Curious, Kaito managed to look. When he did, his jaw dropped, too. Hina was barreling toward them, twirling her halberd like a tornado. The maids rushed to stop her, but she blew them away with such vigor, it made one wonder what had become of her previous listless state. Her cheeks were flush and her eyes were glittering as she let out a strange voice. "You called? You called for me? I just heard you calling for me, didn't I, Master Kaaaaiiiito?! I'm coming to save youuuuuuuuuuuu!" "Are you for real?" Kaito muttered in astonishment. Sensing the danger he was in, his father pushed him aside and began running. Kaito fell hard toward the floor. But the impact never came. He found himself cradled in Hina's right arm. With her free left hand, she brandished her halberd. "Huh?" "For the sin of strangling Master Kaito, the punishment is death." The top half of his father's body went flying and landed on its side. Blood and entrails splattered on the floor. In no time at all, he was well past the point at which blood loss became fatal. He slumped over, motionless. Without a shred of hesitation or doubt, and with a bit too much eagerness, the deed was done. Still cradled in Hina's loving embrace, Kaito couldn't help but be astonished by what was happening. As if to avoid causing him any further shock, Hina plopped him on the ground, tossed aside her halberd, and held Kaito tight in her arms. She buried his face in her ample bosom and spoke with joy in her heart. "Oh, Master Kaito! You saved me once more from the bleak abyss of death! How kind you are! I love you so! Your voice, along with its infinite mercy, has reached me! Oh, my beloved Master Kaito! As long as you wish it, I shall remain by your side for all eternity! I shall love you until my dying day, protecting you from all who would harm you!" "Ha...ha-ha-ha..." Kaito unwittingly broke into a weak laugh. It was all well and truly absurd. But little by little, joy welled up inside his chest. He'd thought that no one would come to save him. But that hadn't been true. That wasn't true anymore. He raised a bloody hand. Seeing it, Hina cried out in alarm. Ignoring her outburst, Kaito stroked her cheek. Not wanting to sully her perfect skin, he felt her warmth through his fingertips. After a little while, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Master Kaito, what's wrong? Are you in pain?" "I'm just glad you're alive. I'm so, so glad... And I'm sorry, Hina. I'm so sorry." "M-Master Kaaiito! Please don't apologize! It's all right. Henceforth, and forever and for all of eternity, in sickness and in health, I will serve you with all my heart for as long as I live! Oh, this feeling of love! These emotions! Could they be the beginnings of maternal instinct?" With an enraptured look on her face, Hina began muttering to herself. But then she turned, her expression fierce. A feral, murderous look flashed across her emerald-green eyes. "...And it appears there's one brute left who would try to harm you." Kaito looked up and saw Vlad, for whatever reason, trampling on his father's viscera with the soles of his leather shoes. As he looked at Vlad's icy profile, he felt his blood run cold. The man was livid. In his irritation, he looked like he planned on wasting no time in crushing Kaito and Hina. "Fester and die, you son of a bitch." "Hina, no!" In the next moment, Hina vanished. Despite her injured state, she scooped up her halberd. Her pupils dilated as she drove it toward Vlad. Not even turning toward her, Vlad snapped his fingers. Darkness and azure petals swirled, and a rotating saw appeared in the air. The saw flew not at Hina but straight at Kaito. Vlad trained his apathetic eyes on Hina, testing her. She didn't hesitate even a moment. Casting her halberd aside, she wrenched her body into an impossible pose. She threw herself upon Kaito. For a second, Kaito saw Neue's form superimposed on hers. "Hina, no!" At once, Kaito shoved Hina out of the saw's path. "...What? Master...Kaito?" Her eyes were wide, and her arms were outstretched. Kaito looked at her and smiled. Then heat burned through his body. His stomach had been cleaved open. But although the rotating saw looked flashy, it turned out to be duller than Hina's halberd. Kaito had avoided being bisected, but his intestines still spilled from the wound. He collapsed without a word. Hina howled a crazed scream. "Master...Kaito? Master Kaito, Master Kaito! Noooooooooooooooo!" "...Urgh... Gah, hrk... Blech..." Kaito could feel something warm pumping away from his heart. The gushing sound of his heartbeat was obnoxious. As he lay trembling on the floor, a thought faintly crossed his mind. I hope...Hina will...take this...chance...to escape...... But I wouldn't...bet on it... Based on her personality, he doubted she'd be able to leave him behind. He needed to find a way to tell her to run. But his voice no longer obeyed him. His field of view grew dark. It should have been completely pitch-black, but light ran across his vision. What was that sensation? He remembered it from the time he'd activated a teleportation circle on his chest. It was the feeling of the magical energy in Elisabeth's blood, which was mixed with his own, writhing. On the brink of death, Kaito's soul was resonating with the powerful magic in the blood. The memories in the blood began to resurface. It was almost like his life was flashing before his eyes, like it did in stories. But it was something else entirely, something sinister. Endless corpses of the brutally slaughtered. Hundreds of crows taking flight. The frenzied masses, chanting in unison and crying out for blood. A girl, bound in a straitjacket, hanging in the air. A