Just as she’d said, there would be no salvation for him.
Eventually, the Grand Earl collapsed where he stood.
A few rats made their way into his exposed stomach. One dug out his eyeballs, and another made its way inside his skull. The rats had eaten through almost the entirety of both his body and the flower. Having eaten their fill, they rolled about, their original task all but forgotten. All at once, black feathers scattered into the air.
The roots, which had crept throughout the town, were all transforming into feathers. The underlings loitering among them, having lost the support of their demonic master’s mana, collapsed one after another, their innards having likely caved in.
Like an out-of-season snowfall, the black feathers poured down upon the seaside town.
One woman stood as she basked in them, as fiercely sinister as she was beautiful.
The bearded man rubbed his eyes repeatedly. Beside him, Kaito removed his gaze from Elisabeth and surveyed his surroundings. Seeing that the underlings’ corpses had crumbled into dust, a smile spread across his face. But then something he saw out of the corner of his eye made his face freeze.
As Kaito’s entire body stiffened, the bearded man murmured in shock.
“What…what in the world…? What could that…? I mean, what’s happening?”
“Don’t worry about it… Just take that kid and run for the remains of the Church’s office! Now that the demon’s dead, the land should be safe. Just hurry and get as high up as you can!”
“Wait, but what are you going to do, son? You’re covered in blood…”
“Don’t worry about me, just go! Hurry, before…”
Struggling against the dizziness that still ate at his mind, Kaito rose to his feet. He glared at the putrid crimson sea.
Either due to having noticed the Grand Earl’s death or due to having received prior orders from the Grand King, a change was occurring in the corpse-filled sea. Kaito spoke, his expression grim.
“…before the tsunami hits.”
The crimson sea was slowly receding.
The flesh-colored jellyfish, the Grand Duke, smiled at its center.
“Hey, Elisabeth! Did you see what’s going on with the sea? What’re we gonna do?!”
“Master Kaito, Lady Elisabeth! Are you two all right?”
“Good job finding us, Hina! How were the kids?”
“I used floral scents to calm them down and get them to sleep. Then, Master Kaito, I followed the smell of your blood and arrived here! Your blood has a sweet smell to it, you see.”
“The fact that you know what my blood smells like is convenient but also kinda creepy.”
“Eeeeeeeeeeeek! Master Kaito, your wounds! You’re even more wounded than before! Damn you, demons, even if you all fell into Hell, I would never forgive you! May you all die another two thousand deaths! If they had graves, then I should like to go defile them right—”
“Settle down, you lot. You’re worsening my headache, which is no mean feat.”
Hearing Kaito and Hina’s vigorous exchange, Elisabeth was pressing down on her forehead.
There was nothing to block their view. The only thing before them was the crimson sea, transformed as it was into a pulpy corpse soup.
The three of them had gathered at the lighthouse overlooking the sea from the edge of the cape.
The first floor of the building, which had been constructed from pure-white stone, contained the lighthouse keeper’s lodging. The second floor was where the fuel was kept, and atop the cylindrical building was long iron scaffolding where the fire was lit. Seashells and colored tiles were embedded in the spiral staircase winding around the tower, and a statue of a holy woman shedding tears of blood hung beside the fire basket.
Based on how tall and decorative it was, that lighthouse was likely one of the town’s symbolic buildings.
After watching Elisabeth leave behind the remains of the flower to travel there, Kaito had hurriedly followed her. Hina arrived right as he did.
The situation was chaotic, and as the two of them hurried after Elisabeth, she studied the sea’s transformation. The jellyfish was sucking in the viscous seawater, causing it to recede. Each time it did, its translucent cap swelled even further past its limit.
“Ah…so that’s it.”
Elisabeth crossed her arms. The runes stretching across her pale skin, up from her wrist to her shoulder and exposed sides, were an even deeper shade of crimson than they’d been before her fight with the Grand Earl.
“No demon with the power to cause a natural disaster has yet descended to our world. This tsunami shan’t be caused by a tectonic shift; rather, that rotting jellyfish, the Grand Earl, plans to store seawater within its body and then violently release everything at once.”
“Is there any way we can stop it?”
“If we kill it before then, the water it’s stored shall likely still result in great waves, but the damage can be minimized. However, if it’s able to expel the water as planned, a town of this size will be washed away.”
“All the more reason to kill it right away.”
“However, therein lies the problem. The jellyfish is far out at sea, and any ship we could use to reach it has long since degraded. Attacking it directly is impossible. Even launching missiles with a catapult would not be effective at this range, and given my current mana situation, the odds it could repel such an attack are high. That being the case, our best option is execution by animal.”
Elisabeth snapped her fingers. Darkness and crimson flower petals swirled in the air.
The black and crimson converged and then burst. From there, a large, beautiful raven spread its wings. The wise, sly-eyed bird sat respectfully atop the metal fixtures on Elisabeth’s arm.
“With this, our ability to damage it is assured. However, using this method will take time. Transforming even a few of these to be able to inflict instant death would require more mana than I currently possess… Truly, this design is infuriating. Now then, what to do.”
