He clenched his fists, his face full of determination.
The following morning, with Hina’s assistance, he fled the castle alone and made for the Church.
Kaito passed through the teleportation circle, which should have been connected to the front gate of the Church’s main building. The crimson walls around him finished their work and poured down as showers of blood. But after the crimson cleared, he found himself in a dark room made of packed earth. Kaito’s eyes widened. This was the small room that connected to the Church’s hidden passages.
He looked around in confusion. When he did, he found the worst possible person waiting for him.
“My, my, did you come seeking the Church’s protection?”
Clueless wore a calm smile. Behind him stood a number of his followers, all clad in cylindrical white outfits, their faces covered by hoods.
Surrounded by the men in white, Clueless looked like an executioner leading a body disposal crew.
He peered at Kaito like he was examining a worm, and when he spoke, his tone was full of disappointment.
“My apologies, but it would be inconvenient for me if word got out about the deal I offered you. Since you seem to have declined, I’m afraid we’re going to have to settle this in-house. But be at ease. Since you weren’t planning on taking my deal, this would have happened sooner or later.”
Clueless’s followers grabbed Kaito’s arms and dragged him roughly to his feet. When they did, a sharp pain suddenly ran through his chest, and he let out a low groan. Clueless gazed at him and raised his voice in exasperation.
“Good grief. It would cause no shortage of problems if you were to continue making noises like that this far up. If you keep doing that, you’re liable to wreck your throat. Not that I would mind, of course.”
On Clueless’s orders, they dragged Kaito away. Based on the direction he was being taken, Kaito discerned that he wasn’t going to Clueless’s private chamber but to the inquisition room. That was fast. Apparently, Clueless didn’t have any more reason to maintain pretenses with him.
Clueless beamed from ear to ear as he reached for the handle to the inquisition room.
“Welcome, dear sinner. Here we will receive you, and here we will deny you.”
As he threw it open, the door made a sound like that of the gates of Hell.
They carried Kaito to the other side of the iron bars. As cries of pain surrounded him, he was brought helplessly to the wooden pedestal in the center of the room. They bound his hands and feet in shackles to prevent him from fleeing.
…Looks like I got box-seat tickets.
Kaito cynically mused on his predicament. He hadn’t noticed it the last time he was here, but now that he was about to be tortured, he saw a painting of the suffering woman on the ceiling. She wept crimson tears as she gazed down through her veil at the people being tortured. Kaito wondered why she was grieving. He didn’t know the specifics of their belief system. But he doubted that the scene she was gazing on was supposed to be a part of it.
Those chosen by God would never wish for such a hellscape. Even Kaito, who was from another world, knew that.
“I mentioned it before, but summoning someone from another world is quite rare. Through dissection, we should be able to figure out how Elisabeth summoned you. And once we’ve analyzed the spell, we’ll be able to put the information to great use in summoning people ourselves. Worry not—your death will not be in vain. In fact, this should be far preferable to being judged as Elisabeth’s servant. You will be able to serve man and, in doing so, begin atoning for your sins. Ah, I simply cannot wait.”
Clueless looked down at Kaito, barely able to stop himself from drooling. His eyes were blazing, a far cry from when he’d been looking at Kaito like a worm a moment ago. He’d acknowledged Kaito’s worth, although much of that worth seemed like it would be present only in the scraps of meat remaining after Kaito was dissected.
One of the subordinates drew out a large knife. His neighbor to the right held a pair of bone shears, and the one on the left held a coping saw. They drew near Kaito, who by this point was well and truly afraid. He wanted to scream.
His thoughts burning, he opened his mouth.
“When you say ‘we,’ do you mean you and the demon you contracted with?”
Clueless’s smile froze on his face. Kaito felt the familiar sensation of the pieces clicking into place. Clueless was the kind of person who was weak to surprise attacks. In Kaito’s past life, one of the people his father had blackmailed was a company president who had been cooking his books, and the president had often worn that exact same expression. Kaito heaved a heavy sigh before continuing on.
