in burn marks from the Church's shackles, Elisabeth crossed her arms. They had all successfully arrived in the wide chamber beneath Elisabeth's castle that sported her permanent teleportation circle. But teleporting directly to it wasn't supposed to be possible for anyone who hadn't themselves activated it previously. Everyone turned to look at Jeanne. Her abundant golden locks shook as she tilted her head to the side. "What are you talking about, miss? Why, you daringly left your castle exposed so as to invite attacks by the fourteen demons, did you not? Shit, you had openings everywhere! In other words, sending in a familiar to invade your castle and tamper with your teleportation circle was no grand undertaking. But hey, don't sweat the small stuff!" Her unabashed response earned her a murderous glare from Elisabeth. But it was true that, thanks to the fact that they'd traveled directly to the castle, their arrival had been quicker than they'd anticipated. Letting out a short sigh, Elisabeth started walking. Her heels clicked loudly as she went. "Very well. I'm hardly pleased, but I shall overlook it this once. This once. Now then, let's be off." "Um, Lady Elisabeth, we should treat your injuries first..." Hina timidly called out to her. As she stopped in her tracks, Elisabeth's harsh expression softened. But despite Hina's frantic pleas, she just gently shook her head. "How kind you are to the woman you once betrayed... No, no, stop looking at me with those teary eyes! It feels as though I'm kicking a puppy. I had no intention of being snide to you, Hina. What I was trying to say was that you needn't worry, that I would cast healing magic myself later, when we have time to spare. Aye." "Wait...doesn't that mean that if you were talking to me, you would mean it snidely?" "How astute he is! I should surely think so. 'Tis your own fault for being so wholly unlovable. You're a man; deal with it." "Well then, I'll just have to praise Master Kaito so sweetly that it all balances out!" "Uh... I dunno if 'balances out' is really the way you're supposed to look at it..." Despite the crisis situation they were in, the banter the three of them exchanged was light. Kaito took care to speak in the same glib manner as always. By doing so, he managed to slowly but surely regain his lost composure. Eventually, he succeeded in shaking away the scene that had burned itself into his eyes. My grieving isn't gonna make things any better. We've gotta hurry, for Izabella's sake, too. "...Hmph, 'Tis time to cut the idle chatter. Let us be off in earnest. There's no shortage of information we need to drag out of the Butcher, whether he gives it freely or not. And time is of the essence." Her words hinted at the possibility of torture. Elisabeth licked her scarlet lips, and Kaito quietly dashed after her. They all ran out of the chamber. Groan-like noises echoed throughout the labyrinthine basement as they hurriedly made their way through it and on up the stairs to the first floor. It was at that point that the Kaiser, who'd been dutifully accompanying them, paused. He raised his head high and sniffed at the air. Then, after shaking his head a few times, he let out a bored scoff. "...Hmph, I thought as much. Already, eh?" "What's the matter, Kaiser?" "You can't tell, boy? I should think it's a smell that you, too, would be familiar with." "Familiar...?!" Then Kaito finally realized what was different. The rusty aroma of blood was wafting down the first-floor corridor. After sniffing at their surroundings some more, the Kaiser approached something hidden in one of the walls' shadows. When he realized what it was, a shock ran through Kaito. The Kaiser's nose was right up against a large pool of blood. The supreme hound then poked at something dark sitting in the middle of the sea of red. "This in particular. Its odor is like that of a demi-human, yet more mixed. What do you think, O unworthy master of mine? Surely you recognize it." The Kaiser let out a satisfied laugh, his expression hinting at ominous things to come. Kaito silently knelt down beside him. When he saw what his hound was pawing at, his face went white. Resting half-submerged in the pool of blood was a scrap of tattered black cloth. "...The Butcher." "Kaito, Hina, to my bedroom! Investigate the status of the Gibbet! Jeanne and Deus Ex Machina, go search elsewhere! You two are better at covering ground!" "I have no objections, miss. We are at least twice as fast as you punks, after all." "Oh my, precious daughter of mine. Ignoring me?" "You and the Kaiser, go search as well! And before that, the both of you need to muster up some determination! Especially you, Vlad, you deadbeat! You seem quite content to just sit there and do nothing!" Vlad peevishly pouted upon receiving his orders and insults in the same breath. Like always, his expression was creepily innocent. He stroked his chin and crossed his long legs in the air. "Hmm, given that you all are the ones who killed me, I'd say I'm contributing more than my share. Also, given that I'm quite literally dead, perhaps 'deadbeat' isn't the kindest insult you could have chosen... Oh, I seeâ€”you're choosing to turn a deaf ear to my complaints. Ah well, I suppose I can help you out with your investigation." Nobody present was paying any heed to his grievances; they'd all set off. Protest written across his face, Vlad floated on after Jeanne. The Kaiser, on the other hand, seemed to think it was none of his concern. He snorted, then vanished. Separating from the others, Kaito's group made for the stairs to the second floor. Kaito, Hina, and Elisabeth hurried through the oppressive cliff-top castle. Their footsteps echoed through the hall. Right before reaching the stairs, though, the three of them stopped in their tracks. "...'Tis his handiwork, no doubt." "Yeah..." Before them