of Seventeen Years' Pain and the Saint both said some nonsense about this place being worth protecting. But this whole situation was caused by the discrepancies, oppression, and sorrow brought about by the living themselves. Even if you succeed in protecting the world, the grudges caused by those wounds will still fester. Destruction will continue to lurk just around the corner. Knowing that, do you truly believe that enough righteous ones will be born to overturn all that?" "Nay. Not in the slightest," Elisabeth declared without missing a beat. The Kaiser squinted at her in surprise. In Elisabeth's eyes, though, it was the only answer she could have given. The Saint may have been naive, but not her. No, the Torture Princess knew. She knew that ignorance was a sin. She knew that the weak could commit horrendous acts without batting an eye. And she knew that even if they succeeded in saving the world, that as long as God and Diablo existed, it could fall back into ruin at a moment's notice. Yet even so... She went on, dignified and true. "But I leave it in their hands regardless. As a sinner, I'm hardly in any place to lay bare the wickedness of the living and write them off as being fit solely for the grave. I've an obligation to keep the thread together, that others may yet try spinning it." Elisabeth had long since found her resolve, and it was still just as unwavering. Those who owe their lives to another have a duty to fight. Watching the Saint make her choice had made Elisabeth sure of that. She didn't have time to waste falling into despair over everything that was wrong and broken. She owed her life to Kaito Sena. His love had saved her. That meant that all of this, everything that was happening and everything that was going to happen, was her story. Averting her eyes and passing the buck wasn't an option. "'Twas my choice to make, and I chose to see this fight through to its end." "Hmph. Playing the part of the peerless dunce, I see. Well, so be it. Will you be able to emulate that fool whose twisted mind remained clear to the end? Or will you drown in your hypocrisy and die? I look forward to... Hmm? Ah, they're here. Well, I have no patience for squeaky little mice." With that, the Kaiser vanished. Elisabeth, now alone again, looked up. She had told them that a message alone would suffice, but in spite of that, a teleportation circle was etching itself onto the ground before her eyes. It wasn't quite the same as the sort humans employed. Fire ran across it first, after which a cloud of red and white sand swirled up from its center. The two hues filled her view like a sand painting. Eventually, they hardened into a wall, cracked, and crumbled. When they did, a dozen-odd beastfolk stood before her. The copper-furred wolf standing at their center looked up. He gave her a courteous bow. "Captain Elisabeth, the entire Peace Brigade is reporting for duty!" They were Elisabeth's soldiers, her subordinates from the land of the beastfolk. "I appreciate you coming all the way out to this fateful manor," Elisabeth said. "As I suspected, the place is deserted. 'Tis the perfect spot for a clandestine meeting." The beastfolk nodded. Asking them to come there of all places was in poor taste, to be sure, but given that she had a proper reason, none of them voiced any complaints. Elisabeth stepped forward from the wall she'd been leaning against. In truth, it was no wall at all. It was the entrance to a room, packed tight with pale-silver ivy. The vines were cold, firm, and soft, like a corpse that was just coming out of rigor mortis. It reminded her of a graveyard. And that was exactly what it was. They were in Vyade Ula Forstlast's primary residence. And they were standing before the throne roomâ€”the room she'd died in. After her self-inflicted death, Alice and Lewis made their escape by destroying a nearby wall. However, the room's actual entrance was pristine and untouched. That was where Elisabeth had awaited Lute's response. However, he and the rest of her men had foregone the use of a communication device and chosen to answer in person. Even though she'd conveyed her location to them, this was a turn of events she hadn't foreseen. Knowing what it likely implied, Elisabeth broke the ice. She repeated the questions she had asked them in her missive. "How fares the situation in the beastfolk lands? How is Vyadryavka? What states are the Three Kings of the Forest in?" After Vyadryavka Ula Forstlast's appeal to the Three Kings and their march on the hidden demi-human pureblood village, the Sand Queen's awakening had dealt the beastfolk a harsh blow. Elisabeth didn't have a great picture of how things had gone down for them after that. Her soldiers exchanged looks with each other. Then three representatives from their ranksâ€”one with a fox head, one with a dog head, and one with a bull headâ€”stood at attention side by side. The three of them answered her questions. "To be blunt, Captain, the situation isn't pretty. The surviving members of the imperial family are divided, and the people's spirits are wearing thin. And Lord Vyadryavka Ula Forstlast is in similar straits. The Three Kings of the Forest made their choice, so there were initially talks about letting him off the hook, but now..." "For now, he's being monitored and held under temporary house arrest. It's hard for us to say what will become of him." "As for the Three Kings of the Forest, they've suffered grievous wounds and are having difficulty even moving. There are many who fear the Sand Queen will strike again, and it's given rise to a level of unrest our nation has never seen. There are some who want us to go on the offensive so we can avenge the Three Kings of the Forest, and others who even want us to offer the demi-humans our unconditional surrender." "Not even the honorable beastfolk are immune, then? