buildings. Their bones were countless and filling up the view for as far as the eye could see. Three descriptors immediately rushed to the forefront of his mind. Massacre. Sacrifice. And finally, torture. The crucified corpses had iron stakes running from their palms to their shoulders and from their feet to their thighs. They also looked rather old, as their flesh had long since rotted away. Because of that, the scars on their bones were visible, making it evident that the iron stakes weren't the only form of torture they'd suffered. The anguish they'd felt leading up to their deaths looked to have been fierce and protracted. Every single building in the town was decorated with corpses in that state. Kaito didn't feel the need to bother checking inside any structures to confirm his dreadful theory. Even if we went looking for survivors, I think the odds we'd find any are slim. In all likelihood, every single person in the village was dead. The mountain-cradled settlement was like a single giant coffin. On that note, a vague thought drifted through his mind. It reminds me of Elisabeth's...no, the Torture Princess's hometown. "You know of a similar location, don't you, mister? She and I are both Torture Princesses, after all." Once more, Jeanne displayed her cheery expression as she spread her arms wide. The chains on her wrists rattled as she spun around, and her honey-blond hair glistened as it swayed. When she did so, the ornamented, exposed nature of her attire caused her to evoke the very image of a dancer. "As you're well aware, birthing a Torture Princess requires the pain of a suitable number of sacrifices. Elisabeth killed her people and offered them up to herself. I was given offerings, and those were who I killed. Same difference, ya feel me?" Kaito frowned. He had no idea what she meant. But even though he couldn't understand her, he could somehow make out what she was trying to say. This village was similar to Elisabeth's hometown in many ways. But there was one major difference between the two. There were no resentful voices here. Countless people had been tortured and killed here. Yet in spite of that, Kaito couldn't sense any malicious aura emanating from the gray settlement. The air filling the village was still and silent. "Elisabeth killed her people and offered them up to herself"... "I was given offerings, and those were who I killed." Kaito turned Jeanne's words over in his head. "Same difference." In other words, this village's inhabitants had willingly offered themselves up to the Torture Princess. But why? "Call forth Vlad, boy. We're making no progress at this rate." The Kaiser growled, and Kaito turned to look at him. When their eyes met, the Kaiser scoffed. "Twisted as you are, your form was originally that of a proper glass sphere. Don't be conceited enough to think you can converse with the likes of her. The best way to deal with a lunatic is to send a lunatic of our own." "You have a point there. I can't even begin to tell what she's talking about." Nodding at the Kaiser's suggestion, Kaito fed mana to the stone in his pocket. Azure petals and black feathers swirled through the air. Their numbers were on the reserved side this time, but Vlad made his ever-extravagant appearance from within them regardless. He crossed his long legs in the air. His eyes were glittering with childlike curiosity. Without so much as a preface, he launched into his speech. "How intriguing, to artificially construct a Torture Princess that way. I don't know who came up with the idea, but I certainly can't deny its creativity. I have to say, though, I find myself more interested in the creator than the creation... Just who was the beautiful madman who devised you?" Vlad's head seemed to practically be in the clouds, the question he was posing having just about nothing to do with Kaito's. Still expressionless, Jeanne pointed toward one particularly misshapen building. The bones crucified against its warped walls were clad in gold adornments. "Mm." "Ah, martyring even himself, I see. How thorough. You've been entrusted with the rest, then, I take it. Which brings us to Elisabeth and Kaito Sena. You're trying to make them your servants." Upon hearing her infantile response, Vlad stroked his chin in understanding. Jeanne nodded back. Apparently, the two of them had been able to successfully establish communication. That said, Kaito still couldn't make heads or tails of it. He frantically called out to Vlad. "Hey, Vlad, hold up a minute. What the hell were you able to get from that? As far as I'm concerned, it was all just more gibberish. What happened here? What's her goal? If you understand what's going on, man, you gotta lay it out for me." "First, let me start with a fairy tale." "Excuse me?" It seemed even Vlad planned to talk in riddles. He'd always been odd, but Kaito was concerned that he'd finally broken. Across from him, Vlad took an elegant bow, like an actor giving a performance. "Perhaps you've heard it, my dear successor? No, wait, you hail from another world. It would be odd if you had... Confound it. Now all my fun's been spoiled." "I don't care what's spoiled. Just answer the question already." "Long, long ago, a saint carrying God in her body remade the world, then vanished. Today's story takes place just afterward." Ignoring Kaito's complaints, Vlad carried on undeterred. His voice proud and velvety, he poetically spun his tale. "Now, for some reason, a whole clan of pedigreed alchemists went missing. It's said this set back humanity's magical developments by over a century. Everyone and their mother went searching for them; even I myself spent some time trying to hunt them down. The likeliest location was held to be the stretch of land between the beastfolk's and the demi-humans' landsâ€”the two races share an amiable