“The thing is, I was connected to the Church’s front gate, but my intention all along was to come looking for you. Your interference saved me some time. I wanted to run, but I couldn’t… After seeing this hell, I couldn’t just leave things like this.”
Kaito could move his head a little, and he peered through the iron bars. Even now, a hellscape was unfolding around him. Right next to his pedestal was a man with his chest torn open and his stomach exposed, writhing in agony. There was a mother and her child, bound by thick strings and both coughing up foamy blood.
Kaito didn’t have a particularly strong sense of justice. Normally, self-sacrifice would be the last thing on his mind. But even he had his limits. He couldn’t just let this nauseating spectacle continue.
“When I saw this hell, I realized just how suspicious you seemed. Demons get their power from people’s pain, from the discord in their souls that pain causes. And when I saw the torture you were performing in the name of inquisition, I got the same impression I get from demons… After all, it didn’t exactly look like you were just torturing people to get them to confess to their heresy.”
The people around him were on the verge of death, writhing in unending agony.
The worst things one could imagine were being done to these heretics. This kind of torture could only be the work of demons.
“How could they stay alive with their bodies full of rivets, with their bodies diced to pieces, with their stomachs torn open? Maybe if you were taking serious measures to keep them alive, the facade would be more convincing, but most of them were just left to suffer. When you first showed me this room, I unconsciously burned the image into my mind, so when I thought about it later on, I was sure of it. Their lives were being forcibly extended by a demon’s power… Which means that this little party definitely isn’t Church approved.”
When they’d gone through Clueless’s secret underground passageway, they hadn’t run across any other members of the Church.
If this torture was official Church business, and similar things were going on elsewhere, then there should have been more people coming and going, people doing things like transporting heretics and cleaning up blood. But no one had been in those passages but Clueless and his men. Kaito hadn’t seen a single other person from the Church.
Clueless had kept Kaito from meeting any of the other clergymen, obstinately concealing them from him.
In other words, his actions were in defiance of the Church.
“I also found it interesting that you resolved to kill Elisabeth all on your own. When the Church came to her for help, I have to imagine they didn’t have anywhere else to turn. They were probably at their wits’ ends. Imagine. Hiring a sow to deal with the pigs. Yet, in spite of this, a supposed member of the Church came to the castle in secret and tried to get me to kill her. The prevention of the birth of an almighty demon—it sounds like a reasonable excuse at first, but after you got rid of her, how did you plan on dealing with the remaining demons? There could only be one reason you wanted to get rid of your prize hound after she’d only killed two of the thirteen demons—you’re one of the thirteen.”
Given that there had been a contractor among the Royal Knights, it didn’t seem strange for there to be one in the Church as well. And having been tasked with disposing of heretics, he’d found h
imself in a convenient position to accumulate pain. He’d even tried to use his position to eliminate a potent foe. But he’d done it too hastily and far too sloppily.
That was what happened when one failed to keep up appearances while looking down on others.
Clueless had treated him like a worm, and Kaito laughed scornfully as he looked up at his face.
“I’m right, aren’t I, Clueless? Well, the only reason I was able to notice was because Hina helped me get my thoughts in order, but still.”
“Is that all you have to say, you doddering little doll?”
Clueless smiled calmly, neither confirming nor denying Kaito’s accusations. But Kaito didn’t fail to notice the vein slightly bulging on his forehead.
If he hadn’t been bound, Kaito would have shrugged, but he settled for a nod.
“Yup, that’s all for me. I found the demon. I set the snare. Now it’s the Torture Princess’s turn.”
“Oh, but the teleportation circle is closed off from this side. You imbecile! You have no cards left to play!”
Clueless laughed. Kaito’s eyes grew cold as he wondered if Clueless was an idiot. Kaito had watched Clueless meddle with the teleportation circle before. It was obvious that Kaito had seen this coming.
Kaito took a deep breath, then exhaled sharply.
