Start of the show

tl: deepl & meep & diced

(Content warning for this chapter, certainly one of the gory ones)

It was a room in a cathedral.

Satouki, who was facing the documents lined up on his desk with a pen in his hand, stopped his hand at the same time as a knock sounded in the room.

He stood up and opened the door himself.

Peering through the crack was Echidna.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to bother you."

From her voice, it was hard to tell whether she meant it or not.

She was so unfathomable that even Satouki sometimes gets chills.

"I'll excuse myself."

She entered the room, her blonde hair and white coat swinging.

Looking around, her mouth twitched a little in frustration.

The room was as spacious as ever.

Echidna sat down on the visitor's couch as she said.

"I guess this will do."

Satouki also sat down on the sofa across from her.

"So, has anything changed in your situation?"

At the straightforward question, Echidna put her index finger on her cheek and said, "Hmmm," in a gesture of distress.

Her every gesture was mocking.

This particular women was something of an anomaly, no way any man would like her.

And it was not an act.

That was Echidna's true state.

After he had rushed her enough, she made a troubled face deliberately and said, "Maria has run away, I'm afraid."

"I see. She's a very stubborn woman."

Satouki did not seem surprised when she heard about the escape.

After all she was a hero.

"Do we have to catch her?"

"No. She's just an experiment isnt she?"

"But if she should ever join with the Children, ......"

"Then she will be sacrificed, just like them. It will be interesting either way."

"That said she might be a good scapegoat"

Her undeterred judgment and insatiable desire to explore - these are the reasons why she had decided to follow Satouki.

"The king and the Pope were still captivated by Origin, and the queen was in love with you, so it looks like it's already decided, doesn't it, Your Eminence?"

"How many times have I told you it's too soon?"

"I wouldn't be calling you that if I wasnt compliment"

"I won't let my guard down until everything is in place. I will not make the same mistake as my father."

"Then, was it a good thing that I cut off the connection with the demon tribe?　I think I should have left that one alone."

Satouki snickered and kicked her out.

"The demons are the enemy for me. They are nothing more and nothing less. I won't be like Fedoro, who uses the Origin's servants like a little mouse."

"Oh, you are so manly."

He was now used to her unintelligible words.

Satouki brushed it off lightly, then tightened his expression and declared,

"First of all, we have to get the right actors to go up on this stage. I'm sure that Maria will be of great service to us, for that is what we have been sowing for."

◇◇◇

The next morning, Flamm woke up earlier than Milkit and went outside first thing.

When she opened the mailbox, she once again found an envelope already there.

"Two days in a row, I guess it's not a prank," she said.

The envelope was made of the same material as yesterday.

She opened it on the spot and checked the paper inside, and there it was again: "Three more days".

This time, however, there was another sentence.

"We walk straight to one marker, no conflict in cutting off branches ......?"

"What's that?"

A man asked from behind Flamm as she reads it.

"Whoa!"

She almost fell forward involuntarily and dropped the letter to the ground.

He picked it up and stared intently at the text.

"Flamm, are you getting threats?"

"Mr. Linus!"

"I'm sorry to startle you, but you've been so preoccupied I just thought I'd check in on you."

"It's been a long time, but why so early in the morning?"

Linus answered Flamm's simple question with a wry smile.

"I just wanted to check if this was really Flamm's house and happened to run into her. But what really happened to you after Jean kicked you out?"

Flamm found it to be a rather long story, and herself wanted to ask Linus some questions.

"I don't want to stand around and talk, so why don't we go inside first?"

Saying so, Flamm put his hand on the front door.

"Then feel free to ......, but first."

But he stopped right there and then - suddenly - kneeled down on the ground.

Not only that, he rubbed his hands and even his forehead against the cobblestones.

It was what is called a "praying" position.

Flamm could not hide her confusion.

"What's going on?"

"I am so sorry!"

Linus apologized sincerely.

He was ashamed of his own stupidity and regretted it.

"Eh?! Linus its not like it was you who's responsible though."

"I can't put the blame solely on Jean. I also thought that ...... Flamm was a liability somewhere in the back of my mind. I even made an excuse for myself that it would be better for her if she went home."

For Flamm, being told this to her face came as something of a shock.

But it was an undeniable fact.

