黒色のフォンセ!
Kokushoku no Foncé!
I do not own Konjiki no Gash! Or Konjiki no Gash Bell! Or Zatch Bell! They belong to Makoto Raiku, Shuukan Shounen Sunday, Shougakukan, VIZ Media, Touei Animation, and Cartoon Network.
Zorcu and Jeeno are property of Rahkshi500.
Level 26: 秘密の部屋
Level 26: The Chamber of Secrets
How could this have happened? So horrible! What are we going to do?
—from the Journal of Ishtar
Ken was surprised; Foncé usually didn't take this long to get up. Maybe jet lag had gotten to her, but she had seemed so excited about possibly learning something that he thought she would get up earlier than everyone else. After sitting at the table for an hour, watching her breakfast growing cold, he decided to do something about it.
"Excuse me," he said to everyone at the table. "I just want to check on Foncé."
Leaving the dining hall, Ken made his way back to the guest room Foncé was staying at. He knocked on the wooden door. "Foncé?" he called. "Are you awake?"
No reply.
Ken knocked harder. "Foncé? Foncé?"
Still no reply.
"Foncé, I'm coming in there," Ken said. He turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. What he saw made him gasp.
The sheets on Foncé's bed had been ripped off and flung to the floor and the window was wide-open, cold damp morning air blowing through.
Terror seized Ken's heart. He raced to the open window to stuck his head through. Thankfully they were on the ground floor. "Foncé!" Ken called, even though all he could see were the flowing green grass that covered the hill Château de Fouché rested upon. He looked down, and noticed a footprint in a patch of soil. An inhuman footprint with what looked to Ken like clawed toes. His eyes followed the footprint to a patch of flattened grass.
Grass undoubtedly flattened by a clawed foot.
I'm so fucked, thought Ken.
The group stared blankly at Ken. He waited in uncomfortable silence for their answer.
"So," Imité finally said, "you think a big monster came in last night and kidnapped Foncé."
"Yes," said Ken. "Basically."
"Another Devil, perhaps," suggested Jeeno.
"But why would a Devil kidnap her instead of just looking for her book?" asked Zorcu.
"A Devil who does not wish to be discovered would not want to create much of a commotion," Princesa stated. "It would have trouble locating the book of Foncé. It does not need to burn the book anyway. It could just pummel Foncé until she dies. Then her pretty scarlet corpse will be sent back to the World of Devils. If I am to be sent back, I hope very much that her blood is wiped off the returning point when I get there."
"Don't say such things!" Jeeno cried, horrified that anyone could say anything like that so casually. Sure, she didn't like Foncé, but that was just too horrible for her to think about.
"If that happened then Foncé's book would've combusted on its own," Imité pointed out.
"And her book's okay," said Ken, holding it up for everyone to see.
"So whatever happened, we can still help her!"
"But what happened exactly?" asked Ishtar.
"Aren't you the psychic?" Ken retorted.
Imité stood up. "People! People! I want to find Foncé more than anyone, but if we blindly charge out looking for her without thinking we'll just waste more time."
"Perhaps we should be looking at the footprints?" Princesa suggested.
"Yeah, we can just follow the footprints!" Imité agreed.
Following the trail, the group came to an abandoned stone church-like structure. "This is the old chapel," said Fouché. "It was closed down before I was even born. I heard it has a big catacomb, and it was supposedly built over a pre-Christian temple to some local pagan religion."
"Very interesting," said Princesa as she examined the doorway. "How I wish I could study this more closely. Alas, I am drawn mostly to the signs that someone slammed this door open not too long ago!" She opened the door, revealing a dark space. "How charming," she uttered cheerfully.
Aoi took a step back. "No way!" she said trembling. "I'm not gonna go in there!"
"That would be wise," Fouché said. "Something might collapse if you go in."
"Bah!" Zorcu spat. "It's just a little darkness! It can't hurt you!"
"Easy for you to say," said Mistera. "What you can't see can hurt you."
