As much as she pissed me off, she wasn't wrong. Though Claudia was important to me — in a warped way, of course — there was no denying that I forgot about her whenever I grew too passionate about whatever was happening before me.
That was part of my nature, and I couldn't do much about it. I wasn't good at thinking far ahead. Though I had to protect the one I'd eventually consume, I generally lived in the moment, and had trouble hiding it.
"Truly. As a woman, I must say that Bey severely lacks a sense of danger. Claudia is a good girl that feels so indebted to you that she'd never run away. That truth keeps you resting on your laurels. Basically, you just don't believe she'd ever leave you"
"Well, isn't that just the truth. Men like him are such an enigma. I cannot even begin to understand what makes them so confident. You think she'll like you no matter how badly you mistreat her, don't you? Just how empty is that head of yours."
"..."
We definitely weren't on the same page, but they weren't wrong about me lacking a sense of danger.
I took Claudia's presence for granted and thought that'd never change, so I never even considered making a mistake related to her.
Since the time I'd killed Heiga and experienced the greatest sense of accomplishment, my life had gone exactly how I wanted. I barely even knew what failure was.
Sure, Lord Heydrich stomped me, but I consider that a blessing. I had no experience with real disgrace. Mercurius' words? Bullshit. All of it.
"If you keep being so complacent, you might just get dumped one day. Or perhaps someone else might come and take her. You should keep that in the back of your mind."
"Shut the fuck up. So what now? You two gonna tag along?"
"Yes. And not just because of Claudia."
"Huh? The fuck do you mean?"
Babylon sighed and shrugged, as if to indicate I'd just asked something stupid.
"We haven't dealt with the source of the anomaly yet. If we leave without taking care of it, this will happen over and over again. Of course, cremating all the corpses here would prevent that, but we don't have the means to do that right now."
She signaled as to look around. Well, she wasn't wrong there.
"Oh, I see. These corpses are just catalysts, after all. And since Katyn is so full of them, this would never end."
Sure, we'd shattered and neutralized the magic animating the corpse this time, but they could easily rise again if given power once more.
The source of it all was the magician. We had to find his cadaver or hideout or whatever and destroy it so it'd stop leaking the abnormality.
We'd been ordered to deal with the anomaly, so going back without taking care of its true form wasn't an option.
"Exactly. We haven't completed our mission yet. Though I'm worried about Claudia, this should take priority. We can't march into the lion's den with her at our side, after all."
I heaved a long sigh and nodded.
"Fine. So, got any hints?"
"I can't say I don't. As I said before, Katyn's anomaly occurs on rainy nights with a full moon. The whether is the most important factor here."
Rain, then. She was basically telling us to come to the conclusion on our own. While I tilted my head in confusion, Beatrice nodded in understanding.
"I see. It's below us, then?"
"Yes, I'm sure I already said this, but the root cause is within the earth. They buried the corpses above something dangerous, and the rain created a path — a link between them. It's quite simple."
Water flows downward, and so does blood.
The massacre here rejuvenated the old and withered arcane sleeping deep within the earth.
"Well. I kinda get it. What's the plan, then? We digging a hole or what?"
"That's the last resort. First, let's look around. We're on a hill right now, so we might find something when we go down."
"Something like a cave, I assume?"
"Or similar, yes. With that in mind, let's go."
We followed after Babylon, went down the corpse-covered hill, and began exploring the surroundings.
Finding something that fit the description was no trouble at all.
"This has to be it."
Just as Beatrice expected, there was a slanted cave opening.
Frankly, it didn't look all that special, but exploring it seemed like our best option. Plus...
"This belongs to Claudia, doesn't it?"
...We found Claudia's kerchief right next to the entrance. Its presence helped me form a really simple conclusion.
"So, while we were dancing with the corpses, she went and hid here, eh? Well, credit where it's due. She's better than I expected."
"There you go again with your lack of care... Were you even listening to Riza? This might be the lion's den."
"I wouldn't be so sure."
Babylon placed her hand on her jaw and peered into the cave. There was prudence in her tone.
"It doesn't feel like there's anything bad here, so it might be just another cave. She'll be perfectly fine if that's the case. Then again, it might be just that whatever's inside doesn't react to humans. Either way, we won't know until we head deeper."
