Vol 1 Chapter 5 (1/2)
Chapter 5 - Torturchen's Homeland
At the throne rooantly
Sitting on the throne, she was facing the sky that was filled with dark clouds Hovering in front of her was an orb glowing blue-white Kaito did not ask what specifically was going on The slowly spinning orb was showing an i shot faraway However, the face, which was always shown froh behind a curtain of uish the facial features
Thein human compassion
”Due to considerations from discussions about whether or not to transfer The Emperor to the royal capital, he was not sealed in a completely securerelationshi+ps and arding the secret location where The Eone to the royal capital for cere security at the Church headquarters This current situation arose fro of many unfortunate and unforeseen factors”
”What a great joke Siet to the chase”
”The Church is officially tasking you, Elisabeth Le Fanu, to exterminate or capture The Emperor”
Elisabeth scoffed at the orb's answer and haughtily crossed her legs the other way, grinning sardonically
”Ordering e Your God rehtestyou And what saves you is the power and authority you flaunt arbitrarily You people whip the dog that is leashed in the nah horse”
”We do not possess the s, which is e have no choice but to eate the truth of God being with us at all tih God tests us with trials and tribulations, God's blessings are with us as children of God”
”Cut the nonsense! You con into misshapen forms, and I, Torturchen, are all created by God Yet when has God's blessing been with us? I cannot believe how you can cling to these words despite the obvious contradictions!”
”May God's blessing continue to be with you God is merciful and you will know that God is by your side if you open your heart to experience carefully Shedding tears of blood on your behalf, God will surely grant you redeh punishhter of my ally, the head of the Le Fanu family You are supposed to hate the demons”
Elisabeth's eyebroitched as she pursed her lips with displeasure Kaito peered tihted his posture when Elisabeth glared at him
Unconcerned by Elisabeth's silence, the orb of light continued indifferently
”Do not the forget the inscription we engraved on your sword 'Earn your freedoh action Pray for God to beco, the process, the end, everything is in God's hands' The Church has also imposed multiple restraints on The Emperor and we have activated all of them today They will expire after the seventh day Kindly punish hi this time”
The glowing orb issued a deadline in an unchanging tone of voice His tone did not sound like a threat, but precisely because of that, Kaito felt bone-chilling terror By Elisabeth's side, he began to think
(Seven days, is it possible to take care of The E this period? If not, ould be the outcome?)
When the time came, what kind of calamity would befall mankind?
The other side did not elaborate As though adding a final stab, he finished with a command
”Do a little good before you die”
The orb stopped glowing and fell to the floor with a clunk Kaito picked it up, only to see that it was made of thin paper He had no idea at all which part of it was giving off light just now
Looking up in confusion, Kaito asked Elisabeth:
”Hey, just now that was”
”Ainitiated by Godot Dios, one of the Church's top officials That old fart is still annoying as ever”
Elisabeth shook her head and say nothe side of her face while she stared off into space, Kaito asked the question that bothered him the most
”Hey, do you have an idea where The Emperor went?”
”Yes”
Elisabeth instantly replied Kaito breathed a sigh of relief for now Whether The Ereatly affect the difficulty of the mission
Elisabeth narrowed her red eyes at the wall's collapsed hole as though staring out into the distance Over there were endless gray clouds glinting darkly, shrouding the sky over the pitch-black and rustling forest
”The Emperor has returned Returned to my castle and homeland”
Why had The Emperor returned to Elisabeth's homeland?
Why did The Emperor call out to Elisabeth with affection?
Kaito waited for a continuation but Elisabeth stopped talking, so he did not pry The two of the at the hole in the wall
After a long silence, the wind brought in the smell of rain from outside Soon after, Elisabeth took a deep breath and exhaled She clicked her tongue and suddenly stood up forcefully as though intending to knock her chair over
”———Time to set off”
”————Oh”
Kaito nodded in response to her words that were infused with subdued anger
In the next instant, Elisabeth floored Kaito with a sharp kick, saying ”Is this the proper attitude of a servant?”
