As usual, Dies Irae belongs to Masada and Touhou belongs to ZUN.
Chapter 3
"The assassination of His Excellency the Fuhrer has failed. We have identified the culprit – however, apprehending the scoundrel proved to be…well,"
"There are far too many suspects, I'd say? Nothing surprising. I'd name a whole battalion of rebels waiting to jump at our exalted leader's neck and cut it."
A man with golden hair interrupted his hesitant subordinate with a fierce glare as they reached their destination, its corridors littered with barred cells.
He could tell what the subordinate intended to imply.
And he loathed listening to something with pre-determined answers.
This place – a prison for political dissidents was no different from a slaughterhouse.
The stench of blood, rotten corpses, rusted metal and death lingered in the stagnant air. It was hardly a surprise, after all, not more than 5% of those arrested here have left the place.
Such was the prospects of those arrested by the elite German secret police, the Gestapo.
Past offences did not matter. It was only time before the Gestapo would cook a charge of their own and proceed to execute the prisoner.
"Yes. You are most certainly correct, Your Excellency. I have no words to describe my own incompetence."
"I am not here to listen to your excuses, Colonel. I see that you – a loyal servant of the state – has arrested someone in that cell."
"It is as you said, Lieutenant General."
This was not an unprecedented approach. While the true culprit remained unknown, scapegoats were needed. Their bloods would be the oil to the grinding gears of running society.
"I see. Well done. I will make sure that your efforts are not in vain."
That Lieutenant General could decide both the sin and the gravity of punishment towards the prisoner. That was well within his scope of authority.
As such, he would do it again.
Though it might sound irrational and bigoted, but the sin of being in the wrong place at the wrong time was a grave sin.
The past deeds of the 'culprit' was not enough to prove 'innocence', and that was more than enough to sentence the prisoner to death.
The General condemned the ineptitude of the man he has yet to meet.
"What was his name?" asked the General.
That pitiable failure of a man.
"Karl Ernst Krafft. He claimed to move from his hometown after finishing his studies at Basel, Switzerland. We soon confirmed the validity of his statement…however,"
"But what?"
The General narrowed his eyes at his subordinate's reluctance.
The man's behavior was not driven by fuel. Rather, it was more of distaste, perhaps aversion. As if his own body refused to mention that name.
"Well, I'm not sure how to put this in words…but, it seems that rumors suggest this man dabbled in bizarre activities…"
"Prediction of the future through astrology…a magician, then?"
In short, a small-time swindler, adept only at swaying the opinions of the masses by manipulating their foolishness.
"Indeed. We know that their tricks are nothing more than smokes and mirrors, however this one is different. He predicted the assassination of the Fuhrer long before it happened."
None would believe that his prediction was purely due to sorcery.
The age of magic was long gone. As science progressed since the Industrial Revolution, science filled the planet and faith was slowly being wiped off from the planet.
At the current stage, faith was nothing more than a folly, a play by scammers who claim to possess supernatural powers.
"And so you suspect that Karl Krafft might be involved in this sham."
Truly. The General thought that the man had crossed the line.
What a fool. He had dug his own grave as the result of trying to play the sage.
"Excellent, Colonel. You remain rational in the face of deception and lies. In stead of the Fuhrer, please accept my praise towards you."
The subordinate nodded.
"Excellent. Then return to your post. I shall meet this swindler alone."
"Huh?" The subordinate was startled. "However, Your Excellency…"
He couldn't possibly leave his superior alone with a swindler.
The General glanced at his hesitant subordinate.
One only needed the slightest push to make others silent – such was the knowledge gained from years of being in this line of work.
"What is the problem, Colonel? I merely wish to probe him a little. What could he possibly accomplish while being separated from me by a set of iron bars? He is a mere swindler, at best a terrorist. I am not entering a lion's den."
The man further down was no beast.
This was a ridiculous farce, and neither had to waste time on such ridiculous matter.
"…"
"If you've understood then return to your post. Your concern about my safety is ill-placed."
