Interlude to a Massacre in the Kingdom
Five Minutes BEFORE the Last Death (Sixteen Deaths)
"For how much longer do they intend to keep us in the dark about what's going on? There is nothing I find more tedious than being forced to sit and wait. I think I deserve to know why we've been imprisoned in this room." Complained a woman with beautiful features as she fanned herself with her crimson fan.
"Nobody here knows what's happening out there, so why don't you just keep your damn mouth shut?" An annoyed golden-haired girl replied. From her tone of voice it could be inferred that this was hardly the first time the fan woman had voiced such a question aloud.
"Such insolence! After hardly uttering a word during the entire meeting, you decide this is the right time to find your voice, you petty slum rat?" Using abrasive words, the woman with the fan responded to the golden-haired young girl.
"I wouldn't have said a word were it not that this is the thirtieth time you've complained about being cooped up in this room! Don't you know anything about patience?!" The girl chided the woman, her delicate features puckering into a sneer. "Besides, it's unbelievable that you're able to complain about being imprisoned here, when I was basically forced to join this political drama! If it weren't for the fact that they literally threatened to execute my grandpa, I wouldn't even be here with all of you!"
"As if I could care about the circumstances that brought you here. Besides, you could just run away, couldn't you? That's what slum rats do best, after all." At the fan woman's insulting reply, the golden-haired girl got up from the chair she was sitting in and set about pouncing on the woman. And she would have done so, had not a delicate hand come between them both.
"We all find ourselves stuck in the same stressful situation, fighting won't solve anything. So why don't you two shake hands and reconcile."
"Huh?! Apologizing? Me? I don't think I need to, after all I didn't do anything but speak the truth. If there's anyone who should apologize here, that's you." Exclaimed the woman, smacking away with her fan the hand of the lady who had intervened in the squabble.
"M-Me?" The lady in question asked, with a mixture of surprise and trepidation.
"Indeed, you. You should apologize for being born, you silver-haired half-devil." The woman stated in a hostile manner. "I'm absolutely certain to say that whatever it is that has caused the conflict we're confined here for, it is due to your existence."
"..." Crestfallen, the reviled girl retracted her arm.
"Will you never stop looking down your nose at us?! Don't talk that way to Onee-san! You're known in the capital as a murderess, so that could very well be the cause of the conflict!" The golden-haired girl exclaimed enraged.
"Murderess? The commoners can believe what they want to believe, but that won't make them right or prevent me from seizing the throne of their country." Replied the woman smugly, unaffected by the girl's words.
"I agree with Emilia-san, fightin' amongst ourselves will only make our stay in this place even less enjoyable than it already is. So why don' we put this trivial conflict aside and quietly wait fer an update regardin' the state of the city?" A fourth young woman stepped into the dispute. This was Anastasia, who with a delicate smile on her face sought to appease the hostile atmosphere.
"Tch! It really doesn't matter how things transpire, this world's designed to operate in my favor. So in the end I'll always come out on top. Hopefully all this stupid conflict that has the royal knights so preoccupied will be able to entertain me." No one dared to retort to the presumptuous remark of the fan woman, Matriarch of the House of Barielle, Baroness Priscilla Barielle, who immediately proceeded to sit down and resumed waving her fan.
Letting out a heavy sigh, the lady who had initially interceded in the conflict, Emilia, returned to her seat, followed by the golden-haired girl, Felt. And looking at them in silence, Anastasia carefully scrutinized the features of her rivals. Everyone there was upset, to a greater or lesser extent, and given the clash of strong and contrasting personalities, the room was a hotbed of conflict.
The meeting of the candidates of the Royal Selection had dragged on for too long... Everything had started relatively normally, and although it was evident that the relationship between the candidates was not the best, no conflict had arisen until then. Firstly, the candidates socialized, avoiding getting into political issues. After that, the topics that Anastasia had hoped to discuss were gradually addressed. However, the existence of the fifth candidate seemed to remain a mystery even to the other candidates.
Anastasia then suggested discussing the matter directly with the Sage Council, and although there was some reluctance at the beginning, all of them, even the silent Felt, eventually agreed. It was then that Marcos, the captain of the Royal Guard, entered the room where they were gathered and announced that the capital was in a state of turmoil. Initially, Anastasia suspected that this was a ploy devised by the Sage Council.
But by then that idea had already been discarded. More than an hour had passed since Marcos' alert, and the situation did not seem to change. For safety's sake, Marcos had asked the four candidates not to leave the meeting room, and this had caused discomfort and annoyance to start building up in the stagnant air of the place. Anastasia might not look as upset as her rivals, but there was no doubt that she was growing frustrated.