"So, you're saying the situation inside could change the moment we enter?"
"And that we should avoid thinking of Claudia for now?"
"Yes. I know you're concerned, but you should avoid calling her or anything like that. Nothing bad comes out of being a little careful. If whatever is inside doesn't realize that Claudia is there, there's no need to help it."
If you asked me, she was being needlessly cautious, but there was logic in her words. After all, sensors were used to spot threats.
The castle of a magician would never recognized mere women and children as such, and if Claudia slipped by unnoticed, it was best she stayed that way.
Though, honestly, a part of me thought that giving her a bit of a scare would be for the better.
"All right. Let's just go, then. Whatever's there might attack us, but it's not like that's enough to scare ya, eh?"
"Of course."
"Excellent. Do be on your guards, though."
And so, the three of us walked in. The entrance was tight, but inside was decently wide and tall.
The path was a slight downwards slope. We began walking down, and after about two minutes, the space billowed out enough to let ten people walk side-by-side.
"Amazing... It's far wider and deeper than I imagined. It's a one way path so far, so we definitely won't get lost, but even so, this is most unusual."
"Truly. Also, have you realized? This cavern is probably helical."
The path was constantly curving, so I had the same impression. Combined with the fact that we were going downward, it was fair to assume the overall design was a spiral.
"So? What about it?"
"Do you really not understand? It means that this cavern has some sort of purpose as a three-dimensional construct. Now, if we discover that certain sections of it have something set up in them, then we'd know it's a part of some sort of magic formation."
"Maybe they'd form a pentagram or a hexagon or something... Well, it's not unlikely."
"I'm not seeing shit, though."
I looked around and didn't notice anything strange.
Sure, we didn't have any sources of light on us, but that didn't stop me from seeing the inside of the cave down to the finest details. Our eyesight was — and still is — too good for normal darkness to cause us any problems.
Keyword: normal.
"Don't rush, Bey. We're about to complete the first circle. If anything does happen, now would be the time for it."
The moment she warned me...
"..."
...I stepped into emptiness. It surprised me, but the lack of a falling sensation made it clear I didn't just walk into some hole.
Even so, I couldn't feel anything beneath my feet, not to mention that I couldn't see anything...
Again, my eyesight isn't normal. I'm confident it outclasses those shitty night-vision scope.
Despite that, I couldn't see a single inch in front of me. I felt I'd been ejected into outer space or something.
"Damn... Now this is something."
But exactly because of that, the situation actually brought me joy. Sure, it pissed me off that they got me first, but it was clear that I'd finally found a proper opponent.
I also realized that I'd been separated from Babylon and Beatrice. I couldn't see them, of course, but I couldn't even feel their presence, either.
For all I knew, they might've been right next to me, but the darkness was far too thick for me to know. It had the density and the quality to cut off not just vision, but the other senses, too.
"So? What's your next move?"
Now that I'd activated a trap, there were many exciting twists and turns I could experience. I gave the opponent a moment to make their move, but the darkness and the silence remained unchanging.
"Lazy fuckhead. Want me to come to you, eh?"
It was hard to call it "walking" wheni didn't actually feel anything beneath my feet, but that was more or less what I started doing.
I didn't know about the others, but I, obviously, wasn't the type to be scared of the dark. I unhesitatingly continued forward, fully intent on making something happen.
I hoped to see something tasteful. Something stimulating.
That was pretty much the only thing on my mind. My heart was hungering for thrill.
What I got, though, was nothing I expected.
"...I failed again."
A voice resounded through the darkness. It was a woman's lament, dense with shame and indignation.
"Why? Why isn't it working? I've done so much — far too much to stop now... If I don't show any results, it will all have been in vain!"
I recognized the voice. It belonged to a person I knew pretty well — a woman I'd just talked to just a few moments ago.
Even so, I could tell that it wasn't the same person talking. Her words were completely unrelated to the situation at hand, after all.
"...Still this isn't fake, either."
It was very real, in fact.
It was the truth about the woman known as "Riza Brenner."
"That's why I have to keep moving forward."
Suddenly, a strange vision expanded before me.
"I have to re-think it all. Where did I go wrong? At which step did I do something unnecessary? No... What is it that I didn't do?"