Elisabeth lightly bit her lip. While she did, the tide was receding farther, and the jellyfish continued to swell.
Glaring at the sea with her emerald eyes, Hina raised her voice.
“If it is as you say, would it not be best to withdraw to the castle for now? Most of the town’s residents have already evacuated. Even if the buildings are washed away and destroyed, the loss of life will be minimal. We could even use the ruins as footing. If we left now and returned later, we could obtain much better conditions for our rematch.”
“Aye, if only we could. But should I overlook so much as the destruction of one little town, I would likely be estranged by the Church. Such are the restrictions placed on a shackled hound. ’Tis most troubling indeed.”
As he listened to Elisabeth and Hina talk, Kaito turned his eyes down and ruminated. Everything about the situation was terrible. The Church was placing unreasonable demands on Elisabeth. However, as far as the matter of fleeing went, Kaito too was against it.
If we flee now, even though the damages will be minimal, people will still die.
Kaito had told the man from before to escape to high ground. However, there were likely others who hadn’t made it to shelter. There were probably also people who were injured and unable to leave. That said, though, even Kaito could tell that Elisabeth was running low on mana. She couldn’t do the impossible.
What to do, what to do, what to do…? Think. At the end of the day, is there anything I can do here?
Or was he simply as powerless as always, unable to do anything?
The sea roared.
As it did, Kaito felt his eardrums tensing up. All sounds seemed distant to him. The change in his surroundings wasn’t due to any spiritual abnormality on his part. His consciousness was growing dim due to blood loss. He felt the blood dripping down his neck and sticking to his clothes, and his skin grew oddly hot.
Kaito instinctively turned his attention to the unpleasant heat. It crawled alon
g his body and reached the stone in his pocket, and the blue roses within began burning. Right as he realized what the sensation was, the phantasmal hand landed on his shoulder once more. He could distinctly feel the hand’s cold weight.
“Now then, what to do indeed, my dear successor?”
The sweet, honeyed whisper reverberated in Kaito’s ear.
The hand snapped its fingers.
Before he knew it, Kaito was standing alone in the darkness. Before him sat the extravagant beast-bone chair, replete with pelts.
Vlad sat upon it, gently stroking the skull armrests with the arrogance of a king.
His nobleman’s coat fluttered as he rose from the chair. As the soles of his shoes clicked against the ground, he spoke in a familiar yet dignified voice.
“Given the situation you’re in, shall I continue my lecture? I believe I mentioned it to you already. You can use your own pain as a fulcrum to ignite the mana within your body, but the magic that method will unlock for you is tragically limited. Creating mana itself from the pain of others is far more efficient. In order to do that, you must either consume the meat of a demon…or summon one yourself.”
Vlad looked at Kaito, gauging his response. However, Kaito offered no answer. Vlad shrugged and then resumed walking.
He waved his white gloved hands in the air like a conductor.
“Hearing that all of a sudden no doubt leaves a vague impression. To that end, I’m going to give you a chance to test it out. After all, I am something akin to your teacher. And what is a teacher if not one who looks after their pupils?”
“…”
“I and he no longer have any relation to each other. However, even without a contract and even with my death having caused him to return to a higher dimension, we spent enough time united that I can at least reach his tail. Demons feast on the pain of men. Using him, even if all you can manage is to reduce the pain you just felt into mana, it should prove rather interesting indeed. Now then, time for your real practical exam!”
Vlad stopped in his tracks and then clapped his hands loudly. Sparing not a thought to the possibility of Kaito refusing him, Vlad turned to him and made his theatrical declaration.
“At this moment, you shall take your first step toward greatness!”
“Man, you just love the sound of your own voice, don’t ya?”
For the first time since he’d arrived in the darkness, Kaito spoke. His voice was low and hollow.
As he looked at Vlad, Kaito’s eyes were full of fierce animosity. Vlad smiled and then tilted his head as if to ask Kaito what he planned to do.
Of course, Kaito had already made up his mind.
He took a step forward. He felt as though the young red-haired boy who had wished him happiness was watching him. The boy looked at him with eyes that questioned whether or not Kaito was really okay with this and a gaze full of worry and reproach.
Yeah, Neue, I know. This is a mistake.
Understanding that, Kaito spoke.
“If you’ve got something I can use, then hand it over already. I need it, for the sake of my future.”
“A most splendid answer!”
The next moment, Vlad reached out his hand and thrust it inside Kaito, into his very soul.
Kaito could feel a hand squish around in his abdomen.
He was assailed by a sharp pain as azure flower petals and darkness swirled around his organs.
A sinister light flashed behind his eyes, and his nasal cavity was filled with a sharp animal stench. A roar rang in his ears, and his leg brushed against high-quality fur. He could feel canine footsteps vibrate throughout his whole body, as they were causing the ground to shake and the air to vibrate.
Finally, he felt damp, rusty breaths near his face.
Is it sniffing me?
The first-rate hound was appraising the being before it.
It was checking to see if it was a person or if it was food.
…And then…
“Congratulations. You passed the first test.”
Before he’d noticed, Vlad had vanished from the darkness. A black dog’s tail, unconnected to anything, was dangling in the air in front of Kaito.
