paladins and priests were simply deep in slumber. While their lives didn't seem to be in any danger, they also didn't show any signs of waking up. Dropping to one knee, Elisabeth checked their pulse and breathing. "Hmm, a spell designed to make them sleep, perhaps... She was caught in the roar; is La Mulesâ€”" Then something peculiar happened. Warped laughter echoed across the hill. "Hee-hee... Hee-hee-hee... Hee-hee-hee... Ha-ha... Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha." It was a voice one certainly didn't expect to hear on a battlefield. What was strangest, though, was where it came from. The paladins holding their shields turned nervously to look at its source. La Mules... ...was laughing like a child. La Mules laughed innocently, in a voice with a definite will behind it. That was when Kaito realized for the first time how young she was. Her voice was clear and beautiful, and she sounded amused, as though something pleasant had happened. After laughing for a while, she abruptly tilted her head to the side. "...Hoo, wah?" After saying some words that didn't seem like they bore any particular meaning, La Mules opened her mouth up wide. Then, after sticking her tongue out, she bit down hard. The muscles in her jaw were unnaturally developed, and she mercilessly put all strength behind the bite. She neatly cut off her tongue, and it flopped down comically onto the ground. It took everyone a moment to comprehend what had just happened. "La Mules!" A healer rushed up beside her. However, La Mules stubbornly refused to open her mouth. Several people grabbed her jaws, desperately trying to pry them open. However, their efforts were in vain. Blood dribbled from the gaps between her clenched teeth, soiling her snow-white restraints. Gazing at the ghastly spectacle, Godot Deus spoke in a subdued voice. "They got us... But...how?" Nobody raised their voice to answer his question. La Mules forcefully gulped down mouthfuls of her own blood again and again. Eventually, she convulsed, then stopped moving. A heavy silence spread across the top of the hill. Kaito reviewed the situation. After having fired off a single attack, the man's face had vanished from the surface of the mass. They'd been able to capture the Monarch. And they'd successfully dealt a good deal of damage to the Grand Monarch and the King. And the Church's ultimate weapon, La Mules, committed suicide. Those were the cold, hard facts of the scene laid out before him. 4 A Secret Date "So what the hell happened to La Mules?" "The most likely possibility is some manner of mental attack." Atop her bed, Elisabeth crossed her legs as she answered Kaito's question. At present, the two of them were trespassing in an unoccupied inn. It had already grown dark outside. A few hours had passed since La Mules had abruptly committed suicide. Not knowing what the nature of the demon's attack had been, the Knight Corps had elected to stage a temporary withdrawal. Once they'd gotten back to the plaza, Kaito created a cage to hold the Monarch, imprisoned him, and turned him over to the paladins as promised. Afterward, he'd made the rounds and checked in with the guards and patrols to make sure the underlings raid they'd been concerned about hadn't taken place. The demon had sustained a great deal of damage as well, after all. Elsewhere, Elisabeth and Godot Deus had been conducting an emergency meeting. Once Kaito and Elisabeth had both finished their tasks, they joined up and, at Elisabeth's suggestion, took their leave from the still-chaotic plaza. Kaito ran the hypothesized cause of La Mules's suicide over his tongue again. "...A mental attack, huh?" "Mm. As Izabella said, under normal circumstances, powerful priests obtain God's grace through prayer. Their very bodies brim with power, much like consecrated relics. But with the King as their foe and against a mental attack with no physical form...they naturally find themselves helpless to resist." Elisabeth bore a displeased expression as she put her weight on the mattress, which was piled high with blankets and stuffed with waterfowl feathers. The room was a private one and expensive even for the capital. It was nice and roomy, and all the furniture was of quality make. The corners on all the furniture had been filed down, so the shadows cast by the lamplight all drew smooth curves on the ground and walls. Idly rubbing the edge of the writing desk, Kaito frowned doubtfully. "Elisabeth, you said that you'd met all the demons but the Grand King, right? Shouldn't you know something useful?" "Your point is painfully valid, but I know naught. Had I known anything of the sort, I'd have taken measures before the battle." "Yeah, that makes sense." "Neither the King nor the Grand Monarch possesses any talents of particular note... No, wait. Upon further consideration, that might not be true of the King." "Whaddaya mean?" On hearing Kaito's question, Elisabeth pressed down on her forehead. She frowned, as though rummaging through her memories of the days she'd spent as Vlad's beloved daughter. "The King's prowess with arms was considerable, and he boasted that the talent itself was his natural ability. However, at this point, the odds of that having been a lie seem considerable." "A lie? You mean he was lying to his own comrades?" "Mm, precisely." "And he even fooled Vlad, huh...? Did the King really distrust his allies that much?" "Nay, his reason likely lay elsewhere. I just told you, did I not? He was fond of boasting about his prowess in combat." Elisabeth shook her head. Illuminated by the lamplight, she interlaced her fingers. "The King seemed to hold Vlad, the Kaiser, in high esteem. But he was always the first to mock the Governor, who possessed an ability suited for naught but assassination. And even though his rank was lower than hers, he held the Grand King's powers of mind control in contempt