really shouldn't be so hard on yourselfâ€”oh, careful there!" Assailed by numerous stakes, Vlad bent his body at a strange angle. Unsurprisingly, his expression soured. Seeing that, Elisabeth scoffed. "Ha. You'd best brace yourself. The moment your task is through, I shall kill you once more. I shan't spare you a shred of sympathy." "Quite right. I'll brace myself, then. Alas, this body of mine is somewhat short on methods I can use to flee." Vlad shrugged, the apparent sorrow in his words wholly at odds with his general demeanor. However, seemingly reluctant to get stabbed again, he lightly snapped his fingers and vanished. All that remained of him were a few azure flower petals. After stomping on them, Elisabeth clicked her tongue. "Tch, what a revolting man." "I mean, that's just how it is. Vlad will be Vlad, after all." "And you. Speaking as if this is someone else's problem!" Elisabeth grabbed onto the knot of Kaito's hair, then yanked. Screaming, Kaito frantically tried to resist. "Owwww! Cut it out, Elisabeth; you're gonna pull it out! The pain is one thing, but I don't wanna go bald!" "Just shut up and go bald! Bald, I say! All this came about because you had to go and act on your own! Forming a contract with the Kaiser... Surely you are this world's greatest imbecile!" "No, seriously, you're gonna pull it out! Stop, stop, stop!" "Worry not! Even if I pull it out, it shall grow back!" "Wait, is there even a spell that can regrow hair? Owwwwwww!" "Aye, there is! You can't set the color, however!" "Wait a minute; I don't want blond highlights!" "Better that than torture, I'd wager! I shall say it again. The acts you have committed are folly, crimes worthy of an inquisition. Rough treatment is the least you should prepare yourself for! Hmph...that said, perhaps it is best to leave it at that. After all, now is hardly the time for me to be tormenting you." Perhaps her mood had finally lifted, because she released him. With teary eyes, Kaito inspected the state of his hair. As he did, Elisabeth turned her crimson gaze toward the mass of flesh invading the capital. Kaito followed her lead. "...Man, that's messed up." "Mm, that it is." Even then, the three fused demons were still carving deep scars in the town and its people. In a complete reversal from her demeanor a moment ago, Elisabeth spoke in a strained voice. "Demons draw their power from the pain of others. Let us make haste, Kaito. The longer we leave that annoying thing be, the more pain it shall accumulate and the more power it shall gain. Bothersome as it is, we need to join forces with the paladins." "Yeah, I'm with you. No time to waste." Kaito gave a brief nod. However, he bit down on his lip, as though hesitating over something. After a beat, he spoke in a hoarse voice and reaffirmed their situation. "This'll be...our final demon subjugation." The mass of flesh sitting before them was the last three of the fourteen demons. Thinking ahead to what awaited them afterward, Kaito clenched his fists. After executing all the demons, the Torture Princess, too, would be going to the stake. Elisabeth Le Fanu had finally begun making her way up the steps to the gallows. The main road branched off in a complex pattern, but most of its paths led to the main square, named for an apostle who was said to have faithfully served the Saint to the end. At the moment, the square was being used as a temporary shelter. From behind Elisabeth, Kaito looked out over the plaza. The place was likely loved by the people, and on holidays, it would probably have been no surprise to see the place bustling with food carts and street performers. At present, though, no vestiges remained of its usual, tranquil self. The square was surrounded by an elegant iron fence modeled after vines, with paladins lined up within. In addition to the gate being firmly shut, they were serving as a thick human wall. Their silver armor sparkled, emblazoned with white-lily coats of arms, as they worked to maintain the magical barrier covering the square. Looking over their stiff faces, Kaito spoke in a tense voice. "...Hey, are we really going to be able to just stroll on in?" "Mm, I see your point. We are the Torture Princess and the Kaiser's contractor, after all. While I have my doubts as to how well we'll be received, I see no better options." With that, Elisabeth shrugged. Their minds made up, the two of them headed for the plaza. The gate rattled open before them. Several corps members rushed out from within. Facing the mass of flesh, the resolute paladins ran down the main road where no small number of underlings lay in wait for them. The square was likely being used as a base from which the corps engaging in rescue operations for the residents who'd been unable to escape would enter the danger zone. Even so, Kaito thought back to the scene that had just unfolded before them. If we hadn't been there, even more people would have been swallowed up... Given the situation, it's hard to say if their rescue operations will even make it in time. It was clear that the paladins needed help. Newly motivated, Kaito turned back toward the square. As he did, Elisabeth called out to one of the paladins guarding the entrance. "I'm Elisabeth Le Fanu. The Church requested my aid, and here I am." "And I'm her servant, Kaito Sena. Nice to meet you." Shaking off his tension, Kaito introduced himself. However, the only response they received was a cold stare. Several seconds passed. One of the paladins dashed back toward the rear of the square, possibly having received a message. The rest, though, remained as silent and unmoving as bronze statues, the tips of their swords pressed against the cobbled street. "Um, we, uh, we