"As ordered, Lieutenant General."
"While you're at it, get some rest. Consider this an order."
The General watched with indifference as the other walked away.
"Well then…"
It was time to take care of the person in that cell.
He proceeded down the coarse hallway.
He was but a few steps away from the rusted iron metal bars separating him from the man inside.
"Uwaaargh!"
The female police officer wobbled.
Was that the sign of drunkenness?
Because to the man and woman who had to support that female officer, it was a trouble in itself.
"Oh boy, she's drunk. Now, where is her house again?"
The lunarian female named Suhijini frowned.
"Fuck, her alcohol tolerance is fucking low! Why the hell did she drink too much?"
In contemporary Japan, nights were silent in streets far from the city centers.
"Don't ask me, idiot! How would I know why she drank so much?"
The man twitched his lips in annoyance. This was to be expected – this was the state of their relationship. Despite being colleagues with a similar mission, they were unable to get along.
"After I send this hopeless human back, I'm going to unwind myself. You better don't follow me, annoying kishin."
"Heh. You'd think I'd be interested to hang around with an old granny like you? Fuck that."
"What did you just say? An old granny?"
"Yes. Old granny who thinks she's a hot stuff. Why? Did I say anything wrong?"
"Every. Fucking. Sentence. Is. Wrong. You. Dipshit!"
"Naah, you lunarians are just old geezers in heavy cosmetics. Time for you to realize that universal truth and succumb to your deaths."
"I. Will. Erase. You. After. This."
"Bring it on, old witch! Think I'm shivering from a weakling like you?"
"This fucking kishin really ought to-!"
While they were bickering and mocking each other…
"What are those fuckers doing?"
A man whose skin was completely white stood on top of a building.
He was completely pale, yet his face and body showed signs of vitality and youth. His body was clad in SS uniform – clothing that was completely out of place and age.
"Oho. Look at that, Bey. Those two are really close to each other, aren't they? Such a lovely pair."
A bewitching beauty spoke. If anyone saw her, the first impression they'd have was: she was completely out of place. Such a beauty should not be hanging out with that pale-looking guy.
"Fuck that, Malleus. That's the fucking Hellion and Lunarian Christoff talked about."
"Hoo…an agent from Hell, and an alien from the Moon. How amusing. Well then…"
The environment changed.
The atmosphere felt a heavy presence, as if several thousand people had been around in that place at once.
The first to react negatively to such immense presence was Suhijini.
Lunarians were the closest beings to perfectly pure beings, beings that merely existed without the taint of life and death. As such, they were sensitive to heavy doses of 'death' lingering in any region.
Feeling that intense presence, Suhijini and Kyoudo turned back.
"That's a fucking binge eater. Not even onis eat that much – no, we don't consume souls freely like that," Kyoudo commented.
"This will be annoying. I don't know the details, but the magic they use is different from the one we use and spread on Earth," Suhijini mumbled. "This will be a tough battle."
The girl and the pale man jumped to the ground and landed casually, as if they were just leaping a few stairs onto the ground.
"What…that drunk chick's soul seems tasty enough for me," the cute girl spoke playfully.
"Heh. Don't hold me back, you hopeless bitch."
Kyoudo cracked his fingers as he proudly spoke that sentence. A renewed desire to fight to his fullest fired up his soul.
"I'm afraid that you'll be beaten to a plump. When that happens, do not seek my assistance."
The lunarian too, gave an elegant and condescending smile.
Having confessed their hatred towards each other as sworn enemies, the Hellion and Lunarian shouted as if to raise their morale.
"COME!"
As to respond to the otherworldly enemies, the two SS-uniformed agents smiled.
He finally reached the cell.
A shade of a silhouette sat in the prison cell with an almost mocking smirk on its lips.
The General's first impression was that of a withered tree, then a mirage.
Vague. Uncertain. The General could not help but to think of that man as a projection from somewhere afar.
The man's existence was thin, almost shriveled and withered away.