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but...all that would accomplish is to delay their inevitable ruin." Elisabeth sighed. There was a faint glimmer of grief in her eyes. No matter the nation, the masses were always like a single sprawling ruler. The things they thought and said had profound effects on the rest of the board. For how could they not? And the thing that always shook them most was their fear of death. Nobody wanted to die. And sometimes, that meant they were willing to sacrifice anything. The situation was just as unstable as she'd feared. Her sheep-headed subordinate was the next to speak up, his voice restless. "We serve the Torture Princess, Madam Elisabeth Le Fanu. We're not ashamed of that. However, the members of Lady Valisisa Ula Forstlast's private army have been asking a lot of questions about the immoderate support we've been giving mankind and the search we conducted for Satisbarina's son. Up until now, we've been standing fast at the World Tree to defend the Three Kings of the Forest, but when you sent your message, we came as fast as we could. Captain...what do you think's going to become of the beastfolk? What will become of the world?" "On that front, I have news both good and bad." Elisabeth raised two fingers. She had no intention of letting the question linger, so she went ahead and revealed both pieces of information without giving her men so much as time to brace themselves. "The situation has changed. Due to the Fremd Torturchen Alice Carroll awakening and going on a rampage, the world once more finds itself faced with obliteration. On the other hand, in all likelihood, the demi-humans and mixed-race folk are no longer our foes." The declarations sent a stir through her subordinates' ranks. They flashed confused gazes at each other. It was a natural reaction. Just a single day prior, they and the demi-humans and mixed-race folk had been trying to kill each other. And what's more, Alice had originally been on the mixed-race people's side. However, Elisabeth was sure of her statement on all counts. With Lewis dead, Alice feels she has no place to go back to. Her father was the only thing she held any real attachment to. And besides, the mixed-race folk would never have allowed her to use the weapons Lewis crafted in the manner she did. It holds, then, that they never gave her their leave. Yet she's using them all the same. There was a story there, and one that Elisabeth suspected involved bloodshed. The Fremd Torturchen had done something to her own allies and given her declaration about it being time for "everyone to die together," Elisabeth suspected that the first ones she had made sacrifices of were the mixed-race folk themselves. That, and any demi-humans who happened to be present. A truly pure heart made no exceptions. Sometimes, innocence could be the most horrifying thing imaginable. Elisabeth went on. "We have to act now, while Alice is out of the picture. We need the Sand Queen on our side. The time for pleasant infighting has passed. By the sound of it, though, the beastfolk are in no state to negotiate. As such..." Elisabeth paused for a moment. She took a deep breath. Whether or not the deed was possible was yet to be seen. However, an attempt had to be made. And with the Saint gone, the task fell to her replacement. When Elisabeth continued, she made sure her conviction rang in every word. "...I shall go and persuade the demi-humans and mixed-race folk." A new herald of the end had appeared, and the arrival of a common enemy made for the perfect opportunity to negotiate a cease-fire. It was craven, in a sense, and comical to boot, but that was just how the world worked. Even in the midst of abject chaos, Elisabeth was still keeping tabs on her foes. For one, she knew that the mixed-race folk were still using the hidden demi-human village as their base of operations. It still had the Sand Queen's protection, after all, so there was little need for them to pack up their bags and leave. After fleeing from their historic rout, the other races had yet to so much as approach the settlement again. That said, Elisabeth knew where it was, so as long as she wasn't afraid of getting attacked the moment she landed, she could still at least get there. She chose to gamble on them having fallen too deep into disarray to intercept her. However, nothing could have prepared her for what she found there. It was an entirely different sort of hell than it had been when she last left. "How could something like this even happen?" "Who would have thought that the Sand Queen wouldâ€”" The Peace Brigade members' voices were tinged with fear. Elisabeth had tried to stop them, but they had accompanied her to the desert regardless. Not even her warning that "the battle that lies beyond will transcend mortal comprehension" had been enough to get them to back down. As far as Lute and the others were concerned, the scariest thing of all was the prospect of not being able to help. Now, though, they simply stood in blank shock. The hidden village was located in the Dragons' Graveyard. It was covered in its entirety in bones, and an overlarge dragon skull had been left to serve as its front gate. At the moment, though, there was a new colossus collapsed in front of it. The sloping semicircle its frame formed atop the ground was like looking at a hill made of sand. Its hardened scales were cracked, exposing the strangely elastic flesh beneath. Dark blood was pooled around it on the sand like