A single-armed youth clad in a hooded mantle stepped through a city engulfed in blazing, roaring flames. He came upon a throng of white-robed followers gathered at the entrance gates of Castle Casletia. Thunderous cheers echoed through the night as he ascended the stone steps, accompanied by the rhythmic beat of drums as he reached the front doors of the fortress.
"Hooray~~~~ Hah-hah-hah! The city is free!! The world shall witness that we are forever! Long live se Round Table!"
THUD!
The lifeless corpse of a knight was kicked down the staircase, followed by a spray of spittle and curses.
"The black sheep ought to be eradicated! Oh~ Edward~ Come make haste! The sacrificial rite for that wicked witch is about to commence~ Hey-hey-hey!"
The white-robed men welcomed Edward as though he were a brother of their own blood, yet the single-armed youth bore a hollow, sorrowful face, as if he no longer understood the world around him.
He was led into the ceremony taking place within the royal hall. At the threshold, followers brandished flaming torches with ecstatic countenances. The grand hall held hundreds of fanatics at once, all squatting upon the floor while the mad vicar delivered his sermon.
"We got the traitor!" a man roared.
A bound prisoner was dragged forward and forced onto his knees before the vicar. The man who had granted aid to Marilyn was about to receive his judgment.
"Unstep from me! Have ye all lost your minds?! Matilda!" Jesper cried out for his wife.
She rose before the assembly in the hall, stepping forward toward her husband with eyes filled with gentle mercy. She stroked his cheekbone and pressed a soft kiss upon his forehead.
"Matilda..." Jesper offered a small smile, filled with fleeting hope.
"Forgive me, my love," she whispered.
The moment the words left her lips, she seized a blade and struck in cold blood.
SLASH!
Jesper's body collapsed backward, falling against the vicar's feet.
"The Lord granteth no forgiveness unto those who abandon us twice, is that not so, my King?" Sereza knelt before the skeletal remains upon the throne of Christopher. "Bring forth the witch at once!"
The followers hauled forward the wooden block to which Marilyn was bound, dragging the maiden, her legs weighed down by heavy iron chains—to the front of the hall.
Standing among the onlookers, Edward spotted Claudia weeping bitterly before Sereza.
"I beseech thee~ Spare Mary's life!!" she pleaded upon her knees.
"This mysterious witch hath possessed Marilyn, daring to hide herself as a sweet little angel—the child who was meant to carry forth her father's legacy! How utterly shameless, how vile, how cursed! A witch playing the deity... intruding upon the sacred castle of Casletia! That alone is more than enough cause for a witch such as thee to have her head severed and displayed for all to see!"
Sereza produced the apple key, holding it high for all his followers to behold.
"How many more heads of my own family must I reluctantly claim to subdue a witch like thee?! I shall not allow our lambs to be led astray by wickedness, bringing this world to total ruin! Tell me, my flock—is that what ye desire?!"
Hearing his words, the crowd shook their heads in fanatical denial.
As Sereza ranted on, Edward looked up to meet the maiden's desolate gaze. Mary thought of nothing anymore, save for a single lingering presence: the wooden cross belonging to the departed boy. He was waiting, standing beside her always.
Strength returning to her posture, Marilyn raised her head to meet the vicar's eyes once more.
Nearby, Edward spotted a jagged glass shard on the stone floor. Gently nudging it with his boot, he slid the glass until it brushed against Claudia's thigh. Feeling the touch, she glanced down to see the mirror shard, then turned to look at Edward, who offered a subtle nod.
Sereza leaned in close, speaking face-to-face with Marilyn. At that very moment, a bowl of oil was poured over the pile of firewood stacked beneath her feet.
"This city shall be safe once it is rid of a witch like thee. Whatever lies hidden within thee, it hath devoured thy soul until nothing remains. By dawn thou art an angel; by dark, a demon. Every life I have sacrificed was done solely to deliver their souls! Such heavy sins as thine must be cleansed by fire! It may bring agony... yet all sin shall be burned away for eternity."
"Thou callest me a witch..." Marilyn bit her lip, spitting blood directly into the old man's face. "When thou art thyself the necromancer warlock, puppeteering these lifeless corpses to do thy bidding! Thy foul, rotting breath is nothing more than the deceitful tricks of the Lord of Hell!" she boomed.
"I am a servant of the Heavenly Kingdom! A devil such as thee... how dare thee question my righteousness?!" The vicar's eyes flared with zealous fanaticism.