It was a tasteless, sterile-looking room. In it, there was a woman, moaning out words as her cheeks shook with fright. She was clearly at her wit's end. The panic, irritation, and fear in her expression weren't enviable in the least.
From what I could tell, she'd barely bathed, ate, or slept recently. Her hair was greasy, her clothes were worn-out, and her cheeks were thin. Despite it all, however, her tired eyes were burning with a passion.
She looked like a soldier on the verge of snapping after being thrown into the worst battlefield imaginable. Hell, all the death and absurdity in the room made it feel much like a battlefield in and of itself.
"Whoa... Damn. I'm impressed. I was told about this, but... Yeah, this place is Babylon's Degenerate as fuck."
The woman was surrounded by countless corpses. At first glance, it didn't look like they had any wounds, but that made the scene even more eerie.
I couldn't even tell which of the brats were boys or girls. Considering they were all under ten, that probably wasn't all that special, but I could tell that it was mostly due to their fucked upbringing.
A warped environment makes for warped growth. Just like brats brought up by wolves grew up to think they were wolves, so too did the corpses here look like they hadn't led a normal human life.
Coming from me, that must be pretty rich. Still, the scene was both grotesque and somewhat divine. In a way, these genderless brats were like angels.
Their brains were tampered with to open the channels of consciousness unused by normal people, forcing them to see colors and hear sounds imperceivable by anyone else. Interacting with such things had caused them to break under the weight of their own power.
Evolution, eugenics, the children of the sun, the Third Reich's future, the creation of the Übermensch.
That was Riza Brenner's goal, and the result was staring me in the face.
These angels weren't blowing the trumpets of blessing. The woman's castle, ironically called "The Fount of Life," was a place that only created more death.
"That's more or less how it is, but..."
What of it, though? Was there any point in showing that vision to me?
It made me feel kinda funny and stupid, like I'd walked in on someone I knew fucking, but that was the extent of it. I didn't see the meaning behind the show.
Ignoring my confusion, the scene continued.
"By itself, attempting to create psychics isn't a mistake. It's dangerous, yes, but the world isn't in a state that allows such a reason to get in the way. The war won't end thanks to songs of philanthropy and equality. No, what we need is overwhelming power... A war drum to inspire hope in our people — a call to arms! All the peoples of the world claim to be superior to the rest, and the war is so chaotic because it doesn't go beyond mere claims. We need to give shape to this confidence. We need to show the world that our children are a step forward in evolution, ahead of them all... And just being a bit smarter or prettier isn't enough. They need access to power that normal humans can't hope to wield. They need to be a cut above the rest. For that, we need psychics... Beings that are obviously greater than us."
Miracles brought humans to their knees. They feared and revered them. After all, no one would resist a country full of people who could fly.
Our relationship with Lord Heydrich was similar. Hell, you could say the same about most religions. Everyone would follow the words of someone who could come back from the dead or predict the future.
Of course, I could see Babylon's point. If a man's lot in war was to bleed on the battlefield and a woman's worth was to birth and nurture children, her ultimate goal was to create an evolved next generation.
If the Third Reich could mass-produce psychics, it would instantly be considered a glorious land chosen by God or whatever.
That notion might seem simplistic, but when shit turns way too convoluted, it's the basic punches that deal the most damage. If you ask me, to seize control over something huge like a World War, you need a degree of clarity most would consider fucking stupid.
I mean, WWII resulted in the creation of the nukes. Back then, in terms of ridiculousness, that was pretty much the equivalent of flying psychics.
"That's why my attempts, themselves, weren't a mistake. I also know about 90% of the means behind creating psychics. The problem is that..."
Babylon looked around. All she saw were the corpses of the little angels.
"...none of the children can bear it. It's not versatile at all. Should I lower my standards, then? No, that'd be putting the cart before the horse. In fact, I should focus on creating a purebred with the greatest qualities imaginable. If I don't compromise here, I'll raise the standard of those that follow... And if I don't succeed a single time, there will never be a second attempt. I don't want their sacrifices to be in vain. That's out of the question. And for that, I need..."
She bit her finger. Her legs shook and her faced turned pale, giving me a good idea of what she was thinking.
I wasn't completely clueless back then. And hell, it was a pretty damn simple train of thought.
