Two days after the party. Colette Lumiere witnessed something most bizarre. Her childhood friend Villhaze was sitting before the watermill, looking up at the sky. Her whole body was limp, and it looked as though her soul had escaped her from her mouth. She looked so disturbed that Colette hesitated to say anything for a moment. “Wh-what’s wrong? Did Terakomari do something to you?” “A…Aaa…AaaAaaAaaah…” Vill turned her head like the creaking of a machine. Colette was slightly creeped out. Her dejection was too freaky. “Umm…wanna get something to eat together? They’re making hamburgers at my house… Wait! Stay away from the waterway! The water’s too high!” “Aaaah!! Aaaah!!” Confused, Colette stopped Vill. “What happened?! Did Terakomari sexually harass you again?!” “No, no… Lady Komari… Lady Komari!! She left me behind and headed to the Imperial Capital…!!” Colette blinked. She’d left her? That perverted, Vill-loving vampire? No, for starters, she wasn’t in Lumiere Village anymore? Her head filled with a barrage of questions. “I found this letter in her room. Look…” Teary-eyed, Vill took a piece of paper out of her pocket. Colette’s heart raced as she read through it. Vill, I’m leaving with Nelia. Take care of Esther. Tell Colette and the villagers I said good-bye. Komari What? Did they get into an argument? “I understand how she feels… She would die if she stayed with me. But besides that, I fear she doesn’t like me anymore.” “Why? Did you do something to her?” “I sucked her blood without permission.” Colette nearly fainted. This girl had climbed the stairs of adulthood outside her knowledge. Now she felt like she had been left behind. “W-well, obviously that would make her hate you! That’s basically sexual abuse!” “And that’s why I can’t run after her. And, well, she also left me in charge of Esther. She’s basically ordering me to stay put in Lumiere.” “I see…” “Aaaah… AAAHHH!! How could I have done that to my Lady…? I’m a failure of a maid… I have no choice but to streak around the village in atonement.” “Don’t do that! Did her perversion infect you?!” Colette fought to keep her from undressing. After they grappled for a while, Vill calmed down. She sat on the stone paving and hugged her knees. Then she let out a huge sigh, expulsing the last speck of happiness from her lungs. Seeing Vill sad made Colette sad. But on the other hand, this was a happy accident. Terakomari was a huge help. She hadn’t abandoned Colette to get away from the Arukan Army. But she was also her enemy—a threat to her peace. And she’d made her face-plant into the mud. Good riddance. Colette smirked internally as she placed her hand on Vill’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Vill! You’ve got me!” “Lady Colette…” Vill wiped her tears and turned around. Her bearing was just like it had been when she’d been a kid. “…Yeah. I’ll stay in the village for a while.” Colette gave her a huge smile. It would be so easy to tie her down to Lumiere. Now all she had to do was find proof this was her Vill. “Haaaah…” I clutched my head while walking the roads of the Netherworld. “C’mon.” Nelia turned around with a tired look on her face. “You chose this. Stop moping.” “I know, but still…” “Vill predicted you’d die if you were with her. We don’t know how. You had no choice but to leave her.” “I know, but still…!!” All my anxieties about Vill flooded my head. We’d departed Lumiere early in the morning. I’d left a letter for Vill, and after failing to wake Nelia up with any force of shaking, I’d roused her by pinching her nose. Then I’d scolded Esther for practicing with a wooden sword in her hospital room, informed her of the situation, and Nelia and I had gotten our stuff together to leave. We weren’t going all the way to the Imperial Capital. We were just moving to the neighboring village to avoid my doom. I’d left the place without notice because I felt bad for Colette. It was a good opportunity to let Vill actually talk with her (maybe) childhood friend… Although it’d be trouble if they found out she really was her Vill as a result. “Dammit, that maid distresses me even when she’s not around…” “It’s okay. No matter what happens, your sis is here to take care of everything.” “Thanks, but you’re not my sister.” Anyway, there was no use worrying about it. I just needed to focus on walking. “Now, then,” Nelia said while looking up at the sky adorned by two suns. “We should hurry up… I wonder if my mentor is doing well. You think she remembers me?” “You think she’d forget about you? There’s not many people as memorable as you.” “Hee-hee. I hope so.” Just then, Nelia noticed something. Her emerald gaze turned beyond