frail young child, peering out of her bedroom window. A willowy man's fingers crept toward her bony shoulders draped in a negligee. Her matted black hair shook as she gave a start. Flustered, she turned to look. Her gaze landed on the man, who raised his arms in surrender. Upon seeing his face, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, Uncle Vlad. Don't startle me like that." "Ah, Elisabeth. My darling daughter. Have you been a good girl? You haven't been killing cats in secret again, have you?" "I haven't. I don't do that anymore." "I wonder about that. But don't worry. No matter what you do, I'll keep it a secret for you." Her uncle's features much resembled hers, and his voice was full of joy over their reunion. For some reason, he always referred to Elisabeth as his daughter rather than his niece. She was about to respond, but she then clamped her hand over her mouth. After a fit of dry coughing, she hacked up blood. Seeing her suffer, Vlad readied his proposition. "O pitiful Elisabeth, born with incurable illness. Darling Elisabeth, she who possesses the same ruthless nature as I. You possess the capability yet are trapped on the brink of death. I have come to cure your ailment." "Really? But Uncle, even the doctors say it can't be cured. And what do you mean by 'capability'?" "You will eventually understand in time. Now come, take this. But just like I keep quiet about your mischief, you mustn't tell anyone about this." Her uncle put his index finger to his lips and winked. Elisabeth nodded. Vlad then praised her with a pat on the head and retrieved something from his bag. "With this, you shall surely lead a more enjoyable life than any other." In her outstretched hands, he deposited a gray lump of meat. It was shaped like a human heart. After eating the meat, Elisabeth made it safely to her sixteenth year. Everyone rejoiced at her miraculous survival. But then, as if in payment for that miracle, both of her parents passed away. One night, their carriage drove off a cliff. The cause of the fall was undetermined, but right before the accident, an elderly individual reported seeing a massive black dog by the side of the road. On the night of their funeral, Elisabeth sat by her window as she'd done in her youth, clad in her mourning dress. A pale finger crept toward her shoulder. With a start, she lifted her tear-stained face. Before her stood her uncle, dressed in black. He should have been away, traveling the countryside. "Uncle Vlad." "Ah, Elisabeth! I'm so glad to see you alive and well, my darling!" Not noticing how unnatural his greeting was, Elisabeth rushed to hug her beloved uncle. But all of a sudden, he began clapping. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide. Even though her parents had just died, he was clapping as if to say that there was nothing to be done about it. "...Uncle?" "The demon's flesh was able to take root within you!" Elisabeth couldn't understand what he was talking about. But upon seeing him again in the moonlight, she noticed something. His face was far too young and much too handsome for his age. And it was wicked, besides. He continued, his voice like that of a child inviting another to mischief. "Elisabeth, by now, no human illness can kill you. But from this moment on, you'll have to hurt others and offer up their pain, and the discord in their souls, to your body. If you don't, the demon flesh within you will rot, and you will die, racked with gut-wrenching agony. No, no, there's no need to be afraid. Be at ease, my pitiful, lovely Elisabeth." Vlad grinned as he basked in the moonlight. He continued speaking, a wicked grin on his face. "Your parents left you the population of the fiefdom, throngs of subjects to indulge yourself in. Until you have licked your plate clean, until you have feasted to your heart's content, you should eat as much as you can." Elisabeth sensed that her uncle's words were no jest. Belatedly, she also realized something. That thing she had eaten all those years ago had been something forbidden, something that should have never been consumed. Trembling, Elisabeth clutched her shoulders. Her uncle smiled as he spoke again. "Yes, Elisabeth Le Fanu. Now you can become a greedier sow than any other." A few days later, Elisabeth became unable to bear the pain that racked her body. With her uncle Vlad's help, she used a real torture device for the very first time and committed her first murder. She ripped out the guts of a living person with a windlass and slaughtered a young girl in a hanging cage, weeping and vomiting all the while. As she piled up bodies by the day, Vlad laughed loudly by her side. "Very good, Elisabeth, very, very good! More, Elisabeth, more! What do you think, beloved daughter of mine? Aren't you having fun?" "...Yes, maybe... You might be right..." With tears in her eyes, she looked at the corpses of those she'd killed, those who had hated her, resented her, and wanted her to die. The more she wept and apologized, the more their hatred grew, expanding without limit. Before long, the poisonous flower was in full bloom. She'd tried to kill herself over a dozen times, but Vlad kept her in check. It was only after meeting the demonic friends he'd assembled that she finally stopped resisting. "Weep or rejoice as I may, the results remain unchanged." She accepted her lot in life. She draped herself in a dress she weaved with magic, used the energies she'd accumulated to summon torture devices, and slaughtered the inhabitants of her castle town. As she violated her innocent subjects, she sat alone in the throne room and swirled a glass of wine back and forth. "What kind of person apologizes when eating pork