"Ehem!"Emilia suddenly cleared her throat, causing all eyes to fall on her. Noticing this, the silver-haired girl lowered her gaze. In a barely audible voice, Emilia spoke to Felt. "You must feel remarkably reassured, don't you, Felt-chan? Your knight's Reinhard, and I'm sure he'll be able to protect you from anything." It seemed to be a harmless comment, a clumsy attempt to engender conversation, but it seemed to have annoyed Felt slightly.
"Huh? That stupid knight? If not for him, I'd be free, my grandpa wouldn't have tried to kill one of those decrepit elders of the Sage Council, and I wouldn't have to be dealing with all this Royal Selection bullshit. So I couldn't care less if he's the strongest knight or whatever." Replied the girl, restraining her anger so as not to end up insulting the young woman who had once forgiven her for her misdeeds and saved her life.
"..." Realizing that she had made a mistake, Emilia opted to remain silent. Nevertheless, the conversation had piqued Anastasia's curiosity.
"Emilia-san, a knight hasn't been given to ya yet, right? Ram-san is just a maid who's actin' as your escort, after all."
"Hmm... Well... A lot has happened and so Roswaal hasn't had a chance to introduce me to him, but I'm supposed to indeed have a knight." Emilia said, turning to Anastasia.
"Oh! So ya've indeed been appointed a knight, who's he?" Anastasia asked, leaning slightly towards Emilia. However, she quickly pulled herself upright and added. "Of course, ya don't have to tell me anythin' if ya don't want to."
"Not that I don't wanna answer you, it's just that I haven't heard his name for a long time and it's hard for me to remember it." Emilia answered her, bringing her right hand to her chin, which she began to rub, with a gesture that indicated she was deep in thought.. After a moment, her expression of concentration faded, and a small smile formed on her lips. "Garfiel Tinsel! That's his name."
"Garfiel Tinsel..." Anastasia murmured, thoughtfully. "That name doesn't ring a bell. Is he some knight of the realm?"
"No, he isn't. He lives in Sanctuary of Kremaldy, a place located in Mathers territory. Still... Well, Roswaal has been very secretive about it all. He told me that after this meeting he might be able to find the knight he really wants for me. The truth is, I haven't the slightest idea what he means by that."
"Maybe he's having trouble finding someone willing to guard a half-devil, and that Garfiel Tinsel guy is nothing but someone he made up." Remarked Priscilla mockingly. Felt was about to reply, but then she was interrupted by the sound of the door being violently thrown open.
"Princess, we need to leave this castle immediately!" It was a man whose fashion sense left much to be desired. It was hard to believe that someone like him would be related to any of the candidates for the throne, but that indeed was the case.
"What are you talking about, Al? Will I finally be able to leave this rat-infested prison?" Priscilla rose from her chair parsimoniously and waited for the man to approach her.
"Yes, you'll, Princess. However, I don't mean simply leave this room. If we don't get out of the castle, I fear we won't survive!" The man, whose head was covered by a strange black helmet, seemed to be in considerable alarm.
"Are you suggesting that we should flee, Aldebaran? Don't you think I would thereby miss out on all the fun for which I endured such a tedious wait?" Priscilla did not seem particularly pleased with the idea.
"Princess, the city has been attacked by the Witch Cult and a Sin Archbishop has shown up at the entrance of the castle... No, two Sin Archbishops! I ain't sure what sins they are, but I'm confident that this castle will be nothing but rubble in just a matter of time."
"Hmm... Al, you lead me out of the castle. I'm sure I'll find all the entertainment I desire along the way. Ha, ha, ha, ha. After all, there's no way it won't all turn out in my favor in the end." And with those words, the pair left the meeting room without so much as turning to look at the remaining candidates. The two had just crossed the doorway when three more people walked into the room.
"Julius, what's goin' on?! Is it true what Priscilla's knight said, two Sin Archbishops have stormed the castle?" Agitatedly, Anastasia stood up from her seat and approached her knight, who was accompanied by two girls, a small one with orange hair and cat ears, and a medium-sized one with pink hair and an expressionless face.
"I'm afraid so, Anastasia-sama. The Royal Guard tried to keep them at bay, but it proved impossible. To make matters worse, one of the attackers has been confirmed to be the Archbishop of Greed." Appalled by the terrible news, Anastasia covered her mouth with one of her delicate hands.
"J-Julius, has the Archbishop of Greed made it into the castle yet?" The one who asked such a thing was Emilia, who had peeked over petite Anastasia's shoulder. From her abnormally pale face it was evident that the news had not sat well with her.
"Fortunately that's not yet the case. Reinhard... Reinhard was quick to comply with the order to protect the castle. After what happened with Wilhelm-sama it couldn't happen any other way." The knight reported, immediately moving his gaze to the small girl standing next to Emilia. "So I'm afraid Reinhard won't be coming for you, Felt-sama. Still, I am at your command. I'll make sure to get you out of here without a scratch, I swear on my honor."
