Elt hummed as he walked through the streets of Lescatie. Taking a look at the letter his captain, Mersé, had sent him, he looked for the printed address of their meeting place. Oddly enough, it was in one of the more run-down areas of the city, but it was probably just because she wanted somewhere more private to get away from the other soldiers, he supposed.

Once he got there, he noticed that the area surrounding the abandoned house he was supposed to enter was completely devoid of people. Still, Elt ventured on, determined to become a higher-ranking soldier. Maybe then, he could finally talk to Wilmarina again.

After taking a few steps into the building, something had slammed behind him. Turning around, he saw no one there, only that the door had been shut.

"Mersé? Not funny, captain!"

There was no reply, so Elt ventured down into the windowless basement. There, he began to hear singing somewhat like Mersé's gruff voice.

"I got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy down in my heart, down in my heart. Down in my heart…I got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, dooown innnn my heart! Down in my heaart tooodaay!"

The singing came from the other side of the room, and as soon as it stopped, a small flame lit, revealing a smiling face, with a pink nose and a cleft chin.

"Joy…down in my heart…how about you?"

Elt could also hear muffled screaming coming from beside the masculine figure. Listening more closely, he could recognize the voice as Mersé's.

"Let her go, you monster!"

A loud bang came from behind him, and a sharp pain pierced Elt's leg. He almost screamed, but held his mouth shut. Unsheathing his sword, he swung behind his back, only to see that nobody was near him.

"Now, that wasn't very polite of you, was it, Elt?"

"Who…what kind of monster are you!?"

The figure paused for a moment, before answering. "…the Joyful kind. Now, I have a proposition for you two. Boys, ungag her."

Two men in pink masks took the rag out of Mersé's mouth, who immediately began to speak.

"YOU BASTARD! ONCE I GET MY HALBERD, I'LL KILL YOU AND YOUR-"

"Again, not very polite. Do that again, and I'll do something worse than shooting your friend."

Mersé went quiet, and the figure continued. "Don't worry. As long as you follow my instructions, my boss will ensure your collective survival."

"…fine. What do you want from us?"

"Good boy." Merse tried to hold in her anger as best she could, but failed.

"DON'T EVER CALL HIM THAT AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME?"

"Hmm, no manners at all…I'll have to give you another ultimatum." He put the flame near Mersé's neck, and put his blade at its side. "Your right arm, or her life, Elt. Which do you value more, my friend?"

Both Elt's and Mersé's hearts sank. However, after a brief moment, Elt spoke up. "Her life is more valuable than my arm, sir."

"Alright." The figure walked over to Elt, who assumed a standard stance.

The figure lightly chuckled. "Don't even think about it. If I captured Mersé, what hope do you have?"

Elt paused for a moment, before shedding a tear and sheathing his sword. He held out his arm.

"This is going to hurt," the figure remarked, before swinging his blade down on Elt's arm.

Elt couldn't help but scream, and neither could Mersé. The figure neither laughed, smiled, or cried. He only stood there, holding something in between his fingers.

"Now, I'll give you another choice. Would you like to live, or die of blood loss?"

"I-I'd like to live, sir…"

"Hm. Just like that disgusting brat. Alright, swallow this tablet, and let the Joy flow through your body."

With little resistance left in his body, Elt swallowed the pill that was dropped in his mouth. Immediately, all of his pain and anguish disappeared. He felt his body heal somewhat, and could think clearly once again.

"Are you ready to accept my deal, you two?"

"Tell us more."

"I just need you to distribute the tablets I had just given you to Lescatie's military. It's a…medicine, called Joy, which makes you feel nothing. I believe you've already realized what this could mean in terms of lust from, say, Mamono mana."

"Why torture us to do this? Why didn't you go to the king or queen with this request?"

"Well, who would listen to a madman like myself without some persuasion?"

Elt thought for a moment. "And will you spare our lives if we follow your instructions?"

"Why, as long as you keep this meeting a secret, I think I will."

Without giving his doubt and opening, Elt responded. "Then we have a deal. Just give Mersé back, and we'll distribute 'Joy'."

