this is karma at work... Heh, as the bona fide personification of evil, is it contradictory of me to say that? Well, who cares if it's contradictory? What a pleasant result! Now then, what will you do?" "What will I do...? I mean, he's dead, so..." "What did I just say? I can bring him back and give him to you as a toy! If you desire revenge for your untimely demise, I recommend nodding. After all, you have no need to hide that from me or be embarrassed." Vlad nodded repeatedly to demonstrate his understanding and affection. He showed Kaito an innocent smile. He bore an expression of one inviting another to play a cruel game as he continued. "Wouldn't it feel good to spill his guts, scrape out his lungs, and wring his neck?" He couldn't afford to lend an ear to Vlad's cajolery. Those were the words of a demon. But even knowing that, Kaito could feel something bubbling up from the cracked depths of his heart. He couldn't deny those sublime dregs of emotion. He could tear out his father's viscera, then ignore his pleas for mercy as he ruthlessly beat him to death. Just imagining it filled him with satisfaction. Surely, putting it into action would be even more exhilarating. If he did that, he could finally throw off the fear and hatred that bound him like shackles. Surely that was worth throwing the rest of his life away. "Give me...some time to think it over." Kaito finally managed to choke out those words. It felt like spitting up blood. He was trembling all over, his giddiness so strong, it resembled terror. Vlad nodded magnanimously. "Take your time. We have plenty of it. Well, you do, at least." Hearing that, Kaito turned his empty eyes to the water's surface. A sharp silver flash ran diagonally across the view. "...Tch!" A massive executioner's sickle swung down upon the dog's neck. But the dog blocked it with its jaw and bit down hard enough to shatter it. The maid was still swinging her halberd, but her clothes were covered in rips and tears. "Master Master Master Masterwhere are you?!" Sparing no concern for her own wounds or condition, she frantically shouted for someone else. That's... I'm... Watching her, Kaito realized there was an emotion he was supposed to feel. But although he understood this necessity, he didn't know what emotion it was. He was in a state of shock, and his mind wasn't able to properly parse the scene before his eyes. The scene he was witnessing felt like it was taking place in another world. It was like his soul alone had returned to that room he was strangled in, that room he died in. Unsure of what to do, Kaito reached toward the water like a toddler. The water engulfed his trembling fingertips. The mirrorlike surface of the water shattered, and it projected nothing more. "This will be your room, Master Kaito. Please make yourself at home as you think over your decision." The speaker was a new, third maid holding a lantern in one hand. She bowed. As she looked up, her dented pearl eyes glittered. She seemed to be of an older make, as her cheek was beginning to crumble. Kaito nodded, and the maid turned around and left for the dark hallway. The creaking of her loose left ankle faded into the distance. Now alone, Kaito scanned the dingy room in surprise. "...Wait, is this the same room?" This should have been his first time here, yet he remembered this room. Upon the square room's walls hung yellow wallpaper, so degraded you could just barely make out its floral design. The cute plaster sculptures by the window were covered in ash, and the once-white furniture was filthy as well. However, the metal handles on the chest of drawers were just as vibrant as ever. The chest itself had once been decorated with dolls and stuffed animals, but perhaps in deference to the fact that Kaito was a boy, it now bore a hunting rifle and a model rocking horse. A crushed mat lay atop the spiderweb-ridden four-poster bed. The mattress was covered in a heap of flowing blankets. Dry bloodstains were splattered all over the fluffy blankets. After taking in the whole scene, Kaito nodded. "Yeah, this really is Elisabeth's old room." This was the real-life counterpart to the phantom room he'd stumbled into when he got lost in the Treasury. The door he'd found in the Treasury had most likely used the memories from this room and materialized them within its magical space. The actual room was much dirtier than its phantom counterpart, but its design was almost identical. Vlad must have replaced the things Elisabeth had taken from here, returning the master-less room close to its original form. One more example of his bizarre fixation on her. The fact that he'd accounted for Kaito in spite of that and decorated the room for a boy was almost comical. "...Heh." Suddenly, everything seemed hilarious to Kaito. A spasm of intense laughter rocked his chest. He couldn't help it. Everything was just so amusing. He opened his mouth wide and laughed as hard as he could. "Ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha, ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" His abdomen cramped, and tears poured out of his eyes. But no matter how much it hurt, he just kept laughing. Everything, from his father's pitiful death to his current situation, was comical beyond belief. And it was all such bullshit. Wham! Kaito suddenly stopped laughing and punched the wall. His bone cracked, and a sharp pain ran up his arm. Even so, he re-clenched his fist. Blood dripped down the wall. His finger was broken, but he punched the wall again and again. He yelled, striking the wall as if possessed. "He died. That asshole died. After torturing so many people to death, he ended up getting himself killed. Serves that bastard right. But what, is