The head
librarian gives his head a sad shake. "Any will to resist I had was
cut off in the same stroke that
severed my arms. Take heed, Your Highness. The road you walk
is the same one I did, and at its
end lies despair and a darkness that never ends."
His stare bores
into Alexia, but she meets it without flinching. "That doesn't
change what I must do. As a
princess, I have a duty to this nation."
The librarian
stares at her in amazement. "You've become a fine young woman. In
that case, I have one final thing
to tell you…" His breathing is shallow, and a trickle of blood runs out the side of his mouth.
"Tell me, Highness…do you know what the Cult's goal is?" "They want to resurrect the demon
Diablos, don't they?" "Let me
rephrase. Do you know why they're trying to resurrect it?" "Well, that's because, uh…" Alexia is at a loss for words. She
knows what the Cult is trying to do, but she's never stopped to consider the
why.
"There
are two reasons. The first is to obtain more power. The three
heroes were all women, and the
possessed are all women, too. Women are the only ones Diablos cells
have ever responded to. That's
why the Cult has been forced to rely on these flawed pills to gain strength." The librarian pulls out some red
pills. "Those are the ones
Zenon used," Alexia notes. "He
was a fool, that pupil of mine." "Why didn't you use them?" "Because to do so is to shame yourself
as a dark knight. However, the Cult saw potential in them. They're trying to
perfect them, to create a more potent version without the side effects. That's why they've
spent so many long years researching the heroes' blood. If they resurrect Diablos,
they'll likely be able to attain their goal and obtain power surpassing that of even the
heroes." "I don't like the
sound of that." "However, the
Cult's second reason is the more pressing of the two. You know
about the Beads of Diablos,
correct?" "They're supposed to
grant you eternal life, right?" "Well, the Cult can harvest only
twelve a year. Imbibing a Bead prevents you from growing older for the coming year, but
at the moment, the amount they're able to produce is declining." "What do you mean, it's declining?"
"I don't know what's causing
it, but if things go on like this, it won't be long at all before they lose that eternal life of
theirs. That's something the Cult's leadership absolutely cannot allow to happen.
They want to resurrect Diablos so they can go back to mass-producing Beads and ensure
their eternal lives. The Cult has been ruling the world from the shadows for a long time,
and their immortal leadership is what keeps their operation unassailable. If they
lose the Beads, though, that foundation will waver… Koff."
The
librarian takes a moment to steady his breathing, then looks up at
the moon hanging in the night
sky.
"I don't think
it's a coincidence that this is the era the Shadow Garden appeared
in. This is the beginning of the
end for the Cult's long rule. That's why you must pro…ceed with caution. Are those people
truly…defending the peace and fighting for justice?"
Alexia has no
answer for that. All she knows about the Shadow Garden is that they
stand in opposition to the Cult.
Aside from that, everything about the organization is shrouded in mystery. "They might simply…be trying to steal
it from the Cult…" "Steal it?
Steal what?" Alexia asks the head librarian. "Eternal life… And also…the world
itself… Koff, kaff!!" "Mr. Librarian…" "Wh-when the Cult falls…the world…will
belong…to…the Shad…ow Gar… Koff." The librarian hacks up a huge
mouthful of blood. "Mr.
Librarian!" "P-Princess
Alexia…" He sucks in a pained breath as he chokes out the words.
"The fate of Midgar…is in your
hands…" And with that, he
breathes his last.
A beautiful
young woman with fiery-red hair inspects the librarian's
corpse.
The woman is
Iris Midgar, one of the Midgar Kingdom's princesses as well as
Alexia's older sister. Alexia
sent Claire home and went to explain to the Knight Order what had transpired.
"Right before
he died, the librarian told me what the Cult was planning. They
were the ones behind the
disappearances, and they're trying to unseal the right arm of
Diablos that's here in the—"
"That's enough," Iris says,
cutting Alexia off. "Huh?"
"I'm through with listening to
this nonsense." "N-nonsense?"
Alexia repeats in bewilderment.
Iris gives her
a stern look. "Listen to me, Alexia. The Cult of Diablos doesn't
exist." "Doesn't exist? Iris,
what are you talking about? You swore to me we would investigate the Cult together…" "And through that investigation, we
learned that the Cult of Diablos doesn't exist." That statement doesn't come from Iris,
but rather from the tall man beside her. He has eyes like a snake's and pallid skin,
both of which are vaguely unsettling. "And who are you?" Alexia asks. "It's my pleasure to make your
acquaintance, Princess Alexia. I'm Adder, vicecaptain of the Crimson Order." "He's Glen's successor," Iris adds. "His
talents have been a huge asset to us." "You flatter me, Highness," Adder says,
smiling faintly at Iris's compliment. "Now, you wanted to know about the Cult's
nonexistence? Well, we've gathered plenty of proof." "The entire thing is a Shadow Garden
hoax." "I-I'm sorry, what?"