stood a blood-soaked suit of armor. It resembled the moving suits of armor installed throughout the castle, but just barely peering out from beneath the rusty bloodstains on its chest was a white lily coat of arms. Elisabeth let out a murmur, her voice tinged with pity. "Hello, transfigured paladin." "Uorrrgh, uorrr... Gah, graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah... Blagh, blegh, blarghâ€”" Kaito and the others hadn't done anything yet. But in spite of that fact, the blood spurted forcefully from the openings in the paladin's helmet. It would appear that all the blood staining his silver armor had come from his own mouth. Upon catching a glimpse of the man's eyes through his helmet's eyeholes, Kaito gasped. The man's left eye had ruptured, and a number of pink sacs were dangling from his neck and pulsating. It looked like some sort of strange, parasitic plant was growing off him. But the truth was even more revolting. The sacs were made up of the man's own engorged flesh. "Uorrr... Ah, ah, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" With a shout, the paladin hoisted up his weapon. They normally used swords, but his had been replaced with a crude battle-ax. It looked far too heavy for a normal paladin to wield properly. Before charging at them, the paladin held his battle-ax directly at Kaito and the other two. Even in his current state, he was still making sure to pay respect to his foes. *** Kaito involuntarily bit down on his lip. Normally, that was a gesture one would perform with a sword. Perhaps due to haziness stemming from his hunger for pain, the paladin firmly believed himself to be holding a sword. It was, in a word, pitiful. "Master Kaito..." "Yeah, he's beyond help." Even if they left him alive, there was no way to save people who'd undergone transformations like that. Kaito raised his arm, and Hina readied her halberd. But a cold voice spoke first, scoffing at the fact that they'd faltered even for a second. "Gavel." *** A solemn, bell-like noise rang out. A mass of crimson flower petals scattered magnificently through the air. A massive iron hammer swung down from empty space, the very air trembling as it fell. The transformed paladin was crushed, armor and all. The hammer's head was covered in brutal-looking thorns, causing it to resemble a meat tenderizer as it flattened the man from the head down. An invisible hand lifted up the Gavel's short handle. An unsettling sticky noise accompanied it. Crimson lines gently stretched up, then snapped. Beneath the hammer, iron plates and human flesh were all flattened into one. It made for a spectacle so far removed from the man's original form that the action seemed retroactively less cruel. "Hmph." Elisabeth snapped her fingers. The iron hammer transformed into a cloud of petals, then vanished. All that remained was a horrid, incomprehensible pile. It made a squelching sound as Elisabeth trampled it underfoot. Ascending the stairs, she let out a low murmur. "Hurry." "...Got it." She spoke but a single word, and Kaito's response was similarly concise. After stepping over the pitiful corpse spread out before the staircase, the three of them resumed running. On their way, they encountered two more transfigured paladins and dispatched them just as quickly. Having disposed of everyone in their path, the three of them then dashed through the corridor where high windows cast ominous designs on the floor. Eventually, Elisabeth's bedroom came into view. Kaito felt a shiver go across his body as he ran. A terrible scene surely awaited them there, as the door was wide open and the floor around it was covered in blood. "Butcher!" "Mr. Butcher!" As Kaito and Hina shouted, Elisabeth stepped wordlessly into the room. What greeted them was an overwhelming silence. It was quiet in the room. Quiet and still. Ever since a demon had broken in, the window's slatted shutter had been left broken. A faint light streamed down onto the vacant floor. The spots where the plain yet refined bed and dresser had once been were now devoid of furniture. They'd gotten caught in Elisabeth's battle with the Butcher and destroyed. The only thing left was the knife-ridden map on the wall. That and the tall, narrow metal cage hanging from the ceilingâ€”the Gibbet, one of Elisabeth's summoned torture devices. Kaito looked up at the iron cage in silence. It was empty. The Butcher was nowhere to be seen. "Elisabeth..." "...Hmm." Elisabeth snapped her fingers. Its chain rattled, and the cage landed on the floor. The first thing she did was deliberately inspect the cage door. Kaito watched her work from the side. After running her finger across the scratch marks left on the lock and confirming their direction and shape, she nodded. "These marks came from within. It would seem the Butcher opened the cage on his own, then fled." "You're saying that he wasn't removed by force? Could Mr. Butcher be all right, then?" "No, there's no way... Something definitely went down after he broke out." Kaito turned to look back toward the bedroom's entrance. Drops of blood were scattered about by the doorway. And not only were there grotesque paladins prowling the castle grounds, there had been a scrap of black cloth floating in the pool of blood back on the first floor. There was no way the Butcher was unharmed. Elisabeth sighed, as though agreeing with Kaito's fears. "I can probably surmise what happened. After breaking out of the cage, he had the poor fortune of running into those paladins. They probably brought a fair number of men here with the intention of capturing me on my return from the underground tomb. There were doubtless priests among them to activate my shackles, to boot. After capturing the Butcher, though, they returned to their headquarters. That gives us our reason why none of the ones we faced were in any state to fight."