And his stomach hurt.
“It only seats one, but I’ve got a circle right here.”
A puzzled look spread across Clueless’s face, but in the next moment, his eyes opened wide. He tore off Kaito’s shirt.
Several leather belts were wrapped around Kaito’s midsection. A crimson teleportation circle glowed beneath the high-quality hide. Clueless frantically removed the belts with his bone shears, then tore off the dressing beneath them. When he saw where the teleportation circle’s light was coming from, he gasped.
“…You son of a bitch.”
“It’s real handy, how much blood this body can lose without dying.”
The teleportation circle was carved on Kaito’s stomach. The cuts were deep, and blood gushed out of them. Even so much as breathing sent sharp pains rippling through his chest. When Clueless’s men had been dragging him a moment ago, he had thought he might die from the pain. But the time he spent gritting his teeth was paying off.
“As my servant, even you could use your blood to summon something to your side.”
Elisabeth had mentioned that once, some time ago. Clueless clutched the shears and tried to add fresh cuts to Kaito’s wounds. But he was too late, and the teleportation circle began violently glowing. Crimson flower petals flew through the air, and darkness began to spread. Clueless’s eyes widened, and he shouted as he drew back.
“Stay away… Stay away, Elisabeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeth!”
“Ah, but how could I, after hearing my name called so passionately?”
A voice rife with mockery rang out, and the darkness surged forth. Crimson flower petals fluttered throughout the prison. The petals then turned to raindrops, showering the room in red.
Elisabeth, drenched in blood, made her appearance from the teleportation circle. Her elegant black hair and draping dress wafted gently, and her ample bosom bounced. She landed on her heels, right on Kaito’s gaping wound.
Her smile was sinister, and ignoring Kaito’s screams of pain, she snapped her fingers.
“Nothing fancy for the small fry, I think. Death by Hanging.”
Straw ropes dropped from the ceiling and wrapped themselves around the necks of Clueless’s men. It was almost comical how quickly they got yanked into the air. Their necks made loud popping sounds as their spines snapped, their respiratory tracts collapsed, and their veins burst. The hoods that had been concealing their faces plopped off.
Their faces were made of huge, festering sarcomas. They weren’t humans. They were underlings.
Their corpses dangled from the ceiling.
“This can’t… Damn you. Damn you!”
Clueless’s hands shook as he grabbed the necklace from his collar. He tried to mutter something. But when he did, steel shackles bound around his wrists. His gaze froze on Elisabeth and her smile.
“It seems you’re fond of pain, hmm?”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!”
The shackles jerked, and his wrists snapped. Fragments of bone pierced his skin from within. He screamed, writhing in agony. But suddenly, his arms slid out of the fetters binding them.
His whole body was soon covered in venom. His thick blond hair fell out in clumps, and his cassock burst off. As his limbs continued to swell, he leaped into the air. Now resembling a fleshy meat-frog, he pushed his flesh through the prison’s iron bars and fled for the corridor.
For some reason, Elisabeth’s face contorted in surprise after seeing Clueless’s massive, hideous form.
“That man… He possesses an unnatural amount of magical power, but he is no demon! He’s a weakling, a mere underling!”
“Really? That’s good news, right? That means you can take him out easily.”
“Of course it isn’t good, you fool! He’s a member of the Church! Surely you jest… The only demon a member of the Church would encounter is…”
Elisabeth snapped her fingers. The restraints on Kaito’s arms and legs popped open. Crimson petals collected around his wound and forcibly infused it with Elisabeth’s blood. The petals also wrapped a fresh leather belt around him. Kaito screamed at the sudden pain of the forcible transfusion and hemostasis.
“Gah! What’re you doing? Dammit, Elisabeth, that hurts!”
“Follow me if you wish. Or stay, but I may return late, or take another route back to the castle altogether. It would be on you to stay alive until you received proper treatment.”
“Not following you doesn’t seem like much of a choice, then, does it?!”
