undulating. The Kaiser howled, as though signaling that something was starting. Vlad spoke in a smooth whisper. "The flesh of demons transforms into black feathers when they die. But first, it collapses." Kaito's eyes went wide. Of all the places they could have gone, they'd arrived at the deepest part of a collapsing demon. It was then that Kaito intuited what Elisabeth's plan was. Words played back through his mind once more, words that this battle had taught him the veracity of time and time again. "Numbers beget force. And one can accomplish much through the use of force." I guess this is another one of those times. "Ooh?" The fleshy ceiling undulated. Its limbs still bound, the baby looked up with naked curiosity. Blades couldn't pierce that evil being. But any sort of shallow impact would probably serve no purpose, either. In that case, there was only one choice. They had to crush it in an instant, before it could turn the meat to ash. At that moment, a massive avalanche of flesh came crashing down on the baby. It was like the weight of the world had come tumbling down. An entire section of the flesh that had swallowed up a third of the capital's population and completely filled up the mercantile district and the royal castle had caved in. With no options available to it, the baby was engulfed by the onslaught. But Kaito and Elisabeth's situation was no different. The incoming blow was like an unmitigated natural disaster. Because of that, it would be virtually impossible for humans to stand against it. The massive crimson wave came bearing down on them. As it did, Elisabeth shouted: "Death Row Cell!" Stone walls deployed around them, sealing them in a tiny room with no windows or doors. It was a torture device designed to confine prisoners and starve them to death. The stone walls saved Kaito and Elisabeth from being engulfed by the meat for a moment. But the resistance the barrier offered proved to be fleeting. There was no way it could withstand a direct hit from a landslide. The stone walls crumbled in an instant. But Elisabeth summoned an identical set so quickly that Kaito could barely see her do it. As he stood stupefied, Kaito realized a certain fact. Magical techniques are the one thing we have that the baby doesn't. Wielding her magic freely, Elisabeth continued to ward off the deadly external pressure. She summoned those stone walls over and over again. It felt like an eternity had passed. Eventually, the flow around them lightened by just a smidge. Picking up on even that tiny change, Elisabeth shouted out. "The Boondock Saints! Wicker Man!" "Simultaneous summoning? There's no way." Kaito mumbled quietly. A thunderous noise echoed from outside the walls. Kaito could guess what had happened. The Wicker Man had taken in as much meat as it could, then burned it up. Then the Boondock Saints had carved away at the resulting ash and shoved the room into the opening. Each time the giants and the flesh faltered, Elisabeth continued simultaneously summoning them. "Elisabeth..." "Rgh..." Beads of sweat rose up on her forehead. One by one they ran down to her chin. Her foe in this desperate battle was nothing more than a colossal mountain of flesh. That was what made it so terrifying. Vlad and the Kaiser watched her with interest. Kaito clenched his fists. At the moment, he was powerless. There was nothing he could do but stand amid the thunderous noise and believe in Elisabeth. A long, long time passed. Then the giant pushed conspicuously hard against the stone wall. At that moment, the violent noise and vibration stopped. Elisabeth lowered her outstretched hand and dropped to her knees. As she did, the walls around them began melting like heated toffee. The room's stone floor vanished, and they all tumbled outside. The first thing they saw was the gray sky. A vast sea of ash and flesh surrounded them. If Elisabeth had erred just once, they would have found themselves buried beneath it. They stood still in shock, their vision filled with the bizarre spectacle of raw, piled-up meat as far as the eye could see. Eventually, Kaito's whisper broke the overwhelming silence. "Is it...over?" In that moment, one chunk of ash-covered flesh violently stirred. Something red came flying out from within. Although it had been crushed all over and on the verge of grossly collapsing in on itself, it nevertheless gave a shrill laugh. "Hee-hee-hee-hee, ah-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Vomiting blood as it moved, the baby leaped at Elisabeth. "Elisabeth!" Kaito shouted. Still kneeling on the ground, she extended her hand. Then she drew the Executioner's Sword of Frankenthal from within a vortex of darkness and crimson flower petals. Then she sped off like an arrow. "Hee-hee-hee-hee, hee-hee-hee-hee, ah-ha-ha-ha!" "Just die already." The mad, cackling baby and the Torture Princess clashed. Then, for a second, time stood still. Kaito swallowed his breath. After a few seconds of silence, the baby's massive head came tumbling off. The baby had consumed the utmost limits of what it could, and the blade had finally pierced it. The next moment, as though they'd received some sort of signal, the baby and the mass of flesh vanished. Having lost their footing, Kaito and the others were all hurled unceremoniously to the ground. Countless black feathers fluttered into the air before them. The feathers filled the sky, as if to convey some sort of blessing. Faced with that sublime, beautiful spectacle, Kaito realized something. Something had begun to change within the demon's world. The rays of sunlight that had been blocked off until then were finally starting to make their way down to the earth. Bathed in sunlight, the baby's corpse transformed into particularly large feathers, which blew away gently in the wind. Eventually, the