"The Shadow Garden has
committed countless crimes," Adder explains. "They kidnapped you, Princess Alexia, they
attacked the school, they destroyed the Sanctuary, and they slaughtered scores of people
over in the Oriana Kingdom. And we've heard talk that there are even more victims
across the world." "But it was
the Cult of Diablos that was behind all that!" "The Shadow Garden made the Cult up.
In order to cover up their own crimes, they invented a criminal enterprise that
doesn't actually exist." "You
seriously think anyone's going to believe that deranged nonsense?!"
"Here's our proof." "Huh?" Adder hands Alexia a hefty document.
On the cover, it says "How the Shadow Garden Invented the Cult of
Diablos."
"A
thirty-four-year-old man confessed that he pretended to be a Cult
adherent on the Shadow Garden's
orders. They took his family hostage, so he had no choice but to
obey them. A
twenty-eight-year-old woman was kidnapped by the Shadow Garden and
forced to forge documents about
the Cult of Diablos. A fifty-seven-year-old man was —"
"This is all
bullshit!!" Alexia throws the document on the ground. "These
confessions aren't worth the
paper they're written on! If anything's been forged, it's this!!"
"Don't be
uncouth, Princess Alexia. Are you accusing these fine people of
falsifying their testimonies?"
"I'm not even convinced they
exist!" "We have material
evidence as well, you know. This here proves that the Shadow
Garden—" "I can't take this anymore!" When Adder tries to hand her something,
Alexia shoves it aside. Adder's eyes narrow.
"You have to open
your eyes, Iris," Alexia pleads. "Why are you listening to this
charlatan? Please, look at me!"
Iris averts her gaze. "You're the
one who needs to open your eyes, Alexia." "I'm begging you here. They're trying to
free the right arm of Diablos!" "The Shadow Garden has pulled the wool
over your eyes. All those people you thought were working for the Cult were
acting as another arm of the Shadow Garden." "You're wrong, Iris!! You have to listen
to me!!" As Iris turns her back
on Alexia, Alexia reaches out for her. Slap. Iris swats Alexia's hand away.
"But…" "My enemy is Shadow, and I'll mow down
anyone who gets in my way. Even my own sister." With that, Iris leaves. "The Crimson Order is busy dealing
with the Shadow Garden," Adder says triumphantly. "I'm afraid we need to
take our leave." Alexia stares
in shock as her sister goes. Then she hears a voice from her side
and turns to see a familiar face. "Princess Alexia…" "Marco…" It's one of the Crimson Order's
founding members. He's still young, but Glen trusted him a lot, and Alexia had always
assumed that Marco would be the one to fill Glen's shoes. "I'm sorry, Princess Alexia." Marco
walks briskly off, unable to meet Alexia's gaze. "You too, Marco?" Marco doesn't answer her question.
Members of the Order carry the librarian's corpse away. The forbidden book tumbles from
Alexia's hand.
A golden tail
sways amid the white fog.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm,
hmm-hmm-hmm." There's even some
idle humming. The girl's graceful
footsteps are like those of a dancer. There are red pools of blood
all around her, and each step she
takes is accompanied by a loud squelch. "You're certainly in a good mood, Zeta."
On hearing her name, Zeta stops
mid-hum. "I was just at the good part." "My apologies." "Hmph." Zeta twirls a blood-flecked
chakram around her finger. A
short, hooded girl emerges from the fog. "If you're thinking of
throwing that at me, please
don't." "I'm not. Where's
Victoria?" "Working on the
plan." "Mm." "I have a report from her." "Mmm." All of a sudden, Zeta stops
spinning her chakram and hurls it into the air. Shlunk. A severed head falls from above.
It cracks and shatters with a look of shock still etched on its face. "Good spot." "Mm." "I have a report from Victoria."
"Mmm." "It would appear that Master Shadow
intervened on behalf of Princess Alexia and the sister." "That's Claire to you." The chakram whirls, and the girl's
hood flutters. "My apologies." "Make sure it doesn't happen again.
So? What did he do?" "After
dispatching the librarian, he brought them back out of the
Sanctuary." "Clever. Fenrir is
in trouble now." "That's right.