the mountains—far into the sky. I followed it. There was a huge tower in the distance. “That’s…probably the God Slayer Tower, isn’t it?” “Huh? Oh, the thing Colette mentioned.” The name reminded me of the “Wicked God Slayer.” What was that terrorist girl up to now? “The map says so. And it looks like it’s registered as a world heritage site in the Netherworld.” I peeked at the map in Nelia’s hands. Next to a depiction of the tower were the words WORLD HERITAGE SITE!! in a fancy font. Uh, this map…is full of cute drawings of animals and local specialties? It’s a map for kids. This is what we’ve been using for our journey this whole time? “It says it’s not open to the public. Shame.” “Hey, the God Slayer Tower is supposed to be at the center of the world, right?” “The map does say this is the middle of the Netherworld. Maybe the upside-down city we saw through during the netherscreening at the Crimson Snow Hut in Frezier is around here.” I felt like that place had some secrets. Unfortunately, we had so little to go on that even my bright, intellectual, scholarly mind couldn’t figure it out. I stared at the fuzzy silhouette of the tower in the blue sky. It looked about a hundred times taller than the Mulnite Palace. Its walls were white. It was plain in shape. I couldn’t see any windows from here… Was it properly ventilated? Could you even breathe inside? “Anyway, enough with the details. Let’s move.” “Yeah.” We resumed our trek to the next village. Then I heard something crumbling behind me. “…?” I felt intermittent earthquakes. Cloing. Cloing. A familiar melody echoed in my ears. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Nelia turned around. I didn’t know what exactly was happening, but there was one thing I could say for certain: Something was going on in the direction of Lumiere Village. (Going back a bit) “Terrible news, Ms. Vill!” The Lumiere residence dining hall. Vill had been eating bread and listening to Colette’s incessant small talk when the door had slammed open. She turned around in shock to find the newbie of the Seventh Unit, Esther Claire, with tears in her eyes. She was in a hospital gown, and her hair was down instead of in her usual ponytail. Naturally, as she should have been in the clinic right now. “Esther? What’s wrong? What about your injury?” “That doesn’t matter right now! We’re under attack!” “Huh?” Colette froze. Esther clutched her belly in pain as she continued. “We didn’t wipe out the Arukan Army… The attack back there was a trap. Tremolo Parcostella…is going to destroy the village…!” Then came an explosion, followed by the war cry of an army. The Arukans were rampaging indiscriminately. “Is it my fault…? Because I ran away…” “No. I’ll go take a look.” “Ah, Vill!” Vill brushed off Colette and left the mansion. “I’ll go with you.” Esther followed her. They had no idea what was going on—they had to get a grasp of situation before anything else. To cut to the chase: it wasn’t good. The Arukan Army had launched a surprise attack. The watchtower at the center of the village was red with flames and loudly crumbling. A house three doors down blew up like something from a cartoon. Cannons fired. The villagers ran around in confusion as the Arukans slashed at them without mercy. Blood spurted and splashed all over. Innocent people were deprived of their lives with startling ease. “Aaaaaah… It’s over… It’s horrible…!” Esther clutched her Chain Metal with trembling hands. There was no Dark Core in this world. Anyone who was killed wouldn’t come back. “Ms. Vill, we have to stop them…” “No, not stop them. We have to evacuate.” They were up against thousands. Vill’s kunai couldn’t hope to stop them. The assembly hall two doors down blew up next. Vill grabbed on to Esther and pushed her down to the ground. More cannon fire. The battle intensified as they waited for the blasts to die down. “The clinic… The clinic’s gone already… There were other people hospitalized there, but the bomb came all of a sudden. I happened to be outside, which saved me, but the other patients were all over the place…” “Then we have to find them.” “N-no, I mean…they were torn to pieces, all over the place…” Esther was shaking and couldn’t speak clearly. Vill forced down her emotions. She had to be grateful that at least she was alive. Regardless, they had to find a place to hide and get in contact with Komari… No, that wasn’t right. This had to be the start of the tragedy Pandora’s Poison had predicted. Komari had a high chance of dying in this battle. They had to run on their own. “This is…just like six years ago…” Colette was standing by the door. The village bigwigs ran up to