AN: This takes place on the same day that the previous chapter ended on.
Within the capital city of Lescatie, there was a certain building that looked like an ordinary warehouse from the outside. But inside it were rows of cells and heavily armed guards.
This was Trafaln Prison, a prison where Lescatie's worst criminals were kept, a prison that relied heavily on secrecy to keep its inmates locked away.
The cells in this prison did not have bars. In fact, none of them had any windows. Each consisted of solid stone walls with a single door of thick steel. This made it harder for the inmates to communicate with each other or with the guards.
On the basement floor of the prison was a cell isolated from any others, and in this cell a young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair. Similar to the other inmates, she wore a long-sleeved shirt and pants that were both dull grey in colour. She was currently lying down on a slab of stone, which served as a bed, and staring at the bare stone of the ceiling.
It's been… three days, hasn't it? Hard to tell in here…
A jailer entered the cell twice a day to deliver food—hard bread, hard cheese and a cup of stale water—and to empty out the bucket that served as a latrine. But it was only Alameria's guess that this routine happened each day. For all she knew, the jailers visited her cell at random intervals to throw off her sense of time.
But it can't be long now… until they take my head…
Most people would have been quaking in fear at the prospect of their own execution. And in the immediate aftermath of her trial, Alameria had certainly felt that way. It didn't help that she'd been gagged at that time, preventing her from even exchanging any words with her horrified friends.
But in this dark cell, Alameria had had plenty of time to think. And with that time, she'd come to a realisation.
I really am… an evil monster…
Alameria came from a distant town. She didn't know its name or what country it was in, because that town had been attacked by monsters before she'd even learned proper language. Alameria was the only known survivor, having been rescued by agents of the Order who brought her to a Lescatie orphanage. From that experience, she'd furiously worked herself to the bone, hoping to gain the power to slay monsters and drive them back to the shadows, all so no one would have to suffer as she had.
Yet although she did gain that power… she hadn't succeeded in her true goal.
That mission, a year ago… we went to a village out near the border, hearing monsters were doing horrible rituals there… We found them, killed them all… and the… and the villagers…
Even now, Alameria could remember those events as if they'd happened just yesterday. The villagers had been thin with hunger and sickness, and they'd yelled at Alameria's group with tears in their eyes.
"They were just trying to help us!"
"You… You murderers!"
At the time, Alameria hadn't been accompanied by any other heroes, instead being the leader of a group of soldiers. Marion, her partner, had also been among them. Still, they'd all known that humans who sided with monsters were heretics of the highest order, to be purged without hesitation. They didn't want to slaughter unarmed civilians, yet if they refused, they would be seen as heretics as well.
Until…
"These people haven't done anything wrong. They were just trying to survive. Let's… Let's just go."
"But, Hero Alameria… if anyone finds out about this…"
"They won't. We'll just say we completed our mission, killed the monsters." Alameria adjusted her hat nervously. "It's not like Lescatie will bother investigating… they never care about the villages out here, after all…"
That was one of Alameria's darkest secrets. A hero was meant to slay monsters and monster sympathisers without hesitation, yet she'd failed in her duty.
And that was far from the only time. In other missions against the monsters, Alameria had wavered again and again when she saw the all-too human emotions on her enemies' faces. Whenever she had the chance, whenever none of her allies was around to take notice, she'd allow monsters she'd defeated to escape.
But even in my heresy, I couldn't be honest…
In those recent meetings, where the Order of the Holy Ice Flower had planned how to fight the invading monsters, Alameria had played the role of an eager participant. She'd hidden her true doubts about the monsters beneath a confident smile.
I'm a failure as a hero… and as a heretic. I've hurt so many people…
Alameria recalled another past mission, one in which she'd fought against two harpies who were sisters. This time, she had allies around to watch, so no failure would be tolerated.
After one harpy was killed, the other harpy threw herself at Alameria with unrestrained anger, trying to take revenge even as a sword pierced her own body.
The Order teaches that monsters are pure evil who bring only suffering. If… If that's true… then I really am a monster…
I'm sorry, everyone… looks like I'm finally going to pay for my heresy…
The faces of many people flew across Alameria's mind. Yet there was one face that appeared much more often than the rest.
Marion… Marion…
Alameria had been teased several times for her closeness with the male knight. But the real reason she'd talked with him, night after night, was to shore up her own fragile heart.
We talked about his family… laughed at the pompous nobles… guessed just what secrets Lucas was hiding… Even if I never told Marion my own secrets, just being with him made me feel like… like I had a place.