"Tch! I don't need a knight guarding me at all times, I can take care of myself." Felt replied grumpily.
"Felt-chan, please allow Julius to protect you. I've faced a Sin Archbishop once before and I can assure you that beating them is no cakewalk." Emilia told her, taking her by the hand.
"Cakewalk...?"Confused by Emilia's idiom, Felt remained silent for a moment, but after that she shook out a sigh in defeat. "Fine, whatever. But I'll stick with you, Onee-san." Felt decided not to say anything about it, but thanks to the touch of Emilia's hand, she could tell that her body was shivering violently, and her skin was freezing cold as a winter's day; just because of that she had agreed to the young woman's request.
Instead of responding immediately to Felt's demand, Emilia looked at Ram, the maid who had been sent to protect her. She, noticing Emilia's gaze, said. "I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you just by myself, Emilia-sama. It would be best not to part with them." By them it was clear that she meant the knight, the mercenary girl and the rival candidates.
"Well, in that case, we'll all get out of here together. Where shall we head?"
The one who answered Emilia's question was Anastasia. "My mansion. I'm convinced it's the safest place in the city at the moment; I was gonna ask Priscilla to accompany us, but she left before I'd a chance to do so. Still, it's crucial that we aren't seen along the way, so we must be extremely careful. For now, we don't know the full extent of the Witch Cult's attack, do we, Julius?"
"We're only aware that the nobility district, the commercial district and the land of royalty are under attack. We do not know if the two Sin Archbishops who have attacked the castle are the only ones in the city, but personally I have my doubts that this is the case; it would be too ideal a scenario for us, and the Witch Cult doesn't usually operate in this way."
"I concur with ya, Julius. In that case we will've to find a way around all the attackers; if any of us are spotted, I've no doubt we'll become the focus of the attack."
"We're their target?" Asked Felt, looking slightly agitated.
"Or just me..." Emilia murmured. No one dared to disagree with her.
"Whatever the goal of those lunatics, I will make sure to protect the three of you with my life, you are the future of the kingdom." Stated the knight steadfastly. After that, he looked towards the door, where Mimi was now standing guard. "We don't know where the unidentified second archbishop may be, so it's paramount that we move with extreme caution even inside the castle." Having said this, Julius called out to Mimi, who signaled that the coast was clear. With that the evacuation began.
Twenty Minutes since the Last Death (Sixteen Deaths)
The group consisting of a knight, a mercenary, a maid and three female candidates for King moved swiftly through the corridors of the castle. Ten minutes ago the escape from the castle had begun and they had not yet encountered any hostile forces. However, it was also true that an eerie silence had fallen over the place, only interrupted by loud rumblings and violent tremors that attested to how terrible the fighting outside the castle was.
The only sounds each of them produced were the sound of their agitated breaths being exhaled from their mouths and noses, and the sound of their shoes coming into contact with the ground with every step they took. And that is why when the violent and sudden impact between dagger and sword took place, it was particularly thunderous; the sound of steel clashing with steel reverberated through the lonely passageway. Julius held his position, his steady gaze fixed on the strange individual who had attempted to assassinate him.
"Marvelous, wonderful, amazing, incredible, astonishing, extraordinary! Such an incredible reaction can only be the product of years of delicious expertise! Our stomachs haven't stopped growling since we arrived in this city rife with mouth-watering dishes, but in honor of our late brother we waited until we found someone capable of satisfying his exquisite gourmet palate. And it seems we've finally found it, ~tsu!"
"Impossible..." A murmur of shock leaked from the lips of the knight, who dumbfounded observed an individual who without room for doubt fit the image of the deceased Ley Batenkaitos.
"We'd be glad to stop and chat, but we have been instructed to devour those on whose lives the fate of this cursed kingdom depends; we've already cleared the table so that there will be no unnecessary disturbances, all that remains is to satisfy our voracious appetite." Licking his lips, the strange person slipped past Julius' side and lunged at Anastasia. "You're Anastasia Hoshin, no doubt about it! What will your insatiable greed taste like?!" He bellowed madly, as he protruded his disgusting tongue.
"Stay away from her!" But Julius' sword would not allow such perversion to occur. As the edge of Julius' sword drove the small guy back, Ram grabbed Emilia, who was holding hands with Felt, by the hand and pulled her away from Anastasia, who was thus momentarily separated from the others along with Mimi. "What's your name, you degenerate miscreant?" Julius needed to confirm his suspicions, so without hesitation, he asked for the identity of the little man as he faced him with his sword in hand.