He resembled an old man who has achieved everything he desired. The General could not sense any hint of vitality or hope from that man. His obsidian eyes seemed to have frozen in a state of eternal decay.
Gazing into his eyes felt like watching a dead fish, or rather…
A sea creature that survived being pulled from the depths of the sea.
A fish that should be able to thrive in the darkness of the sea, yet somehow managed to breath oxygen and survive on land.
And so it remained unable to achieve its only desire – to die and vanish for good.
There was no way this man was involved in the assassination of the Fuhrer. He had no aspirations to begin with. He would find no meaning in assassinating someone. This man wouldn't even care if the state was turned upside down the next day.
A random piece of nonsense he spoke happened to coincide with the truth. That was all.
"So, you're the rebel they speak of? You do not look like it. I am – "
"Lietenant General Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich. The director of the Gestapo. Your official name embodies all that is to be prided in the Deutsches Reiches, however, your other title can be heard in the whispers of the shadows – The Hangman."
"…"
"I am honored to meet you. I am Karl Ernst Krafft; I am usually a swindler, a terrorist at best. Both of those titles fit me better than the auspicious title of magician."
"I see."
The man interrupted him, showing some life in his bearing. With that, the Lieutenant General had to up his impression of that man a little bit.
It has been a long time since someone got ahead of the man named Reinhard Heydrich.
The voice of that man was clearly fit for someone filled with deceit and lies. Regardless of how many malice was directed towards the prisoner, that smile would unlikely waver.
"You seem like an interesting sort. Not many could smile before my presence – especially those in your circumstances."
Reinhard acknowledged the courage the man had.
"Allow me to be direct: Do you seek death? My livelihood is to punish those who pose a threat to the country. Should you truly be a swindler and a terrorist, then I have no option but to live up to my second name."
"Oh? Are you perhaps not proud of your second name?"
"Hmm. Maybe. Still, I do not mix my personal emotions with my job."
As such, there was no one more fitting to mete out impersonal punishment.
He judged everyone equally, leaning towards neither of the extremes mixing no hint of emotions in his decisions.
"Answer me then: Are you someone that my duty would extend to?"
The swindler smiled, not minding Reinhard's piercing gaze.
"How unfortunate. It seems that I'd have to acquiesce. Still…I have nothing to do with the assassination of the Fuhrer. Absolutely."
A meaningless statement, if Reinhard ever heard one. He had long since grown tired of the accused pleading innocence, and knew how to deal with them.
"They all say that at first."
"Then, are you going to torture me for confessions?"
"I could, but it would be a waste of my energy."
The man understood the situation as well as Reinhard. There was no point of hiding the truth in this place.
Thus, he chose to reveal his mission.
"You see, I cared little for that matter. Guilty or not, everyone dies when the time comes. A man should not be surprised to be staring at the jaws of death if he had led a life that would attract the malice of others. It doesn't matter whether you're involved or not. Someone attempted to murder a vulnerable man. That is all there is in that situation."
"Are you saying that my words would change nothing?"
"His Excellency the Fuhrer was a man in a vulnerable position. I've told you this before."
It didn't end with external or internal politics. His very existence gave birth to terrorists and malice.
Entire countries wanted the Fuhrer dead. It would be a waste of time for the Gestapo to be occupied with the truth.
"Therefore, the possibility of letting the true culprit get away by killing you is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. It changes nothing. I am neither free nor mad enough to obsess over erasing a single enemy in a thousand. Punish the suspicious. That is how the Gestapo works."
His life had been of little worth.
Yet that man showed little sign of fear. He merely observed Reinhard with a thinly-veiled interest. Was he evaluating the General? Not quite.
That gaze was hardly simple. It pierced far deeper.
It reminded Reinhard of the eyes of a scientist. The look of someone scrutinizing a phenomenon to the deepest detail.
Did this man still think he could get away with it?
He even cocked his head with an ironic smile.
"I see. The rumors about you are indeed, true. Pray tell me, may I be granted permission to ask a question?"