But in the end, Alameria hadn't deserved that small bit of happiness. The wages of her sins were now due. Soon, the Blade of Salvation would fall upon her neck, just as it had done to hundreds of other sinners in Lescatie's history.
Please… Marion, everyone… don't worry about me… just focus on…
The monsters massing outside Lescatie were greater in number than ever before. They were almost certainly an invasion force, so there should be nothing wrong with fighting them. And with the prestige gained by defeating them, her friends might be able to complete their attempted reforms to Lescatie.
And… when things settle down… please… find happiness… without me…
Alameria closed her eyes and tried to drift off to sleep. It wasn't something she'd done much over the past three days.
Some time later—it might have been five minutes or five hours—Alameria heard a knock on the door. She sat up with a jolt.
"W-Who is it?" Alameria asked. The guard never bothers knocking…
"Alameria…" whispered an impossibly familiar voice, one that seemed to be choked with emotion. "It's me!"
Alameria leaped up from her bed and pressed against the door. "Marion!" she gasped. "How—is this a dream!?"
"No, it's me," Marion said. "And you have to keep your voice down… But we came to get you out."
"You can't!" Alameria said, happiness warring with fear inside her heart. "If you do this, everyone will know, and you'll be—"
"You don't have to worry about that, Alameria," said the voice of Olivie, the Three Musketeers' leader. "It took quite some time to prepare for this—" she sounded rueful as she said this, "—but it will look as if you simply disappeared from prison, with no evidence of any outside aid. There will be no witnesses, no broken-down doors. Of course, evidence can always be faked, but that should take time."
"But I'll still be—"
"You'll… have to stay in hiding for a while," Olivie admitted. "But it shouldn't be long before we finally meet the monsters in combat. If you defeat them alongside us, no one will dare call you a monster again."
It was a desperate plan, one that could go wrong at many different points. But Alameria wasn't going to tell her friends to give up, not when they'd already come here.
"There's no way we can just let those bastards execute you," Marion said. There was a sound of clinking metal. "Hang on, just let me find the right key…"
"Wait, who in the world are you!?" Olivie shouted suddenly.
For a moment, Alameria thought the prison's guards had arrived. However, that shouldn't have come as a surprise.
Just what the hell is going on out there!?
Alameria pushed on the door angrily, but it was sturdy enough that an unarmed hero would need time to breach it. And the gaps around the door were deliberately too thin to see clearly through—they were barely even wide enough to allow air flow.
Then there were more shouts, followed by the sounds of weapons clashing.
-ooo-
Olivie thrust her rapier at a black-cloaked monster who wore a mask.
How could monsters get this deep into Lescatie!? And at the worst possible time!
The monster formed a shield out of a portion of her black cloak. This was a skill possessed by one of the most fearsome types of monsters, the aristocratic predators of the night: vampires.
"Are those ears of yours merely for decoration!?" the vampire asked. "We told you, we did not come to fight—"
"Orrraaaaaaagghhh!"
Nearby, Marion charged at the tall man who'd come with the vampire. Said man looked ordinary at first, but his aura of demonic energy betrayed him.
"We're here for the same reason you are!" the incubus shouted, parrying Marion's sword using a quarterstaff. "Your friends already know about us!"
"Get out of our way, monsters!" Marion shot back.
Using her free hand, Olivie drew her revolver and fired three times at the vampire's head. The vampire bent her head to the side, causing two shots to miss while the third chipped her mask, exposing a lock of blonde hair.
Olivie then used this opportunity to pull her rapier out of the vampire's cloak. But before she could do anything further, the body of a knight came flying at her.
"Marion!"
Olivie quickly caught Marion in her arms, taking care not to accidentally impale him on her rapier. The impact pushed her back almost to the wall.
"Are you alright?" Olivie asked.
"Ugh… I'm okay," Marion replied. "Sorry for holding you back."
"What's happening out there!?" Alameria screamed, her voice muffled by the thick door. "Who's attacking!?"
All of the four standing in the prison corridor reacted, turning towards Alameria's cell. While the vampire's expression was hidden by her mask, the incubus had an expression of… longing?
Olivie set Marion down on the floor, then said to her imprisoned friend, "We're about to get you out of there. First, we just need to deal with… with a vampire and an incubus who've managed to get into Lescatie."
"If you still think of our kind as the true foe, then your brain seems to be of no more use than your ears," the vampire said acidly.
Despite having a good opportunity, the vampire and the incubus hadn't attacked during that brief period when Olivie was occupied with Marion. Still, that wasn't enough for Olivie to let down her guard.