"Well I'm going in," said Ken as he stepped into the darkness. "I'm getting Foncé back."
"We're going too!" Imité said.
"What do you mean 'we'?" Squalor snapped. "I'm not setting one foot in that place."
"I'm going too," said Ishtar. "Foncé's destiny must be fulfilled. It can't end like this!"
"She can't die or go back yet," said Zorcu. "Not when I've found someone with even remotely similar views to mine."
"I just want to look at the chapel and see if we can find the old temple," said Princesa. "But perhaps looking for Foncé will be interesting. Who knows? If we are most fortunate we will witness her being sacrificed in an ancient rite never seen before by outsiders."
"I'd pound your pretty face if I knew Foncé herself might find that funny," said Imité.
"Really? Then I would most like to see her again. We have not yet talked at length."
"Hey! We didn't agree we'd go down there!" Aoi snapped.
"Right!" Squalor agreed. "Who said we'd go down there and help?"
Mistera sighed. "I believe in your visions, Ishtar. If you say Foncé has a special future then I believe you. I guess I'm in."
"It's scary," said Jeeno, "but I feel safe with Zorcu at my side."
"Yay for you," Aoi said sarcastically.
"There is always the chance of finding ancient treasures," Princesa cooed.
"Treasure?" Aoi's eyes lit up. "You think there's a treasure down there?"
"Not in the chapel," said Fouché. "But maybe below. I don't know. I've been too frightened to check."
Squalor and Aoi looked shared a brief, greedy gaze then turned to the dark entrance. "We'll do anything…"
"…for treasure!"
Ishtar smiled. "Wonderful! Now let's rescue Foncé!"
The group filed into the door to the unknown. "Be careful!" Fouché called after them.
Foncé shivered in the darkness. Being a dark Devil, she was somewhat able to see through the gloom. From what she could tell, she was in some kind underground cave. Some crudely carved sculptures littered the area. She could see what looked to be a sacrificial altar nearby. As for her captor, he had gone out of sight, but she could still hear him, somewhere close. His clawed feet made little clicking noises on the stone floor as he paced around unseen.
"How is it?" came his smooth voice. "How is it that I feel her in a whelp like you? Her presence is faint, but it was enough to bring me out of dormancy, to break the enchantment trapping me in this cave." He spoke in an unfamiliar language, yet his words were clearly understandable in Foncé's head. It was strange, but not unheard of—there were Devils that could not speak clearly, but their partners could understand them regardless.
"Please, tell me who you're talking about," Foncé asked as calmly as she could. The beast hadn't harmed her yet, but she was afraid that she might offend him somehow. True, he actually seemed quite civilized, but she wasn't taking any chances. She felt truly vulnerable for the first time in her life down there in the darkness. In a way, it was worse that when Désaxé was threatening to hurt her—at least Ken had been there for her, holding her book. She was totally, completely helpless now.
He gave what sounded to Foncé like a frustrated sigh. "I just don't understand it," he said. "How is it that the great Serpenté could return to me in a form like this? She swore that she would live for all eternity, so why would she come back as a little girl?"
"Serpenté?" asked Foncé.
"What a disappointment," he sighed. "Just like a thousand years ago. I was sure that you had returned, but I could only find a descendent of yours named Sabré."
"Sabré! That's my father's name!"
"Your father?" the creature asked. "Impossible! He was descended from you, not the other way around!"
"I don't know who this Serpenté is!" Foncé insisted. "Please, sir, explain to me what this is about!"
Powerful leathery wings brushed past her and Foncé shivered at their touch. "You are Serpenté! Of that I am sure of. But something happened to you and you don't remember who you are and you have a child's body now."
Foncé wracked her brains for something else to say that was relevant. Suddenly, she had an idea. "You say you knew my fa—Sabré. This means you were around for the last Devil Battle."
"Correct."
"How close were you?"
"I assisted him in his research."
Jackpot! thought Foncé with growing excitement.
"And what was he researching exactly?"
"The World of Darkness."