He doesn't have many moves available to him. How is your progress
coming along?" "Hmm?" "You know, analyzing the Sanctuary."
"Oh, I'm done." "Already? But it's only been a few
days." "Eta's artifact is
great." Zeta produces a strange palm-size device. When she imbues
it with magic, it begins
faintly glowing. "It makes magic circuits visible. You can tell
where they're flowing and what
they do at a glance." Thin
veins of light spread outward. They pulsate and lead to a set of
pillars of red light. Inside
each of the four pillars, there's an academy student hooked up to a
slender tube. "They're trying to use the students'
magic to break the seal," Zeta explains. "Looks like they don't have enough
mana." "Yeah. They need
high-quality magic. From the heroes' descendants. I've figured out
how the Cult sealed Diablos and
how they built the Sanctuary." "Then I guess we're done here." "Mm." "What do you want to do? If we destroy
the tubes, the seal will stay protected." Zeta ponders the hooded girl's question
for a moment. However, there's no
need for her to do so. She already knows her answer. Zeta merely wants to steel her own resolve.
"We leave them be." "Are you sure about this?" "I've made my choice." Zeta strides
through the fog. After passing the pillars of red light and arriving at a massive door,
she lays her hand on it. "The right arm is sealed away just past here." "What do you intend on doing?" "While we're here, I thought I'd pay
my respects." "Should we give
the sign?" "If you want. Zeta,
going in." Zeta pours magic
into the door. The door is
covered in ancient script, and it's locked shut with layers of
thick chains. "Will it open?" the hooded girl asks
Zeta. "Dunno. But I know who
sealed the demon's arm here." "Who?" "Here she comes." Zeta pours even more magic in. When she does, the door flashes red,
and the magic circuits in the air expand. There's a creak, and the door starts
vibrating ever so slightly. However, it doesn't open. The magic circuits gather in front of
the door, and the vein-thin lights coalesce into the shape of a person. "Fall back." "Yes, ma'am." On Zeta's order, the hooded girl backs
all the way up. Eventually, the
thin lights vanish, revealing a therianthrope woman standing in
their place. She has golden
hair, golden cat ears, a golden tail, and decidedly feline eyes.
She bears a striking
likeness to Zeta. The hooded girl
gulps. "Is that…?" "Nice to meet
you, therianthrope hero." "Zeta,
what in the world is going on?" "None of this is new information," Zeta
says matter-of-factly. Not a
moment later, the therianthrope hero's claws flash, and Zeta's head
goes flying. After spinning
through the air, the severed head turns into black mist and
vanishes. As it does, Zeta's
torso vanishes as well.
The black mist
melds into the white fog, and from it, Zeta emerges unscathed. She
floats in the air and casts a
cold look down at the therianthrope hero. "But I wanted to double-check it," she
says. The hero doesn't reply.
She simply gazes up at Zeta with eyes devoid of emotion. Still floating in the air, Zeta shoots
a question down at the hooded girl. "Do you remember the day you first met our
lord?" The hooded girl presses
a hand to her chest. "Of course. How could I ever forget?" "Me neither. I'll never forget that
day." Zeta stares intently at
the therianthrope hero like she's seeing the distant past just
behind the woman's frame.
"I was just a tiny kitten—and
our master took me in." That
there is what fuels Zeta's resolve. "Bye-bye, Hero. I've chosen a
different path than you." Zeta turns to go. The short, hooded girl hurriedly
follows her. "Are you sure about this? We haven't given the sign yet."
"Mm. We can
give it next time. We've achieved our current goal. Now we lurk in
the shadows and wait for our
moment." "Then wait we shall."
As they talk, the two girls
disappear into the fog. The
therianthrope hero silently watches them go. Chapter 3
The Case Is
Closed, So It's Time for a Flashback!
Dang,
last night was wild. Who woulda guessed that the culprit behind the
missing students was the head
librarian, of all people?
After I spotted
him kidnapping Claire and Alexia, I saw him tie them up amid that
weird fog. Gotta say, that's
pretty creepy.
It's fairly
obvious the guy was a deviant. Despite being conflicted about his
own nature, though, he wasn't
able to bring himself to stop.
Everyone's got
their own raison d'être, but when those goals run contrary to what
society deems acceptable,
people are forced to make a choice. They can follow their hearts, or they can snuff out their
dreams. I fall into the former
camp, and so did he. The fact
that the mastermind behind the disappearances was just a pervert
doesn't quite play into my
whole shadowbroker narrative, but there's no arguing with the cold,
hard facts.
