Directory
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Episode 0
Episode 1âThe Boy Embraces His Ambition
Scene 1â-Scene 2â-Scene 3â-Scene 4
Episode 2âEncounter with the Screenwriter
Scene 1â-Scene 2â-Scene 3â-Scene 4â-Scene 5
Episode 3âHe Dies in the Snow Field
Scene 1â-Scene 2â-Scene 3â-Scene 4â-Scene 5
Episode 4âFarewell My Friend
Scene 1â-Scene 2â-Scene 3â-Scene 4â-Scene 5â-Scene 6â-Scene 7
Episode 5âThe Relationship Chills
Scene 1â-Scene 2â-Scene 3â-Scene 4
Episode 6âThe Sinking Story
Scene 1â-Scene 2â-Scene 3
Episode 7âYour Daughter is There
Scene 1â-Scene 2â-Scene 3â-Scene 4
Episode 8âSweet Seduction
Scene 1â-Scene 2â-Scene 3â-Scene 4â-Scene 5
Episode 9âHouse of the Undead
Scene 1â-Scene 2â-Scene 3â-Scene 4
Episode 10âThe Court Ends
Scene 1â-Scene 2â-Scene 3â-Scene 4â-Scene 5â-Scene 6â-Scene 7â-Scene 8
ZERO
Afterword
Character design
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Afterword
Judgment of Corruption, afterword
Often when Iâm sitting in at drinking parties, Iâll get asked all these questions like, ���Youâve earned a lot with VOCALOID, havenât youâ, or âhow much have you saved up?â, or else, âWhat do you plan to do with all the money youâve earned?â
No matter how good I feel from being drunk at these things, I always dodge any questions that relate to money. Because itâs obvious that if I answered honestly, there is no chance that conversation would lead anywhere good. Thatâs how it goes, right? If the other person had no interest in money, the conversation would just end with, âhuh, thatâs niceâ, and if conversely it was someone who couldnât help wanting money, thereâs a strong chance they would start launching into these horrible get-rich-quick schemes like, âIâd like to talk to you about a loanâ. Itâs not great.
âGreedâ, one of the seven deadly sins, is not strictly related to just a desire for money, however in our present society if you want to satisfy your desires then you will always need money for it. As something to satisfy your materialistic wants, first. And then after theyâve achieved that, next people will start to use that money to gain their own happiness. Hobbies, relationships, familyâŚThe specifics depend on the person.
The question of whether or not money can buy happiness is oft-disputed, but in my personal opinion it can mostly buy happiness, so thereâs no need to be ashamed of having it, as long as itâs not money you earned by illegal means.
Nevertheless, âmostlyâ in this case is a pretty strong bottleneck; ironically the few things that donât qualify in that framework are often the source of the happiness that people are truly seeking.
And another thing. You do need money to obtain happiness, but in order to get that money there are times youâll need to sell happiness of equivalent value. Like your time, or your  health. And depending on the person you may even lose friends, or people you love. You have to let go of happiness to obtain happinessâŚThatâs something you do well in this society.
Anyway, to touch on the novel here, I intentionally cut down on the episodes that were in the song that the novelâs based on. Perhaps those of you whoâve listened to all of the âDeadly Sins of Evilâ series songs can make a rough guess as to why.
In addition to that, there are many bits of foreshadowing that havenât been resolved yetâthe answers to all of that will be revealed in the story of the other protagonist that was born into this era.
And the long-continued âDeadly Sins of Evilâ light novel series is planned to be wrapped up in just two more installments.
There may be some of you who are confused, thinking âHuh!? Shouldnât there be only one left?â, but please be patient. Thereâs no way I could fit all of the outcome in one book. Please permit me to extend it to two.
And so, letâs meet again in the next work.
.
AkunoP (mothy)
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ZERO
Judgment of Corruption, pages 324-328
Itâs been eight years since I escaped from prison.
.
I had been captured quite clumsily by the militia when I fought as the leader of the Dark Star Bureauâs PN forces during the Leviantan civil war. Of course, I hadnât been a good fit for the leader of the unit to begin with, having little skill in warfare. Shiro and Feng had been our last ray of hope, and without them PN had no strength left to be able to win a fair fight against the militia.
I read the newspaper in the jail that the militia had set up. Written in thereâwas a report on Gallerianâs death. It said that his mansion had been set on fire.
They found his corpse in the burned-out wreckage.
Heâd apparently been clutching a clockwork doll in his arms.
âŚHad that doll been clockwork? Frankly speaking I never got a good look at it. Especially after Gallerian became convinced that it was his daughter. I hadnât been strong enough to face head-on the subject of my friendâs madness.
Perhaps in my weakness I had tried to escape reality by merely obeying him, without thinking for myself. Eventually, even my standards for good and evil had become blurred.
Perhaps if I had fought harder to persuade him, I could have made Gallerian get back on his feet. But by then his only reason for living had been Michelle. Iâhadnât wanted to think about what would happen to Gallerian once that had been stolen away from him.
And this was the final outcome of my renouncing thought and running away.
I am the source of every evil.
Itâs as though I killed Gallerian myself.
.
In the six months that it took for the civil war to end, instead of being killed I spent my time in jail.
As a result of the civil war the USE allied government collapsed into uselessness, and the war with Asmodean and Beelzenia was also brought to an anticlimax by peace talks.
The USE allied forces won the civil war itself, and I was released from the clutches of the militia. Whereupon I was immediately put on trial for my misdeeds during my time in PN.
It was a trial with the new director of the restored Dark Star Bureau working as head judge. The judgment I was given was life imprisonment.
