light shrug. Kaito clenched his fists tight. As they did, Hina had begun pushing the paladin back and was now swinging her halberd in earnest. The paladin fell back in order to avoid her torrential blows. Taking on a bestial stance, she spoke in a low voice. "You would do well not to underestimate the depths of my love. Take a single step forward if you do not value your life." The paladin fighting Bandersnatch had retreated in much the same way. But the corrupted paladins hadn't given up yet. Five more members joined them from the group hanging back. Apparently, their plan was to win with sheer numbers. Kaito and Hina stood at the ready again. The Kaiser scoffed, motionless. Vlad crossed his arms. Then Jeanne listlessly gave an order. "Bandersnatch, my first, Gargantua, my second, Jabberwocky, my third, and Pantagruel, my fourthâ€”don't let them flee." One of them was a beast made of nothing but fangs. Another was an automaton, shaped like a human except for its fatally warped frame. One of the other monsters was a lizard with limbs made from pipes and wings of glass. And the final one was a bipedal suit of armor with no visible seams on its body. The four of them advanced, their movements perfectly controlled. Then silver streaks flashed across Kaito's vision. A metallic mass had appeared in front of the paladins. Even upon seeing the "thing" in full, Kaito still found himself unable to properly parse it. In all likelihood, it was beyond mankind's ability to comprehend altogether. What the hell...is that? It was firm, and it was supple. It was a sword, a shield, a bullet, and a wing. It was massive, twisted, and formless. Its whole body was both curved and straight, and it writhed as it bore down on its foes. Then, at long last, Kaito realized what it was. Deus Ex Machina breaks down its component parts, then combines them at will, transforming into something completely new each time. As befitted the name Deus, the lot of them were normally just parts of one, larger weapon. They ran their hard, metal, lance-like conical feelers gently along the ground. Their movements were wholly inconsistent with their forms, and the attacks they launched defied all human expectations. With each strike, they severed the paladins' arms and legs, silver armor and all. Countless limbs went flying through the air. The scene would have been funny if it wasn't so grisly. They didn't know if the paladins had eaten the demon flesh of their own volition. As Kaito was about to stop the tragedy by calling that fact out, though, he swallowed back his words. Before his eyes, the paladins' wounds had begun roiling. Their pink flesh began swelling up, burbling horribly as it did. It began taking on the shape of arms and legs. One paladin's helmet went flying off, exposing his face below. "Grblargh, brglahhhhhhh, brglahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" His eyes had turned almost completely inside out, and his engorged lips were tearing even as he cried. His veins had risen to the surface, forming a grotesque, melon-like lattice over his face. Even if they left the paladins alive, they were beyond help. Jeanne's voice as she stared at the hellish spectacle was even and dispassionate. "They ate the Monarch's flesh. What meat did Vlad and I eat, then? That was what you asked me as you buzzed about like a fruit fly, or maybe like a giant pain in my ass. It is necessary for you to know, so tell you I shall. Or rather, I shall show you. It is necessary, so that is what I shall do. It's become noisy as shit around here, after all." And with that, Jeanne shrugged. As Deus Ex Machina continued one-sidedly butchering the paladins, Jeanne turned her back on the fight. Her honey-blond hair swayed as she walked, her gait so light that she nearly seemed to be dancing. She approached one of the corpses on the walls, the one she'd pointed out to Vlad earlier, and the only one whose bones were adorned with gold. They'd probably been an important figure, even for an alchemist. Jeanne reached out toward the rose-colored gem resting on the corpse's necklace. "Time to bring down the house. The end." A hard, crunching noise rang out. Jeanne had, for whatever reason, crushed the gem in her bare hands. Its rosy fragments scattered through the air. That was when it started. A violent quake ran through the town, as though some sort of lever had been pulled. Unable to keep his footing, Kaito lost his balance. That very instant, Hina took off at a dash and extended her arms outward. Half-hugging him, she propped him up gently, yet firmly. "Master Kaito, please put your arms around me." "Right, thanks." The two lovers wrapped each other in a tight embrace, and in doing so, endured the steadily worsening tremors. The sky, the earth, and everything in between was shaking. It felt as though the end of the world had arrived. Roused by the noise, Vlad let out a rare cry of admiration. "Oh, how bold! And how calculated! A mechanism designed to flatten an entire town!" Kaito followed Vlad's line of sight. Red lights were flashing in succession at the base of the two mountains. It would seem magic circles had been concealed among the rocks and trees. One after another, the dazzling light carved away at the mountains' surfaces. Each one empowering the next, the lights snaked their way up to the peaks. A loud, massive explosion rang out. Then the two mountains began crumbling as though they'd been struck by lightning. As a consequence, rocks began raining down on the village. "Sorry, Hina! I'm gonna have to leave evasion to you!" "I don't mind in the slightest! I shall protect you to the last!" Hina quickly scooped Kaito up. The footwork she then displayed in avoiding the boulders