Chapter 2

1 The Fourteen Demons The castle stood atop a desolate hill, surrounded on all sides by dense forest. It was constructed wholly from frigid stone and, as such, resembled a fortress more than it did a castle. It gave off an oppressive air, and most anyone who spent more than three days inside it would be plagued by nightmares of being crushed by stones. Its corridors were labyrinthine, and if one got lost in them, there was a greater chance of starving to death before finding a way out. It wasn’t built with the comfort of its inhabitants in mind; in fact, it seemed to reject the idea of being inhabited altogether. Its kitchen was no different. The layout was abysmal, and its atmosphere evoked the claustrophobic sense of being locked in a dungeon. Not to mention the nature of the ingredients that had been forced upon him. Kaito Sena wore a cotton shirt with rolled-up sleeves and a butcher’s apron. His arms were crossed and he bore a sullen expression. Before him lay a towering mound of organs. The varied bits of flesh were all soft and glistening and gave off a strong, peculiar odor. He sighed and, with a sharp knife, began cutting the intestines lengthwise. He then removed the white bits from the heart. As he was dressing the vast quantity of meat with sage-like stoicism, the kitchen shook violently. Kaito ignored this, acting as though nothing had happened. Even if the castle was to collapse and his life was to end, it was of little concern to him. He took the expensive-looking bottle he’d randomly grabbed from the wine cellar, opened it, and poured its contents into a silver fruit bowl. At once, he began dumping the organ meat into the bowl along with some herbs he couldn’t identify. His face stern, he continued cooking even as the entire castle shook again. Once more, he ignored it. Even if half the castle was blown away, Kaito would still be fine, so he paid no attention to the tremors. His world was at peace. However, a wicked voice rang out and shattered that tranquility. “Butler! Buuutler!” His name was in fact Kaito and not Butler. Thus, he decided the voice couldn’t possibly be calling for him. Under that justification, he continued ignoring it, but then the manner in which he was being called changed. “Kaaaiiito!” “All right, all right! I’m coming right now, so pipe down!” His life was at risk if he continued playing deaf. He slammed the liver he was flouring onto the counter, then took off down the corridor. Thanks to the poor excuses for stained-glass clerestory windows, the corridor was less claustrophobic than the kitchen. At the same time, the patterns of light they cast on the floor were ominous enough to be annoying. He ran atop the patterns, climbed a spiral staircase, and finally threw open a massive pair of double doors. A violent gust of wind blew in Kaito’s face. The throne room, as the name would suggest, was adorned with a magnificent throne atop a pedestal, and the array of antique tapestries served to accentuate the room’s grandeur. However, a quarter of the room had been destroyed, and the pale-blue sky peeked through a huge hole in the wall. It seemed there was a serious chance that half the castle had been blown away. Standing above the wreckage, an arrogant girl awaited Kaito, her arms folded and her perfectly sculpted legs perched atop the rubble. Her heels clicked as she turned to face him. Her dark hair fluttered around her as she pierced him with her crimson gaze. Her face, a well of inhuman beauty, was punctuated by a smile dripping with unfettered delight. It was truly unpleasant. Her nails were painted black, and they glimmered as she pointed outside. She spoke in a whisper, her voice as sweet as birdsong with the tone of a cat that had just eaten its fill. “Behold, Kaito.” Kaito obeyed and peered through the hole. The bright-blue sky and vivid-green forest would have been picturesque were it not for the sticky red that stained the landscape, accompanied by the stench of rust. The once-beautiful setting was now a sickening sight to behold. A nightmarish hellscape stretched as far as the eye could see. Dozens of iron stakes jutted out of the ground, impaling a strange creature. Kaito scrunched up his face as much as he could, but he could still make out the grizzly, bloodied corpses. “Well, Kaito? Have you any impressions?”