A creepy smile broke out on the unidentified attacker's face. "Heh, heh, heh... Normally we would've answered with the same question, but since we have received in advance the names of all the dishes intended to be ingested, that won't be necessary." Informed the boy, the creepy grin plastered on his face widening. "We are the Witch Cult's Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, Roy Alphard."
"Gluttony! Does that mean that the previous Archbishop of Gluttony has already been replaced!" Stunned, Julius tightened his grip on the handle of his sword.
"You're quite mistaken! Even so, we have no interest in correcting you! As we already said, we have a mission to fulfill! However, we're sure that when we devour you, you'll be able to grasp it! Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh. Tsu!" As he chuckled sinisterly, the boy who had introduced himself as the Archbishop of Gluttony broke into a run towards Julius' right side.
Alphard was moving at a frightening speed, to the point where Julius was finding it difficult to follow him with his eyes. A single mistake could cost his life or that of one of the candidates, he had to be especially cautious. Julius maintained a firm stance, always interposing himself between the young attacker and the women he was escorting out of the castle. The moment Gluttony tried to attack him, Julius would strike back with Clarista.
However, Julius underestimated the monstrous speed of his opponent. Gluttony suddenly vanished, leaving behind an empty space where Julius had placed his gaze. The knight, alarmed, quickly turned to the candidates behind him, and it was then that he felt it; a lethal attack directed at his neck from his left side. With astonishing reflexes, he raised his sword and parried the attack.
The sound of steel clashing with steel reverberated through the corridor they were in once again. Alphard's grin widened even more, if that was possible, to the point where it split his face in half. The archbishop stepped back and once again began to run swiftly, looking for a way around the knight. As had happened the previous time, Alphard's figure vanished into thin air, but this time Julius was more prepared, he would not be taken by surprise a second time.
Alphard reappeared on his right and attacked, aiming his sharp daggers at the knight's legs. Gluttony, however, found it necessary to pull back before he could land the attack. Julius' rainbow-bright sword mercilessly sliced the Sin Archbishop's forehead. It was not a deep cut, but once the distance between the two grew wider again, copious amounts of blood began to gush from it, staining Gluttony's face.
"How is it that the vacant position of the Archbishop of Gluttony was filled so quickly? The previous Archbishop of Gluttony died only a few months ago. We had estimated that the process would take at least a year." Taking advantage of the fact that the fighting pace had momentarily slowed, Julius once again tried to elicit some response from the mysterious new Archbishop of Gluttony.
"You shouldn't worry about such matters, you. We care little who represents the sin of Gluttony, as long as we can fill our perpetually empty stomachs, nothing else matters. We are Gluttony, always have been. And though we've never been picky when it comes to choosing our dishes, to honor the memory of our late brother, the first dish we devour in this cursed city will be a gourmet one."
"Is this brother you speak of the former Archbishop of Gluttony? Did you inherit his title? Is that how things work within the Witch Cult?" Julius' attempts to gain information that would shed light on the mystery of the Witch Cult were proving fruitless.
Julius was desperate for information. Had it not been that the Kingdom Knights had failed to get information from the Witch Cult, perhaps that siege of the capital would not have occurred in the first place. Information about the cult and its members is what the kingdom lacked. And understanding how a person became a Sin Archbishop could prove to be invaluable information with which they could eventually suppress the emergence of future archbishops.
"Our brother was careless. That stupid old man should never have been able to beat him." He had finally gotten a valuable answer; this brother of whom Alphard spoke had indeed been the former Archbishop of Gluttony. "However, we cannot claim that his death grieves us too much. No, no, no, no, no. His death has opened up a world of the most diverse dishes, finally we will not have to share, and now the most gourmet dishes will also be part of our menu. We'll be able to satiate our insatiable and bizarre appetite at last; for we desire to devour everything, without distinction. We won't be happy until we have completely filled our stomachs to the brim. Now... What will a silver-haired half-devil taste like?"
"Emilia-sama! Emilia-sama! Please snap out of it, we need the Great Spirit-sama's aid!" In desperation, the pink-haired maid began to shake Emilia's pale body, in vain. Realizing that her efforts were futile, Ram cursed her luck under her breath as she dragged Emilia, and Felt as a result, as far away from the fight as possible.
Stepping forward and brandishing his glowing sword, Julius confronted Alphard as he posed what would be the last questions of his interrogation. "Why did you decide to attack the city? Why at this time, and not earlier or later? Why are you targeting the Royal Selection candidates? What do you get by attacking Lugunica?" He asked as he looked for ways to land a good blow on Gluttony, who seemed to be slightly off guard.
"We just follow the gospel scriptures. If we do so, we can go on gobbling up everything we want. Don't you think that's quite a deal? We're sure if you were in our place, you'd agree to it, too."