The fact is that Flamm was a complete loser at the time, with no cursed equipment and completely zero status.

"I can't let you go home before I apologize to you for that."

Flamm had never thought about blaming Linus.

Of course she resented Jean, but that was because he had clearly done harm to Flamm.

She would be lying if she said she didn't feel bitter.

But that is because there was no communication between them.

If you speak honestly, such a petty rift can easily disappear.

"You remind me of those tall men in my hometown when they interacted with me" she said with a titter.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it's easy to gauge their feelings when you're as old as Gadio, but when you're Linus' or Jean's age, I can never read intention."

Linus was puzzled because he could not read Flamm's intention.

But it was not that difficult.

She feels oppressed by men who are taller than her and have a subtle age difference.

That's all there is to it - really, that's all there is to it.

"That's really all there is to it. You dont have to apologize, or forgive, or even to that level."

"Well...... consider my getting down on my knees is just self-satisfaction."

"You felt sorry enough to go that far. I'm honestly glad to hear that, though. I forgive you."

(T/N: did Linus just forget about the ominous letter he thought was a threat)

◇◇◇

It took some time before everyone was in the living room.

Milkit seemed to have been awakened by the exchange between Flamm and Linus coming from below, and naturally appeared in the living room without having to be awakened.

The problem was Eterna and Ink.

They did not wake up even when she called to them from outside the door, called to them from near the bed, or shook their bodies.

Eventually, Flamm's persistence won out and she succeeded in waking them up - but even though Linus was there, they were both still in their nightclothes and sleepily rubbing their eyes.

"Yo, it's been a while."

He called out, bewildered by Eterna's so absent-mindedness.

"Likewi(zzz)......."

She replies in a pouty voice.

She seemed so defenseless he couldn't imagine how far they had made it with this being her attitude every morning, but that was simply one of the quirks of the Eternal Witch.

But that was not the only reason for his bewilderment.

He is overwhelmed by the strong personality of the girl in the service uniform with her face covered with bandages and the little girl with her eyes sewn together.

"What kind of a gathering is this, Flamm?"

Linus asked unintentionally, but Flamm was at a loss for an answer.

The reason is that, in addition to their appearance, all of them had their own complicated circumstances.

"Milkit is my partner. We met when I was sold to a slaver."

She started with Milkit, who sat next to her.

She bowed politely as Flamm introduced her.

"So you mean the girl is a slave too? I suppose I shouldn't ask ...... what's under the bandage."

"Originally they were sore from poison, but Master helped me to heal them completely."

"Then why don't you just take it off?"

"The only one who I'll let see face is the master who saved me."

Milkit was embarrassed.

Linus looked at Flamm with narrowed eyes.

"Hey ......, what's the connection between you two?"

Flamm looked at Linus and said, "We don't have the kind of relationship that you suspect, Linus, just that we've been supporting each other until today."

"You mean like partners?"

Flamm did not dare to correct him.

"And you, ......, what about you, young lady?"

"Ink was my patient, and now she's my friend. That's why I live with her."

Eterna said before Flamm could explain.

Ink was still sleepy, sitting in her chair, eyes closed, cocking her head back and 'paddling the boat'.

In short, we've been through a lot over here.

That way of putting it, it's a roundabout way of saying we've got our own problems.

"That's why I'm here," he said. "In fact, Maria and Kirill have gone missing."

"The two of them?"

Flamm was astonished.

Eterna also listened to the story with a serious expression.

"The other day, I tried to find out what was going on from Jean. But ...... this morning, there was some strange activity at the castle."

"What happened?"

"Dozens of soldiers have gone missing, it seems. The same time, some people saw Maria leaving the castle."

"That's a big deal!"

"The traces have been completely covered up and the silence has been stopped. That's why the information was not leaked to the outside world."

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"But even so, that's a crazy ...... thing to ask, but then how did you know about it, Linus?"

"There's a soldier I'm good friends with, and he told me about it."

Linus is very open-minded.

He likely knew many of the soldiers in the castle.

"He went back to investigation before he could tell me the details, though."

He is probably already dead somewhere.

He had only told Linus what had happened.

How many more lives must be sacrificed?

"Both the church and the kingdom are all about their own convenience. ......"

"Why does the church come up there?"