When morning
comes around, the academy is swarming with people from the Knight
Order. I assume they're
investigating the whole librarian situation. "Huh? Is that who I think it is?"
There's a dark-haired girl
trudging past the knights with her head hung low. "Yeah, that's Claire all right."
It's always a massive headache
when she spots me, so this is the point where I'd normally go hide, but it seems like
that won't be necessary today. Doesn't look like she's gonna be noticing much of
anything like that.
"Hum-dee-dum,
dum-dee-dum." I hum an idle little song to myself and bask in the
morning light.
There I am, a
perfectly unremarkable student. The question is, how should I react when
I "find out" about the librarian? Should I go for the classic background character
freakout, or should I tremble in subdued fear? As I'm trying to make up my mind, I walk
past my sister. "Hold it right
there." She catches my collar in a vise grip. "H-hey there, Sis. You noticed me?" I
turn around to find her glaring daggers at me. "Of course I did. You got anything you
want to say to me?" "G-good
morning?" "Good morning, Cid.
Anything else?" "Not, uh…not that
I can think of," I reply after pondering for a moment. I'm trying to remember if there was
anything I needed to talk to my sister about, but nothing springs to mind. "I'm depressed, Cid." "Oh." "My shoulders are slumped, and I look
listless." "Uh-huh." "I would think that there's something
any good brother would say to his sister at times like these." "Uh…" I allow myself three seconds to think.
"You look down. Is something
wrong?" "…You pass. But just
barely." "Just barely?" "You need to be more worried. Also,
you need to intuit what's wrong from the getgo." "I think you're setting the bar a bit
too high." "Still, it sounds
like you're curious, so I guess I can tell you." "I don't think I ever said I that
was—" "You're curious,
right?" "Oh man, I'm totally
curious!" I say as Claire wrings my neck. "It's too noisy here, so let's find
somewhere else to talk." "Uh,
what about getting to class?" "School got canceled today." Claire
turns and looks back at the school building. "The head librarian died."
I decide to
respond to her hushed reveal with shock, just like any good
background character would.
I'm sitting in
the fancy parlor and leisurely drinking my milk tea.
Apparently, this
is some sort of special room where only big shots are allowed in. I
have no idea why they let a
backwater noble like my sister in.
"I'm sorry, I
can't tell you any details. I don't want you getting dragged in,"
Claire says with a grim
expression. "But the Knight Order is trying to hush up the truth
about the librarian…and I'm
helpless to stop them. It's so frustrating…" "The truth about the librarian, huh?"
It makes sense that they don't
want word getting out about what a pervert he was. The Knight Order's plan to protect his
reputation has my full support. "There are some things that are more
important than the truth," I offer. Claire shoots me a scary glare. "Are
you implying I'm in the wrong here?!" "That's not what I'm saying. It's
just…" "Just what?" My sister's body language is making it
abundantly clear that if I don't consider my next words carefully, they might be my
last.
"The world's
darkness runs deep. Not everyone's prepared to accept how deep it
goes." "…You're saying there would be panic
if the news went public?" "Yeah,
probably." I mean, think of how
traumatized all the girls who'd ever gone to the library would
be.
"But that
doesn't mean it's okay to just sweep everything under the rug!"
Claire cries. "Of course not. That's why it's
important to have people cracking the case in secret." "'Cracking the case in secret'…"
"Yeah. Even when the truth gets
buried, that doesn't mean things have to end there." "Oh, I see… So it's up to me to crack
the case." "Uh, there's really
no need for it to be you." "I
know the truth, and I'm free to operate unfettered… Sure enough,
I've been chosen." She clutches
at the bandage on her right hand. "Uh, you really haven't been." "I'm the only one who can protect you,
Cid." "Uh, I'm perfectly
capable of protecting myself." "I know, I know. You don't want me to
worry about you." She hugs me so tight, I hear an ominous crack. "But I'm going
to protect this academy, this nation, and you, too.
I'm going to
protect all of it." "…Fine. Knock
yourself out." "I'm not letting
things end like this. No way, no how." Still trapped in my sister's arms, I
take another sip of my milk tea. Gotta say, this stuff really hits the spot.
School is
canceled for the day, so I head back to my dorm and immediately get
accosted by Skel and Po.
"Dang, that was
messed up," Skel says. "I can't believe the head librarian got
whacked like that."
"Right?" agrees
Po. "The you-know-which organization might actually have been
behind it." "Feels like this just got real serious
all of a sudden." "Yeah,
everyone's freaking out." The
two of them are drinking top-shelf Mitsugoshi coffee and lounging
about like they own the place.