that supposed to make me feel better?! Is that supposed to make me forgive him?! Fuck thatâ€”I wanna kill him myself!" Kaito punched the wall especially hard. His little finger was on the outside of his fist, and it snapped loudly. Even though his mind was steeped in vengeance and hatred, his usual sense of cold composure didn't come. He lashed out in tears, like a child throwing a temper tantrum. He heaved a ragged breath, slammed his forehead into the wall, and mumbled something in a hollow voice. "But a dead person killing their dead killer... Man, nothing makes sense anymore..." His tone was full of self-deprecation. He smiled a hollow smile. After a while, he pulled his forehead from the bloodstained wall. He looked around, as if searching for someone who could help him. His gaze settled on the bed. "...Elisabeth." A vision of Elisabeth in her younger days floated before his weary eyes. The frail, beautiful girl sat half-buried beneath the sea of blankets. She stared at Kaito, her vacant eyes devoid of life. That beauty of hers was the one thing that had never changed. Kaito grimaced childishly as he asked the young Elisabeth a question. "Hey, what the hell happened to you? What was it that made you the way you are?" The vision didn't answer. But Kaito kept asking, practically screaming at it. "Dammit, Elisabeth! Why'd you choose to become the Torture Princess?!" It was the question he'd often wondered about and the question he'd never asked her. Why had she become the Torture Princess? What reasons did she have; what hatred did she harbor? Or had she not had any reason at all? Unsurprisingly, the vision didn't explain anything. After all, she was nothing more than an illusion that Kaito's mind had conjured up due to stress. Kaito knew that. But he implored her nevertheless, and then she simply faded away. "Ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha, ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Kaito began laughing again. He laughed like a madman, laughing and laughing and convulsing with laughter. He punched the wall. His bloodstained fingers made horrible noises as he peeled them off the wall, and he found himself blinking back tears. Then, all of a sudden, his confusion cleared. No more tears welled up in his eyes. His tantrum ended abruptly. His mind as clear as a still lake, he came to a conclusion. No matter how much he laughed, this pain would never fade. He had been stricken down in a manner most foul. That one fact was his everything. The maid with the dented pearl eyes was standing by in the hallway. "Master Vlad is waiting for you in the dining room, sir." Following her lead, Kaito found himself in the dining room once more. Vlad still sat alone at the head of the table. Unlike Elisabeth, he didn't seem to take dessert, instead choosing to sip at a glass of wine after having finished his meal. Watching Vlad rock his glass from side to side, Kaito spoke. "I've made up my mind. Let me kill my dad with my own hands. Even with him dead, I can't forgive him." "A splendid decision, if I do say so myself. None would deny that you have a right to revenge. Exercising it seems wholly reasonable." Vlad set his glass down, and he spoke in a warm voice carefully crafted to wash away Kaito's guilt. His face bore no signs of surprise. That was the answer he'd been expecting. And why wouldn't it be? The reason he wanted Kaito as a son was surely because he understood that Kaito was a prisoner of his own hatred. Kaito softly clenched his aching fist. He wavered a little, then made his follow-up request. "Before that, though, just once... I won't ask you to let me see your daughter, Elisabeth. But...can I at least say good-bye to Hina?" "...Hina? Ah, that puppet I left behind without turning it on. I'm surprised you took such a fancy to it. Are you fond of playing with dolls? If you wish, I can have one just like it prepared for you... Or rather, one tuned specifically to your tastes." "She's not a puppet. And she can't be replaced. Hina is Hina." Kaito closed his eyes, thinking back to the warm sensation of her arms holding him tight. Her silver hair and adoring smile flickered beneath his eyelids. But then he opened his eyes, erasing the image. "We only spent a little time together, but I'm indebted to her. Oh, and one other thing. Call off the Kaiser's attack while I'm saying good-bye to Hina. It seems unfair to make Elisabeth fight him alone." "I must admit I have difficulty comprehending how one could feel indebted to a doll. And if you wished to betray me, this would certainly be a convenient arrangement for you... But this is a special occasion. As my one and only successor, I shall grant you this sole indulgence." Vlad nodded and gave the pair of gold-haired maids an order. They carried the clock with them as they headed outside. Vlad spoke boastfully as he watched them go. "That clock is a magical apparatus. It can pull those without magic resistance from the flow of time and space. You yourself saw space halt around you, no? But nobody else was removed from the proper flow of time. The maids, the ones using the device, could have killed you whenever they pleased within that space yet would be unable to so much as lift a finger against Elisabeth outside it. To be blunt, it's a tool designed for weaklings. But I wonder how that automaton will fare. Normally, it would have little effect, but given her wounded state, who knows? Now then, would you care for some wine while we wait?" "I'm good." "How cold. I myself find life more enjoyable when it's accompanied by liquor." Rejecting Vlad's offer, Kaito plopped himself down on a nearby seat. He ignored the food before him and clasped his bloody hands. Vlad