"El Clausel!" Julius finally saw the opening he had so earnestly sought.
"Spirits! We don't like spirits, they're too presumptuous!" Alphard exclaimed, as the tip of Julius' sword was surrounded by six glowing spheres. Then dozens of sharp beams of light rained down on Gluttony. It looked like he might finally do some major damage to the Archbishop of Gluttony, but things did not unfold as Julius had hoped.
At a frightening speed, Alphard avoided each of the extremely sharp prisms of light as he steadily approached Julius. His movements were so swift that they made him appear to be teleporting to different areas of the corridor each time he moved. Undeterred, Julius raised his sword and prepared to use one of his most lethal techniques.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! We have certainly found the appetizer with which we'll inaugurate this delicious feast!" Exclaimed Gluttony, pleased, intoxicated with happiness. Leaping into the air, Gluttony pounced on Julius, unleashing a barrage of attacks on him. The knight tried to fend off each of the attacks using his sword, but found it impossible to do so; cuts on his arms, torso and face were proof of this.
Out of the corner of his eye, Julius could see someone else join the fight. No, it wasn't just one person, it was two. A young girl with pink hair and a little girl dressed in a white robe with orange highlights. The little girl opened her mouth wide and aimed a thunderous scream at Gluttony, who effortlessly dodged the attack and lunged at her. Mimi was unprotected and Julius had not yet recovered from Alphard's attack, so Ram was forced to use her wind magic to thwart the archbishop's attack.
"Miss Ram, Mimi, please return to the candidates' side and leave here immediately." Before the fight could drag on any longer, Julius stepped forward as he wielded his sword and spoke to the two girls. "Our priority is to protect their lives and make sure the kingdom has a future, so leave the task of dealing with Gluttony to me."
"Julius..." Melancholy, Mimi looked at Julius for a moment, but it was not long before she nodded and headed back to Anastasia.
While maintaining his firm stance, Julius pulled a white rag from his pants and wiped the blood from his face, just in time to avoid showing a pitiful image to his mistress. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the group of women walk past him and begin to run away from the area of combat. "Please, Anastasia-sama, do take care of yourself." He said to the violet haired girl, without looking her in the face.
"Of course I will, Julius, so once again I order ya to return to me alive." She replied, stopping a few feet away from him.
"Miss Ram, Mimi, I beg of you to protect Anastasia." The two girls nodded. The former kept moving forward without stopping, leading Emilia by the hand; Felt was taking the other hand of the half-elf. Only Mimi and Anastasia had stayed behind to bid farewell to the knight.
"Julius, I forbid ya from dyin'! Without ya it'd be neigh impossible fer me to reach my goals and attain all that I desire!" Anastasia exclaimed, her voice starting to falter.
"Hmm... Are they leaving already? We thought they would help you fight, it's a bit disappointing for sure; we don't find that delicious or satisfying. Well, never mind, we'll come for them once we devour you. We'll devour you, eat you, lick you, chew you, gnaw you, bite you until there's nothing left, and even then we'll keep biting! Now that does certainly satisfy us, tsu! And then we get to devour anything we come across in our path! ¡~Tsu!"
"I will make sure this castle becomes your tomb, even if I have to give up my life to do it." Said Julius, his steady gaze fixed on Gluttony.
"Wonderful! We wonder how many delicious top-notch attacks you've in store for us. We're dying to taste them!"
And without further ado, the fight was resumed once again. Julius did not give ground at any point of the fight, no matter how much blood his body shed, he kept fighting until the bitter end. However, the difference in skill and strength between the two was vast. Alphard's blistering speed prevented the knight from executing his best techniques comfortably. Julius' body was quickly drained of energy, until...
"Dammit... I can barely wield my sword." Julius muttered, holding his weapon with only his right hand, from his left blood kept seeping out and part of his humerus bone was visible through a tear in his once white knight's uniform, now completely soaked by the crimson liquid.
"Excellent, it seems that the meal's now ready to be consumed!" Alphard stated, as he swiftly approached the knight. Julius tried to sidestep the oncoming attack, but found it impossible, his body no longer responding to him as he wished. "~Tsu! It's time to eat, Julius Juukulius!" It was then that the world turned black for the knight, his memories and even his very existence were being devoured by the disgusting tongue of the Sin Archbishop.
Thirty Minutes since the Last Death (Sixteen Deaths)
As they ran, Anastasia could notice how pale Emilia was. During the combat between Julius and Gluttony she had overlooked it, but she was finally noticing how stricken Emilia was by her reencounter with a Sin Archbishop. It was obvious that it was all resulting in a huge mental burden for the half-elf.