They don't, though. It's
my room. "Shouldn't you
two be doing your extra assignments?" I say, putting more weight in
my voice to make the subtext
clear: GTFO, guys.
"I'll just do
it later," Skel replies. "Now that we've got the day off, I've got
loads of time."
"Yeah, same,"
Po adds. "If we get so hung up on homework that we let all the
little joys of life pass us by,
then what are we even living for?" The two of them loudly slurp their
coffee. "Sure, but none of that
explains what you're doing in my room." "'Cause this is where the high-end
Mitsugoshi coffee is, duh," says Skel. Without so much as asking permission,
Po fishes through my drawer and tears into a package of chocolate. "And you've got
high-end Mitsugoshi sweets, too." "Dude, those are mine." "It's fine," Po assures me. "We're all
friends here." "And if we're
being honest," Skel adds, "there's no way you get enough allowance
to be able to afford this
stuff." "We've thought it was
weird for a while now." The two
of them get dead serious out of nowhere, and they turn to look back
at me.
"I—I, uh…"
They've got me dead to rights.
A single cup of high-end
Mitsugoshi coffee will run you north of two thousand zeni.
It doesn't make sense for a
broke-ass aristocrat like me to constantly have it stocked in
my room. That said, it's not my fault Gamma keeps
sending me cases of the stuff. "Fess up, Cid," says Skel. "You've been
buying on credit, haven't you?" "Huh?" "If you have, you gotta tell us, man,"
Po urges. "No, wait, back up a
minute. What's this about buying on credit?" "Dude, we found flyers for it all over
your room." Skel shows me one. "'Mitsugoshi Bank's Hot New Service, Mitsugoshi
Installment Payments.' If you knew about this awesome new way to borrow money, why
didn't you tell us?" "M-Mitsugoshi Installment Payments?"
With a sinking feeling in my
gut, I read over the flyer and discover that it's advertising a payment plan that
would've looked right at home back in my old world. Now that I think about it, I guess I
did explain to Gamma how payment plans worked, huh? "D-don't tell me you guys went and
borrowed money, did you?" "Of
course we did," Po replies. "They lent me two million zeni,
no questions asked."
"And I borrowed
a cool mil," Skel says. "Now all I gotta do is make the fixed
monthly payments of twenty
thousand zeni apiece. How sweet is that?!" "Oh boy…" They're doomed. "What's up, Cid?" Po asks. "You've
got that face like you just realized something." "What's the interest rate on those
plans?" "Two percent a month, I
think?" replies Skel. "Yeah,
twenty-four percent a year. That's dirt cheap, compared to other
lenders in the capital." I stare vacantly into space. "Let me get this straight," I tell
them. "You borrowed a million zeni at a twenty-four percent annual rate with twenty
thousand–zeni monthly payments, right?" "Yeah." "What's wrong with that?" "Have you guys done the math on how
long that'll take you to pay off?" If they've got a 24 percent rate on a
million zeni, then their annual interest sums up to two hundred forty thousand zeni.
If their monthly payments
are twenty thousand zeni, then their annual payments sum
up to two
hundred forty thousand zeni.
Two
hundred forty thousand zeni in interest, two hundred forty
thousand zeni in payments.
In other words,
all they're doing is covering the interest, and they're never gonna
stop having to make payments for
the rest of their lives. "I
dunno, like, five years?" Po says. "Why would I bother calculating that
stuff? All I gotta do is make my monthly twenty-K payments," adds Skel.
"The fact they
don't make you do all that math is how you know Mitsugoshi is
running an honest shop." "…I think you guys might wanna consider
bumping up the size of your payments." "What are you talking about, dude? If
Mitsugoshi's fine with us just paying twenty K, why would we go out of our way to give
them more money?"
Po agrees with
Skel. "Yeah, you're talking nonsense. I've heard of students who
borrowed as much as ten million
zeni from them. They'll lend money to anyone, from aristocrats on down to students. As
long as your family's got property, you're golden." I stare up at the ceiling. "Now," Po announces, "let's get this
party started." "We just
borrowed a bunch of money, and you know what that means," Skel
says. The two of them produce a
deck of cards. "Really? More
poker?" "What, too chicken?"
Skel teases. "If you thought
we'd let you quit while you were ahead, think again," Po tells me.
"Now we've got full war
chests." "Nah…" I let out a big sigh. Then I slam a
pile of bills on the table. "…Let's go double or nothing."