"Eugenics... A genius' child is a genius, and a superhuman's child is a superhuman."
Mixing the army's elites and women from some respected household wasn't enough to creature superhuman brats.
Because of that, there was only one answer.
"It's me... I have to be the one to give birth."
One of the Claws and Fangs of the Gold, a knight of the Longinus Dreizehn Orden — Riza Brenner herself was a fitting mother to a superhuman.
It was only obvious. In fact, you'd expect it to be the first thing she ever tried.
And from what I've heard, she actually did just that. Tons of times, too.
"But... What do I have to do to have a child...? No matter how much and with how many men I lay, my womb is still barren. Am I the greatest flaw here? Is it my disposition? Did I kill too many children and have too much loveless intercourse to be deserving of motherhood? If that's the case, then there's nothing I can..."
Her panic and fear was alien to me, obviously. Unless we're shooting blanks or something, men have hundreds of chances to make a brat with a single release of their seed.
A barren field, though, doesn't bear any fruit. So it's clearly much harsher for women. Considering the situation, the only logical conclusion was that there was something wrong with her womb.
Funnily enough, Babylon, whose goal was the birth of the ultimate human, found an impassable barrier in infertility. Just as she'd said, without a single success, she would never have a second one.
"What should I do? What can I do? I want a child... I want to hold him in my arms... Please, let me become a mother... I'll do anything for that... "
Regardless of their goal, that definitely wasn't something a mass-murderer of other people's brat had any right to say. All irony aside, though, this was definitely a prime example of a woman giving in to madness.
Because of that...
"If that's what it takes, I'll even sell my soul to the Devil."
"Splendid. Then allow me to impart a truth upon you."
...I half-expected the voice I heard next. The words were accompanied by a storm of visual static.
"How long have you been there...?"
I could feel the woman's surprise in her tone. The magician ignored it and continued blessing his with his mercurial curse.
"You envision birth while embracing death. You are akin to Salome — a woman who only feels love when cradling corpses. You are at your best when pressing your lips against detached head, applying cosmetics to cadavers, decorating corpse shrouds, and consummating your affection in graveyards. Your womb shall reject all men who still draw breath. If you desire an overman, cast away the acts of the layman. That is what it takes to birth the Sonnenkind."
"You mean..."
What she was telling her to do was...
"Indeed. There should soon be a corpse above all corpses. Do not miss the opportunity, venerable great harlot. You shall not have a second one. Consort with Him while singing 'Ah, Jochanaan, Jochanaan, thou art even more beautiful in death.' Hehehe, hahahahaha, hahahahahahahah..."
"..."
Then the darkness returned. Once again surrounded by a defeaning silence, I heaved a light sigh.
"And? What of it?"
I still didn't see the point of making me sit through that. Sure, I could tell that they were Babylon's memories and an important part of what made her what she was now, but it didn't seem to be connected to the situation at hand in any way, shape, or form.
Though it wasn't a complete waste of time, it wasn't particularly interesting, either. It barely made me feel a thing.
Babylon probably felt the same way. Assuming she saw it, too, it was likely nothing more than a poke on an old wound for her. And she definitely wasn't weak enough to be broken by that.
A woman who was ready to sell her soul to the Devil wouldn't be daunted by a glimpse of her dark side.
That was why I...
"Ah, wait... The 'dark side,' eh...? I see. Then, this is..."
As I expected the meaning behind the vision, the darkness was removed once more.
"Forgive me, for I have sinned
Borne of loyalty, your will I once defied."
I saw a woman, repenting while holding up her blade in reverence.
First came the darkness of Babylon's soul, and now it was Beatrice's turn.
"Forgive me, for I am naught but a fool, never your equal.
Let your crimson pyres have their fill."
These were the memories from when she accepted the Mercury's words and became a knight of the Longinus Dreizehn Orden. The only thing whirling in her heart was regret and motivation.
It was all made visual and became a film for me to watch.
"Why are you smiling?"
The place was a simplistic field hospital. And Beatrice was sitting on a chair next to a bed within it. A woman on the bed stared at her with fiery eyes.
It was Samiel. No two ways about it — these were memories from the time she got those burns.
It was the year 1942 — about two years back. Specifically, the day when the news of Lord Heydrich's assassination began to spread.