"What did he want to know about the World of Darkness?"
"He and his lover were searching on a way to easily influence the World of Darkness' inhabitants and to exploit the powers of darkness to strengthen themselves. Much like you were when I met you."
"His lover?" Foncé frowned. She thought her mother didn't participate in the last Devil Battle. "Was her name Reina Madre?"
"No, it was his partner, Griffon."
"Is that so?" Foncé replied, a little surprised. Stodgy old papa, a swinging dandy like Imité? What she wouldn't give to see that.
"Poor man, that Griffon. He got sealed away down here too. Over there."
Foncé glanced over and saw a figure dressed in an ancient suit of armor manacled to a wall. The figure had long white hair and was slumped over, so she could not see its face. She doubted that it could have much left for a face by now though. It was a macabre image, but Foncé found it quite beautiful herself. She wished that her older sister Gentilé were there to paint a picture of the body.
"He isn't really dead," her captor spoke, startling her. "Merely dormant, like I was until your presence roused me. He doesn't know you though; he would have little to say to you now."
Just when Foncé was trying to think of something else to ask, he said, "Someone's coming. I don't think they know where we are, but they're close to the temple."
Ken! thought Foncé. He and the others must be looking for me!
"I should have taken your partner too," he said. "I wasn't thinking straight when I brought just you. I shall bring him down here."
Her captor moved swiftly to the wall and examined it.
"You're leaving me?" asked Foncé.
"No; you're not well and I must take care of you until you remember. If I left myself then you might run away. So I'll send someone to escort your partner down here."
He placed his hand on the wall, and eerie green lines of light exploded from his fingers and raced up along the wall's surface in jagged lines. The lines surged up into the catacombs above, wriggling their way into the dusty old bones of long dead monks. Then everything was still again…for a few seconds at least.
A skeleton twitched, wiggled, and sat up, dust falling from its bones. Dark magic connected at the joints, keeping the long dead thing together. Other skeletons rose up, dozens, hundreds. They stood, mindless and at the ready for instructions.
Bring anyone who has entered the catacombs down to me, the captor's voice said telepathically. Do not leave the catacombs directly.
Given purpose, the skeleton army marched off.
Armed with flashlights, the group peered through the gloom. Footprints stood out on the dusty floor.
"This guy sure is easy to track," said Imité.
"Let's hope he's not so powerful that he doesn't care if anyone finds him," Ishtar remarked.
Princesa followed the tracks to a large hole in the floor. Pointing her flashlight down, she saw stairs leading to an even darker area. "It looks like we just go down these stairs, yes?"
"I'll go first," said Imité as he moved down the steps. "I can see well in the dark."
"So can I," said Zorcu, following him.
"We need to get organized," said Ishtar. "Humans, get behind your Devils. We can take more punishment than you can, and we need you intact to read our books."
"More importantly," Squalor grumbled, "you won't accidentally shoot me if something attacks us."
"I'll get behind you guys," Ken said. "I need extra protection. If we rescue Foncé but something happens to me then she'll be helpless."
Everyone bunched into a tight circle, resembling some bizarre variation on the ancient phalanx battle formation. They briefly broke formation to get down the stairs, and regrouped when they reached the bottom.
"This place is surprisingly roomy," Imité remarked. "Wait, isn't this supposed to be a catacomb?"
"Yeah," Ken said back. "Why?"
"I don't see any bones here."
"Maybe they disintegrated," Aoi suggested. "Now can we please hurry up? I don't want to spend another minute down here!"
"Quiet!" Zorcu snapped. "I thought I heard something!"
Everyone fell quiet. A strange clacking noise could be heard.
"What the duce?" Squalor pointed his flashlight straight ahead, just in time to illuminate a grinning skeleton as it appeared in a doorway. It turned its skull toward them and began to advance, its joints creaking with every step.
A nameless terror fell over the humans, freezing them in place. It is one thing to encounter strange monsters and Devils—it is another thing to be confronted by the living dead. Humans have, and will always have, a superstitious fear of the dead. But even worse is to face an enemy that can't be killed because it is already dead.