"Dammit, we'll
get you for this!" wails Skel. "B-but that's impossible… Y-you
cheated! You must have cheated!!" whines Po. I grab the two of them by the scruffs
of their necks and toss them out into the hallway. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's late, so
try to keep it down." "Hold on!
At least let us play one more hand!" "We can't go out like this! Not on a
loss!"
"Sorry, but I
don't have any use for guys with empty pockets. Good luck with your
payments." After slamming the door shut behind
them, I lock it. I hear hushed
murmurs come from the other side. "How? After all that time we spent
honing our cheating?" "I can't
believe it. Did we seriously just lose everything?" "Did we seriously just get cleaned out?"
"It seems so impossible, but here
we are…" "Dammit. Let's go to
Mitsugoshi and borrow some more money." I nipped all their attempts at cheating
in the bud, of course, and as soon as they tried to cheat me, I gained the right
to return their trickery in kind. I gather up the winnings piled on my
table and smirk. "Looks like
Skel and Po just became my new piggy banks. And I couldn't have
done it without you, Mitsugoshi
Installment Payments."
As soon as
money flows from Mitsugoshi Bank to Skel and Po, I'll be right
there to scoop it up. That's
the law of the jungle for you. "Hum-dee-dum, dum-dee-dum." I hum an idle little song to myself as
I stash the money in my War Chest. Then I turn and call out the window,
"Sorry about the wait, Zeta. You can come on in now."
A golden-haired
therianthrope soundlessly appears in my room. "Happy birthday,
Master." "Huh? Oh yeah, that's right. I guess
I'm sixteen now." Sure enough,
the date's rolled over. And whaddaya know, it's my birthday.
"Congratulations." "Thanks." Honestly, I don't think that's
anything to be celebrated. I've only got about six hundred years of life in me, and now,
one of those years is gone.
To think that I
still haven't become the perfect eminence in shadow yet. Human life
spans really are fleeting.
"Do you not like birthdays?"
Zeta asks me. "They're not my
favorite, that's for sure. Each one that passes means my life has
that much less time left."
"I get how you
feel." Zeta offers me a small, relaxed smile. It's rare to see a
smile so genuine out of her.
"Sometimes, it feels like
life's too short to achieve my goals." "Mm. I feel you," she agrees again.
Then she looks at me with a serious expression on her face. "I came to talk about
something important." "All
right."
Is this about
money? Zeta's done a lot for
me, so I wouldn't mind lending her a thousand zeni or so.
"You want eternal life, right?"
I give my answer instantly:
"Yeah, of course." There's a bit
where I wait a hundred years for people to start forgetting about
me, then reappear out of nowhere
and have them all go, "Wait, is he that guy from the legends?" and with eternal life, I could
run that bit as many times as I wanted. As long as I'm alive, I can push the reset
button on my eminence in shadow setup over and over again.
My original plan
was to use magic to live for six hundred years, but that's nowhere
near long enough to enjoy
everything life has to offer. I just want to keep on being me
forever.
C'mon, God, do
a guy a favor and build me a system where I can buy years off
people who don't wanna grow
old. "I understand how you
feel, Master." "Uh-huh." "So I'm making moves to get you
there." "Uh-huh?" "Do you remember the first day we
met?" "Uh-huh." It was raining that day, right?
"It was snowing and bitter
cold." Ah, snowing. "When I got the possession, I
learned how ugly people were." "Uh-huh." "And I thought. About the people
chasing us. About how stupid the world is." Her gaze turns cold. For as long as I've known her, she's
always gotten that look from time to time. It's pretty darn badass, so I've secretly
taken to mimicking it.
"People repeat
their mistakes over and over, never tiring," Zeta continues. "The
world never gets less stupid."
"Uh-huh." "I thought I wanted to die. My dying
wouldn't change the world. My living wouldn't change the world. But when I met you,
I saw there was something I needed to do…" With that, Zeta launches into her
story.
The tribe the
girl was born into was one of the highest-status groups among all
therianthropes: the Golden
Leopard clan. Allegedly, even the therianthrope king showed deference to them.
The Golden
Leopard clan had conquered countless smaller clans, and the girl
was the firstborn daughter of the
family that ruled over them all. She was given the name Lilim.
Lilim's immense
talent was obvious from a young age, and her family raised her
with pride, realizing that it
would be more valuable to keep her rather than to marry her off. Her father, the clan patriarch,
imported books so he could give her the best education possible. Even for the
comparatively intellectual Golden Leopards, doing so was all but unheard-of.
The girl took
to those books like a fish to water, and she waited with bated
breath for the day she could
use their knowledge for the benefit of her clan. Lilim was loved by her entire clan,
and she grew up in the blink of an eye.
