all, who would ever imagine a group containing several prominent demi-humans defiling the Sand Queen's mouth like that? That would be like the Grave Keeper abandoning her vows or the Butcher forgetting the Saint. And that was precisely why they picked it. That was what it meant to betray the world. However, one question yet remained. Even if Satisbarina went to the corpse, how would she know where to look? Their working theory was that Aguina's group had fed some of the other purebloods a piece of information that would draw their attention to the Sand Queen's mouth. That way, they wouldn't even realize it was connected to the betrayal, so they would have no reason to bring it up when they were being questioned. Plus, even if the information did leak, it would be meaningless on its own. 'Tis like a nasty bit of wordplay... And what's more, it's harder to decipher the closer one is to the demi-humans. From there, Elisabeth had analyzed the teleportation circle and identified its end point. However, she had refrained from activating it. Running mana through the circle would immediately alert their foes, and sending a familiar or communication device to the site would run a similar risk. Fortunately, though, Elisabeth had a trump card at her disposal that could make the impossible possible. The Kaiser, apex of the fourteen demons. If he went, there was little danger he'd be detected. The only problem was convincing him to go, but much to her surprise, he took on the task with surprisingly little resistance. As always, the Kaiser was a fickle beast. Perhaps he was merely tired of waiting on the sidelines. Thanks to him, they were able to scout the location. Sure enough, Alice and Lewis were at the pureblood settlement, and they were accompanied by a sizable group of those of mixed race. With that, their path was clear. All that remained were the fateful choices. Should they invade or not? And if so, then when? How should they coordinate the three races' forces? Should they send the demi-humans in at all? Who would act as commander? Vyadryavka's proclamation had been abrupt, to be sure, but that certainly wasn't to say his decision had been thoughtless. He was doing it to circumvent the array of interconnected problems bubbling just below the surface. A particular source of concern was the humans. The Torture Princess's flight had given rise to no shortage of scheming and plotting among their ranks, and the longer things drew out, the more people would start weighing their personal ambitions against the risks they carried. Once that happened, even the beastfolk would find themselves forced to start acting more cautiously. And Vyadryavka had another reason for acting the way he did, too. His other motive was related to Vyade's final curse. "Valisisa Ula Forstlast was a precious treasure chosen by the Three Kings of the Forest, as was I. We were royalty, chosen by the Three Kings to serve as special pawns. We were this country's greatest treasures, as well as servants to its people. "...For those who destroy such treasure, the only fitting punishment is death. "For such an act is unforgivable. Till the end of days, you shall never be forgivenâ€”and thus, you shall perish here and now." Those were the Wise Wolf's dying words to Lewis and Alice. It was widely recognized that the Dynast and Wise Wolf were gifted, even for members of the imperial family. That was precisely whom those of mixed race had stolen from them. And to make matters worse, the demi-humans had shamelessly cast aside their age-old friendship to side with the rebels. From there, all that remained was a simple equation. There was no way for them to apologize. Not the slightest chance for atonement. Given those parameters, there was a pretty clear answer. You multiplied hate by resentment, then subtracted those pesky ethics. Then once they carried out their revenge on the second party, the story would come to an end. And if that becomes the common understanding of the beastfolk, as it once did for the mixed-race people... ...then even the unmoving would be driven to take action. On the other side of the window, the chaos was reaching its zenith. Even among the beastfolk, there was no shortage of people calling to proceed with caution. And they weren't even misguided in doing so. With so many uncertainties still at play, there was no one correct option. With the uproar showing no signs of dying down, Vlad gazed at the proceedings and whispered. "Now thenâ€”time for the main actors to make their advent." "Our victory is all but assured! Listen...and bear witness!" The words had scarcely left Vyadryavka's mouth when an earsplitting roar rang out. However, the sound wave soon eclipsed the range of their perception. All they could sense of it were the terrible tremors running through the conference room. If anything, though, the fact that it was still quaking despite being silent save for the walls' creaking made it all the more terrifying. Fearing that it was an enemy raid, the knights and soldiers moved to protect their various charges. However, they soon realized that something was amiss. That noise had come from a beast. And what's more, the entire World Tree was shaking. Elisabeth's crimson eyes flashed as she murmured. "I never thought I would live to see the day..." "It can't be... It can't! Is this really happening?" Maclaeus, sharp as ever, let out a cry of abject shock. Due to his astonishment, though, his voice ended up betraying his youth. A moment later, several others who were a bit slower on the uptake gasped in disbelief. Everyone's gazes were fixed on the panther-headed prince. Vyadryavka nodded. This was what he had run his throat ragged for. This was what he had wrung his tear ducts dry for. This was what he had put his life on the line for. He spread his white wolf fur cloak wide. Then he made his announcement with the solemn dignity of a priest. "Yesterday, at long last, we reached an understanding. The Three Kings of the Forest are going to war." Due to the murder of their finest royalty and their betrayal at the hands of their compatriots the demi-humans the Three Kings of the Forestâ€”beings straight out of legendâ€”had been driven to action. 