"Holy shit," Mistera whispered.
"Read a spell any time you like guys," Imité said sarcastically.
"Kalightsu!" cried Jeeno. The jewel on Zorcu's forehead glowed brightly and released a thin red beam of light. The beam lanced through the air and pierced through the skeleton's left shoulder, causing its arm to fall off. Still, it advanced without even slowing down.
"It is nothing but brittle bones," said Princesa as she pointed her hands at the skeleton. "Destroy it with blunt trauma and it will no longer move. Aoi?"
"No," the frightened girl squeaked, shaking her head from side to side as if trying to wake up from a nightmare. "No."
"Aoi, please read my book," Princesa said calmly but firmly.
"De-Desru!" she managed to cry. Princesa produced a tight ball of sand and hurled it into the skeleton's midsection. The impact exploded and the entire ribcage and lower spine were pulverized. The thing collapsed in a sandy heap.
"See?" said Princesa. "Easily destroyed with blunt force."
"I can manage that pretty well," Imité smirked. He stepped away from the group and brought his heel down on the skull, crushing it into dust. "Well that was easy. There shouldn't be more—yaaaah!"
With his back to the doorway, Imité didn't see the skeletal hands reach out to grab him. They grasped at his flowing hair and arms, trying to pull him further into the catacombs.
"Get off of me!" he yelled in disgust, forcefully yanking his arm back. This action tore off several hands that were still clinging to him. Imité stumbled forward, dragging some more skeletons out into the open. Laying flat on the floor, Imité shouted, "Hit them! Now!"
Zorcu put his hands forward. "Jeeno, use the fourth spell!"
"Thaoson Kalightsu!" Multiple beams of red light rushed forward, shredding the skeletons. They fell to pieces on top of Imité, showering him in bone dust.
"Oh, nasty!" he cried as he stood up and shook the dust from his hair and clothes. "Come on, let's find her and get out of here!"
"Wait!" said Ishtar. She opened her cloak, and pulled a leather bag out from some inner compartment. She opened the bag and produced a battered deck of brown cards.
"This isn't the time for tarot readings!" Ken snapped.
"I know that!" Ishtar replied as she quickly flipped through her cards. "My regular spells won't be much help, so I'm bringing in some reinforcements! Ah, here we are…"
She pulled one card out and put the rest back into her robe. "Mistera!"
"Got you!" The old gold book powered up with a throbbing sound, and Mistera called out, "Summon!"
The card Ishtar held glowed with a golden light, and she tossed it to the floor. "I call upon you, Machine Golem! Heed your mistress' command!"
The card shined brightly, and expanded, taking on a round shape. Stumpy legs and thin arms sprouted from the main mass, followed by a round head. When the light cleared, a shining bronze android with large eyes stood there. It was squat and round and very sturdy looking.
"You can summon monsters to fight for you?" said Zorcu He was reminded somewhat of a Devil he fought earlier named Biblio, who could return Devils who had been sent back to the World of Devils back to the World of Humans.
"It's her special skill," Mistera responded.
"Machine Golem! Go ahead of us and smash any skeletons that attack you!" Ishtar commanded.
The mechanical man bowed stiffly to Ishtar and turned to go through the doorway. Almost immediately after it passed through, the group could hear the sound of bones being snapped and crushed.
"Come on, let's go!" said Ken.
The group followed Machine Golem. The next room was much larger than the last one, and an entire army of animate skeletons stood there. Many were swarming Machine Golem, but they couldn't find any purchase on its smooth, round form. Its metal fists tore through the brittle bones easily. Even so, it could not destroy every skeleton on its own, and a number of skeletons ignored Machine Golem in favor of Ken's group.
"Okay partners!" Imité called. "We need a lot of spells right now!"
Every book began powering up, and every Devil got ready to fire their spells.
"Ganzu Anheiru!"
"Ganzu Desru!"