Of course, that was just misinformation, and I didn't believe it for a second. However, I'd be lying if I said thatit didn't shake me.
These two weren't all that different in that regard.
"I still don't know whether I really smiled back then. Upon hearing of Lord Heydrich's death, the Major uncharacteristically made a fatal mistake in battle and ended up incapacitated. Though her life was saved, her future as a soldier was completely undone. No — there was more to it. The burns covering half of her body killed the woman known as Eleonore von Wittenberg. She'd become hard to look at and was no longer my superior. It definitely wasn't a situation to smile about. But for some reason... No, wait, I just spoke it myself."
"Are you happy, Kircheisen?"
"Happy? Yes, actually. This moment brought me relief. I felt that this incident saved us both — that it gave us an opportunity to return to where we belonged. The war was going horribly, and it could spell the end of our Fatherland. Our families, friends, and ourselves were in danger of injury or death. But even so, I felt saved. After all, this day, we were done as people. No matter how much misfortune we were met with, none of it was beyond the world I could understand."
Basically, hearing of the Gold's death had made her feel the exact opposite of Samiel, who was overcome with despair.
The regret that festered within her due to that sentiment shaped her into what she was now.
"So... Lord Heydrich is dead."
Her words were stiff, and it was hard to tell whether she was crying or laughing.
The next moment, Samiel hit Beatrice's head with a nearby flower base.
"Get out...! I never want to see you again!"
"Major..."
"Get out! Right now! I'll kill you! Don't show your face to me ever again!"
Following her bellowing, she collapsed and started groaning while huffing like a beast.
Beatrice watched as Eleonore tore into the sheets so hard that her half-melted fingernails came off. Then, Beatrice stood up.
"I'll bring a new vase."
She wanted to bring Samiel flowers and stay with her no matter how many times her superior hit her. That was all she could do, and she felt like it was something she absolutely had to do.
There was nothing else in her at that moment, and it made her feel free for the first time in years.
At least in terms of the worldview she so wanted to believe in, anyway.
"The war would go on. People would still die. The chain of tragedy would continue until the Fatherland's defeat, and perhaps even long after that. For me and the Major, however, the battle was over. We avoided my greatest fear — the future where we were consumed by the Gold's light and became something inhuman. All that was left for us was to continue like any soldier would and merely accept our fate. It was simple. Nothing about it was complex. Being foolish enough to ever believe that... Is my greatest regret."
She wasn't wrong there. Beatrice was acting really damn stupid.
She had no way of knowing this, but a moment after Beatrice left, Samiel was visited by none other than the Gold Himself, alive and well.
Samiel was shocked at first, but then began to shed tears of pure joy. A moment later, Lord Heydrich took her in his arms.
"No need to hide your form. These scars are nothing to be ashamed of. You are more beautiful than ever, I say. Come with me, Major. Both of us have a death to our name, after all."
"Yes... Yes...! I will follow you forevermore!"
So, in the end, the only idiot was Beatrice. She couldn't bear the reality and escaped to a comforting delusion.
Really, how stupid can you get? I mean, there was just no way Lord Heydrich could die.
Ignoring reality to protect her own little world made her a real failure as a soldier — a fact that weighted heavy on her.
If you ask me, even if Beatrice stayed by Samiel's side and didn't leave for even a second, the end result wouldn't have changed.
"The reality of my failure would still be there, after all. I would still be a hopeless fool. The regret would still torture me. I deeply wish to regain what I lost."
"Indeed. That craving is now your ultimate truth."
Another storm of static, followed by a magician's curse — or blessing.
"You pursue a soul that shines bright and leave nothing but death in your wake. You are a reaper that summons the champions of battle into Valhalla — the being most suited to be Gladsheimr's vanguard. To celebrate your nature, allow me to title you 'Valkyria' — the battle maiden who speeds through war-scorched lands like lightning."
Beatrice clenched her teeth in disgrace, thoroughly denying her alias.
"I wish to become a light that illuminates the path."
She embraced her blade and promised to continue being human, no matter how deep in the sea of mercury she sunk.
"...I see how it is."
The film vanished, leaving nothing but the darkness. Once again, the situation hadn't changed at all.
From what I could tell, this place was all about "darkness" as a concept. It included the dark sides of human hearts and souls, and being here made them materialize before you.