As she watched Ram protectively pull Emilia by the hand, Anastasia could not help but think of her knight. Anastasia was quick to push her thoughts away from the direction they were heading. It was obvious to her what her knight's last words meant, but she really had no desire to dwell on it; losing trust in her valuable knight would prove unforgivable.
"Miss Anastasia, Mimi remembers passin' this way not too long ago. If Mimi isn't mistaken, turnin' left into the next corridor will take us to one of the exits leadin' to the garden!" Mimi's sudden voice had partially allayed Anastasia's anxieties.
"Glad to hear it, Mimi! Ya heard her Ram-san, we'll go into the next corridor ta the left!"
"Understood, Anastasia-sama!" Replied the maid, pulling the pale silver-haired girl's arm harder, and with it forcing Felt to run faster.
"There, Miss Anastasia!" Signaled Mimi, pointing to the entrance to a corridor that had appeared on the left side of her field of vision. Hope was finally creeping back into Anastasia's heart. "That one over there's-!"
All of a sudden, Mimi's energetic voice was abruptly extinguished. Not another word came out of her mouth. Anastasia, who had been walking behind her, watched in utter horror as the little girl fell to the ground like a doll; a doll whose two legs had been cut off. Blood began to ooze copiously from the severed thighs of Mimi, who had lost consciousness from the shock and pain.
"MIMI!" Cried out Anastasia in pain, a scream that was accompanied by a shriek of terror produced by Felt, who had pivoted to ascertain what had caused Anastasia's scream. It was then that a crazed laugh proceeded both utterances of pain and terror, mocking such feelings.
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh. We must admit that, although we really find it a hassle to choose our meals so painstakingly, we can't deny that doing so got our brother some exquisite delicacies; he undoubtedly consumed only the crème de la crème." A small figure, with unkempt brown hair and dressed in a threadbare piece of cloth, smiled maliciously as he gazed with his emerald eyes at the pool of blood where Mimi now lay.
"Dammit, this little runt just won't stop being a nuisance." Muttered Ram, who had stopped alongside Felt and Emilia several feet away from Mimi and Anastasia. Scowling, she let go of Emilia's hand and looked at Felt. "Felt-sama, I ask you to please keep an eye on Emilia-sama. It seems that this unfortunate encounter with the Witch Cult has left her deeply shaken and I fear she will be unable to protect herself."
"Ehm... Y-Yes, I will, don't worry." Felt replied, feeling unsure. "W-What'll you do?"
"I cannot allow Emilia-sama to perish in this place. If that were to happen, I greatly fear the damage to Roswaal-sama's psyche would be enormous. So I'll make sure to buy as much time as possible so that you and Anastasia-sama can escape along with Emilia-sama."
"Will you try to run away again? We thought it had become obvious that this would result completely useless... Anyway, if with this we discover another dish that might be appetizing, then we really can't complain, lament, sulk, resent, be angry, get upset about having to slightly delay the main course. ~Tsu!"
"Felt-sama, don't stop, please keep running until you have left the castle." Ram said, brandishing a wooden wand she had pulled out of her maid's uniform.
"O-Okay, we'll do that." Felt replied, lightly squeezing the hand of an unresponsive Emilia. "Anastasia, we must get out of here! Anastasia, please don't just stand there!" Anastasia, however, seemed to have fallen into a state of despair not dissimilar to that in which Emilia found herself; she was catatonic.
"Come on, Ana, we must keep going." An encouraging whisper joined Felt's pleas, but not even the voice of her "scarf" was enough to make Anastasia react.
Not wanting to waste any more time, the maid proceeded to attack Gluttony with powerful gusts of wind. The archbishop dodged them without a hitch and leapt into the air. Appearing to be flying, he swooped down on Ram. The girl, though not possessing the same strength as Julius, was able to move at a higher speed than the knight. Moving away from the path of the attack, Ram cast one of her most powerful spells of wind magic.
"Al Fula!" A torrent of air composed of thousands of sharp gusts of wind engulfed the area of the corridor where Alphard was standing, shredding part of the walls and all the decorations in its path.
"Clarista!" However, to Ram's surprise, Alphard had been able to slice through her attack with the two daggers strapped to his wrists; both possessed a strange glow to their edges. It was not the glowing edge that brought Anastasia out of the trance she was in, but the name of the technique used by Alphard, which had seemed ominously familiar to her. When the gusts of air subsided, the figure of a smiling Alphard was unveiled. "We weren't sure that would work without the presence of those pretentious spirits, but it seems our magic works too. Tsu! Great, marvelous, fantastic, wonderful, awesome, spectacular, we're so glad to know that these delicious combat techniques will be of use to us!"
Anastasia hurried over to Mimi, trying hard to ignore Gluttony and the dreadful sense of unease her words were stirring in her, and tried to pick her up and cradle her in her arms. However, a weakened, barely audible whisper reached her ears. "Leave Mimi... here... l-little miss... Save... your…self..."