wouldn't have been out of place at a fashionable ball. Kaito used his beastly arm to bat away some of the smaller rocks. One of the paladins got crushed. Deus Ex Machina, on the other hand, casually pulverized the boulders coming its way with its metal arms. The Kaiser languidly bit one in half. Vlad, being phantasmal, merely shrugged, then vanished. As for Jeanne, she simply looked up at the sky. The way she gazed up at the heavens, one would think she was watching a gentle rainfall. The boulders fell atop everyone equally. That, more than anything, made it feel like punishment meted out by the heavens. The alchemist's hidden village was crushed, as though it had invoked divine wrath. But the one who'd brought it about was none other than the girl, the village's sole surviving inhabitant. "Now should be a good time." Suddenly, Jeanne set off. The rattling from the chains on her wrists could be heard all throughout the crumbling town. Then she began elegantly twirling. As she did, Deus Ex Machina took its place by her side. Its fused form collapsed, and its four sub-components joined Jeanne in her dance. They waltzed, as though to extol her, and mana began gathering between them. Golden flower petals started whirling up. "Master Kaito!" "Yeah, let's go!" Kaito and Hina hurriedly made their way into the circle. The Kaiser followed after them. The remaining paladins also rushed forward but were repelled by the wall of gold petals and white feathers. Then the teleportation circle activated, mercilessly abandoning the paladins to their fates. Paying no heed to their howls, Jeanne spoke. "Now then, to continue from where I left off before I was so rudely interrupted. The demon's flesh we ate. A visit to the Capital's abandoned underground tomb should make it quite apparent where we obtained it from. And that is where I intend to show to you..." Gorgeous, cold light began filling their vision. Then they left the crumbling village behind. Jeanne continued, as though to build up anticipation. "...a true nightmare, the likes of which you stray sheep have never seen before." 7 His and Her The Butcher leaped high into the air, clinging to the wall to avoid Elisabeth's opening blow. Spiked Hare carved a victimless path across the floor in vain and nearly smashed through the door. Right before it could, though, Elisabeth snapped her fingers, and the torture device vanished back into darkness and crimson petals. "Tch, cease your dashing and your scurrying!" She was well aware of the Butcher's evasive capabilities. Not letting her guard down for a moment, she summoned another vortex of darkness and petals. Then she drew a sword with crimson runes carved on its blade from within. "Executioner's Sword of Frankenthal!" At the top of her voice, Elisabeth called out the sword's name. As she did, the runes on the blade flashed. His tone implying an odd sneer, the Butcher read them aloud. "'You are free to act as you will. But pray that God shall be your salvation. For the beginning, the middle, and the end all lie in the palm of His hand,' was it?" His voice had a certain scornful ring to it. In place of a reply, Elisabeth pointed the sword's tip at him. A number of chains burst out of empty space. Neither flustered nor panicked, the Butcher merely kicked off against the wall. The chains violently swerved like the heads of a hydra as they pursued him. Assailed by the surging attack, the Butcher bent his body like a cat as he fell. The action seemed almost thoughtless, and the chains grazed over his head and beside his flank. Ultimately, he managed to slip through all of them, and with a thump, he landed safely on the floor. He could well have a promising career in front of him as a circus acrobat. Without sparing a moment to congratulate him, Elisabeth snapped her fingers again. "Ducking Stool!" "Good heavens!" A chair sprouted from the ground, scooping the Butcher up in its seat. The next moment, leather belts sprung out from its back and its armrests, binding his body down. And at the same time, a rectangular chunk of floor beneath the chair vanished. The gaping hole was filled to the brim with water. Crimson flower petals floated on its surface. Splashhhhhhh! A loud noise echoed in the room as the Butcher sank underwater. A number of bubbles floated to the surface. But after a moment, the water's surface grew calm. The Butcher didn't appear to be putting up much of a fight. "Hmm." Finding that fact suspicious, Elisabeth snapped her fingers. Chains clanged as they dragged the chair up from the water. It was empty. The Butcher was nowhere to be seen. "I did tell you; if I wish to call myself the Butcher, then surely, I should be able to flip over my body within my cloak the moment before I get strung up. When one lives as long as I have, they develop a knack for escaping restraints." A playful tone rose from beside Elisabeth. She turned to look to the other side of the bed. At some point, the Butcher had sat down on it, and at present, he was casually swinging his legs. Elisabeth took a closer look at the Butcher's demeanor. Swinging her sword at him from this range would be child's play. But she suspected the only thing she'd end up destroying was the bed. Little point in throwing good money after bad, I suppose. For the time being, Elisabeth elected to stop using force. Adjusting her seat on the bed, she turned to face the Butcher. He continued his speech with the same unaffected cheerfulness as always, as though the two of them were merely having an inconsequential chat. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but one really does experience so many things over the course of a long life. Founding the very first guilds, the grand expedition to