"W-Wait, that voice…" Alameria said. "There's no way…"
"You recognise her?" Olivie asked.
"As we were trying to tell you, we're here for the same reason you are," the incubus said. "We talked to the rest of your knight order before coming here, and they gave us this letter."
The incubus took out a cylinder from his pocket and unrolled it to reveal a single sheet of paper. Neither Olivie nor Marion were foolish enough to approach to read it. However, Olivie's vision was slightly enhanced by being a hero, so she could make out the words.
"To Olivie, Marion and anyone else on the mission to rescue Alameria," Olivie read out loud. "We, the Order of the Holy Ice Flower and the residents of Salvarision, have… have come to realise that monsters and incubi are not the true enemy, and can be negotiated with!?" She stopped reading and glared at the two intruders to Lescatie. "You may have been able to copy Wilmarina's handwriting, but do you think a forgery like that would convince us!?"
"There's no way we'd ever fall for monster tricks!" Marion added, holding up his sword. "They wouldn't give in to you!"
"You don't get it at all," the incubus said, visibly frustrated. He put the letter away. "How can you still fight for Lescatie after everything it's done? And—wait, Adeline?"
The vampire had now placed both of her hands on her damaged mask.
"Are you sure about this?" the incubus asked.
"I'm sure, Stefan," the vampire replied. "It's the only thing that might get through their thick heads…"
Then the vampire removed her mask. Olivie and Marion gasped.
"You… look just like…"
"Ala… meria…?"
The vampire had the same shade of blonde hair, the same brown eyes, the same sharp chin as Alameria Crescentria. She did have a pair of long canine teeth, the tips of which were just barely visible, and pointed ears. Another difference was in the shape of her nose, which was just a little bit wider than Alameria's. And while this wasn't a permanent aspect of her appearance, her eyes looked slightly puffy… as if she'd been crying recently.
Then Olivie had another look at Stefan, the incubus. His curly brown hair and most of his facial features didn't resemble anyone Olivie knew. His eyes were the same brown as the vampire's, though that much was normal for an incubus. However, the shape of his nose was quite similar to Alameria's.
"It… It can't be…" Olivie said. "You must have… disguised your appearances…"
"There's no way Alameria could be a… a…" Marion said, though he appeared just as uncertain.
"There's only one way to prove ourselves," Adeline said. "Young man, open up that cell."
Nothing happened for the next ten seconds. Taking orders from a monster was unthinkable for anyone faithful to the Chief God. However, it was clear that the pair of Olivie and Marion could not win against the vampire and incubus. Furthermore, the cell would have to be opened in any case.
Marion slowly took the prison keys out of his pocket—where he'd stuffed them just before the fight—and tried them out, one by one, until the cell's door was unlocked.
The door swung outward to reveal Alameria on the other side. Olivie's friend—and someone far more intimate to Marion—was in a grey prisoner's uniform and visibly dishevelled, but she was otherwise unharmed.
"Alameria!" Marion cried—quite literally, for tears were welling up in his eyes.
"MARION!"
Almost immediately, Alameria jumped on Marion, pushing him to the floor while hugging him tightly.
Even as this happened, Olivie kept a wary eye on Adeline and Stefan. But the monstrous pair still didn't attack. Rather, they looked at the two on the floor with a mix of relief and warmth.
"Ah, they remind me of us when we were younger…" Stefan said.
"W-We were never that shameless!" Adeline protested.
"M-Me and Marion aren't like that!" Alameria protested, looking up from the floor.
Olivie had some doubt about the situation, but it was completely blown away by seeing and hearing those reactions.
"But how… how is this possible?" Olivie asked, as the red-faced Alameria and Marion got to their feet. "Everything about her is human."
"She isn't, but it makes sense you'd think so," Stefan replied. "She's a dhampir, a rare kind of monster only born from a vampire and a human. Meaning, Alameria was conceived before Adeline turned me into an incubus."
"Unlike other monsters, dhampirs have demonic energy that's almost identical to human spirit energy," Adeline explained. "Coupled with a human-like appearance, and not being vulnerable to sunlight or running water—"
"Or garlic," Stefan added.
Adeline shot a withering glare at her partner. "The point is, dhampirs are easily mistaken for humans." She looked at Alameria and her eyes softened. "So, unless educated… even they might believe themselves to be human."
The vampire and the incubus both looked as if they wanted to hug Alameria, but were just barely restraining themselves. After all, their daughter had been raised as a monster-hating hero up until now.
