the cream of the crop, those who'd either been relatively compatible or those who'd successfully been able to take in pain. They were currently standing in a line, stock-still and with their swords pointed toward the ground like a row of statues. However, there was no telling how they'd react if he added Vlad to the mix. Odds were good that a battle would break out before Kaito even had a chance to ask Vlad to interpret. Hina was standing in front of him, protecting him with her halberd at the ready. Lute also had a firm grip on his sword's handle. Everyone present was prepared for fighting to break out at any moment. And no wonder... Now that we've come head-to-head like this, it's not like we have room to worry about power struggles or politics anymore. After all, the Apostle, which was to say, the Butcher, was within their line of sight. It was only a matter of time before they started trying to kill each other in earnest. And only the survivors would end up finding out where the Saint was resting. However, the Grave Keeper seemed to have only just caught on to the bloodlust emanating from Kaito's company. She shook her head vigorously from side to side, as though to suggest that the entire thing was preposterous. Snowflakes fluttered loosely off her scarlet cloak. She then clutched tightly at her chest as she wrung her pained words out. "No, no, heavens, no. I, and those who share my beliefs, no longer have any intention of turning our swords on you. Now it's faith that's required of us." "...Wait, you're not here to fight us?" "I believe in you all, you see. Even if you don't afford me the same sentiments! However, you require an ordeal. Indeed, one from another besides myself. However, that is all. That, truly, is all." "...Someone other than you?" Kaito felt an unpleasant premonition, and a chill ran down his spine. Even now, the Grave Keeper's voice was tinged with madness. Her pupils were dilated, her arms were spread wide, and spittle flew from her mouth as she talked. "For the sake of the world, for the sake of the people, our revered Saint fell into slumber and shed tears of blood! That is what flows through the roots of the Churchâ€”her unrewarded love, her noble self-sacrifice! In the name of faith, in the name of the world, she cast herself aside! And what could that be but the most desirable trait possible for those chosen to possess! I have sacrificed everything, discarded even my ego! Can you, the chosen ones, say the same?" As she forcefully posed her question, the Grave Keeper held her right arm aloft. An unpleasant metallic noise followed. Upon looking at her hand, Kaito finally noticed something. Clenched within her small fist was the end of a silver chain. The noise acted as a signal, and the paladins set into motion. Relinquishing their posts at the Grave Keeper's side, they parted to the left and right like waves. Then, in unison, the transfigured paladins knelt. Then, pulled by the chain, something with four legs advanced between them. The thing was a beast draped in fine scarlet cloth. Beneath the cloth, its flesh and bones burbled as they constantly swelled and contracted back to their original shape. Each time they did, blood gushed forth, and a cry of pain rose from beneath the folds. The moment he heard it, Kaito shuddered. He recognized that voice. Th-that's not... "And here it is! Here it is, O unworthy contractor of mine!" The Kaiser's laughs echoed within Kaito's eardrums. At the same time, he felt someone firmly staring at him. The boy who'd once saved him was looking straight at him, his unflinching gaze boring into Kaito's skin. The dead boy, Neue, was asking Kaito a question with his eyes. Can you? he was asking. Can I what? replied Kaito silently. But even as he did, his thoughts naturally rushed to a certain fact. I've slain a lot of people. He'd drenched himself in blood, lost his left arm, and lost his status as a normal human. He'd killed foes, he'd killed demons, and he'd killed underlings. That was how he'd gotten by. But up until then, he'd never once killed someone he himself held dear. He'd gotten this far without ever needing to. But Neue's gaze was asking him a question. Can you? he was asking. The Kaiser, on the other hand, was merely laughing his almost-human laugh. "It seems a proper trial is upon you!" There was no way Kaito could successfully feign ignorance as to what he was being told. He was well aware. There was no doubt in his mind as to what question he was being asked. "Please show me tragic devotion befitting the favor you've received! Show it to me, if you'd be so kind!" As she made her loud entreaty, the Grave Keeper yanked off the scarlet cloth. The curtain to the freak show had been drawn, and the creature's full body was revealed. Kaito reflexively looked down at his feet. Then he let out a violent whisper. "........................................................................ You fucking monster." The thing beneath the cloth had once been human. Its silver hair was longer than it had been before. It crept like vines, winding its tangled tips around the creature's legs. All its flesh had metamorphosized and had either swelled up like tumors or was sagging. Because of that, the scars that had once run across its skin were exaggerated, causing them to look like stitches. Its armor had been taken from it, and its spine was crooked and warped like an animal's. Its breasts rocked as they scratched against the surface of the ice. Then she slowly looked up. When she did, her gemlike, mismatched blue and purple eyes came to rest on Kaito and the others. Even now, her eyes were still beautiful. "Ah... Ah, ah, ah, ahhhhhhhh, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The creature let out a roar of agony. Can you? asked Neue's gaze once more. Can you kill Izabella