"Go ahead."
"Hehe. Hehehehehehe! So, those bastards have finally showed themselves once again?"
The young adrenaline seeker increased the speed of his bike.
He was equipped with a headset that allowed him to communicate with other people from afar.
"It seems that they're now at an eerily empty alley. They're fighting against…2 people I've no clue about and there's a woman who appears to be drunk."
The man could hear the voice of a woman through his headset.
"Idiots. Do they know who they're fighting against?"
"No clue. I've never seen those people before – maybe unlucky passerby that are going to die."
The man laughed to the depths of his heart as he heard the woman's emotionless voice.
"Whoa…this happens right after I went and visit a supposedly power spot? How lucky of me!"
The man smiled as he looked at something he brought along with. He seemed reckless enough, but he was prepared to face any possibility.
After all, he would do anything to break himself from the curse of foreknowledge.
"Power spot? Oh, the place you said you wanted to visit with Usami?"
"I went there with Usami and the others this evening. No joke, that place was creepy as fuck! But the food's good, so I won't complain."
"You ate there?"
"What? Now, I'm not allowed to eat?"
"That's not it. I thought you would be more…hesitant to eat at such a weird place. Well, at least you're truly abnormal-"
"It is not me who's abnormal. It is the idiots who continue to live their lives normally, accepting this curse of déjà vu lingering in their minds while saying – oh, this is just me overthinking things."
"Very well. You're 5 kilometers away from…hold on."
"Hmm?"
"Fuck! This is really hilarious! That was a good therapy. But is that all? Hell isn't that scary, after all."
The pale man returned the favor he received earlier by swinging his fist towards the kishin, Kyoudo.
The kishin leapt backwards and observed the pale man's reaction.
"Come on, be a man, you dimwit! I'm not going to use my power here – so try and entertain me, Hellion!"
(This bastard behaves like a typical oni, relying on brute force instead of magic? My, my. I should hand him over to those retarded 4 devas of the mountain.)
"Ahahaha! Good reflex you have there! Or should this be expected from residents of Hell?"
"Shut up, you vampire. I don't want to hear that from you."
The pale-skinned man revealed a wide grin as he heard that from the kishin.
It was rare for anyone to actually engage a kishin in a pure battle. Hermits would rather avoid them while celestials would seek refuge in Heaven rather than engaging with the agents of Hell.
Hence, this was a rare scene that would move the hearts of the likes of Toyosatomimi no Miko and Seiga.
The kishin, having dodged the relentless attacks from the pale man, charged forward. It was his turn to return the favor given by his enemy.
"You have lots of souls – those souls are to be returned to the natural cycle of the world."
The kishin managed to land a few punches on his enemy's body, however, the man did not seem to care much about those punches.
It was as if he declared that such punches meant nothing to him.
A kishin's punch was enough to flatten mountains, and that particular kishin was renowned as Hell's strongest.
Even then, the pale man remained unshaken.
"The only natural cycle is to serve Lord Heydrich!"
The pale man gave out a roar as if to raise his own spirit while recklessly attacking the kishin.
Taking advantage of the kishin's opening due to him reaching too closely with him, the pale man quickly swung his right leg and kicked the man's chin.
The kishin was sent flying. But he managed to correct his position and landed properly on the ground.
The pale man giggled and clapped his hand.
"That's more like it. You're a strong guy. Most bastards would have their heads severed from that kick just now."
While the two men brawled, the women in that battlefield looked at each other while directing wicked smiles towards each other.
"Wuuhuu…that's a rarity! For someone to survive Bey's attacks – he's really strong! Is he perhaps your boyfriend?" commented the woman in SS uniform. "You're quite the lucky one, then!"
"Hell no!" the lunarian screamed. "Do we look like a couple to you?!"
(Still, with that kind of soul density – I'm not sure if Toyohime's fan would work on that bastard.)
Even though the lunarian saw the kishin as a nuisance, she never doubted that veteran's strength. In terms of pure physical strength, she was certain that the kishin was far stronger than herself.