In that case, it was actually a pretty good defense mechanism. The invaders probably couldn't leave this place until they faced and defeated the darkness within.
It was too indirect for my tastes, but I couldn't deny that it was bothersome. After all, there wasn't a single person in the world without a dark side.
Not to mention that — assuming I was right about having to face the darkness — there was no way to tell what, exactly, you had to do. And even if I had a means of getting rid of my dark side, there was the question of if going through with it would alter me somehow.
After all, the memories I'd saw just now were important parts of who Babylon and Beatrice were as people. Taking them out would be the equivalent of removing your spine — you'd just crumble to the ground.
With that in mind, I had to come up with a way to remove this darkness.
"What a fucking bother. This is all too philosophical for me."
It was definitely very magician-like, though. Malleus would probably have made short work of the barrier, but since she wasn't there, I had to do something myself.
There was only one real option for me.
"Come on, then. Bring it on."
First and foremost, I had to see what my darkness actually was.
"Oh my. But it's oh-so-simple."
What I saw was a woman, standing in a garden of crimson roses.
With a wide, broken smile on her face, she bathed in a fountain of blood. I knew that insane expression all too well.
The unnatural passion shining endlessly in her crimson eyes made me click my tongue.
"Tch..."
I wasn't amused by the sight whatsoever. Preparing for her to get on my nerves, I made a point to speak as bluntly as possible.
"Well, if ain't it Helga."
"Oh, yes. It's been so long since we faced one another like this. It makes me so happy. How long has it been since you made love to me? Even if it was years ago, I remember like it was yesterday. Are you eating properly? Do you have a cold? Were you lonely without me? Hey, come here and hug me like you used to."
"Shut the fuck up."
I wasn't into the idea of wasting time listening to some demented hag talk, so I raised a finger and made myself clear.
"Let's make this simple. I'm gonna ask you something and you'll just answer. If you start spouting shit I don't care about, I'll..."
"Kill me? Then I'll do just that. After all, I..."
Cutting her words short, I punched Helga in the face. Her silhouette scattered into pieces, accompanied by the sound of a bursting water balloon.
"Eheh, eheheheh... There. That's exactly it. I love it when you do that to me. Wil, oh Wil, my beloved son. Make a mess out of me! Love me until I break!"
"..."
She stood up from the puddle of blood I reduced her to, regaining her form in the process. It seemed not even turning her to dust could make her disappear.
I more or less expected it, so I wasn't surprised, but it sure as hell pissed me off. Bitch annoyed me to no end, I swear.
"So, you're my darkness, huh?"
"Yes. Certainly. Of course I am. What else could it be? I'm the memory that's hardest for you to get rid of, aren't I? I am your strongest bond — your flesh and blood."
Her form wriggled like an amoeba as her corrupted, blood-stained eyes took a crescent shape. I could see a red fang peeking out of her grinning mouth.
"Big words, coming from a bitch who's been in the ground for years. I took good care of our blood bond when I offed you, didn't I?"
"Oh really? Then why am I still inside you? My lovely Wil. My dear vampire pretender Wil. You just can't accept the reality that you were born from me. So you broke it. My roots, return to ash, and all that."
Yeah, I cut away the curse of my origin. That was a truth I had confidence in.
I mean, who'd ever accept that a filthy crow gave birth to a phoenix? I had to right that wrong — to break that idea and be reborn.
"And yet... Eheh, eheheheh... And yet we're still connected. This isn't a bond you can break, dear Wil. We're family, after all. And you still fondly remember the day you made love to me. You simply don't wish to forget it. You never have. And that's why I won't forget it, either. I won't disappear as long as I remain in your memory. As long as you wish to violently break me, embrace me, and drain me dry... We'll be together forever, Wilhelm. That is the Dark Gift that binds us."
"Shut up."
"No need to be shy. Be yourself. You want to suck your mother's blood, don't you? Oh my, what a spoiled boy you are."
"I told you to shut the fuck up."
I threw another punch. It reduced her to a bloody mist, but even that wasn't enough to stop her from talking. Her voice resounded all around me.
"Kyahahaha! Ahahahahahahah! I love you, Wilhelm! Crave me. Look at no one else but me! I'm all you need! After all, I am the only one..."