Vicker? he was asking. Can you kill her, like all those transformed paladins you unhesitatingly decided there was no way to save? Kaito parted his trembling lips. Then he gave his confession to the phantasm whom only he could see. "I...can't." Then the thing that had once been Izabella leaped. Its sharp claws and fangs loudly bore down on Kaito. There existed something that Kaito Sena had never thought about. It was something he's stubbornly ignored time and time again. For instance, there were all the people who'd been forcibly turned into underlings. For instance, there were the people whose pain had been used to pacify a demon. For instance, there were the paladins who had eaten demon flesh, either by force or by stupidity. In other words, innocent victims. Kaito had killed them, hoisting a flag of mercy all the while. Because he'd known that there was no other way to save them, he hadn't so much as hesitated. Despite its hypocrisy, the act itself had been compassionate. However, therein lay room for a question to arise. It was a question related to an instance that had yet to occur, one that Kaito had purposefully avoided thinking about. What if, hypothetically, one of the victims was someone Kaito knew well? Would it still be so easy for me to kill them, claiming that there weren't any other options? Could he, Kaito Sena, do that? Or was the reason he'd been able to avoid hesitating merely because the victims hadn't meant anything to him? ...It's the latter. Now Kaito could be sure of that. That was the plain truth of the matter. Even so, he still didn't believe that he'd been in the wrong. Someone you knew would invariably be more important to you than someone you didn't. That was just how the world worked. And at the same time, killing someone, even someone who meant nothing to you, was hard on a person. It wasn't as though Kaito was a homicidal maniac or something. In order to save someone who was constantly suffering, though, someone else necessarily had to get their hands dirty. Suffering an eternity of pain was a cruel thing indeed. Because he believed that, Kaito had drenched his hands in blood. Doesn't it make it blasphemous if I can't do the same now, then? "I did it to you all, but I can't do the same to someone I know." Was he really going to face the mountain of corpses he'd piled up and say that? It would be complete and utter bullshit. And it would be deeply, deeply unforgivable. But of course, Kaito Sena already knew all that. Back in the real world, that entire train of thought had gone through his mind in the space of a blink. As he returned to his senses, Kaito channeled mana into the soles of his feet, propelling himself back on his own strength. Not a second later, Izabella's forearm shattered the icy ground before him. He landed a hairbreadth beside Hina, who had almost taken off at a run. As she breathed a sigh of relief, a heartbroken light passed through Hina's eyes. "Master Kaito... I understand how you feel, but..." "Huh? ...Oh." It was then that Kaito first realized that his hand was outstretched and had been for some time. Grabbing his right arm with its beastly left counterpart, he forcibly wrenched it back down. Then, with trembling fingers, he stroked his cheek. I knew it was gonna end like this. Or, at least, I should have known. Kaito had left Izabella behind, knowing full well what would become of her. Even so, the scene before his eyes smashed his heart to pieces like a hammer. That was simply how cruel Izabella's transformation had been. Elisabeth said nothing. Surprisingly, Jeanne's expressionless face showed no changes. Lute, however, let out a low growl, sword in hand. He narrowed his eyes, as though digging through his memories. "Sir Kaito, is perchance that monster someone you...? No, I, too, know her name. Izabella. Izabella the paladin... That silver hair, the color of those eyes... Could that truly be Izabella Vicker? Why, that's their commander! Why has she become such a thing?" "Lute, you and Izabella knew each other?" "She paid us a few courtesy calls regarding the assistance Lady Vyade Ula Forstlast was providing in rebuilding the Capital. Her manners were rare for a human, and she valued repaying her debts. Why, from her second visit on, she even brought souvenirs for my wife! Well, I suppose that hardly qualifies as knowing her. Yet, still..." Then Lute stiffened his jaw, his teeth audibly grinding together. As he looked at Izabella's grotesque form, his lupine eyes flashed. Dumbfounded, he repeated himself. "Still..." "It's okay, Lute. It's more than enough in my book." If it was someone he hadn't known, he could likely have put her down out of pity. But knowing her character, how warm her heart had once been, would have dulled anyone's blade. That was just the way things were. Sentiment had the power to radically change the weight of a murder. Even so, though, there were times when battle was inevitable. Now was one of those times. "Ah-gah-gah-gah-gah-gah-gah-gah-gah, ehhhhh, eh, aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Izabella let out a maddened scream. Several of her bones had pointlessly expanded. In particular, her knees and elbows pierced through her skin. Each time she moved, blood flowed freely from her body. In spite of that, though, she leaped around with clear purpose. Her silver hair grew violently disheveled. Chunks wrapped around her limbs tore free, taking bits of scalp with them as they went. "Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee, ha-ha-ha-ha, hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Even so, she continued laughing at the top of her voice. Recollections started flashing through Kaito's mind. Then, despite knowing that it was the most meaninglessly sentimental thing he could possibly do, he began filtering through his memories.