"M-Mimi…"
"P-Please... Tis… is… what… Mimi… wants... L-Live..." Stifling a sob, Anastasia nodded as she thanked the little girl.
Holding back tears while biting hard on her lower lip, Anastasia ran towards Felt skirting the debris left behind by Ram's attack. Noticing this, Felt did not wait a second longer and started running as well. The three girls ran away, leaving the sounds of fighting behind them. Once again, the three ran down a corridor that seemed to stretch on endlessly, in a way that seemed to mock the girls' desperation.
A feeling that was accentuated when they found that the exit Mimi was referring to had disappeared behind a huge pile of rubble. Felt fell to her knees at the disheartening sight. All hope had been forcibly torn from their hearts, being then replaced by a dreadful hopelessness. And their despair was exacerbated when they heard a bloodcurdling laugh approaching down the corridor.
"It's useless... This is where I'm gonna die... Though perhaps it's better than living a life I despise..." Felt muttered, her head hung low; apparently she had already lost all hope and will to fight. And Anastasia certainly could not blame her for feeling this way.
"That was disappointing, underwhelming, unsatisfying, regrettable, dismal, depressing. Tsu! For a second we thought we'd hit upon the most exquisite dish we'd ever laid our eyes on, but we were so wrong." Said a creepy voice. There, a few meters away from Anastasia, the irrepressible Archbishop of Gluttony showed himself again. "Well, it seems to us that we've already wasted too much time and it's not our intention to go against the orders of the gospel. So we'll gladly devour the first candidate for the throne of this dying country. Anastasia Hoshin, we hope your wit and greed will prove as delicious as we think they will. Let's eat!"
"Ana, you must move, don't stand there like a frightened prey! You must get away from him!" Exclaimed a voice coming from Anastasia's neck. "Maybe if I use that, maybe if-" But it was too late, the creature hiding as Anastasia's scarf could not prevent the catastrophe that loomed over them both.
With nothing Anastasia, or her scarf, could do to stop him, Roy Alphard lunged at her with his tongue stretched out of his mouth. Anastasia attempted to dodge him just as her lifelong companion had instructed, but the speed of the petite girl of poor physical build would never be a match for the frightening speed of Gluttony. Suddenly, Anastasia felt something wet on her face, and everything went black...
Anastasia could feel how everything was absorbed by the blackness and the blackness itself robbed her of something that belonged to her alone. As she felt how she was enveloped by the foreign sensation of separation, the faces of Mimi, Tivey, Hetaro, Ricardo, Felix and Subaru flashed in her mind... Then everything went white...
"Hnk!" Hyperventilating, Anastasia opened her eyes. Everything around her was blurry, she felt disoriented. She looked around, and caught a glimpse of a figure kneeling a few feet away from her, clutching their head tightly.
"H-How's it possible? H-Have we been deceived? Tsu! That, that, that wasn't her real name?! Falsehood, lie, deception, deceit! Did that person lie to us?! ~Tsu!" The figure was muttering crazily. Anastasia recognized the figure and tried to stand up to escape from him, but she staggered and fell to the ground; she was still too disoriented, dazed.
"A-at last I find you, you damned lunatic midget!" Snarled another voice. Limping, a girl with pink hair and torn, bloody clothes approached the kneeling figure; copious amounts of blood kept gushing from her forehead. "Emilia-sama, run away! Run away from here, Emilia-sama! Without you, Roswaal-sama will never be able to achieve his goal! If we don't make everything return to the way the book states...!" The girl started screaming towards the depths of the corridor. Anastasia looked over there, and saw a girl prostrate on the floor, also clutching her head tightly while whispering unintelligible things. "You," Anastasia felt the girl's gaze now settling on her and so she looked up at her. "I don't know who you are, but please get Emilia-sama out of here. From your clothes you seem to be a noblewoman from Lugunica, so I'm sure that getting a candidate for the throne to safety would entail a huge reward. The other candidate cowardly fled, so I've only you to rely on. So save her, please, I assure you that you will be greatly rewarded!"
Anastasia was thoroughly bewildered. What was going on? However, understanding that in her current state she would never be able to figure out what was happening, she nodded and tried again to get to her feet; this time successfully. The girl, whose name she finally remembered, thanked with her eyes before attacking an unguarded Roy Alphard. Anastasia approached Emilia and grabbed her by the arm, helped her to her feet and after that they both started to escape in the opposite direction of the rubble blockade. They would have to return to the main corridor from which they had come.