Linus still doesn't know what the church really is.

Should he get involved - Flamm was worried, but he would probably go after Maria.

If he did, he would eventually come into contact with the dark side of the church.

It might be safer for him to know about it from the start, rather than to move on his own, knowing nothing about it.

"The Church has been conducting a series of dangerous experiments using Origin's power. The number of victims isn't just one or two."

"The Church is that Church, right?　It's not another organization, is it?"

"It is definitely what Mr. Linus is imagining--that organization with Pope Fedoro at its head. It's a long story if I tell you the details."

"No matter, let me hear it."

"...... understood. I'm sure that Maria's disappearance is not unrelated."

The children's attack, the two missing persons, and the mysterious countdown.

All of them occurred at about the same time.

And Maria is a church official, so there was no way she was unrelated.

Flamm began to tell Linus about the threats she had encountered pertaining to the Origin.

She told him about the deformities she had encountered in the underground of Enichide, her encounter with Ink, and the details of her research into raising the dead - everything she knew.

She also explained to him about the power of reversal that resided in her.

She tried to summarize the story fairly well, but it still took over an hour, including the time it took Linus to finish sorting it out in his head.

When all was said and done, he wrinkled his brow, stared at the grain of the table, and murmured.

"Did the church know ......did Maria-chan know that?"

"I think she knew, given her position."

"Oh, so that's why she's such a ......"

The first thing to do is to make sure that you have a good idea of what you're getting into.

The saint must have been in a fairly high position within the church, if not as high as the cardinal.

"But I'm not sure about Cyrille. How did he go missing?"

"She found out that Flamm was a slave. She couldn't stand the fact, so she left the castle."

"Cyrille ......"

Whatever it was then - Flamm could understand now that she was troubled and distressed.

When she and Flamm were playing together, Cyrille was just an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl.

She probably did not want to be a hero.

But the power that resided in her and the expectations of those around her would not allow her to do so.

Her heart was breaking, and Jean's whispers were penetrating through the cracks.

The act of looking down on others, the feeling of superiority, must have healed Kirill's feelings in a makeshift way.

But it's a deleterious drug, and there will always be side effects.

That is what slowly drove Cyrille over the edge after Flamm left the party.

And when she was told that she had become a slave, it finally broke down.

"Then Cyrille's disappearance had nothing to do with the church."

"Most likely. Besides, Cyrille herself is strong and I don't think her life is in danger. Still, ...... I hope we find her soon, though."

Flamm's face turns sad as she thought about Cyrille, who was probably still suffering.

Flamm had certainly been hurt by Cyrille, in the emotional sense.

But if Cyrille could be saved by forgiving her, Flamm would gladly put aside all her anger and hatred.

Just as Cyrille was supported by Flamm, Flamm was also able to follow Cyrille on her journey that far because of her.

"I too must find Maria-chan as soon as possible."

"But ...... there was a sighting of Maria, and dozens of soldiers disappeared. Isn't it possible that Maria-san was a cause of that?"

Flamm was reluctant to say, but that possibility, however, was not something that could be ignored.

Even Linus understood that.

He wanted to hear what she had to say.

"I'm not a fan of that idea. But I understand that you, someone that knows this much about the church, would naturally accuse her. But I'm sorry. I want to believe in her, and I want to help her."

...... Is that because you love her?"

Milkit, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

Linus, as well as Flamm, was surprised and stopped moving for a moment, but soon answered with a gentle smile.

"Yes, I love her so much."

He asserted without hesitation.

Then Milkit said in a small voice, "I see," and her eyes were downcast as if she was pondering something.

Flamm smiled at her.

In her own way, Milkit must be thinking seriously about her relationship with Flamm.

"I'm going to leave now," he said.

"Come back when you are in trouble."

"Thanks, Eterna. I will come back regularly to share information with you."

With that, he got up from his seat and left the house.

The three of them saw him off together, leaving the Ink behind, having completely fallen asleep twice.

Then - just outside the front door - Linus stopped.

"Whoa, long time no see, Gadio."

Apparently, Gadio had just visited Flamm's house.

Linus, I didn't know you were coming this way. That's convenient.

What do you mean?

A strange corpse with a twisted body was found in the East District. I would appreciate it if you and Flamm would accompany me to gather information about it.

