're doing isn't warfare. And it's different from the underlings' indiscriminate destruction as well." "In short, this is all one grand act of revengeâ€”nothing more, nothing less? Is that what you're saying?" Jeanne gave Elisabeth's question a nod. Elisabeth turned to Izabella, wanting to hear her take on the matter. When she did, though, she realized something. At some point, Izabella had begun looking at Vlad. The man in question was standing in front of the crushed familiar with a thin smirk on his face. The viewpoint he had to offer on "evil" was valuable to them, so he was being allowed to travel alongside them, but by all rights he was a criminal who was supposed to be locked up. That made him suspicious even under the best circumstances, and what he was doing now certainly wasn't helping his case. Izabella squinted at him, trying to figure out what he was after. Noticing her apprehension, Vlad spread his arms wide. "Ah, was I being too quiet? I suppose if all I do is attract suspicion, that makes me rather useless indeed. I'm not a jester sent to liven up the proceedings, after all. I suppose it's high time I did my job and elucidated the situation a little." Then his expression did a complete one-eighty and became as serious as could be. There were some truths that could only be gleaned by the truly evil. Vlad began giving his explanation. "These massacres were no act of war. They were a revenge drama, a performance designed to stir up a fell wind. A publicity stunt, if you will. The main act is sure to follow soon." "A...fell wind? A publicity stunt? What in the world are you going on about?" Vlad's words were as cryptic as they were irreverent. Izabella's distrust grew deeper yet. However, Elisabeth understood what he was getting at. Vlad went on without offering Izabella any clarification. "'A calamity cometh. A calamity cometh. To all the people of the land.' That is what our mixed-race friends are trying to convey, and therein lies their plan. After all, total war is a fool's errand." An image from the past flashed through Elisabeth's mind. Dark figures blotting out the sky like clouds. Massive flocks, all taking off from the forest around the World Tree at once. Birds crying out. Eagles crying out. Crows crying out. Then a familiar blowing the bugle. "I'll take this world, I'll make it my own, and I'll kill every last fool who walks upon it. And at the end of the day, it doesn't matter whether I do anything; it won't affect our ultimate fate. Salvation isn't coming, ladies and gentlemen. Not for you, not for anyone. And certainly not for me. "The sun has gone darkâ€”now, let the killing commence. "We, the mixed-race folk, hereby declare our rebellion against you." That was the declaration of war Lewis made. But even with a few of the demi-humans on his side, wiping out the three races was still a distant pipe dream. His side was far better prepared, but he was also facing down an overwhelming disparity in manpower and resources. That said, the same had been true of the Mad King. And in his case, even though it had taken a fair number of accidents and coincidences to get there, he had nonetheless obtained power sufficient to overthrow the entire world. Depending on the Fremd Torturchen's strength, it might well be possible to overturn the world's power structure. However, maintaining power and stability for any length of time was another matter altogether. Trying to lump the three races together and rule over them as a single unit was just asking for disaster. Lewis and his people knew that. Yet even so, they were trying to become proper shepherds. After rooting out everyone responsible for the Mixed-Race Massacre, their goal was to rule over the world to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again. In other words, their dream was the realization of a perfect, idealized utopia. Short of a literal miracle, such an absurd future will never come to pass. Alternatively, they could merely obtain so much power that people would have no choice but to obey them unconditionally. That would require an immense deterrent, exactly like the kind the Saint had sought out. Namely, God and Diablo. And if that's the case, then it's all too clear what this "fell wind" of theirs shall be. Before she could finish her thought, though, Elisabeth found herself interrupted. The sound of a bell clanging rang out. It was a signal from their lookout stationed by the teleportation circle just outside the village. Someone was coming. "Messenger! Messenger!" Before anyone could jump to conclusions, a deep voice cut through the air. It was the lookout, stating the nature of their new visitor. It was just a messenger from the Capital, nothing more. Once the soldiers realized that there wasn't an emergency, they visibly relaxed. However, Elisabeth took off at a dash. Izabella, Jeanne, and even Vlad, for some reason, raced along after her. The four of them whizzed past scorched buildings as they raced down the road. Elisabeth was filled with an ominous premonition. Right now, the three races are constantly exchanging communications. Consequently, operating the communication devices was taking all the personnel the Capital had. They certainly didn't have the manpower to spare by sending valuable civil officials off to minor villages with no strategic value. Something major must have happened to warrant taking such measures. And even if not, no good can come of anyone arriving under such circumstances, regardless of their allegiance! Eventually, Elisabeth and the others arrived at the humble fence that surrounded the village. Dirt flew up by Elisabeth's feet as she skidded to a halt. Before her sat a teleportation circle enclosed in a cylindrical wall of light. A moment later, that wall cracked and shattered, descending to the ground in a rain of glowing droplets. Standing atop the circle was a man clad in a silken robeâ€”a man Elisabeth recognized. He was normally stationed in the tomb that served as the temporary royal castle, and his job was to keep an eye out for if the rebels tried to make contact. As Elisabeth took that fact in, the man strode forward. His stride was sure, but his face was flushed and damp with sweat. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he spoke. "I come bearing news! The rebel forces have added more to their proclamation!" "Now, eh? I'd have thought it would come a good deal soonerâ€”either that or not until after they'd made a big show of flattening another two or three villages! To think that they'd go for it right in the middle like this... Well, I do love me a good surprise. Go on thenâ€”give us the rest!" Vlad clapped his hands together. However, his cheery response was an odd one. Even though he was on provisional release, he was still technically a prisoner, and he certainly didn't have the authority to be giving orders. However, he had given them so brazenly that the official was at something of a loss. He darted his gaze to and fro, not sure what to do. Eventually, Izabella freed him from his plight by gesturing for him to go on. The official straightened his posture, then bowed. "Thank you, ma'am. Then by your leave." "Go on." "The addendum goes as such. 'You people lived lives of arrogant bliss, never once sparing a thought for the destitute and the needy. Your deeds were as haughty as they were heinous. As such, the lot falls on us to lop off your sinful heads. It falls on us to spill rivers of your blood, stack mountains of your corpses, and reduce you all to ash. For us, our victory lies in slaying as many of you as we can until the day of our ultimate defeat. However, if it's clemency you would ask of us...'" Suddenly, the flowing narration came to an abrupt halt. The official began coughing. It would seem that the smoky air was starting to get to him. Vlad slumped his shoulders in contemptuous exasperation, an act that earned him a sharp glare from Izabella. Seeing that, Jeanne just barely managed to stop herself from shrugging as well. She quickly righted her drooping posture. As all of that was going on, Elisabeth surreptitiously frowned. Something had caught her attention. It was the civil official. As he coughed, he was glancing in her direction, asking her with his gaze if it was really all right for him to read the rest aloud. Is the information dangerous to me in some way? But if so, why bother warning me? Wait... Suddenly, Elisabeth remembered somethingâ€”she knew him. That in and of itself was odd, given that she had little interest in any of the civil officials or their business, nor did she even know the man's name. However, there was a good reason she recognized him. It was from when they took her verbal testimony when compiling records on Kaito Sena. Out of all the people there, he was the only one who'd had the decency to so much as offer her a cup of honey tea. Afterward, he told her that his brother was one of the paladins who