Elisabeth's homeland was on the other side of a tall wall
It was said that the great noble house of Le Fanu used to own vast territories This rural toas a special place The bloody legend of Torturchen began none other than here
With the Le Fanu family's spired castle of chalk in the center, the town had its back to a steepthe mountainous terrain, the toas surrounded by walls equipped with phantas ti used for a completely different purpose
With the gate tightly shut, the walls had sealed the town securely Take one step beyond the wall and one would arrive in a realm of death
The tall walls currently stood tantaantic tombstone for this little town
It was said that ”Torturchen” Elisabeth Le Fanu had shut the gate and set up instruments of torture and execution on the streets to subject every last one of the town's residents to torture Thewhich the screahout the town the whole time
With the slaughter at this town as a starting point, she proceeded to create the Field of Ie, accureater piles of corpses
(The ht)
All this was information told to Kaito by Elisabeth herself
Kaito wanted to understand their next destination, so Elisabeth tossed him a copy of The Records of Torturchen coends, Kaito was shocked Then she scoffed lightly at him
”Who do you take me for? I am 'Torturchen' Elisabeth Le Fanu”
”Even though I areat sinner with few equals in this world, and by no means a saint all the way to the bitter end”
Currently, Kaito, Elisabeth and Hina were standing at the place where the tragic legend began
In front of them was a scorched and blackened wasteland
After the reat number of corpses in the streets were difficult to dispose of, so in the end, a fire was set inside the walls to incinerate everything The fire burned for seven days and seven nights After the fire, the toas sealed off as-si without recovering the dead bodies inside
”What a terrible sight”
”Well, borrowing the Church's description, this is 'the land forsaken by God'”
Elisabeth h it did not concern her and Kaito nodded slightly
This description was no exaggeration Massive areas of housing had been burnt down Between piles of rubble remained torture devices and countless bones, reainst a backdrop of brick houses whose roofs had been burnt down, innuh they were offerings to demons
Amidst all this, the castle of chalk was the only structure standing there in beauty, neither decayed nor scorched black
It was like a toy castle that had been placed after the fact onto a ground covered by ash and dirt
The one responsible for creating this surreal scene—Elisabeth—clicked her tongue
”Tsk, even I find this at Both of you better be careful The Emperor has returned and I aood”
”Understood I shall stay in combat mode Lord Kaito, please stay behind me to avoid injury”
”Oh, thanks”
Kaito nodded and went behind Hina obediently Hina sently:
”Please rest assured I will protect you at all costs”
Currently, she ielding a massive halberd
Tracing out a vicious outline, this weapons was far longer than her height Its tip, the spear portion, was exceptionally stout while the ax part was a thick and hooked blade That thinga teapot, quite at ease even alking with it
The scene before his eyes was like a joke or perhaps a nighto, Kaito had felt dizzy Just as Elisabeth had said, the atmosphere here was quite terrible There was an unpleasant war underground The corpses should have rotted or turned to ash, yet it still felt like a pungent stench of decay was brushi+ng against their noses Like flesh, hu into mud, piled up in this place This was Kaito's most direct impression
Further froet
Contely and cruel Elisabeth!
Be cursed, be cursed, be cursed, forever be cursed, Elisabeth!
The entire toas roaring in silent voices, but Kaito had no way of telling if it was a hallucination
No matter what, this was a town of death, Elisabeth's homeland, the birthplace of Torturchen However, Elisabeth herself co forward openly
(What exactly are you thinking?)
Kaito had no clue as going through herher? But he did not know at all if it was necessary to ask And the pressing issue at hand was to take care of The Emperor
Following Elisabeth, he walked along the road that was covered by a thick mixture of ash and mud
Along the entire street, signs of slaughter could be seen everywhere Skeletons were buried in the ground in a row like vegetables in a field On the branches of a burnt tree, three hus by metal wire This was probably a setup where the sharp claws of rando animals would add to the victims' pain
Such malice Kaito frowned Suddenly, one of the skeletons slowly looked up
”Huh?”
”Hmm? What is the matter, Kaito?”