Alameria gulped. "I… I still remember your faces… your voices… but I thought… I thought you were human…"
Olivie could easily guess why. Incubi were visually identical to humans, while vampires were almost identical. From her account, Alameria hadn't even been three at the time she was separated from her parents…
"Just… Just how did this all happen?" Marion asked. "I mean, how did you two end up in a human town that… from what I heard, got attacked by monsters?"
Adeline and Stefan grimaced.
"Our town was attacked by the Order," Adeline said through clenched teeth. "It was a place where humans and monsters lived in peace, but the Order couldn't abide that."
"There was a major raid, and our mansion was set on fire," Stefan said. "We fought back, forced those Order bastards to retreat, but many of the townsfolk were killed… and our daughter went missing."
Stefan punched a nearby wall, loudly cracking it. That drew no attention from the prison's staff, just like the previous battle had drawn no attention.
These two must have incapacitated every guard, when they entered… Olivie thought. But more importantly…
"Then… Alameria was taken into an orphanage in Lescatie," Olivie said out loud. "The ones responsible also mistook her for human, and… presumably thought this would be… beneficial for her…"
"Perhaps we ought to be thankful for their mistake," Adeline said, her voice quaking with fury. "After all, had they known the truth, they would have killed her on the spot."
That caused Olivie and Marion to both look guilty. They'd been taught that all monsters deserved death, which naturally extended to monster children as well.
We were never put in that situation ourselves… but if we continued in our path, and eventually had to bring the fight to monster territory…
Olivie was twenty-three years old, and had spent almost half of that time training to fight monsters—for the protection of humanity, though some would argue she should fight for the advancement of House Amaltia. For the sake of helping Lescatie stand against monsters, she'd been willing to help overturn its society.
If this is true, then… what was I fighting for…?
I… was trying to kill… Alameria's parents...
"We spent almost two decades looking for you, Alameria," Stefan said. "Other people told us you had to be dead by now, but we didn't give up. And, a couple of weeks ago… Her Highness Druella told us you were here…"
"D-Druella!?" Olivie exclaimed. "Isn't she one of the lilim!?"
"Indeed, and also the one leading this operation," Adeline said. She looked around. "We must hurry, before any notice what has happened here. We can talk once we're in a place of safety."
There weren't many such places in Lescatie, and a part of Olivie still resisted listening to a monster's words. Still, she knew it was the best option.
Then Alameria started walking unsteadily towards her parents, who tensed up. "...I always wondered, if I'd ever see you again…" she said in a quiet voice.
Olivie wanted to pull Alameria back, years of indoctrination telling her it was a terrible idea to let her friend approach monsters unarmed. Next to her, Marion undoubtedly was going through the same conflict. Yet they both remained still.
Alameria hugged her parents tightly, collapsing into their arms. Tears ran down cheeks and stained clothing, yet none of the three cared about a trifle like that.
"I wasn't sure…" Alameria said, her voice muffled. "I wasn't sure if it was really you… but this feels… just like back then…"
"Alameria!" "Alameria!"
For Olivie… ever since her heart had been broken years ago, she'd rarely felt strong emotion about anything. Yet the sight of this reunion put a large and warm smile on her face.
-ooo-
When they began making their way out of the prison, Olivie felt a sense of trepidation. All the stories about vampires portrayed them as ruthless predators, draining entire villages of humans dry to sate their thirst.
Yet when Olivie checked the guards lying on the floor in various places, she could hear their breathing. It seemed they were just in a magically charmed sleep.
"We were under strict instructions to not kill unless necessary," Adeline said. "This should be further proof of our intentions."
"It is," Olivie conceded. Then something else occurred to her. "But for what reason did you have that mask? If you'd shown us your face from the beginning, we would have been more willing to listen."
"...That is none of your concern," Adeline replied, though she sounded more troubled than arrogant.
Olivie surmised that Adeline was too proud to let anyone know of the tears she'd shed for her missing daughter. It was something she'd never expected from a monster before.
At least there should be no more need for tears, and hence for that mask...
Some time later, Marion asked, "Alameria, do you know where your weapons and clothes are? Me and Olivie looked in the prison storeroom, but couldn't find them."
"Um… I'm not sure," Alameria replied. "They just made me… change into these clothes, and took away my old ones."
Alameria's mother stopped and looked at her. "...Did they vacate the room while you were doing this?"
"N-No…" Alameria confessed, looking down at the floor. "Two of them said they had to… had to keep watch so I didn't do anything funny."
"WHO!?" Adeline demanded, her black cloak billowing. "Tell me who dared to defile you with their eyes, and they shall pay for this atrocity!"