them, asking, “Are you okay, Colette?!” They sighed and stopped upon seeing their precious future shrine maiden was alive and well. “Let’s go now. They’re going to destroy Lumiere…!” “It’s useless, the garrison can’t stop them! We have to call the Imperial Capital!” “Tsk… C’mon, Colette, don’t just stand there!” The vice-chief grabbed Colette’s arm and pulled her, but she stayed in place, pale in the face, blabbering. “Six years ago…a lot of people died. My real mom and dad… Vill went missing… The tragedy is repeating itself…” “Colette… Your parents…” “They were killed. That’s why I only had Vill.” Vill didn’t know what to say. Was that part of why she was obsessed with her childhood friend? “What do we do, Vill…? I don’t want the same thing to happen again…!” “It won’t be the same.” Cloing. A switch flipped. Chills. A girl carrying a biwa emerged from the other side of the flames. Her hands were in the pockets of her strange vestment, and she was smiling coyly. The Dead Maestro, Tremolo Parcostella. Member of moon-rank mercenary group Star Citadel. “It will not be the same. It cannot be the same, Colette Lumiere. This tragedy is a result of fate. Karma. Your just deserts.” Colette shivered. Vill held up her kunai and stood in front of her. “Tremolo Parcostella. I thought Lady Komari left you incapacitated.” “That was a double. I put my clothes on a soldier who’d been knocked out. This distinctive outfit is very convenient at times like these… People think it’s me at a simple glance and don’t look discerningly.” She was sly. Or rather, they had been careless. But there was no use crying over spilled milk. “…What are you after?” “Star Citadel’s wish is the extinction of mankind. I was appointed to cause fruitless conflict as the first step toward that end.” Tremolo’s cheeks turned rosy as her grin widened. “Colette Lumiere, did you think you were free after escaping Aruka? The truth is, you never left the palm of the bard’s hand. The hometown you rediscovered was only my pinky finger. I’ll let you in on something: I led you on by attacking the wagon you were being transported in.” “What…? Do you want me to thank you or something…?” “No, it should be me thanking you. So many people suffered because of your escape. Arukans, Mulnitites, even people from other countries… They all found themselves in disaster because you escaped. And now your sins have caught up to you.” “N-no… I…” “It’s wonderful how much you care for your childhood friend, but what about the people dying here? Surely they resent your return to the village.” All strength left Colette’s body. Tremolo used a similar method as Nerzanpi Rocha—no wonder they were colleagues. However, she wasn’t saying this as a ploy to trap her enemy. The proof was in the innocent smile adorning her face. “Don’t worry. I’ve called for reinforcements from Mulnite.” “Huh…?” “So many people will die once Aruka and Mulnite clash. That will increase the total sadness in the world.” “…” Her ideology was unfathomable. She was orders of magnitude more broken than any terrorist from Inverse Moon. This woman did what she did with the sole purpose of causing conflict. No amount of death could sway her from her aims. To think there were people like her in this world. “You won’t get away with this, you bandit!” the vice-chief yelled, stepping forward. “The Mulnite Empire will end your ridiculous plans!” “That would also be amusing. I welcome any and all conflict.” “Enough babbling! Arrest her now and throw her to the army—” Cloing. Cloing. The sound of string. That very instant, blood sputtered from the vice-chief’s chest. “Don’t move. I wouldn’t want to break my precepts…” The incomprehensible warning went in Vill’s ear and out the other. The vice-chief plummeted to the ground. Colette and the villagers shrieked in terror. Esther fell to her behind. Vill’s thoughts derailed entirely; how could they react now? A groan escaped her lips at the sight of the vice-chief panting in pain. The village was in a state of panic. Buildings were being destroyed and people were being slain. Her possible hometown was being obliterated. A roar. Cannon fire blasted away the Lumiere residence. Vill went to the ground as she felt her thoughts rebooting. She couldn’t just sit back and tremble. Komari wouldn’t falter here. Her infinite kindness would have driven her to face the enemy. Vill tightened her grip on her kunai and rose to her feet. “…I won’t let you harm any more villagers. Your rampage ends here and now.” “No! Stop!” Colette cried, holding on to her. But Vill had to stop this demonic girl. Komari and Nelia weren’t there. There was no one else to rely on. “Brave. But