When she turned
twelve, disaster struck. That
was when the black bruises started showing up on her belly. They
were small at first, so she
didn't pay them a second thought, but when they started spreading,
Lilim got worried and went to
her mother for advice. Her
mother went pale. Then, without
saying a word, she called for Lilim's father. When he showed up, he
went pale as well. That was the point where Lilim
realized that something serious was going on. Her father took another look at her
belly. "…It's the possession,"
he said, barely able to get out the words. The possession. Lilim turned
the term over in her head. On an intellectual level, she knew what it was. After how many books
she'd read, she was confident that she was the most learned of anyone in her
clan.
No matter how
hard she tried, though, she couldn't reconcile the knowledge in her
head with the black bruises on
her belly. The possession.
She pondered it over and
over and over again, and before she knew it, she was crying.
Lilim was a
clever girl, and once she came to grips with what was going on, she
knew exactly what would happen
to her. The possessed were unclean, and that filth needed to be purged before it had a
chance to spread. That was the clan's rule.
It was a big
problem to have such a stain born into the patriarch's bloodline,
especially for a clan as
esteemed as the Golden Leopards. This didn't affect just her; the
situation could bring down her
entire family.
Lilim wiped
away her tears. "Father, you have to burn me to death." "But…" "The bruises aren't that big yet. The
impurity is still small. If you burn me now, you save the family. Surely, that will
satisfy the clan." "But—!" "Please, Father. For our family. For my
little brother." Lilim glanced
down at the baby her mother was cradling. He had been born only
half a year prior, but someday,
he was going to be the head of the family. She bowed her head as she pleaded.
"Please… You have to. You have to!" "…I won't." "Father!" "I will not! It said it in that elf
book—it said there's a way to cure the possession." "There's no proof it's true!" "It said there was a panacea that
could cure it." Her father
began eagerly searching for the book in question. He normally
seemed so large to Lilim, but
in that moment, something about him felt terribly small.
"What's come
over you, Father? Pull yourself together. This isn't worth putting
your faith in. Mother, talk
some sense into him." However,
her mother just hung her head and said nothing. "Here, look. It's written right here."
"Father, get ahold of—" Lilim stopped halfway through her
sentence. There were teardrops
falling on the cover of the book her father handed her. It was
the first time she ever saw him
cry. "Father…" "I'll find it, I swear. Please, just
trust in me and wait." "Father,
I…" Lilim felt her father's
warm arms wrap around her, and her mother joined in. "Father… Mother…" Lilim had been fighting back the
tears, but at that point, they began falling freely. The next day, her father set out on a
journey. "He said he will
return within a month," Lilim's mother explained as she wrapped a
bandage around Lilim's belly.
"You'll have to hide your wound until then. Don't leave the house, no matter what." "Yes, Mother." "Don't you worry. It's going to be
okay. I'll make sure our family stays safe." Her mother offered her a gentle smile.
Lily touched the bandage her
mother wrapped and smiled as well. Something told her that everything was going to be
okay.
A month later,
Lilim was awoken in the dead of night.
It was noisy
outside. Perhaps her father had returned. She followed her mother
outside. There, she found her father. He was
bound in rope and kneeling on the ground. "Fa…ther?" Surrounding him was a throng of torches,
and his clothes were stained with blood. Her mother bravely spoke up. "What do
you people think you're doing?" "Word is, one of you is stained." A
torchbearer stepped forward from the crowd. It was the chief of a Golden Leopard
branch family. "Stains have to be purged. That's the rule." "...…" Lilim's mother stood before her
daughter wordlessly. The branch
family chief pointed his sword at Lilim's father's throat. "Who's
the stained one? Fess up."
"…I don't know," her father
choked out. "Oh, really now?"
The branch chief plunged his
sword into her father's shoulder. Blood gushed forth, and the sound of
bone snapping followed. Lilim's
father didn't scream. He simply remained motionless, his head hung
low. "Pathetic." The branch
chief thrust his sword again. "Stop this at once!" Lilim's mother
cried. "If you think you can get away with attacking your chief, you're
wildly—"
"Oh, I can get
away with a lot. I'm the new chief of the Golden Leopards. This sad
sack betrayed the clan." "What proof could you possibly have
for that?" "A Holy Teachings
priest came to the village and told me. Said that he smelled the
possession. Out east, the
Church is in charge of gathering up the possessed and purifying
them."