Stefan and Marion had murder in their eyes as well. This left Olivie to do the job of reining them all in.
"I fully understand how you all feel," Olivie said. "But we must focus on escaping as soon as possible."
"...Fine," Stefan said, still clenching his quarterstaff tightly. "But when the treaty's being written up, we'll make sure to add a condition that these two get their eyes gouged out, at least."
The heroes and knights of Lescatie were sworn to protect humanity against the forces of darkness. However, Marion nodded at this grisly threat, while Olivie said nothing.
Those two degenerates… they would never have done such a thing if they actually believed Alameria was a monster, a being that tempts human men. They knew she was innocent, yet they not only helped to keep her locked up until execution, they even took advantage of her.
If they'd gone further than that… well, Alameria would probably have resisted then, but if she didn't, if she wanted to avoid causing trouble for us… then those two would have to die, and I would gladly help hide the evidence…
While walking through the prison, Olivie looked at the letter again. Its contents were incredible, but after learning her friend was a monster after all, she couldn't dismiss it so easily.
From the point where she'd stopped reading:
"The truth is that Druella, fourth-born of the lilim, is leading the monsters now advancing on Lescatie. She revealed her presence deliberately to Elt, a childhood friend of Wilmarina who passed the information on to her."
That part resonated with Olivie on a fundamental level. She didn't know where Gael, her own lost love, was now. But… perhaps she could try looking? He might have found love and started a family by now, but she had to at least find out.
"After Alameria's farce of a trial, Wilmarina went to visit Elt. He'd been given a means to communicate with Druella, and through that arranged a meeting. She challenged Druella to a duel, assisted by three other heroes of Lescatie: Mersé Dascaros, Mimil Miltie and Primera Concerto."
It was hard to believe that all this had happened outside of Olivie's knowledge—even if she had been busy preparing for Alameria's rescue. At the same time, it seemed too outlandish to be a lie—why not pick a more plausible lie, if the monster side was trying to deceive them?
"They lost. Even with their combined power, Druella defeated them all without even inflicting significant injuries. With that, she made it clear that Lescatie cannot defeat her side with force, and by extension, that her side has intentions beyond simple conquest.
Shortly after that, Druella brought in Mirri, a childhood friend of Lucas who'd gone missing years ago. The details will not be repeated here, but suffice to say that we are all very grateful Druella rescued her from that fate."
Now Olivie was even more firmly resolved to find out where Gael had gone...
"For these reasons along with many others, we in Salvarision have decided to negotiate with the monsters instead.
The vampire and incubus delivering this letter are Alameria's parents, as you will realise from their appearances. We were just as surprised to discover this as you are now. Please work with them in bringing Alameria to safety.
This is a complex topic, one that cannot be properly covered in this letter, and you must have many questions. We hope to discuss this further in Salvarision.
Signed,
Wilmarina Noscrim, Lucas Mayer, Vermut Rosnair, Luciana Sausare, Parshe Lufarshe, Eva Mystiv…"
There were over thirty signatures in total, and all the ones that Olivie recognised looked authentic. If this letter was a fake, it was an exceedingly good one.
But a monster and an incubus managed to not only sneak into Lescatie, but into one of its most secret prisons… Thinking about it rationally, that also proves the futility of trying to resist the monsters...
They reached the exit of the prison. Above them was a dark sky lit up only by the faint stars and a crescent moon.
"Still some time until dawn, that's good," Stefan said. "If the sun was out, I'd have to carry my wife the rest of the way."
"For the last time, I am not your wife," Adeline said, though there was no bite in her words. "I am your mistress, and you are merely my servant."
"Wait—forgot to bring this up before, but what about the prison guards?" Marion asked. "Olivie and me snuck past them, our plan was they wouldn't be sure how she got out. But if you put them all to sleep, and they all suddenly wake up, they'll know something's wrong right away."
"As the one who cast that spell, let me explain," Stefan said. "They'll wake up at different times, still feeling groggy like with normal sleep. The first few will probably think they just happened to doze off. It'll be a while before anyone realises something's wrong."
"And even then, there'll still be a delay before they tell anyone else," Adeline said. "After all, admitting a prisoner escaped would get them fired for gross incompetence, or worse. They'll all be looking for a scapegoat to push the blame on. That gives us plenty of time to escape and for you three to learn how the situation has changed."
"...You understand Lescatian society quite thoroughly," Olivie said. "Indeed, we were counting on that delay as well."
No more words were exchanged. They spent the next half-hour sneaking through the streets of Lescatie, avoiding the occasional early riser, as they headed towards Salvarision.
