sadistic smile spread across the beautiful woman's face. As she pressed her foot down on the man, she made her bold declaration. "I am the proud wolf and the lowly sow." "I caaaught him." "Excellent work!" As she made her listless announcement, Elisabeth kicked the bound robber forward. The beastfolk responded with their thanks as they approached their captured foe. A bird-headed soldier dragged him down to the dungeons. Elisabeth rotated her shoulders in exasperation. Lute walked up to her and handed her a hot cup of tea. "I would expect nothing less. With this, we can strike another name off the most wanted list. He gave us the slip during that big rash of burglaries, you see, and sniffing him out was beyond us." "Well, the blame for that hardly rests with you. He was using a powerful herb to mask his scent. Anyhow, that's all, correct? I shall be taking my break now. I have an early morning tomorrow." With that, Elisabeth turned to leave. Lute watched her go, then picked up his quill pen. His days in the field were behind him, and now he spent most of his time handling paperwork. He glanced over at the portrait of the child on his desk and smiled. After surreptitiously watching him for a moment, Elisabeth closed the door behind her. Nowadays, her job once more was to help defend the peace, and she had helped bring an end to a number of major conflicts. As of a few years ago, though, the bulk of her battles had been against petty thieves. And the crime rate was on the decline. All of that was due to the fact that problems involving magic had stopped occurring as they once had. That was a result of the world being cut off from God and Diablo's influence, no doubt. Reports had come in from mages from all over about their magic not working. And the one surviving saint, La Filsell, had her wounds close up as well. Nowadays, she was hard at work trying to help bring comfort to the masses. As magic slowly died out, the world's economy and flow of goods would probably end up changing in turn. In fact, Elisabeth was certain of it. Eventually, even the Kings of the Forest would succumb to their old wounds. Many truths would be lost or distorted behind history's veil, and once they'd both lost their regents, the other races would slowly fade away. Even religious doctrines surrounding God would shift and change over time. Eventually, their world might end up becoming not unlike the one Kaito came from. And for that matter, his world might once have had a grand battle such as ours, Elisabeth mused. That said, there was no way of knowing one way or the other. It was all too easy for history to change based on who was telling it. Once she returned to her room, Elisabeth dutifully polished the personal effects on her deskâ€”her subordinates' and Izabella's armor and a piece of metal from Jeanne's dress. Then, after putting them back in their places, she double-checked her schedule. The ceremony tomorrow might well end up marking one such shift in history's winds. For tomorrow, there was going to be a festival celebrating the twentieth year of Maclaeus's reign. Fireworks burst into the sky, though nowadays, they operated off metallic reactions rather than magic. People were singing songs, food stalls lined the streets, and cloth banners etched with white-lily coats of arms fluttered in the air as children recited passages praising the king. The humble festival was being held all through the city. Over a decade had passed since Armageddon, but they had been so focused on rebuilding that they were still using a provisional royal castle. In a sense, that just went to show how unmolested their borders had been of late. The world had seen its share of crises after the battle with Alice, but there hadn't been any large-scale invasions since. When Maclaeus came out from inside, the festivities reached their peak. The last of Elisabeth's magic was preventing her from aging, but the same couldn't be said of him. By now, Maclaeus was a man well into middle age. But when the Torture Princess came over and congratulated him in her capacity as a representative from the beastfolk lands, he shed tears all the same. Elisabeth grinned at how he hadn't changed a bit, then patted his head. "In my eyes, you are still but a youth. You've done well, Maclaeus. 'Tis hard, these days, to imagine you being the same man they once called the Craven King." That got a big laugh out of the crowd, and they all threw their handfuls of flower petals up in the air in celebration of their king. Nobody there had a bad thing to say about him. Once she had finished carrying out her duties, Elisabeth wasted no time in beating a retreat from the official festivities. Maclaeus had technically asked her to attend the banquet, but raising a glass in private later was more her speed. She stood alone and surveyed the city. The crowds were still thinner than they'd once been. Even so, though, there were still plenty of people living and making merry. A gaggle of children barreled past her, their fists full of candy. Some of them were of mixed race. The masses had very nearly come to bear deep grudges against even the mixed-race folk who hadn't supported the revolution. However, the soldiers did a thorough job of cracking down on that, and thanks to their hard work, the mixed-race people had survived. Elisabeth herself had also played a role in those efforts. These days, nobody called the Torture Princess "the Torture Princess" anymore. Many people knew of the self-sacrificing battles she'd fought, and as a result, their memories of her past misdeeds had largely faded. However, the dead