Anastasia ran to avoid being on the receiving end of an attack from Ram or Alphard, whose fight now seemed to be more evenly matched than before. Something had affected the archbishop mentally, and the fact that Felt was out of sight made Anastasia think that there was a connection between the two. Where was Felt? From Ram's words, she had apparently managed to flee. However, because it appeared that Ram had not recognized her; Anastasia knew she was in no condition to ponder about it.
It was while she was still deep in thought that Anastasia felt a slight push on her back and then she fell to the floor. As she fell, she felt the ground shake violently and heard a loud sound of something massive hitting the ground. A cloud of dust had covered the corridor she was running through. Once again she was completely dazed. What had happened? It was then that Anastasia became aware that she no longer felt Emilia's hand in hers.
"E...? Koff! E-Emilia? Koff! Koff!" Anastasia called out to Emilia, but got no answer; there was no sign of Emilia. That there was a dense cloud of dust obstructing her vision did not make her search any easier.
Anastasia surveyed her surroundings, and it was then that she noticed a strange glow coming from overhead. Anastasia looked up and could see that the reddish sunset light was filtering through a large hole in the ceiling. As a result, the gears in her brain began to move and she abruptly lowered her gaze. There in front of her, barely visible due to the dust, was a huge mound of debris covering the place she and Emilia had come from.
Anastasia stood up and approached the mound, took one, two, three steps, and then felt that she stepped on something liquid and slightly viscous. Anastasia slowly glanced down and was finally able to notice, both because of the proximity and because the dust was dissipating, that a huge pool of blood was seeping out from under the mound of debris. Then she remembered the push that caused her to fall to the ground... and vomited on the spot.
Forty Minutes since the Last Death (Sixteen Deaths)
"Echidna! Please answer me, Echidna!" Anastasia knew her pleas were useless. She had checked her neck earlier and had discovered that her scarf, her lifelong companion, was also missing. Had Felt taken it? Anastasia simply could not understand. Why would she do that? Why would Echidna desert her at a time like that?
Mimi's condition was uncertain, as was Echidna's, but to think that the girl was alive would be deludedly optimistic. Felt was missing. The last time she had seen Ram, she had been fighting a mentally weakened Roy Alphard. Emilia had died saving her from a roof collapse; despite being in a terrible state of shock and catatonia, Emilia had saved her...
"In the state Felix was in, it's impossible that he could've defended himself... And though Subaru is quite adept at evadin' death, considerin' the magnitude of the cult's attack, it's likely that he's already dead..." She whispered, failing to stifle an anguished sob. What had happened to all those in the city? "I don't want to die alone... Subaru, Felix, Mimi, Tivey, Hetaro, Ricardo, Echidna... Where are you? Please, don't leave me alone... I need you all..."
A mentally and emotionally worn-out Anastasia slowly climbed the mountain of rubble that towered up to the opening in the roof. When she reached the top, she was on the edge of the hole that had appeared in the roof, and the castle garden was visible. Also visible were the hundreds of massacred corpses whose crimson red did not contrast with the red of the roses. In the distance, Anastasia could see how two entities of unparalleled powers were facing each other, neither crumbling at the feet of the other.
Every time their attacks collided, a part of the garden or the castle was demolished. Emilia had died from the collateral damage of such a confrontation. In awe and fear, Anastasia stared transfixed at the extent of the damage caused by the Witch Cult. There was no doubt that no dream would be likely to survive an encounter with these lunatics, they would wipe out them all; even the most determined and stubborn.
"It seems I have no choice but to adhere to the stipulations of our contract, Lia..."
Anastasia had not yet concluded that train of thought, when a strange voice echoed in the corridor below her. Before she could search for the source of that voice, an unnatural glow enveloped her, and the temperature of the place suddenly dropped dramatically. Without her even being able to react to the appearance of the Beast of the End, her body was ravaged by the apocalyptic blizzard that had accompanied the beast's appearance. It had been an instantaneous death. Every cell of her tiny body had been frozen in an instant, and with it, Anastasia Hoshin's infinite ambition had met its icy end, her greed had been frozen.
And that was this week's chapter. I hope you liked the POV change, after so long focusing only on Subaru's. And well, there you have it, that's what happened shortly before Subaru glimpsed part of the battle between Regulus, Reinhard and Puck.
If you're wondering why Puck never showed up to help even though it wasn't dark yet, the nature of it is similar to what happened in arc 4 / 2nd season; that is, it's a psychological thing. I plan to touch on that later. And yes, Mimi was killed, and Julius was consumed by Gluttony, as was Anastasia. Because of this, Anastasia now believes Felix is her knight... Will Subaru be able to fix this?
So, the next chapter will be the final showdown against Wrath. From what I've read, no one has yet guessed who is the character that will appear to assist Subaru. Two more chapters and we will officially enter the climax. Anyway, as always, thanks for your support.