”Uh, umm”
The skeleton slowlyits hollow eye sockets towards Elisabeth Kaito rubbed his eyes but no matter how many times he checked, the skeleton whose head should be doas still staring in their direction At that moment
From the incinerated wasteland, dry sounds were heard endlessly At the sae number of skeletons jumped into the center of the road Some were impaled by spears from their mouths to their bottoms with spikes all over their backs Some had all their li in apparent joy
Confronted with bones that stood as evidence of brutal torture, Kaito gulped Seeing Kaito halt in his tracks, one of the skeletons approached, reaching out with a hand where half the fingers were gone, like grasping for a lifesaving straw Kaito felt an urge to hold the hand, but at the saht a sharp broken wrist in a backhanded swing Instantly, the skeleton collapsed entirely with a whack
Unsure what happened, Kaito frantically looked to the side Hina was frozen in a pose after the swing of her halberd, her e to herself:
”—Touching Lord Kaito is forbidden, you accursed scum”
”Ah, okay”
Kaito hastily dodged behind Hina again The skeletons kept coet, Elisabeth, did not even bother to glance at them
”What a hassle”
While stretching her back, she walked with audible footsteps and continued With every contact of her heel against the ground, darkness and red petals popped out from the road surface and exploded into iron stakes However, even when nailed to the ground, the skeletons would disasseain Even with Hina swinging her halberd and Elisabeth eli them, the tide was undead was endless
Kaito felt a chilled to the bottom of his heart To think that Elisabeth had killed this many people
As though participating in a parade, new skeletons kept charging, proue
”How ? Huh? Mere skeletons will never killat it Why not show yourself sooner? If you lack other e”
Even with the skeletons hindering the a main road connected to the castle
Probably to facilitate the co path was paved with tiles and es had rens as the franificent houses The roofs of surviving single-story buildings were covered with dust and ash, probably a row of shops in the past Even noith the entire town in utter decay, ered on thissilhouette was currently standing at what appeared to be a residential neighborhood
A tall wohthe vast number of deceased
Her face was obscured by black lace Her sleek black hair draped down on her back while she stood there silently She earing silk gloves and a long dress whose collar completely covered up her throat The color black was unifor to imposed propriety, her body was exceptionally skinny except for thein an unbelievable air of allure The wide sun hat was decorated withlilies on top
These lonely flowers, like those presented at graveyards, were the only source of color and brightness on her pure black getup
Elisabeth halted and asked with displeasure:
”Suspicious woman over there, dressed in black, are you the necro attack?”
”——It seeainst the people you toyed with, violated, and killed in the past”
Her voice was quite deep for a woentle Elisabeth frowned and narrowed her red eyes as though she was searching her memories
Kaito was behind her and puzzled too Elisabeth rarely showed any expression to ene tone of voice, she continued:
”Showing no interest in the bones after consu the flesh Is that what you mean?”
”Oh, certainly, however Your voice and , could it be that”
The woman did not reply to Elisabeth's question She lifted up her skirt heh Her skin under the skirt was exposed, to a dangerous height that invited doubt as to whether she earing underwear Then she shook her skirt he out
With a clatter, the bones asse a cat affection, the wo the finished skeletons, Kaito was rendered speechless
Twisted li on the road It was impossible to walk around in this manner unless the body had been restricted in such a state for long periods of time
These small skeletons were all children
Crawling on the ground, the skeletons pounced at Elisabeth What sounded like screams leaked out from between their teeth, but Elisabeth mercilessly kicked without hesitation
”No end to this!”
The tip of her heel s the skeleton to collapse just like that Due to the wind froround The face hidden under the black veil was revealed
She possessed full lips, slender eyes and a beauty ave off a modest impression
She smiled and said:
”I apologize for not being in touch for so long, Lady Elisabeth”
Her blue-gray eyes moistened while she bowed her head deeply She looked up and picked up her hat, patting away the dirt before putting it on her head, this tiically with a smile on her lips
”My lady, you have not changed the slightest I have advised you e that impatient character of yours”
”Wretched woman Are you Marianne?”