Dumbfounded, he raised his palm. Then, using the pain gathered within it—not just his but the pain he’d magically caused in the underlings, as well—Kaito grabbed onto the tail.
Geh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh, fu-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh, geh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh.
He could hear humanlike laughter.
Then Kaito opened his eyes.
“…Huh?”
When he came to his senses, Kaito found himself back on the roof of the lighthouse.
The crimson sea was still spread out before him. There was nearly no change in the position of the tide. Apparently, not much time had passed. Elisabeth and Hina, their faces grim, were still carrying on their discussion.
“Then, what if we were to develop the animal execution and the catapult simultaneously?”
“It will be rough, but that seems to be the best option… Failure is a possibility, but there’s nothing to be done for that.”
As he blinked, Kaito looked Elisabeth over. The force within her body was definitely weakened. However, it still boasted a thorny, dark, roselike beauty to it.
When I look closely, I can see that even now she has enough mana that I wouldn’t normally even be in the same league as her… That’s the Torture Princess for you. Now, as for me…
Kaito looked down at his hand. He could still clearly feel the velvety sensation of the black dog’s tail in it. Furthermore, there were sticky black hairs mixed in with blood pouring out from the wound.
Huh…I guess that really wasn’t a dream.
Frowning, he focused his attention on the uncomfortable sensation and checked the quantity of new mana swirling within his body. His calculations functionally amounted to sticking his hand in a pool of water to tell how deep it was. When he was finished, he nodded.
All right, with this, I can pull it off.
Kaito silently drew near Elisabeth and then touched the back of the large raven roosting on her arm. He ran his hand along its beautiful feathers, as if he were comforting it. His blood stained its feathers, and the dog hairs extending from his palm twined around its wings.
As he did, its spine began to warp.
As the violent magical energy forced its way inside, the raven underwent a transformation.
“Hmm? …Wh—?!”
Elisabeth looked up with a start. When she saw how the raven had mutated, she looked as though she’d been punched in the gut. After she looked doubtfully at Kaito, her eyes gradually filled with comprehension and rage.
“Kaito, you wretch…!”
Elisabeth’s arm shot out like an arrow, and she grabbed Kaito by the collar.
As she did, the raven’s transformation continued. For an instant, hellfire burned in its jet-black eyes. Its small, slender face burbled and squirmed horrifically and transformed into that of a hound.
The raven was on the verge of resembling a gargoyle, with the head and torso of a beast and the wings of a bird. However, the transformation settled into a gentler configuration. At the end, the raven was left several times larger than it had been originally, with enormous wings, cruel talons, and a sharp beak.
It was a creature without peer, one who readily resembled raven royalty.
The raven flapped its wings boastfully. Elisabeth, on the other hand, was trembling with anger. She raised her arms, and Kaito’s toes dangled in the air. She screamed in rage.
“What have you done?! What is that power?! Where did you obtain it?!”
“Wait, Elisabeth…more importantly… Could you make three more of the base birds? With my technique, I can strengthen them, but I can’t make them from scra—”
“You fool! There are some things you mustn’t involve yourself with. Who knew you were so insipid?!”
“I haven’t…obtained it…yet… It’s supposed to be…a trial…”
“T
his is preposterous… Vlad should be dead! Why, then?”
“Elisa…beth… We can talk later. Now, we should focus on the ravens. At this rate, both of us are gonna be in deep shit.”
Kaito made his argument dispassionately. As she looked at his calm—and in a sense, insane—demeanor, Elisabeth ground her teeth and roughly set him down.
Coughing, Kaito gave a light nod.
Yeah, that makes sense… I expected her to be pissed.
Everything, including Elisabeth’s reaction, was unfolding within the bounds of his expectations. He had no reason to be afraid. Feeling another pair of eyes on him, Kaito turned. For some reason, Hina looked to be on the verge of tears. Unsure of how to respond to her, he elected to wave to her.
He then turned his gaze back to Elisabeth, serious. She was clicking her tongue, her face twisted in anger. However, frustrated as her expression was, she once more called forth the swirl of darkness and petals.
“After this, I expect you to tell me everything. And should you refuse to talk, I’ll break out the thumbscrews.”
As she made her furious declaration, Elisabeth created ravens one after another. Insisting that he’d confess without need for torture, Kaito touched their backs as though baptizing them.
Eventually, the four kingly ravens were completed.
“Sky Burial.”
As Elisabeth spoke, the four birds took off in a circular formation. They flapped their wings harder than any raven should have been able to, crossing the sea and closing in on the jellyfish.
The four of them perched atop its translucent flesh and then dug their talons in and grabbed. They then each flew off in a cardinal direction.
The jellyfish’s skin tore, and seawater and bodily fluids came spilling out.
“Urgh… Ah, ahhhhhhhhh, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
The jellyfish screamed as it writhed in agony. However, even with the flesh pulled to its limit and starting to rip, the ravens showed no signs of stopping. As the jellyfish lost more and more seawater and fluid, it eventually ripped open into four sections resembling flower petals.
Torture Princess: Fremd Torturchen, Vol. 2 Page 10