After struggling to his feet, Kaito took off after Elisabeth. He’d only recovered a little from his blood loss. If he could ignore the pain, he’d probably be able to keep up with her.
Having cleared the door, the meat-frog was clumsily running through the passage. Elisabeth waved her hand at it. Darkness and crimson petals coalesced, then became a massive spiked wheel. The wheel spun toward it, but it vanished midpath as if repelled by something.
For a second, Kaito thought he saw a black dog’s tail sticking out of the frog’s back.
The meat-frog turned and then, with a relieved expression, took off again, even faster than before.
“That reaction… Could it really be him?!”
Elisabeth’s voice was tinged with uncharacteristic desperation. Even though her foe was a mere underling, she unsheathed the Executioner’s Sword of Frankenthal.
The meat-frog hopped up a larger set of stairs, then smashed through the door at the top. Upon seeing the frog, an old, gentle-looking clergyman carrying a bundle of scrolls screamed and fell on his rear. A group of believers hid behind a young clergyman who’d apparently been leading them around. Kaito hadn’t expected the Church to be such an ordinary, upright organization.
The path the meat-frog was taking led it into an orderly, neat marble room. It continued to flee, spraying foamy venom as it went. As it made for the worship hall, Elisabeth swung her sword in its direction.
“Gibbet!”
The darkness spiraled in a long, vertical pattern, and a cage barely wide enough to fit a person standing up straight clamped around the meat-frog, wringing massive amounts of venom from it. Chains surrounded the cage. Even if the meat-frog broke out of the cage, the chains would still restrain it. But the next moment, Elisabeth’s body quivered and she dropped to her knees.
“Rrrgh… Mm… Ah, my body…”
The cage crumbled, returning to darkness and petals. The chains, too, lost their power, collapsing to the floor and wriggling a few times before vanishing.
“Elisabeth!”
Patterns of scarlet characters snaked across her body. Kaito’s golem features tried to decipher their meaning but failed. His knowledge b
ank told him it was the Word of God, unable to be translated or vocalized.
The scripture was etched all over her body like burns. She looked as though she had been branded.
So those were the shackles the Church had put on her. But why did they activate just now?
“It burns… Rrrgh… Wh-why…? Who…?”
Even though she was down on her hands and knees, Elisabeth shot a hate-filled glare to her side. Up on the altar was a clergyman, clutching his necklace and waving it side to side as he chanted a prayer. With every verse, the patterns on Elisabeth’s skin flared scarlet. She screamed in bloodcurdling rage.
“Not me, you imbecile! That’s the one you should be stopping! Fool!”
The meat-frog mowed down worshippers and smashed through pews as it headed deeper into the church.
A band of guards had finally assembled, but the meat-frog mercilessly routed them. Pressed beneath its massive belly, their bones shattered in their armor. But even in his confusion, the clergyman never stopped his prayer.
Kaito dashed up the short steps, then forcefully stuck out his hand.
“What—?”
“I’m borrowing this, old man!”
Kaito snatched the necklace off the man’s wrinkly neck and threw it. Elisabeth stood, then took off like a newly fired arrow. But she was still covered in serious burn marks.
Elisabeth ran, continuing to be tormented by the scripture, and Kaito followed after her.
The hallway was littered with the guards’ battered corpses, and they only grew more prevalent the farther the two of them got. They seemed to have been guarding an imposing door, but that door was now wide open.
An impressive office lay behind it. An old man wearing a diadem and a gold vestment sat dead atop a velvet chair, his body crushed from the waist down.
The wall behind the man had been smashed to pieces.
Beyond the wall was a hidden passage, covered on all surfaces by the faint glow of the Word of God. With every step the meat-frog took down it, its body frothed violently as its flesh burned. But Elisabeth was no different. The instant she’d dashed into the corridor, the patterns on her body flared up again, and she let out a scream of agony.
Torture Princess: Fremd Torturchen, Vol. 1 Page 12