With both ridicule and affection in her tone, Helga imparted those cursed words upon me.
"I am the only thing you will ever have."
"Fuck off!"
The moment I roared...
"Wilhelm...?"
"...!"
...the darkness disappeared with a sound like the ebbing of a tide.
"Huh...?"
No, It didn't disappear — it escaped.
"Mice...? And bats?"
There were so many such animals that "thousands" seemed like an understatement. The dark-loving creatures retreated like an avalanche.
It was safe to assume they were what comprised the darkness I was just in. The swarming horde of little animals made me feel slightly disgusted, but that didn't really matter given the situation.
"Why...?"
What mattered was the question of why they were scattering. I hadn't done anything to make it happen.
Nothing in my face-off with Helga could be described as me "dealing with my dark side." All I did was tell her to fuck off, but if that was enough, then this wouldn't have been a problem for anyone.
"Not liking this one bit. It's like they're looking down on me."
All I knew was that I wasn't the one who took care of my problem. I found that degrading, since I wasn't the "All's well that ends well" type of woman.
With that in mind, I stood in place and considered the situation just so I could feel that I passed the challenge by myself.
"I haven't forgotten Helga, huh? And that's the proof we're still bound or some shit, eh?"
Well, it was definitely true that I hadn't forgotten her. Back then, it had only been fifteen or sixteen years since I'd killed her, and my memory wasn't convenient enough to just let me delete the event or anything.
Did the fact that I remembered her mean I love her? No fucking way. It's normal to remember the people you fucked in the past. You might lose all attachment to them, but you won't just forget.
"Then what? Is it because I see her as special or something?Fuck off with that bullshit. I won't deny it, but it's a different kind of 'special.'"
Helga left an impression on me because she was my first woman. Sure, that made her special, but she was a memento, at most. A mere trophy.
Anyone who tried to find "bonds" or "love" in that had a few screws loose, I tell ya. It was the stupid, pathetic babbling you'd expect from someone who was braindead.
Obviously, I had no ear for such bullshit, so I concluded that I would've won the argument even if it wasn't cut short.
"You're not the only one, you dumb bitch. Don't get conceited. Fucking watch me. Your little rose garden will soon be full of trophies just like you."
After I said that, my vision grew completely clear.
The first thing I saw...
"..."
...was Claudia.
"...So this is where you were."
We were at the deepest part of the cavern, in a room that seemed like a burial chamber. Claudia was lying on the floor, completely unconscious and looking like the careless idiot that she was.
The idea that I had to deal with that bothersome bullshit while she was sleeping soundly made me both feel tired and slightly pissed.
"Hey. Hey, wake up, you dumbass."
I poked her with my foot, but the only response she gave me were light groans. I prepared to try and wake her up with a stronger kick, but...
"Huh? This is the..."
...an envelope fell out from my uniform.
It was the same one I'd gotten from Samiel. I'd completely forgotten its existence, but being surrounded by all those bats probably messed up my clothes and loosened it.
I considered just throwing it away right then and there, but seeing it at that moment made me somewhat curious.
"...Tch. Fuck, let's just see..."
I mumbled, picked it up, opened it, took out the document inside, and began reading it.
"...What?"
The content made me doubt my eyes.
And the shock didn't end there.
"Who are you?"
"..."
I heard him behind me. He was close enough for me to feel his breath. Not only that, but I felt something blade-like poking into my back.
"...Not too good at greetings, are ya? When you ask for someone's name, you're supposed to introduce yourself first."
"And? My, what an uninspired response. You're quite boring, aren't you?"
"Oh...? Big words, you shit."
I sounded casual, but I wasn't nearly as calm on the inside. After all, I hadn't felt his presence at all.
Sure, I was off guard and he took the opportunity, but that wasn't the point. Though I sometimes overlooked people who were hiding, this was actually the first time I'd failed to react to a hostile sneaking up on me.
The weirdest thing about the situation, though...
"Well? What's wrong? You killing me or not?"
...was the fact that I nonchalantly played along.
She caught me off guard? So what? She had a blade? What of it?
I was Wilhelm Ehrenburg, one of the Gold's Claws and Fangs, and a knight of the Longinus Dreizehn Orden. He couldn't kill me even if she had a machine gun instead.