reckless,” said Tremolo. “I can see the future. Your defeat is set in stone.” “I see your knees trembling. A childish, clumsy lie.” Tremolo smirked. She was right: Vill’s heart was filled with fear. Her expertise wasn’t in battle. And she was up against the worst-possible foe, one who slashed people mysteriously, without magic or Core Implosion. She did not hesitate in the slightest to take lives. Who wouldn’t be scared? “Don’t do it! Run!” the villagers shouted. They were worried for her. She had to answer their feelings. For that was what Terakomari Gandesblood would do. Cloing. The sound of something bending. With that as her signal, Vill kicked off the ground. Something slashed into the spot she had been standing on, and the ground cracked grandly. The next instant, Esther got to her feet and carried Colette away. Tremolo really did have a technique that allowed her to cut anything from afar. “You’re surprisingly fast.” Cloing. Another bending sound. Vill threw her kunai in a flash. It flew in a straight line before it was slammed down halfway to her target. Something had slashed through it. Cloing, cloing. All this time, she had thought that was the sound of a biwa. That was partly correct, but not entirely. Vill took three kunais out of her pocket and threw them all at once. They changed direction before reaching Tremolo. Then Vill saw it: Something glowed under the sunlight as the kunais were slashed down. Threads. Tremolo was using nearly transparent threads to slash her enemies. How she did so was still an open question. The threads only attacked when her hands were in her pockets. Perhaps she was manipulating them from her vestment. “You’ve noticed. Took you long enough.” “Let’s see how fast you are!” Vill couldn’t use poison because she was downwind. She only had her physical strength to rely on. Vill slashed the thread coming from her side by a hair’s breadth and charged at the enemy. She threw a kunai to block Tremolo’s movement, and the biwa bard stepped back a little. Vill seized the opportunity to leap at her—but it was a trap. There was a bump in the ground. A thread had sliced off a bit of earth. Her foot caught, and she stumbled forward. “This is the Myogo String, a Divine Instrument fabricated from Mandala minerals from the Toumor Republic. It materializes as I imbue it with my willpower, and when I apply force, it can cut through any material.” Vill didn’t listen to her smug explanation. The ground was getting closer. No—not the ground. A whirl of murderous threads by her feet was approaching. Like a spiderweb waiting to capture its prey. She couldn’t dodge. Sweat covered her back. A sticky sense of despair budded within her half-dead mind, when… “Vill! Don’t be reckless!” Someone propped her up. Colette had grabbed Vill’s arm, desperation twisting her face. She pulled her back, and they tumbled onto the ground. Vill opened her eyes to find the sky-blue girl in tears before her. “No! Please, don’t! Don’t fight! Let’s run! Together!” “Lady Colette…” “I’ll protect you this time! Please!” “It’s no use.” Cloing. The sound of a string bending. Blood spurted from Colette’s shoulder. People didn’t scream once their pain passed a certain point. Colette’s right arm spun in the air. Was this a nightmare? No, it was reality. The moment her bloody arm landed on the table in the Lumiere house, Colette fell to her side. “Colette…!!” All color left Vill’s face as she crawled up to her. The sky-blue girl looked up at the heavens in wonder. The blood dampened the ground in a pool that was growing larger and larger. The villagers were speechless. Vill couldn’t say anything, either. “A…aah…” “Don’t worry. I won’t slash her heart. There’s a better, more effective moment to kill the next shrine maiden… But this is a problem. She might die from blood loss at this rate,” the murderer said in annoyance. “Oh well. That would also be amusing. Now, then. It’s your turn, Villhaze.” Another house exploded in the distance. “Ahhh,” Colette sighed in resignation. “Am I going to…die…?” “Colette…! No…” The moment Vill looked down at her grief-stricken face, an awful headache struck her. The sealed memories came back little by little. Rain, wind, and thunder. Burning houses and screams. A girl pulling her by the hand across the forest. Crimson mana enshrouding the whole world. No, I can’t remember. The important bits were fuzzy, and she didn’t know what it meant. But that didn’t matter. An innocent girl was dying before her eyes. A girl who cared for her a lot, who might have been her childhood friend. The moment Villhaze recognized this, she shuddered. It was her fault… This girl was going