Still, the lunarian had other tricks to compensate her lack of physical strength – as a lunarian.
"He's not? Hmm, what a letdown. I was thinking that you guys might be a great pair. Well, just saying!"
"What nonsense is this? I know that humans have no common sense, but to see someone like yourself trying to match me and him – you need some proper education, I think!"
The lunarian stepped her right foot onto the ground.
Unlike Kyoudo who preferred physically-oriented battles, she was first and foremost a divinity.
A divinity such as herself do not necessarily rely on brute force. Rather, she would use her spiritual abilities to subjugate her enemies.
"It is unfortunate that humans in this side of the world have forgotten what it means to fear the darkness of night and ditched magic in exchange for science. Oh well, that's none of my business-"
An inexplicable phenomenon happened.
Strictly speaking, nothing observable happened.
However, the other woman leapt away as she observed the subtle change in her environment.
"Purification – the rejection of life and death, was it?"
The ground was instantly turned to resemble that of the Moon. Pure and void of any trace of life and death.
It was a certain technique that would work on those who thrive in the essence of life and death.
It was like bleach cleansing all dirt on the floor – removing traces of life and death alike.
"Oho. I'm quite envious! Look at that soul of yours – almost void of any trace of life and death. As if you're trying to be a mere soul without being bound by the possibility of death. Still..."
The SS-uniformed woman finally stepped on the ground. She too, was a wicked witch that knew of magic – albeit not to the extent of that mad magician calling himself Karl Ernst Krafft.
The woman felt something trying to creep into her toes.
But…
Suhijini felt cold sweat dripping from her forehead.
"Wha…?"
"What are you planning to do once you release me?"
Reinhard was rendered speechless for a moment. That was not something the executed would ask to his executioner-to-be.
"Hmm. You certainly are a strange man. Haven't you listened to anything I said?"
"Oh, but I have. You arrived to meet a swindler and asked whether he wanted to die despite him being sentenced to death. If one were to turn your earlier words on their head, you could have been taken to imply that you wouldn't mind releasing the true culprit if it serves a purpose. At the very least, that's how I see it."
"…"
The two men regarded each other in silence. This truly seemed like magician.
Or at least, that was how this shrewd and silver-tongue swindler should have been called.
He allowed none of his thoughts to surface while using toying with words that Reinhard had uttered.
A queer and aberrant fellow, yet far from ineptitude.
"Interesting. You appear smarter than I take you for. Or perhaps did I show my own foolishness here? Very well. Your conjecture has been held valid, magician. However, you're mistaken about one thing. It is not me who had come up with the design."
Reinhard held up a piece of paper he brought earlier, displaying it for the prisoner to see. It was nothing more than a play of the senior officers.
"It's an offer – whether to die here, or to live as a puppet of the state. Anyway, it's the same."
He'd lose his free will. No matter what, if he lived, his actions would be always for another person.
"Nothing slips our dear minister. Rather than executing you, he'd use this as a chance to bolster propaganda for the state, and through your prophecy, no less. It seems that Nostradamus has come into fashion in the capital for a few years now. We will win. There is no doubt about it. We need our own Nostradamus to wipe away all concerns about our earlier defeat and fill our soldiers with courage. That is all."
Reinhard continued to speak.
"Your choice, magician. I've unlocked this. Your shackles are removed. You can leave this place and live while being a puppet of the state forever."
A statement smeared in nigh-ironic hypocrisy. No matter what, he'd always be subjugated under Reinhard's authority.
"Tell me something…why do I feel discontent in your eyes?"
His words do not mention of his answer. Yet, he asked something else like a curious child would.
Reinhard's feeling? The furtive puddle of his frustration? He didn't know. He couldn't know. He felt nothing of the sort. He narrowed his eyes, unable to find any word to address the man with.
Karl Krafft, observing Reinhard's momentary confusion, made an exaggerated gesture of mock consternation. He cast his gaze downwards, resembling an actor in the scene of a great tragedy.
