Emilia was the first to answer. “Maybe, but there’s somethin’ more pressing at stake. Leon, you know what I’m gettin’ at, don’t you?”
The ghoul was silent, staring at the ground.
“…My promise. This could be another way…”
The past must remain fixed. But the future was under no such obligation.
“…Could I…keep some of that fruit? Even just one?”
“Yep. I already made ’em promise. You just gotta get it.”
Alice could no longer follow the conversation. She was an outsider, with no right to intrude upon their past. But that was okay. The three of them were still of one mind. They all wanted to fight for a brighter future. Alice, Emilia, and even Leon. And so…
“Will you take this job, Leon?”
When her master nodded, Alice said nothing to stop him.
“Your job this time is collecting the anomalies and also information.”
“…Information?”
“Yeah. You see, the church sent in another team before you. Highly trained specialists, the lot of them, but they went dark. If all went well, they’d be back by now, and there’s been no contact, either. The higher-ups are assumin’ they’ve all been wiped out.”
“So now they’re sending me?”
“You got it. The primary objective is to gather more of these fruits. Your secondary objective is to find out what you can about the enemy. If you can bring some samples back, great. If not, then let us know where to find ’em.”
Emilia continued to brief Leon for some time. Although he was expected to return alive, there would be no support or reinforcements from the church. The scouting party that got wiped out consisted of the organization’s most highly skilled warriors. The church was wary of sending any more valuable personnel into the meat grinder. Save Leon, of course.
“So they can’t spare any more reserves?” Leon asked.
“’Fraid not. Even I couldn’t wrangle you any backup this time,” said Emilia.
Alice smiled at the woman’s pained look. “You really do look out for him, don’t you?” she said.
“…Shut up.”
Emilia turned away, acting aloof. Her silence spoke volumes.
They way she’d spoken and acted when Alice first met her had been born of despair. She wanted to help Leon, but she knew she lacked the strength to do so. Thus, she had given up and resigned herself to awaiting the day he failed to return.
Still, there was no mistaking her drive to help Leon in whatever way she could. And perhaps she’d have her opportunity this time. Thus, she cautioned Leon carefully.
“Listen to me, Leon. Don’t get yourself killed out there. Even if you can’t bring back any of the fruits, I’ll get my hands on one somehow. You just gather what info you can and come back, understand? …With that pretty little lady of yours, too.”
A few days’ carriage ride later, Leon and Alice arrived at their destination.
“So this is Regtelia Town…”
As the pure-white darkness parted, the town’s front gates came into view. Alice gulped. This was her third time ever in a dungeon, and she still wasn’t used to the heavy atmosphere.
Plus, this was a brand-new dungeon, and little was known about it. Who knew what kinds of fearsome fiends roamed within or where the coveted fruits could be found? And just how strong were the enemies in this place? There were too many questions, and there was nothing for it but to get to work and start feeling around.
It was terrifying. Alice feared this place from the bottom of her heart. But just then…
“It’ll be okay.”
She felt her master’s hand on her head and his calming voice in her ear.
“It’s us. We’ll be okay.”
These were no mere platitudes; Leon was being honest. Alice felt pride and courage welling up inside her.
“Absolutely!” she said. “When we’re together, nothing can get in our way!”
A cheerful voice and expression. Even Leon found the warmth infectious.
Truly, it was the Lord’s will that I met her. God has seen fit to grant this foolish ghoul a second chance.
If Leon could find one of the fruits, that could mean salvation. Not for Leon, but for him.
I thought the only salvation for him was death. But now I can bring him back. It’s a choice I never knew was there.
He had to obtain a fruit at any cost. And any fiends that stood in his way would perish at the hands of him and his formidable disciple.
“Let’s go, Alice.”
“Yes, Master!”
The two stepped boldly forward into unknown lands, where the scent of death wafted, ever present. Naturally, the two moved slowly, with Leon always listening for foes so that he could get the drop on them. There seemed to be no enemies or people around at all.
“I guess the elite team really did get wiped out…,” he said, glancing at Alice. She was cautiously eyeing her surroundings as well, casting a wary gaze into every shadowy corner. “Are you curious about those buildings?” he asked.
“Y-yes. I haven’t been dungeon delving that long, so I’m not sure what to expect…but are they usually all white like that?”
The buildings in the previous dungeons had usually been covered in blood and gore, so it was understandably hard to tell.
“I believe the look of a dungeon is dictated by the types of people who lived there before,” Leon explained. “For example, Regtelia Town was the seat of the Martyrs, a cult with their own interpretation of the teachings of the Church of Cthul, as well as the writings of St. Augus. They tried to live in strict adherence to what they saw as the will of the Lord and held pure devotion above all else.”
“I see. So that’s why everything is white now.”
“Probably, yes. The Martyrs used to fly white flags as a symbol of their faith, so the color was certainly important to them. They’d love what the place looks like now, I imagine.”
If they hadn’t all been reduced to mindless fiends, of course.
“The thing is, the more you try to impose a sense of purity on people, the more corrupt you become. All that regulation turned into oppression, and that clouded the hearts of the people. That’s a big factor that leads to the birth of fiends.”
Just then, as Leon and Alice were starting to wonder what form those fiends would take, a living example presented itself. Three, in fact, shrouded by fog just a little down the road. They were a species of werewolf known as Black Fangs. In contrast to their brown-furred brethren, these examples sported fur as black as night and one other very important difference: their eyes. Or rather, their complete lack thereof.