Elisabeth's voice showed faltering The woht Faced with Elisabeth's unusual reaction, Kaito asked:
”Marianne?”
”She used to be inally, you were merely an ordinary woe in looks, with a strong obsession about cleanliness, re as a spinster, am I not correct? Why did you become a necromancer?”
”My lady, do you truly not know? After witnessing such cruel scenes, do you honestly believe I could continue my life as an ordinary woman?”
The wo voice while her hands, clad in gloves of black lace, began to move
With every ers, the bones scattered on the stone tiles would bounce up one after another likethe skeletons enact a ridiculous dance, she continued:
”Logically speaking, when the notorious Torturchen allowed ht to have fled this town to the remote countryside to live outeducated you That willful and adorable little lady, but supposed to be quite righteous in the fiber of your being, to think you would take out tools of torture and execution with delight, to start a mad massacre that would create hell on earth Confronted with such scenes, I honestly felt”
Marianne lifted her face and directed a gaze of co at someone pitiful
”I rong, it was overness, to educate and guide you correctly, you would not have strayed into such a uided path after the death of your parents All this isto save you, my lady”
”Cut the nonsense How could you possibly be responsible? Do not get too full of yourself Ever since my childhood, your education had failed to affectardless what you did, it would have been akin to wind againstpermanent Futility at its best”
Elisabeth raised her black fingernails with a whoosh
(Is she su another instrument of torture?)
Kaito held his breath but instead of of su, Elisabeth simply pointed into the distance
”Be gone I have no idea why you chose now to appear beforeperiods of time and you looked after ain Hurry and get lost somewhere far away from me Find a place to die in peace and quiet”
(Is she letting an eneo?)
Kaito felt surprised again while recalling the ie of Elisabeth in childhood that he had witnessed sohtly neurotic but very gentle woman
A willful young lady and her governess Their appearance was a surprisingly perfect match for this relationshi+p
Precisely because such a scene had occurred in the past, Elisabeth was showing mercy to her now, but Marianne did not look like she would listen to Elisabeth
With her hands clasped firers sothe bones visible
”It was my fault I was the one who allowed you to become so twisted That is why I”
”Enough, Marianne! Listen to others!”
”my lady, the way you are”
Marianne's finger bones creaked As though responding to her turbulent emotions, the bones underfoot jumped violently These bones abandoned huiant scaffold The scaffold rattled while falling towards Elisabeth
Elisabeth sied In the next instant, the bones scattered as though there had been an explosion from within
Out from the scaffold dashed a blood-less horse
”What!?”
Elisabeth widened her eyes in surprise Kaito was speechless too The horse gloith phosphorescence, the stately arht as supposed to be dead However, this was not the real Knight
The Knight before their eyes was , exposing the ribs Froots kept e Even if it was a resurrection, that body looked far too fragile Nevertheless, lightning attacked the surroundings with every kick of the hooves against the ground, just like the real thing
Spurring his horse to charge, The Knight grabbed a lance fro in the air
”Bone Mill!”
Elisabeth swung a flat hae chunk of deco his bones The Knight easily collapsed However, just before he vanished, the lance sh the body coth was not to be underestimated
”The way you are, my lady, I love you to bits!”
With cheeks flush red, Marianne screahtly with her slender ar to suppress the excite her bust under the massive pressure
Elisabeth's face twitched as she back away forcefully Kaito also broke out in cold sweat on his back Before thehtly
This woman did not seem mentally sane at all
Squeezing her chest further, she deformed her bust even more and started to murmur in ecstasy:
”Shoudering heavy sins that are impossible to redeem, my lady, no one will understand you, no one will love you Cursed and hated by the people, you will ultimately die pitifully I am probably the only one who can save you despite yourself, the only one willing to save you despite what you are This is precisely the newto stop you in the past Precisely because of that, I have committed my resolve”
Marianne licked her luscious lips and saliva dripped to her chin
”I will personally end your life!”