A display that precipitated anger rather than empathy, yet the other man's eyes still pierced Reinhard with great sincerity.
"You can overturn the decision of His Excellency Goebbels depending on the situation. No, you could even force our revered Fuhrer into a corner, destroying him should you desire it."
Such power and authority. Many across the globe yearned for such power. Yet Reinhard wielded it at an age so young that many would envy that man.
To Reinhard, that magician's word surprised him. Not because the magician had read his heart like a book. But because he was able to pinpoint the exact inexplicable sensation even Reinhard could nor assess.
"Nonsense. It was supposed to be me asking you the question. To speak nothing of the life you've forfeited – "
"It doesn't matter. That's what you said, and I happen to agree. My choice has nothing to do with my life or death. What I did was jest based on the truth that this country is in a maelstrom of madness."
He looked at Reinhard. The emotion in his eyes was blatant, but – at the same time – abnormal to the level of incomprehensibility.
While the man's bizarre words were lacking in certainty, its sincerity overwhelmed Reinhard.
"It is quite strange, for meeting you again feels me with relief. This is an exceedingly rare emotion for someone like myself."
The magician spoke as if he was reunited with someone he had not met for a long time.
After thinking for some time, the man finally gave a response appropriate to the situation.
"Will you please speak some sense? This is our very first meeting."
"Ah, of course. You wouldn't let a swindler's words sway you. Well then, allow me to accept your offer. Such a wonderful opportunity. After all, this Nostradamus was yours truly."
Usami Sumireko's body jerked.
It appeared that she fell asleep with her smartphone on her face. The phone slid and landed on her bed.
"That dream…what was that about?"
It was true that he did look into Reinhard Heydrich before she fell asleep. But what was that dream about?
Was that how Karl Ernst Krafft and Reinhard Heydrich first met?
"Oho…Youmu is already asleep. It can't be helped then. I guess I'll just…"
Saigyouji Yuyuko. The princess of Hakugyoukuro.
In that peaceful realm, she cheerfully chewed the last available dumpling while looking up at the sky.
"How are you feeling now, O' Princess of Death?"
An assuring mercurial voice interrupted that sole peace.
Saigyouji Yuyuko turned towards the source of that voice.
"Oho. You do not need to act surprised, milady. Even in death, you are still the most beautiful soul to have ever existed."
Saigyouji looked at the silhouette of a man in black garment. She felt as if she was seeing a projection of something from afar.
Rather than being shocked, she felt like reuniting with someone she knew beforehand, but she could not recall the person's name.
"Who…?"
The mercurial man smiled.
"Ah, do not worry about me. I simply thought that I'd just drop by and visit you, my flower. I swear that I will release you from the curse placed onto you – very soon."
"What a terrifying stalker. I wonder how you'd get into here. Did Yukari send you here, perhaps?"
Even as Saigyouji said that, she felt a tinge of uneasiness as she looked at the mercurial man's face. She'd see flashes of…incomprehensible scenes and images in her mind, as if telling her that everything had happened before.
Still, the Princess of Hakugyokurou could not allow her emotions to surface.
The meek smile on the mercurial man lengthened, as if denying the woman's statement politely.
"Ah, that is not true. Our friend is in a short slumber."
"That is very much like her – sleeping is her forte, eating is mine."
"I know. You couldn't even eat properly when you were still alive. To be honest, I was a bit concerned, but seeing you like this in death relieved my heart."
The mercurial man spoke cheerfully while staring deep into Saigyouji's eyes.
"You speak no sense."
"Certainly. Although, I hope you'd accept this opera I'd prepared specially for you. Yes, you and only you – the only love of my life. I'd made many operas before, but none shall be grander than this one."
"…"
As the man finished speaking, his entire existence faded.
"Who was…"
And a word appeared in her mind.
Suigin.
Author's Note: .Back. Lol. Going back to hiatus once again after this - just finished internal audit. Life's pretty hectic these days. As usual, leave your comments and enjoy.