8 The Tragedy's Purpose "Oh, I simply adore chess!" A young girl in leather shoes swung her feet back and forth beneath her seat at the tea party. She laughed, innocent as could be. The red wall was to her back, and her seat was the one straight across from Kaito'sâ€”on the side of the enemy army. At present, she was fiddling with the chessboard, snatching pieces up and tossing them back down as suited her fancy. Then three crowned pieces appeared atop the board. They were much larger than the other pieces, and the girl regarded them with great interest. "It's such an odd chess set, what with it having three kings and all! The thing is, see, I don't know the rules all that well. I just think the little pieces look cute. Did you know that Through the Looking-Glass is a story about chess? There's a Red Queen and a White Queen, you see, and the whole story is about their match!" The girl threw out her chest with pride, her red eyes gleaming beneath the brim of her oversized hat. All of a sudden, though, her expression went blank and she spoke in an apathetic murmur. "...Say, why is it you still think this world will amount to anything?" "Forget the pointless questionâ€”are you sure you should even be here?" Kaito rested his chin on his hand and answered her question with one of his own. He gazed at the girl with eyes just as emotionless as hers. She dumped a handful of sugar cubes into her cup and puffed up her lips in annoyance as she violently stirred. "Pshaw, it's fine. I'm asleep right now! And you see, in my dream, I followed the scent of something familiar from another world. It was like I was chasing after the White Rabbit... I'm a very good girl, you know. You might not know it, but I can do just about anything! But the way you are now, not even I'm any sort of match for you." The white ribbons adorning the girl'sâ€”Alice'sâ€”hat slumped down. Her emotions were as bombastic as they were varied. As the Mad King and Fremd Torturchen continued their Mad Tea Party, Alice spoke in the saddest of tones. "Once I wake up, I'll forget that any of this happened. It's better for you that way, right? ...But see, that's how dreams really ought to be. You can't keep your memories from Wonderland once you go back. And Father said the same thing... 'Nightmares are best forgotten,' he told me. He said that he feels sorry for me because I always cry so horribly in my sleep." But what about this? With a small murmur, Alice tilted her cup over. Its red contents spilled out onto the board, and sugar cubes went tumbling and knocked pieces over. However, the maid didn't scold her for her rudeness. Hina merely stood silently by her husband's side. Eventually, Alice seemed satisfied. She gave a big nod. "Well, I suppose either's fine! But since I'm here and all, I may as well wish for it to be a good oneâ€”oh, but the pieces have started moving, so I'm going to be woken up. That's quite a shame." Alice poked at the three massive pieces. Each crowned piece bore the form of an intersex beast. One was an ancient wolf, another was a white deer, and the final one was a colossal hawk. As they trampled over her army, Alice spoke in a quiet, singsong voice. "Poor Kaito Sena. Poor Elisabeth. Poor, poor everyone. Someday, you're all going to break." Then a loud crash echoed. Her cup had fallen down. Alice was gone. All that remained was the crimson-soaked chessboardâ€” â€”and the high-pitched echo of her laughter. The sound of flesh burning filled the air, punctuated by the snapping of bones. Somewhere, someone was being burned. And off in the distance, dragon bones were being crushed underfoot. The earth was searing hot, and the sky was choked with the black of smoke and ash. Great roars rocked the air. The Three Kings were laying out their decree: Burn the earth. Burn the trees. Burn every last blade of grass from the ground. Many of our foes will perish. For that is the price their betrayal commands. Another horrible tremor wracked the ground. Buildings as far as the eye could see shuddered and collapsed into splinters. For a brief moment, a monstrous silhouette appeared amid the burning buildings, and a mixed-race mage desperately firing off spells found himself snatched up by a colossal wolf paw. He screamed and begged for mercy but vanished into the beast's maw all the same. A horrible, graphic noise sounded out, and blood cascaded down like rain. With a thump, a single arm fell back to the ground. It felt like watching the world end. A man garbed in black, standing still in the middle of the chaos, let out a low murmur. "'A calamity cometh. A calamity cometh. To all the people of the land. The coming messenger aims to blow the bugle of the end.' Although, looking at this, perhaps they already have." "Still thy tongue, Vlad. And what are you standing out in the open so brazenly for? Get back here." Elisabeth wrenched Vlad back by his collar. Then she continued dragging him as she proceeded down the side alley. Vlad, in a surprising show of obedience, didn't put up a fight. The settlement made copious use of the surrounding dragon bones in its construction, and the upcoming street corner was fashioned out of one