Another man
strode forth from the group. He was dressed in priest vestments and
wore a thin smile. "The
possessed must be purified without delay. If left untended, their
blight can spread, sending
entire villages to ruin—" Lilim's father's hoarse voice cut in
and interrupted the priest. "Liar." "I'm sorry, therianthrope, did you
just say something?" "I called
you a liar, human." The priest
shot Lilim's father a glare positively dripping with contempt, and
her father met it
head-on. "And what exactly am I
lying about, pray tell?" "Everything. The possession is a hoax,
cooked up by the Church." "What a
riveting theory." The branch chief laughed. "Looks like he finally
lost it." The crowd around them
joined in and chuckled as well. Meanwhile, Lilim and her mother found themselves unable to
comprehend what her father was talking about.
All the while,
the priest and Lilim's father continued glaring at each other
without so much as blinking.
"What proof do you have,
therianthrope?" "The Golden
Leopards have a bloodline dating back for generations, and all that
time, they've been passing down
an epic from one patriarch to the next—an epic about the therianthrope hero, one of the
three that took on Diablos." "So
a silly legend." "It's a
legend, all right, but it's a little different from the one the
rest of the world has heard.
Our version casts the three heroes as women instead of men, and it
calls the possession a blessing
rather than a curse."
The priest's
gaze harshened. "Everything you just said is blasphemy against the
Church."
"I'd wondered
about that for a long time. Why was the Golden Leopard version of
the story so different from the
rest of the world's?" "That's a
stupid question. Legends shift and change over time. That's what
they do." "I'm not so sure
about that. Generations of patriarchs took great care in passing
down our epic. They wouldn't
have let it just shift like that. And most importantly, we're the Golden Leopards—descendants
of one of the three heroes who defeated Diablos, Lily the Golden Leopard. That
right there is your answer." "…What are you implying?" "That the version of the story the
Golden Leopards passed down is the truth, and that the Holy Teachings took that truth and
distorted it," Lilim's father declared with unclouded eyes. A long hush fell over the gathering.
Eventually, quiet chuckling
began spreading like a contagion, eventually growing into raucous laughter that rocked the
entire village.
The branch
chief clutched at his chest as he howled. "Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! That's
great. That's a riot! I can't
even remember the last time I laughed this hard!!"
"It really is
funny, isn't it?" The priest laughed as well. In his case, though,
the look in his eyes was as far
from mirthful as could be.
"Okay, okay,
let me get this straight," the branch chief said through his
chuckles. "You're saying that
the possession is a hoax cooked up by the Church, and that the
possessed are really
descendants of the heroes. That's why there's no need to cleanse
the stain. Do I
have that all right?" "…Yes."
"Bullshit!!" The branch chief's
roar shook the air. "You would risk the entire clan over some delusional fantasy?!" "You might not believe it, but that's
the truth!" "Quit spouting your
lies!" The branch chief plunged
his fist into Lilim's father's face. He hit him once, then again, then again and again and again.
Lilim stood stock-still. Her
knees trembled as she stared in horror. "All right, enough playing around." The
branch chief wiped off the red stains on his hands. "Who's the stained one?" A small smile played at the corner of
Lilim's father's mouth. "...…" "If you don't tell us, I'll put the
whole lot of them to the torch." "You'd do that no matter what I said.
All you're here for is to torment me." The branch chief fell silent. That
alone was answer enough. "Have it your way, then," the branch chief finally said
as he wrenched free his sword. "S…stop it!" All eyes gathered on Lilim. "I-it… It's…it's me…" Her legs
trembled beneath her. "I—I… I'm…the ppossessed…" She could hear how pathetic she
sounded. Her vision swam with
tears. Then she met the gaze of the man looking straight at her
—her father.
"Listen to me."
His voice was uncharacteristically gentle. "The Golden Leopard
clan is descended from Lily,
the hero who once saved the world. Our bloodline is something to be proud of. The question
is, why did Lily entrust us with her tale? Why did generations of our patriarchs pass
it down? There's a reason for that. It's because we have a duty." "Father…" "The hero's blood runs thicker in you
than in anyone. You're smart, and you're strong, and I couldn't be prouder of
you. You have to head east, Lilim. There's someone in the Midgar Kingdom who can cure the
possession. That's where our duty lies." "B-but, Father… I can't—" "You can do it, Lilim." With that, her
father turned to his wife. "Look after them." She gave him a small nod, then pulled
Lilim in close. "You really
think we'll let them get away?" The therianthrope men already had them
surrounded. "I'll make sure
they do," Lilim's father replied. "Even if it costs me my life…"
A loud creaking filled the
air.
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End of part 5 of 9.
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