as well. Although, in the end, that resulted in her getting the drop on him and stabbing him with her needles." "Given her personality, it's no wonder she took advantage of that opportunity." "What a pitiful fellow... It goes to show just how much credence the King held in martial prowess. In following, he likely just felt ashamed of his ability and concealed it from the rest. At this point, that much is clear." Kaito recalled the colossal face that had appeared on the mass's surface. That had probably been the King. The muscles in his face had been slack, and the impression he'd given off had been squalid. However, his physique had still possessed remnants of the chiseled, stubborn features of a warrior. Then Kaito stumbled upon a question. "Okay, let's say that hypothetically, the King's ability is a mental attack. Of all the people who got hit, why was La Mules the only one to commit suicide, then? We don't know when everyone else is gonna wake up, but their pulses and breathing are all stable." "Mm, and the curiosities don't end there. La Mules was a high priest, and God's blessing was strong with her. Furthermore, she didn't possess consciousness. In following, she should have been incredibly resilient against mental attacks. With all that taken into account, then, what in the world happened?" Crossing their arms, the two of them sank deep into thought. However, they couldn't come up with answers. And there was nobody they could get information out of. Kaito had already asked Vlad if he remembered anything related to the demon's attack. Vlad had responded with a laugh. "Oh, I haven't the foggiest. Hmm... Don't you think it's interesting, though, coming all this way just to find yourself facing a foe who holds fresh secrets?" Given how excited he seemed, it didn't appear as though he was lying. Kaito furred his brow. He silently cursed at Vlad, lambasting him for his uselessness. As if sensing his thoughts, the stone in his pocket squirmed. Ignoring it, Kaito kept thinking. Eventually, Elisabeth uncrossed her arms and let out a heavy sigh. "Given the information we have, giving the matter more thought is naught but a waste of time. Godot Deus had his theories as well, but getting wrapped up in conjecture is folly. One way or another, one thing's for certainâ€”the demon's been carved down a notch." "Yeah, thanks to La Mules." "Given the opportunity we've received, it's been decided that I'm to attack the demon directly tomorrow morning. Without firepower on par with La Mules's, any damage we deal the demon from outside will fail to keep up with its ability to recover. And long-range attacks could leave us vulnerable to meeting the same fate as La Mules. In following, I shall make for the weakened King and Grand Monarch and attack their true bodies directly." "What?!" Hearing Elisabeth's sudden declaration, Kaito unintentionally raised his voice. She frowned, as though telling him to quiet down. His thoughts racing, he immediately reprimanded her. "Are you insane? What the hell are you thinking? We don't even know what the enemy did to us yet! A-and one other thing. Give me a second." Kaito hurriedly pressed down on his forehead. The words attack their true bodies directly repeated frantically in his mind. A twisted scene floated through his head. The area around the mass is stained gray for miles around. The buildings within the encroaching radius had been weathered like old paper, and some of them had transformed into shapes and materials that defied the laws of physicsâ€”some glassy and vitreous, others foamy and granular. The very nature of space had shifted once past a certain threshold, as though it had been cut away with a knife. It was simply consuming its surroundings in a different manner rather than physically corroding them. The world was being destroyed... And who knows what the hell is going on in there? The Torture Princess, Elisabeth Le Fanu, boasted absolute power. Up until then, she'd been handily slaughtering the fourteen demons. Even so, she'd never gone inside a space as bizarre as that one. "This should mark the first time you've ever seen a demon literally destroy the world. Going in there would be suicide, even for you, wouldn't it?" "True, we know little of what's transpiring within the area of acute encroachment. However, our foe has already begun healing. Once it's finished, it shall resume accumulating pain, as well. The longer we leave it be, the more victims it will claim, and the worse our position shall grow." "Still!" "It's not as though I yet lay in Sacrifice's clutches. As far as sheer power goes, I hold the upper hand. If you would not have me face them now, then when? And one other thing. Think back, Kaito." Then Elisabeth stopped talking. She cast a sharp gaze Kaito's way. He reflexively gulped. Elisabeth began speaking again, her tone deadly serious. "When the battle is over, I shall be burned at the stake. In following, the Church is within their rights to order a sow such as myself to put my life on the scales. However, they're no doubt loath to send anyone else into the encroachment area. So the command they've given is appropriate. I have no objections nor any complaints. I simply intend to win. That is all." Hearing her say that as dispassionately as she did, Kaito clenched his fists. And the truths the Kaiser had dropped on him weighed heavy on his mind as well. Suddenly, he found himself at a loss as to how to express the turmoil swirling within his heart. I can't just tell her to flee. And the way things are, I can't forsake the capital. Furthermore, he was well aware of the grisly deeds the Torture Princess had committed. He'd witnessed the scars her slaughter had left on her hometown with his own eyes. Crimes ought to carry commensurate punishments. Kaito himself had once screamed that Elisabeth should just clean up her mess and then descend to