“Th-The mission… The mission to capture the woman who fled into the forest… I-I’m sorry. We failed.”
A heavy silence fell over the hall, the oppressive quiet stretching out until my pulse began to thunder painfully in my ears. I risked a quick, panicked glance at Joanne, who had been just as involved in the mission as I had. Hey, you were there too! Don’t just sit there like this is all on me!
From behind his iron mask, Aros finally spoke, his voice low and without a trace of emotion.
“Continue.”
I swallowed. “The woman… The target was Celestia, a high-ranking executive of the Kenneth Orthodoxy. I… I assisted Joanne-sama in engaging her, but… after severing her right arm, she managed to escape. I failed to capture her.”
Another long, painful pause.
“And our casualties?” Aros asked, his tone still maddeningly calm.
“N-Nine of our men were… killed.”
“I see… How unfortunate.”
I felt my heart sink into my stomach. His voice, cool and detached, had the finality of a death sentence. I could practically feel my own life slipping through my fingers, the phantom sensation of my flesh being torn apart already setting my nerves on fire.
I’m dead. He’s going to kill me. This is it. I’m done for.
I risked a glance upward, my breath catching as I met the blank, eyeless stare of his iron mask. He shifted slightly, his head tilting as he looked between Joanne and me, the hollow, expressionless facade making it impossible to gauge his thoughts.
“But,” he said, his tone suddenly shifting into something almost… paternal, “I am a forgiving man. I see you as my beloved children, and I am not one to discard my precious flock over a single failure. I will forgive you for letting Celestia escape.”
“Ah… H-Huh? Th-Thank you! Th-Thank you very much, my lord!” I stammered, my voice cracking as the icy grip of terror loosened, if only slightly.
Wait… What? Did I just… survive?
The sudden, unexpected reprieve hit me like a bucket of cold water, leaving me more bewildered than relieved. I had been certain I was about to be killed, but now he was letting me off without so much as a slap on the wrist? My heart raced as my mind struggled to process the abrupt shift in tone.
No… This isn’t kindness. It’s indifference.
I realized it instinctively. This wasn’t the forgiveness of a benevolent leader but the apathy of a man who saw my life as no more significant than a flickering candle. Aros wasn’t sparing me out of mercy. If anything, he was throwing me a bone because he didn’t care enough to punish me. I was a nameless, expendable grunt—nothing more.
This… might actually be worse. Now I’ve caught his attention.
As if to confirm my fears, Aros slowly turned his head toward Joanne, his gloved fingers tapping softly against the armrest of his throne.
“Joanne,” he said, his tone still unnervingly gentle. “What did you think of your battle with Celestia? What did you learn?”
Joanne leaned back, her green eyes narrowing as she stretched her bare arms above her head, the black cloak I had given her slipping slightly.
“Our compatibility sucks,” she muttered, a sharp, wolfish grin spreading across her face. “But next time… I won’t lose.”
Aros’s masked head tilted slightly, his tone growing just a fraction sharper. “You said the same thing last time, didn’t you?”
“S-Sorry. You’re right.”
“It’s good that you can admit your mistakes so readily.”
Even the wild, unhinged Joanne had to bow her head to the cult leader. It seemed that no matter how brutal or powerful a high-ranking officer might be, none of them dared to challenge Aros. Watching their strangely civil exchange, I felt another wave of cold sweat trickle down my spine.
I’d been planning to slip away from the sect for a while now, waiting for the right moment to make my escape. But with this much scrutiny on me, every step being watched, every breath weighed and measured, I was starting to wonder if I’d ever get the chance.
“But Aros-sama,” Joanne continued, her eyes sparking with a dangerous, almost childlike glee, “I’m pretty sure I’ve cracked the code to killing that bitch now. Next time, I’ll definitely take her head. Third time’s the charm, yeah?”
“Oh?” Aros’s head tilted slightly, the iron mask catching the dim light filtering through the high, stained-glass windows. “I look forward to it.”
Her words snapped me out of my spiraling panic. “Third time”? My mind raced as I pieced it together. In the original game, Joanne and Celestia had clashed three times before the main story even kicked off. That meant this was only their second encounter, which placed me firmly before the start of the official plotline.
Okay, that’s… actually really useful to know. I’m pre-canon. Maybe I can use that.
Before I could fully grasp the implications, Aros stood, his dark cloak rustling as he turned, moving with a fluid grace befitting of his imposing presence.
“Well then, my dear followers, I have matters to attend to. I shall take my leave.”
With that, he stepped backward into the same swirling vortex of shadows that had brought him into the hall. His form dissolved into the darkness, and his iron mask was the last thing to vanish as the shadows closed in, swallowing him whole.
The two remaining executives, Fuankilo and Pawk, quickly made their exits as well. They disappeared into the dimly lit corridors of the castle without a second glance in my direction.
Suddenly, it was just me and Joanne.
I glanced down at the puddle of sweat that had pooled beneath my knees, my entire body still trembling with adrenaline and fear. I felt like a wrung-out dishrag. My mind could barely hold itself together after the sheer psychological pressure of being in the same room as those monsters.
Joanne hopped off her oversized stone throne and landed with a thud, her bare feet hitting the cold stone floor as she stretched her lithe, sinewy frame. She fixed me with a sharp grin.
“Yo, Oakley. You’re coming with me from now on. We’ve gotta make up for that failure,” she said, her tone somewhere between an order and a taunt.
I got on one knee and bowed my head low. “A-As you command, Joanne-sama,” I said, my voice dripping with the kind of forced obedience I’d perfected over the past few hellish days.
✦ ✦ ✦
Joanne Sagamix.
In the original game, she had a dedicated character route, but only in the protagonist’s “dark descent” storyline. Her twisted brand of affection manifested as obsessive love and surveillance, culminating in the protagonist being reduced to a limbless, eternally captive prisoner.
Although I despaired over a future without hope, I had no choice but to follow Joanne.