”The Knight, eh? My, what bizarre techniques you have acquired I know not your objective but presureat a power have you received from The Emperor?”
Ignoring the confession delivered with fervent gaze, Elisabeth asked Marianne simply responded with a quiet smile
With the sound similar to percussion instru torch, the center swirled with blue flaic ritual, the bizarre looking Knight was born in flames Thenreplicas of The Knight nonstop
Next, boxes a size smaller than the earlier scaffolds was asses jumped out from inside Countless sliround, splattering liquid poison and decay fluid all over the place
”All for the sake of loooooooooooooooooove!”
”You are thoroughly insane”
The strange voice echoed, sounding like it was h she had an intolerable headache Marianne said soh in embarrassment, and nodded her head deeply
Staring at her, Hina cautiously raised her halberd and whispered:
”Why is this? I want to refute her yet I also feel deeply sympathetic with her”
”Please don't do that, I' you”
”N-No, Lord Kaito, you have misunderstood! What I understand is the heartache felt for ato decide that the ant Even if thepath, one should support theout even the last drop of bone marrow and die for the master, that is what a servant's duty entails Besides, loveas it is for your sake, Lord Kaito, I will gladly die any time”
”Hina, ahead of you!”
Manyabout Their soft and rotten flesh pushi+ng against one another and defor their way to approach Kaito and coed forward and swung her halberd fiercely
”—Mere deco flesh—”
Theat the forefront had its belly ruptured in one hit, splashi+ng rotting h dancing, Hina stepped on the frog's corpse and advanced, her body spinning half a revolution while swinging the halberd, sweeping the surrounding s
Then she swung her halberd vigorously again to throw off the poison fluid stuck to the blade and suddenly stopped
”—Quit bothering—”
She lowered her center of gravity and dashed fiercely During the instant when she passed by The Knight, she swung her halberd at the horse, bifurcating the horse's body horizontally The horse's lower half galloped so on the road just as the top half fell on the stone tiles The Knight looked around uneasily
”— conversation with Lord Kaito!”
Hina lopped off The Knight's head, kicking the head flying out of sight the second it fell to the ground
After doing all this, Hina returned to Kaito as though perfor the halberd rapidly with great dexterity, she sent rotting one, she readjusted her grip on the halberd and smiled at Kaito
That sel's
”Excuse me, let us continue Only for your sake, Lord Kaito, I have long prepared ladly to le hair of yours, so please do not worry”
”Th-Thanks Y-You're such a great help B-By the way, how's Elisabeth doing on her side?”
Under Hina's intense pressure, Kaito acted a little suspiciously while looking around him
Elisabeth was facing an endless onslaught of deh rotten flesh However, she re a spikedthe bodies of these dee number of meatballs
”Marianne, what is theof this?”
”This is one of the thirteen demons defeated by you Or rather, its devotees I extracted so that blood as a catalyst, I su the intense twistedness in their souls through temporary bodies of flesh, this is the result”
”A sudden career change to a necromancer cannot possibly attain such powerful techniques Sure enough, you have joined Vlad”
”Indeed, I have received plenty of help, sacrificing many people as well However, all this was for your sake alone, it was unavoidable For the sake of allowing a o was a necessary sacrifice”
After listening to Marianne, Kaito exaain The materials used probably consisted of human flesh This town had bones all over the place, but no flesh Where and how did Marianne obtain this human flesh? Given the ht of that was nauseating
As though praying, Marianne clasped her gloved fingers together
”Yes, indeed Unavoidable Unavoidable, unavoidable unavoidable unavoidable! This was unavoidable! Because, because I wanted to become like you, there was no other way except to shoulder an accumulation of sins just like you!”
Blue flahtened The flareat fire frohts from them
The Knights charged at Elisabeth while an ars swarmed Kaito and Hina
”Stop exposing your ugly forms endlessly in front of Lord Kaito!”
Hina swung her halberd with precision, even calculating the trajectory of splashi+ng poison, but suddenly, the bones in the surroundings turned into a shi+eld, blocking her attack Even though the bones were ss were spared