"Mr. Gadio, whats happened!"

Flamm looked up from behind Linus and responded to Gadio's words.

"Oh, it's probably the Spiral Children, the Children of the Spiral. They're finally on the move."

"What does that mean, that it's another case involving the church?"

"Flamm told you? That makes things easy. Yes they belong to the church."

Linus had no reason to refuse, as it might lead him to the whereabouts of Maria.

Thus, Flamm, Linus, and Gadio were on their way to the East Ward.

"Of course they leave me behind..."

"Doesn't that mean they rely on you that much?"

"...... I wonder if that's so."

They left Eterna behind.

Mostly because they had no idea when or where the spiral children would show up.

Someone had to stay behind to ensure the safety of Ink and Milkit.

◇◇◇

The scene was a deserted street in the East Ward.

Although onlookers can still be seen here and there, the body had already been recovered by the soldiers and there was no sign of it.

However, the blood soaked into the walls and the ground told of the horrific nature of the incident.

"What are we going to do from here?　The murderer must have escaped long ago."

"First of all, we gather eyewitness information. From the abilities of Nect and Ink, who have experience in combat, we can assume that they cannot use their powers to directly affect the target from a distance."

"It is true that both of them seem to activate their abilities only when they touch a person."

It's the same for the eyeballs and also the physical connection.

If they had been able to remotely activate them, they might have been able to obtain combat capabilities that surpassed the chimera.

"I see. If you certainly can't kill someone without touching them, there might at least be someone watching the suspicious figure."

When Linus was also convinced, the three of them split up to gather testimonies from people in the vicinity.

Gadio used his connections with people who lived in the same East Ward.

Linus used his own storytelling skills to gather testimonials from people walking down the street.

And Flamm - since she didn't have any such methods, went to a park where she thought there might be people.

The park in the East Ward had beautiful playground equipment, colorful flowers blooming in well-maintained flowerbeds, and even a fountain in the center of the park.

It was a far cry from the parks in West Ward, which were nothing more than wastelands in the name of parks.

People sat on benches and watched their children playing around.

Others are just passing through the park on their way for a walk.

Others were watering flowers, etc. - about 20 people of various ages and with various purposes were gathered in the park.

At least one of them might have seen a suspicious child.

"Um, ...... may I ask you a few questions?"

Flamm approached a mother sitting on a bench, looking at her child.

"......."

But there was no answer.

She looked only at the child, as if ignoring her, with a gentle, motherly smile on her face.

"Excuse me, could you tell me a story ......?"

She had not expected to be ignored so spectacularly.

It was true that the East Ward tended to have a strong attitude toward slaves.

However, even so, there are many ways to avoid being ignored, such as making eye contact with them or refusing to talk to them.

The fact that he dared to choose to ignore them, however, made Flamm feel even more depressed.

She had no choice but to turn her back on the woman to talk to someone else.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard a crushing sound behind her.

Flamm stopped and turned around.

"eh?"

There, she saw a woman attempting to commit suicide by shredding the flesh around her carotid artery and bleeding profusely.

She looked at the piece of meat in her palm with an unchanged expression.

But in the meantime, the life essence spilled out of her body and stained her clothes and the bench.

Eventually, the strength drained from her body, and the woman lay down on the bench, her body limp and weak.

Fresh blood still flooded out of her, but she was probably already dead.

"This is ......."

Starting with the woman's death, people in the park killed themselves using different methods.

A child put her hands around her head and snapped her neck with her own arm strength.

A man watching him placed the base of his thumbs on his temples and pressed down as hard as he could, destroying his brain while crushing his skull, and he died.

Another man plunged his arm into his abdomen and opened his stomach using only the force of his hand, gleefully displaying his organs and losing his life.

Another, while injuring his hand with his ribs, somehow managed to pull out and clasp the heart.

Others inserted their arms into their throats and chose to suffocate to death.

Still others died by piercing their throats from the inside.

In many other ways - as if playing with toys, one after another, senselessly, unreasonably, human lives were played with.

If Spiral Children did this, that would make sense.

But in the face of the sheer cruelty of the mass suicide show unfolding before her eyes - Flamm was speechless and could only stand there stunned.

(T/N: gyze do i put a content warning)

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