"Good boy…" The figure turned to the masked men. "Boys! Give him the girl." Two of the pink-masked men grabbed Mersé, and handed her over to Elt, who hoisted her over his shoulder with his remaining arm.

"Remember, come back here if you run out of Joy. I'll always keep an eye on you two."

At the intersection in the street, Primera watched as the fleeing lunatics turned left. When she had turned the corner to chase after them, Primera came face to face with the drunkard, who spit the same iridescent liquid he had drunk earlier in her eyes, blinding her.

"ARGH! Somebody! Get them!"

Although the people out and about knew who Primera was, they didn't dare risk their own safety, both due to the fact that the nobles that Primera worked for didn't even acknowledge their existence, and that they could die if they tried to restrain criminals who were able to stop a hero's pursuit.

Birdie caught up with his party, and Buffalo congratulated him.

"Good work, Birdie! Now, let's get out of here!"

Brad. on the other hand, was confused. He still ran away from the long-eared woman, but had to wonder what had just happened.

Why were there women here? Where's Buddy? Is she even here? Where's Rando? In fact, where am I? This wasn't the outside world I remember from my childhood! It's almost like society regressed into something more primitive…did we go back in time?

Eventually, they reached the city's slums, where they entered a bar.

"Hi there fellas, what can I get…my god, what happened to you folks? Are you heroes?"

Brad caught his breath for a moment before replying. "…yes, yes we are." Crisp looked on in anger, knowing that Brad couldn't have been a hero to anyone but himself.

"Well, we don't have many hospitals in the slums, especially for your arms, sir, but we can offer you drinks, all on the house. Just spread the word about Tiny's Tavern, wontcha?"

Brad's party nodded, and he served up four finely brewed glasses of mead, which the four "heroes" quickly gulped down.

Birdie asked the first question. "Hey, bartender! We came from out of town, got lost and ended up here. Where are we?"

Tiny laughed. "Why, you're in Lescatie of course, where else would you see such a big city?" He then spoke in a hushed tone. "By the way, if any of you have Mamono wives, you should probably get out of here. They'll execute both of you on the spot."

"…Mamono?" Brad asked.

"You don't have Mamono where you live? You know, part beast, part women, all lust? Use 'corrupting' mana, can turn other women into Mamono, all over the world?"

Brad paused, realizing what this could mean for Buddy, if she was even here to begin with.

"Can they even corrupt children?"

"A bit of an odd question to ask…oh well! Yes, but only female children. Did you live in Sabbath territory?"

Buffalo's concern was growing over the course of this conversation, but decided to step in now. "What is the Sabbath? Are they…"

"You know, they always say 'older brother' or some Zipanguan phrase I don't remember, look like kids, want to give everyone a bride that looks like a goddamn child…" Tiny gagged in disgust, and Brad stood up.

"Guys…we need to find Buddy. Now."

At that moment, Crisp reached his boiling point. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN? IS THAT KID THE ONLY ONE WHO MATTERS IN THIS WORLD? IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED, SHE'S NOT THE ONLY WOMAN ON EARTH ANYMORE! I DON'T CARE IF SHE'S YOUR DAUGHTER, I HAVE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT TOO! FUCK YOU, BRAD!"

Brad didn't react to the speech, only looking down at his feet. "…"

"NOTHING TO SAY, HUH!? GO FUCK YOURSELF! I'M LEAVING!"

"…I'm sorry."

Crisp turned around, more enraged than ever before. "THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN, 'SORRY'? WERE YOU SORRY WHEN YOU HELD TOBY FOR RANSOM TO GET ME TO JOIN YOU? WERE YOU SORRY WHEN YOU GOT THAT MAN TO KILL HIMSELF? NO! YOU FUCKING WEREN'T!"

Lisa. I'm sorry. Lisa. I'm sorry. Lisa. I'm sorry. Lisa. I'm sorry. Lisa. I'm sorry. Lisa. I'm sorry. Lisa. I'm sorry. Lisa. I'm sorry. Lisa. I'm sorry. Lisalisalisalisalisalisalisalisalisa…

(A/N: ...painful, huh? On a serious note, the next chapter won't be as heavy.)