Hell, I wouldn't even give him time to pull the trigger. If I really wanted to, I could've pierced him without even turning around.
And yet, I didn't do it. Or rather, I couldn't do it.
My intuition told me that something bad would happen if I did.
"...Oh, the Longinus Dreizehn Orden, I see."
As I was overcome by an indescribable malaise, the mysterious man sighed.
"As tasteless as always. I fail to comprehend him. You were told to investigate this place by the Mercury, weren't you, vampire?"
"...You fucker."
How did he know of me? Or Mercurius, for that matter?
"Sorry, but I'd prefer to avoid any trouble. Your corpse will do fine for getting that message across. That might not be enough, but it's about my only option. And I'm sure you, too, will be far happier this way."
"Ah...!"
I felt a shiver run down my spine when...
"N-Nghh..."
"..."
The man's bloodlust wavered. I instantly turned around and fiercely attacked him with the back of my hand.
"Tch!"
I was confident I got him, but the sensation was vague, as though I'd just struck a cloud of mist. Before me, there was a black cloak covering my vision.
What the hell? What was I supposed to make of it? That was the first time someone'd made such a fool out of me, and I couldn't even tell what he was.
I'd experienced something that could shatter my pride, and I didn't even get a chance to make up for it.
"Ah... Wilhelm. Did you come to save me?"
"Bey! Claudia!"
As the room grew noisy, I realized that I'd missed the opportunity. I clenched my teeth while the man grinned and put his cloak on again.
"Who are you...?"
"Ludvig."
With fake courtesy, he revealed his name.
"Ludvig van Rosenkrantz. I'm a Vatican operative. That makes my position similar to yours, I imagine. I will tell you more when we're outside. This place is quite dreary, I must say. We have to be considerate of this lady here... Can you stand?"
"Y-Yes. T-Thank you very much."
With knightly regard in his movements, he kneeled before Claudia and extended his hand to her.
"I see. So you also came here to investigate Katyn's anomaly."
"Yes. And sadly, I am the sole survivor. Shameful as it is to say, it's nothing but the truth."
We exited the cavern and started interrogating the man claiming to be "Ludvig."
No. "Interrogating" wasn't the right word. I was the only one present who didn't trust the man, so it was more like some light questioning.
After all, we already knew that the Church had come here, and he was wearing clothes fitting for someone belonging to them. Not to mention that Germany and the Vatican were allies back then.
Sure, we barely even belonged to our country by that point, but it was clear that the man was no enemy. At least to Babylon and Beatrice, anyway.
I, on the other hand, didn't think we could trust him just because of those points. But if I pushed it, I might have had to reveal the fact that he'd caught me off guard back in the cave, and the very idea of that was nauseating.
And so, I simply silently watched the questioning with a grimace on my face.
"If you have any doubts, you may ask the Church to verify my identity. I can even provide my ID."
"Very well. We'll take it and ask the Church about you. Still, it's impossible to be thorough in a place like this, so we'll have to ask you to come with us. We take our job seriously, so we have a duty to report you to our higher-ups."
"I understand and will do as I'm told. You have superiority here. As one who allowed his comrades to die, I'm not in a position to talk back. I will let my superiors hear of this through yours."
"Thank you. Glad you understand."
Things were going pretty smoothly. Though I was with Babylon on the idea that we couldn't just let her go, the relaxed atmosphere of their exchange made me click my tongue in frustration.
"Well, if you don't find any problems, we'll let you go right away. No need to worry, we'll try to make it quick. That aside, is it safe to assume that this situation's been dealt with."
"From what I can tell, yes."
Babylon nodded in a mildly self-deriding manner.
I didn't do anything about the thing nesting in the cavern, and these two were the same in that regard. Despite that, the anomaly had vanished as if it were never even there in the first place.
"I don't feel anything in the area. There's not a single trace of the arcane around us. I'm not sure if I should be glad about that."
"Well, we still don't know what made the darkness in the cavern disperse. Do you have any ideas, Ludvig?"
"Regrettably not. All I know is that my vision suddenly grew clear and this man was standing before me."
"Hmm, how mysterious. The best explanation I can think of is that it dispersed because taking all of us in was more than it could handle. It's but a remnant of old magic, after all. It would make sense for it to be fragile."