feathers all burst into azure flames and burned away into nothing. Closing his eyes, Kaito whispered as he took it all in. "...I guess it's really over." And with that, the curtain fell on the final battle. Kaito looked at his surroundings. The demon's world was collapsing, and Vlad and the Kaiser had vanished. Elisabeth collapsed, crashing to her knees atop the ground. Other than the amount of mana she needed to maintain the demonic roots within her body, she was practically running on empty. It would take a good while before she was back to full strength. As he gazed at her alarmingly defenseless back, Kaito shifted his expression. With a grim face, he rushed to her side. Kneeling in front of her himself, he called out to her. "Elisabeth, let's make a run for it while we can." *** She didn't reply. Her face was firmly cast downward, and she didn't move a muscle. Frantically, Kaito grabbed her hand. Like he had once before, he pleaded with her with the intensity of one taking a vow. "When the King hit us with his mental attack, you told me how you really felt. Let's go together. The three of us can live together again. You finished your job. I'm not gonna leave you on your own!" Upon hearing his plea, Elisabeth looked up. For a second, she smiled through her tangled black hair. Her crimson eyes were moist, and she was on the verge of saying something. But as though she were waking from a dream, her expression abruptly changed. She pursed her lips tightly. Then she roughly brushed Kaito's hand away. Kaito was at a loss for words. She looked at him, then shook her head. "I told you once before, Kaito. Return to the castle alone. Then take Hina and flee." "Being alone is lonely! That's what you told me!" "Silence! I swore an oath!" Elisabeth practically screamed the words out. Her tone was violent, yet the emotions in her voice were completely suppressed. "I swore an oath to my people, to the people I tyrannized!" At that moment, images of the people the Torture Princess had subjugated flashed through Kaito's mind. The men, the women, the children, the elderly. Their myriad corpses hadn't possessed a shred of dignity, and their resentful cries sounded out one by one. Loathsome Elisabeth, repulsive Elisabeth, cruel, hideous Elisabeth! A curse upon you, a curse upon you, a curse, a curse, an eternal curse upon you, Elisabeth! Faced with those screams, she'd sworn an oath. That was what she'd continued living for, shameless as it may have been. Kaito knew there was something he ought to say, but he couldn't for the life of him come up with it. And Elisabeth just kept shaking her head. Then she looked at him again. The smile that adorned her face was gentle, sincere, and exhausted. "Go... Go now... Please go. Flee. Have a family. Cause none to cry on your behalf. And don't you cry, either. Live a life full of happiness and joy." "Elisabeth..." "You need bear no burden. Harming the masses, being hated by the world, and spending your life burdened by sins is a heavy thing." As she spoke practically in prayer, Elisabeth extended her hands. In a wholly uncharacteristic gesture, she clasped Kaito's cheeks in her hands, as though she were trying to burn the image of his face into her memory so that she would remember him even if her eyes were gouged out. Given that she was about to face an inquisition, there was a chance of that actually happening. Then through her gentle gaze, she spoke. "'Tis too heavy a burden for you to bear." Her expression was that of someone instructing a child. Seeing this, Kaito understood. He had no choice but to understand. No matter how much I call out to her here, Elisabeth will never take my hand. That was the oath she'd made. That was what she'd promised. Even if he brought her by force, she would no doubt return in order to take responsibility for her sins. In order to die as the Torture Princess. "My beloved Master Kaito, my dear Lady Elisabeth! Where are you?! Are you all riiiight?!" Then they heard a voice. Somebody was restlessly, desperately running around atop the parched earth. It would appear that Hina had made it out safely. She was sprinting all around but then stopped on a dime once she noticed the two of them. Tossing her halberd aside, she rushed up to them like an excited puppy. "Oh, oh! Thank goodness! Thank goodness you two are all right! Nothing could bring me greaterâ€”" "...Hina, let's go." Kaito cut off her joyful shouts in a low voice. Sensing that something was amiss, Hina stopped in her tracks, her smile stiff. She looked back and forth between Kaito and Elisabeth. Leaving the sitting Elisabeth behind, Kaito stood. Hina shouted, as though she'd realized what was going on. "But Master Kaito, Lady Elisabeth is... Lady Elisabeth? Whatever might be the matter? Shall we depart? I can cook us up a banquet to celebrate the battle's end! Delicious cooked organs, all the desserts you can eat... So please, Lady Elisabeth, stand up! Lady Elisabeth, I insist!" "C'mon. Let's go." "But we can't... We mustn't... I won't stand for this! I simply won't! If Lady Elisabeth doesn't return with us, Iâ€”" "Let's go!" Embracing Hina's shoulder, Kaito forced her to start walking. Her emerald eyes warped, as though she were on the verge of tears. Although she was about to continue her plea, Hina suddenly went silent. Kaito's hands were trembling. Realizing that, Hina shook her head and swallowed her impassioned cries. With that, Kaito began walking off into the distance. But his footsteps gradually grew slower and slower. Unable to bear it anymore, he stopped in his tracks and turned back toward Elisabeth. Her gaze was fixed directly on him. When she murmured, it was with a weak smile on her face. "Why is your face contorted so, Kaito? Be glad. You were forcibly resurrected by the Torture Princess,