came to help." Kaito spoke once more. Still, no answer. There were several people inside, but all they displayed was open malice. Kaito couldn't think of a good reason for them to be receiving the cold shoulder. Kaito frowned, then quietly whispered to Elisabeth. "You know, I wasn't exactly expecting the red-carpet treatment, but still, this is brutal." "Don't be unreasonable. This, too, is within expectations." "Wait, seriously? Damn, I never took you for the understanding type." "This is my just deserts. At the Plain of Skewers, I faced five hundred members of the Knight Corps and slew them, annihilated them, and exterminated them. While these paladins here are from higher in the organization, no doubt many of them had acquaintances among the victims. Their rigorous training and discipline are likely the sole reason I'm not at sword's point at the moment." Elisabeth replied at the same volume. Kaito nodded with newfound understanding. Given the facts, the paladins' reactions were only natural. "That makes sense, then." "Mm, that it does." No tyrant was in a position to complain when those they oppressed wound up expressing malice toward them. Normally, people who get crushed like worms don't get the chance to come back, after all. Elisabeth Le Fanu had once stood atop a mountain of corpses. And those corpses were the allies of these paladins. Suddenly, a clear voice rang out and obstructed Kaito's train of thought. "So you're the Torture Princess. First, I wish to express my gratitude. You did well to respond to our summons." The gate opened, and a woman, accompanied on each side by a paladin, strode out from within. She herself was likely a paladin as well. Her body was as lithe as a rapier, and she wore the same silver armor as the others. However, atop her shoulders was a magnificent, deep-blue mantle of fine make embroidered with silver. Her silver hair dashed against it and further improved the flashy impression she gave off. That and her pair of mismatched blue and purple eyes caused her to boast otherworldly beauty. However, the light within her eyes was cold. She looked a good deal younger than her fellow paladins, and the fact that she was a woman was unusual as well. Despite all that, Kaito was surprised by something else entirely. Damn, that's impressive. For an ordinary human, she's got crazy stores of mana. Ever since his contract with the Kaiser, Kaito's ability to gauge the flow of mana had been refined. While the woman's stores of mana couldn't compare to the Torture Princess's or to Kaito's, given that he'd made a contract with a demon, it was well above what an average person could hope to possess. In stark contrast to Elisabeth's sinister, thorny mana, this woman's seemed as deep and as placid as the sea. Kaito could tell, not from knowledge, but from intuition, that she would be well-suited toward healing, protective, and summoning magic. It looks like she's doing pretty well for herself among the Holy Knights, but I bet she could've become a pretty strong mage, too... Wait, huh? Did I just call her an ordinary human? It was almost as though he thought of himself as some kind of monster. But he could hardly blame himself. For someone who had been reincarnated from another world, not to mention one whose left arm was that of a beast, continuing to perceive oneself as an ordinary human was no easy task. Even so, I seem to be getting worse about it. In spite of himself, Kaito looked off into the distance and grinned self-derisively. However, the woman interpreted his smile a different way. Narrowing her cold eyes, she spoke. "How rude. What, is there something on my face?" "Huh? Oh, sorry, I was just laughing at myself. Don't worry about it." "...At yourself? At a time like this?" "Mm, well, my servant is a man of many peculiarities. Paying him heed is little more than a waste of time. You'd do best to simply ignore him... And as I said, I am Elisabeth Le Fanu, the Torture Princess." "Allow me to welcome you once more. Thank you for coming all this way." "Enough with the empty formalities. I received word of Godot Deus's death. Are you in charge here?" "I am not. Rather than explaining the situation, it would be quicker to simply take you to meet the man who is. Follow me. I expect you'll be quite surprised." With that enigmatic declaration, she turned on her heel, her magnificent mantle whirling behind her. Her two attendants went after her. After exchanging a glance, Kaito and Elisabeth obediently followed behind. A row of simple tents was lined up on top of the stone ground. As he passed by them, Kaito peered within one. Within, a healer was desperately pinning a convulsing man to his bed while using medicinal herbs to alleviate the man's pain. Kaito could make out a number of other healers applying magic and medicine left and right to care for the wounded. Given that they each boasted considerable reserves of magic, their original place of employment was probably the royal palace. A long queue extended past the tents. It looked like those who were deemed too young or too ill to flee on their own were being teleported out of the city. Regardless of the fact that the line was guarded on both sides by Royal Knights, everyone on it was so nervous they would have broken down at the drop of a hat. Elsewhere, the paladins were calling out and gathering the uninjured and those with only minor illnesses. However, between the people who were screaming in derangement and those who were glued to the ground with dead eyes, there was no shortage of people ignoring their orders. Every single person who'd escaped bore a heavy, desperate burden. "...This place is on edge, all right." "And for good reason. It would be