to die because of her. Colette Lumiere had lost her parents in the war. The only one who’d been left was her childhood friend, timid Villhaze. She could still remember it clearly. The day when they’d run hand in hand across the stormy forest. Ruffians were coming after Vill, the next shrine maiden. They were monsters who would kill people as though plucking flowers. Tears smeared Colette’s face as she pulled Vill by the hand. Her parents had been torn in half before her eyes. Their last words had been, “Run.” And it was the only thing she could do. But she couldn’t leave Vill behind. Her fearful childhood friend would be killed just like her parents if she did. Colette forced down her sadness and ran. She refused to look back at the burning village and screamed: “I’m going to protect you. You’re the only one I have left.” Vill cried voicelessly. They had to survive. But fate was a cruel mistress. The downpour caused a landslide. The heavy lightning turned their vision white. Intermittent earthquakes rocked the whole world. And the next thing she knew, Vill had disappeared. “Vill… Where are you?” She couldn’t find her no matter how hard she looked. Colette Lumiere had lost everything. She hadn’t been able to protect her childhood friend. Ever since that day, Colette had lived in the middle of a storm. In the pain of being ripped away from her loved ones. In the grief of being unable to find her wish. And now—the same tragedy was repeating itself. “Colette! Colette…!!” “Vill…?” Vill’s crying face was right before her. Right. They cut off my arm. Her senses were so dull that she didn’t feel the pain. She would probably die here. “Colette… Ahhh, what do I do…?” Vill had stopped using “Lady” before her name. Had she remembered they were childhood friends? In any case, Colette wasn’t in the right place mentally to feel glad about it. “This takes me back.” The demon laughed in the distance. Tremolo Parcostella spoke with glee. “I had this village sacrificed six years ago, too. But this isn’t like that time. The quality of this sadness is far more wonderful. I’m glad I didn’t wipe it out back then.” Colette felt her heart break and tears spill from her eyes. How could Tremolo be so awful? All her sadness stemmed from her—from Star Citadel. It was so frustrating, but she couldn’t do anything about it. Her childhood friend, Vill, was too shocked and sad to move. “Let’s put an end to the opening song. You shall be the spark for a new conflict.” Tremolo slowly walked forward. It was just like back then. She wouldn’t be able to protect Vill again. Cloing. Cloing. The eerie sound of the string echoed in unison with the villagers’ screams and the noise of the crumbling earth. No matter how hard she struggled, her body wouldn’t respond. Would this nightmare take everything from her again? But just as she was about to be swallowed by despair, a golden light poured from the heavens. “…?” She felt something in her right arm. Her wound was covered in gold. Her bleeding had stopped. And a warm, golden glow enveloped her. A shining kindness pouring down from above. Tremolo sneered as she looked up at the sky. Colette followed her gaze. For a moment, she thought it was God. But upon closer inspection, that clearly wasn’t the case. Against the background of the suns appeared a vampire shrouded in golden energy. And a Warblade enveloped in pink light, overflowing with hostility. “Lady Komari… Why…?” Vill muttered, as though she were hallucinating. Terakomari Gandesblood and Nelia Cunningham. They had returned to Lumiere Village. And wearing a power so tremendous it was beyond Colette’s comprehension, at that. “Sorry, Colette.” Terakomari looked at her and moved her little mouth. “Thanks for protecting Vill.” Colette didn’t understand what she’d said, yet the tears wouldn’t cease. “Leave the rest to me. I’ll stop her.” Countless golden blades spun around her. Each and every one pointed at the murderer—Tremolo Parcostella. Alarmed, the biwa bard took both hands out of her pockets. Her fingertips were wrapped in stacks of threads. “So this is the famous Blood Curse. I can see how Lady Nerzanpi was defeated.” “Die. For real this time.” Terakomari raised her hand. The golden swords launched themselves at Tremolo. The threads of the Myogo String that she’d set up over the village were cut down, coming apart with cloing after cloing. Colette watched the fierce battle as though it were all a dream. For some reason, her heart felt full. The vampire whom she’d looked down on, whom she’d called a runt, was capable of all this. Right now, she looked as brave and gallant as the Hero of Twilight.
Chapter 190
21 min read