relationship, so surveillance at the border is lax. People suspected they'd taken up hiding in a blind spot between the two." "So what?" "That is precisely where we're standing right now." Vlad's story had seemed unrelated, but everything suddenly fell into place. Flustered, Kaito cast a sweeping glance over the village among the mountains. It was true that the village was short on paths or other ways to get in and out. Describing it as hidden would be completely apropos. But if Vlad's story was true, then why had the alchemists chosen to shelter in this place? Waving his hands like a conductor, Vlad gestured at his surroundings as he continued his fairy tale. "The alchemists hid themselves away here and spent many years searching for a method to work against a certain objective. In the end, they created a Torture Princess. The clan had bolstered their ranks through inbreeding, and they all gave themselves up as offerings to empower her." "Why the hell would theyâ€”?" "...In short, you're saying they needed martial power?" Hina, who'd been standing beside Kaito on high alert, finally spoke. Vlad cast his gaze toward her, as though he'd only just registered her existence. He seemed altogether surprised. But then his mouth curled up into a gentle, refined smile. "Good thinking. It would seem the rubbish I once tossed together has attained excellence. Your growth far exceeds my expectations; as a mage, I must say I find that rather delightful. Why, you seem downright human." "Given that they were willing to go so far as to sacrifice themselves, I conjecture the opponent they were facing was not an enemy of theirs personally. After raising her as the Torture Princess, they entrusted her with fighting against 'something' that, while dreadful, they had no personal connection to. That is my hypothesis, as someone familiar with the power and fate of another Torture Princess, Lady Elisabeth. Would you agree, Master Kaito?" Splendidly ignoring Vlad's rude remarks, Hina laid out her theory. Kaito glanced over toward Jeanne. He hadn't expected a response out of her, but she actually gave a small nod. In other words, Hina's hypothesis had been on the mark. As he considered that, he found himself plagued by a violent sense of dizziness. Every answer he got was raising new questions. In order to fight this "thing," whatever it is, they made a Torture Princess? Man, sacrificing themselves must have taken a boatload of resolve and conviction. What in the world were they fighting against? Torturing themselves and feeding demon flesh to her wouldâ€”no, wait. Kaito quickly hit the brakes on his runaway train of thought. Then he gave voice to the question that had just bothered him. "So which demon's flesh did she eat, exactly?" "Since you've already died once, mister, you should already have something of an idea even if you don't know the answer, right?" Jeanne turned to Vlad and prompted him on. He nodded, having understood. Kaito instinctively fixed a stare on Vlad. Vlad then whispered to him, as though he were sharing some great secret. "I suspect the flesh she consumed came from the same demon mine did, you see." If he had eaten the same flesh Jeanne had, then that meant... It's not the Kaiser's meat... No, wait, that's just totally wrong. "That's...right..." Finally, Kaito realized the contradiction therein. Vlad had been the Kaiser's contractor. In order to accomplish that, he'd somehow procured demon flesh. Kaito had never spared that much thought. But without getting help from someone, he would have needed to eat a demon's flesh in order to be able to summon the Kaiser. And anyway, there's no way the proud Kaiser would ever allow anyone to consume his flesh. After gathering up enough pain to preserve his own life, Vlad had chosen to take on a mentorship role and had stopped accumulating strength. As a consequence of that, he'd been beaten by the Torture Princess. But even so, Vlad was no mere human. He'd fed a demon's flesh to Elisabeth, his successor, and he'd no doubt partaken of demon flesh himself. If that were the case, though, then which demon's flesh had he consumed? Vlad gave a hearty laugh, and his expression contorted into one of pure evil, a sight Kaito hadn't seen in quite some time. The man whose very existence seemed demonic went on in a honeyed murmur. "When I was searching for a way to summon a demon, I arrived at the most efficient way to attain the power I desired. And after negotiating with the individual who brought me that information, I received a demon's flesh from him as well." "Who was that?" Kaito's response was near-automatic. A glimmer of bloodlust flashed across his eyes. Just like Vlad, that guy's responsible for the fourteen demons terrorizing the world. And if not for him, the Torture Princess wouldn't have had to fight... Well, I guess in that case, her illness would have killed her, but still. Still! Vlad's real body got burned at the stake, but what about that guy? Is he still alive? If whoever it was was still in good health, Kaito had an idea of how to proceed. As Vlad watched Kaito's fierce reaction, his smile grew broader and broader. But in the next moment, he gave a theatrical shrug. Then he shook his head, as though disappointed. "Oh goodness, to think it had still escaped your notice. Why, I doubt you so much as suspected a thing! Quite frankly, I'm astonished! I can't say I was much help on that front, but still. For you to be this dull..." "Quit playing around and spit it out already. What was it I didn't suspect?" Kaito had recoiled upon hearing Vlad's wording. He'd been implying the mystery individual was someone Kaito knew. But even counting both his lives together, the number of people Kaito knew was hardly vast. He frantically racked his brain. Who could it be? Who do I know that...? *** "...Hina?" Hina reacted,