never forgot. Nor did she. No day would ever come where her crimes could be forgiven. Even so, the living had poor memories. Flocks of sheep were, fundamentally, stupid. And due to that innate goodness of theirs, the Torture Princess had become just Elisabeth. It was the exact opposite of how Kaito Sena had become the Mad King. "...'Tis all your fault, Kaito. This is what you left behind." It was right then, as the murmur left Elisabeth's lips. In that moment, a strand of silver hair softly brushed her cheek. She felt as though time had just stopped. She turned back and stared into the crowd, then saw herself reflected in a pair of jeweled emerald eyes. However, their gleam soon vanished amid the hustle and bustle of the city. Elisabeth froze in her tracks. She knew those eyes. She couldn't have forgotten them if she'd tried. She broke into a run and gave chase to that familiar silver hue. She ran and ran and ran some more. All the while, she wondered if perhaps she was still dreaming. A small teleportation circle sat in a back alley. With magic fading from the world, there weren't many who could still use those. Instead of checking to see if it was trap, Elisabeth charged straight into it. A moment later, she found herself in a land with a milky-white and rainbow sky. A pair of pillars stood at the World's End. Feathers of white and black and roses of azure and crimson fluttered down from them onto the icy ground. They descended beautifully, falling like rain or snow would. Amid that gorgeous sight, a lone woman stood before the pillars. It was her dearest maid, Hina. After Kaito's death, she had gone missing. Elisabeth raced wordlessly toward that old, familiar face and nervously brushed her hand against its pale cheek. She could feel it soft under her fingertips. Hina was really there. Hina gave her a warm smile. She was holding something in her hand, and she presented it to Elisabeth with great care. "Here, Lady Elisabeth." Elisabeth peered into Hina's cupped hands. She was holding a shard of crystal. Elisabeth's eyes went wide. Inside it, tucked away like a tiny star, sat Kaito Sena's soul. Elisabeth realized exactly what had happened. Kaito's body had always been nothing more than a golem. His soul would fade away if he lost enough blood, but there would be a short window thereafter where he could be summoned back again. But even now that that window was closed, it would also have been possible to store his soul in some other receptacle for safekeeping. And a crystal that had been created by God and Diablo would have made for the perfect vessel. As Elisabeth stared dumbfounded, Hina softly explained. "This was what Master Kaito wanted. After it all happened, I feared that someone might try to use the crystal and Master Kaito's special soul for evil during the chaos of the rebuilding efforts. Between that and how my gears had largely fallen into disrepair, I had to go into hiding. But now, at long last, I can finally deliver this to you." "Is...is that so? But if that's the case, then...could it...could it be?!" "It is. Now all we need is a vessel." Elisabeth went silent for a few seconds, then burst into laughter. It was the first heartfelt laugh she'd had in over a decade. She grabbed Hina, reached her arms around her slender frame, and squeezed her tight. Tears welled up in Hina's eyes as she returned the embrace. The two of them hugged each other with all their might. Still holding each other, they began spinning atop the ice like they were sharing a dance. After a good long while of that, Elisabeth came to a stop and grabbed Hina by the hand. They looked each other in the eye and smiled once more. Then they dashed off as fast as they could. The two of them tripped and fell more than once. Even so, they never let go of each other's hands. A few months passed. Over at Elisabeth's castle, a magic circle spun into action. Magic had all but vanished from the world altogether, and this would be the circle's final activation. The momentous wish's time had come, and Hina had chosen to wait in the next room over. Elisabeth had encouraged Hina to come join her, but to no avail. "The two of you need a moment to yourselves," Hina had replied with a smile. The soul moved from the crystal to the golem Elisabeth had specially made. A long, long silence fell, one that seemed to last an eternity. Then the now-powerless boy dressed in an unbecoming butler uniform opened his eyes. Before him stood a young woman of unparalleled cruelty. Elisabeth grinned as she spoke. "O Sinless Soul, stricken down in a manner most foul. From this day forth, you shall be my loyal servant." Her tone left no room for refusal. Belatedly, Kaito realized that he was breathing, and as he let slip a small chuckle of confusion, the girl before him made a dignified proclamation. "I am the Torture Princess, Elisabeth Le Fanu. I am the proud wolf and the lowly sow." Another silence descended on them. Eventually, Kaito burst into laughter, and the corners of Elisabeth's lips curled into a smile. Kaito spoke. "Welcome home, Elisabeth." "You're the one who just came back, dullard." As she spat her insult at him, though, Elisabeth shook her head. It had been so long. As she thought of the time the three of them had spent together, and of the long, long time she had spent alone, she gave her sincere reply. "'Tis good to be back, Kaito." That marked the second meeting of the boy who was just Kaito Sena and the girl who was no longer the Torture Princess. It's time for a story. It's the story of a boy who was brutally killed by another and a story of a monster who cruelly