"Is it not thou who playest God above all others?! The one who lulled these innocents into submission like mindless ghouls! The same bastard who had the heart to burn his daughter alive that night! In the end, I was made to carry thy stain, destined to meet the same fate as Dorothy, all because thou art terrified... terrified of burning in hell for violating the Covenant of the Round Table! The girl thou didst find in the thicket the night Dorothy was burned... 'twas Mary! Aye! But now... every single one of ye shall behold... THE WRATH OF ME!"
Mary sneered with a terrifying grin, all traces of her saintly gentleness vanished entirely. In that breath, her eyes caught Edward holding an axe in his hand.
His lips moved silently for her to read: 'Run, you vermins.'
Beholding his message, she cast her eyes upon the vicar one last time, uttering her vows:
"I shall run nowhere... unless thou... enterest hell this very night!"
The moment her words ceased, heavy fog surged forward, swallowing the moonlight whole and plunging the world into dead silence. Even the howling storm froze in terror as an eerie darkness enveloped the sky.
All the sudden, a man's roaring scream shattered the silence!
"RAAA~~!" Edward hurled the axe with all his might, severing the ropes bound around Mary's arms.
SNAP!
In the chaotic panic, Claudia leapt up from the floor, tackling Sereza to the ground and plunging the glass shard deep into his flesh.
"AAAAHHH~~~~ OFF ME~~!"
Both of Marilyn's eyes burst into a radiant, blazing petunia-violet hue as she raised both hands high into the air.
"BOW BEFORE THINE OWN DEMISE!!"
Mary unleashed the absolute wrath of Mira, invading the minds of every follower present, compelling them to slaughter one another in a bloodthirsty frenzy. Blood splattered across Mary's face, driving her to scream in primal fury.
Standing before Marilyn, Edward's heart sank in sheer horror as he witnessed what she had become. "Mary... art thou...?"
"Mary, stop!! 'Tis finished!!" Claudia cried out, seeking to pull her mate back to sanity.
The horrific nightmare raged on until every white-robed man lay silent, their lives extinguished.
Mary stood before the throne of the King. Behind her, blood splatters stretched across the stone wall in long, dramatic streaks, resembling the crimson wings of a dark angel. The stained-glass window cast the golden rays of the rising sun against her back, outlining her sorrowful silhouette. Her face, shadowed against the light, offered a faint, melancholy smile as tears of blood streamed from her eyes.
Mary opened her arms with a tearful smile, weeping blood just as the cord of her cross necklace snapped.
Catching it in her palms, she saw that the cross was drenched in the blood of Caslette's folk.
"...'Tis over... 'Tis finished at last. I-I shall wipe thine eyes for thee, little one. The... the city of Caslette... hath been cleansed..."
She strove frantically to wipe the red stains from the cross like one driven mad, yet refused to fade.
"..."
Marilyn fell silent, sweeping her eyes across the chamber. Amidst the hundreds of lifeless bodies, she spotted Claudia lying gravely wounded, clutching a deep gash upon her abdomen from her struggle with the vicar.
Edward stood frozen before the throne of King Christopher.
"Claudia! Hey! Where art thou hurt?!"
"M-Mary..." Her closest companion offered a weak smile, pressing her hands against her abdomen to staunch the bleeding. "I-I am fine... I can endure..."
Marilyn searched frantically for her final shred of hope. "Edward! Pray, help her! Ed..."
"She hath lost overmuch blood, Mary... There is no way to stop it in time." Edward raised his face toward the pale moonlight.
"Mary, look at me." Claudia reached up, cupping Mary's head and drawing her close until their foreheads touched. "Leave this realm behind... fear not. Ye two must flee far away... start a new life. I shall never forgive myself if not a single one of us three surviveth." She squeezed Mary's hand tight. "I... I hope we three shall meet... once more..."
Claudia drew her final breath in Marilyn's arms, just as Sereza let out a faint, rasping gasp.
"Gasp~ In the end... thou art no different from a witch who bringeth ruin upon the populace. I sought to deliver these folk unto safety, yet thou hast torn it all away... I harbor no hatred toward thee, for it changeth nothing. We both shall descend into hell together—there is no escape. Tell me, little daughter..." Sereza spoke with a tone laden with strange emotion. "Is the era of Casletia destined to end with the likes of you?"
"I... I know not," Marilyn murmured, gently closing Claudia's eyes as she spoke to Sereza.
"Thinkest thou that thou canst flee to the eight horizons? So long as the Covenant of the Round Table endureth, men like me shall never vanish from this earth."
"Then I shall hunt ye down... be it one day or another," Marilyn uttered her final vow.