"Thaoson Kalightsu!"
"Ganzu Gou Carnoga!"
Each Devil pointed in a different direction for their attacks. Flurries of razor-sided cards, red beams, sand projectiles, and blasts of darkness tore through the skeleton hoard.
Ken stood helplessly behind them. He hated the feeling of uselessness, and realized that he couldn't stand being without Foncé. He was addicted to her dark powers now, and felt incomplete without them. He now understood that he must never allow her book to her burned. If she left him he wasn't sure if he could go on living.
Please be okay Foncé, he thought. What can I do without you?
Ishtar's Ganzu Gou Carnoga was very effective at cutting live targets to pieces, but the effect was considerably diminished against the skeletons. You can break a bone with sufficient force, but it is very difficult to cut clear through large bones. Ishtar was only able to take down a target by fully severing the spinal column, and most of the cards she threw just got stuck in the ribs.
"I need some help!" she called out. "Please?"
"We'll help!" said Jeeno. "Zorcu, get close to Ishtar!"
"Zorcu's fine where he is!" Imité called back. "His spells are stronger than both of ours, so it'd be overkill if he helped you! I'll help you!"
Imité stood over Ishtar while their partners called out both of their spells at once.
"I think I know what's going on here."
Foncé looked over to her captor, beginning to feel worried. If he decided that she wasn't the one he was looking for after all he wouldn't have any reason to let her live any longer. "You do?" His cold claws suddenly pressed against her shoulders, and she nearly fainted out of fright. She didn't like where this was going.
"Don't be afraid," he said soothingly. "I'm going to try something. If I'm right about you then all will be okay for everyone. If I'm wrong about you…I'm sorry."
He suddenly clamped his fingers around her neck and squeezed. Foncé didn't even have time to cry out. Feeling the life being choked out of her, she tore at his fingers, but the hands seemed to be made out of steel. Spots began to flash before her eyes and she felt faint. Her own heartbeat roared in her ears. She felt something begin to thrash inside of her, like when Désaxé had her pinned down, but it was much more forceful now. She heard a strangled, angry scream from somewhere far away, and everything began to go black…
Machine Golem calmly trotted over the last skeleton and slammed its fists through it, shattering the living dead creature into dust.
"Is everyone alright?" asked Jeeno.
"We're fine," Squalor said dismissively.
"I can still cast spells," said Aoi.
"So can I," said Mistera. "Can you two?"
"Yes," Jeeno and Squalor said at once.
"There's a hole up ahead," Imité said, pointing to the wall. Indeed, a large hole had been smashed through the other side of the wall.
"The pagan temple, I presume?" said Princesa. "We must be very close by now."
The group entered the hole and found themselves in a cave, walking down a gently sloping incline. The deeper they went the colder it got. It was very dark in there.
"Please tell me someone brought extra batteries," said Aoi.
"I did!" said Jeeno.
"So did I," said Ishtar.
"I would have brought some," Imité said, "but I keep forgetting that humans can't see in the dark like I do."
"Let's keep quiet," said Ken. "Foncé's kidnapper might hear us."
The group traveled in silence for a while. Then they came to a halt. They had entered a large chamber with some clearly man-made objects strewn about. But what stopped them was the figure their lights rested upon. Someone with a huge pair of bat-like wings stood there with its back to them. It slowly turned around to face them. It was a tall, slim boy with long, wavy black hair. He was nude save for some strange silver chains wrapped around his waist, wrists, and neck. His hands and feet were fearsomely clawed, and a pair of curving horns extended from his skull. A black, leathery tail flicked behind him. His handsome face was utterly expressionless, and he regarded them with yellow, slitted catlike eyes.
"So," he said softly, "you've arrived." He stepped aside, revealing a crude stone altar. Lying on the altar was the lifeless body of Foncé.
The blood drained from Ken's face when he saw Foncé lying still there. Her eyes stared open sightlessly. She didn't look alive.
No…no…"Foncé!"
To be continued...