I figured then that I wouldnât mind spending the rest of my days at the prison. I no longer held any interest in the world without Gallerian in it.
However. The moment that I saw a certain piece of news while there, I became unable to sit idly by.
--The theater that heâd built in the Millennium Tree Forest. There was a rumor that Gallerianâs legacy lay sleeping in it.
But all of the people who invade the forest looking for it would go missing without a trace.
I was familiar with the structure of the prison from my time in PN. I was the one who helped Jorm when he escaped, after all. And they had foolishly let be the vulnerabilities in their security from back then.
Once I had escaped from the prison, I headed for the Millennium Tree Forest on foot.
.
After Gallerianâs death, all of the money that he had saved up at the bank was apparently withdrawn by someone. The culprit wasnât clear yet, but the main subject of the rumor was that all that money was in the theater.
I didnât know if that was the truth, and I had no interest in it besides.
The issue was how the rumor got started, and the fact that all the people who went to the theater were going missing.
If someone was tricking people into entering the forest, then I figured, at the time, that I had to stop them. If the theater that Gallerian had brought into existence was being used in a manner that he hadnât intended, thenâI couldnât just let that slide.
That was what I had imagined, but the people responsible turned out to be Lich and Eater. Now that they could no longer use Gallerian, the two of them were trying to revive their âmasterâ into the world with their own particular methods. They were searching for people they could use as sacrifices for that purpose.
I had thought they could be reasoned with, but that was foolish of me. I was, sadly, captured by them, and made to face yet another âtrialâ.
Only, this wasnât a normal trial like what would be held at the Dark Star Bureau. This was a âfarceâ conducted by the residents of the theater.
The doll that I had thought burned up in Gallerianâs mansion was there. She had become the director of the theater, and in this farce called a trial she declared me innocent.
When asked for her reasoning, she had explained thusly:
âI donât think Papa would have had you executed, in my place.â
Itâs pitiful to admit, but my heart was saved by those words, just a little bit.
.
Thatâs a cursed forest now. Thereâs nothing I can do about that.
Currently I have retuned to a place where the hands of the USE cannot reachâmy homeland, the Republic of Maistia. There, I am working as aid to the president.
As I am a fugitive, I canât be assigned to a position that stands out. I essentially work as a secret intelligence operative while serving as the presidentâs butler under a false name.
There is something else that I have to do.
One other being that Gallerian brought into existenceâ
Is now trying to destroy the world.
.
Elphegort, which has now fallen to rule by dictatorship, has fired a terrifying new weapon at Jakoku. And because of that, a section of Jakoku has been reduced to a land of ash.
The sight of that new weapon is now aimed at everywhere in the world, including Maistia.
I have to stop it.
âCome onâŚLetâs go.â
Spurring on my old body, I rode along to that place with my friends.
The headquarters of the Tasan party in Elphegort.
Inside were the top brass of the Tasan partyâŚ
And the criminal behind it all, Elphegortâs fĂźhrer.
.
--I should not have allowed her to live.
I should have killed her the moment I met her in that forest as the âbeastmasterâ.
.
The fĂźhrer of Elphegort, Nemesis.
Gallerianâs daughter that Ma had birthed in secret.
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Episode 10âThe Court Ends; Scene 8
Judgment of Corruption, pages 316-322
--At some point, the mansion had started to burn.
The militia had set fire to it in revenge for their friends burning from those inexplicable flames.
Gallerian took the doll back with him to the study.
There was nowhere left to run.
Whether he jumped outside or remained in here, he didnât have much longer to live.
âMichelle, IâmâIâm so sorry you got caught up in this,â Gallerian said to the doll.
ââItâs alright. At least Iâm with you, Papa.â
Now that he had lost his contract with Adam, Gallerian couldnât hear that dollâs reply.
Even so, he continued to speak to her. âStill. I am a little bit glad. âŚAs long as I can be here with you, I donât even fear death.â
âI feel the same, Papa.â
âI wonder, if I had been able to restore youâor if you had been able to grow up without being caught up in that incident--what would you have becomeâŚâ
âI would have become a judge like you, Papa! And I would have married someone I likedâand had a child.â
âEven if I die now and fall to hellâIt wonât be an issue. I have plenty of money. And âmoney is the best lawyer in hellâ. And if I have money, I can collect the âVessels of Deadly Sinâ, even down there. When I do, I will come to get you. As long as weâre togetherâNo matter where we are, it will be a Utopia, I know it.â
âYeah!â
As for what would happen to Gallerian after his deathâdepending on the âMaster of the Hellish Yardâsâ judgment, he may very well go to hell just as he said.
To contract with a Vessel of Deadly Sin was a grave crime. Even if what was inside of it wasnât a demon.
And he had committed many other sins besides. He had sacrificed a great many people for the sake of his own happiness, so I was certain that would not be forgiven.
Even if those deeds were done out of oneâs own purity, that was still, in the endâgreed, Gallerian.
.
There were reasons why Ellukaâor rather, Ma, birthed Gallerian.
One of them was so that he would collect the Vessels of Deadly Sin by making him contract with Adam.
But that was ultimately just a bonus to her.
It was something she could have done even without Gallerian.
She simply wished to become pure.
Perhaps to Ma, Gallerian was nothing more than a process by which she could do so.
Ma. Her nickname. There were several meanings to that word.
Sorceress, Mem Aleph (meaning water and beginning), andâmother.
.
The flames steadily began to enclose the house.
Eventuallyâfrom this burned out mansion they would find.
The corpse of a solitary âparentâ.
.
If I stick around, even Iâll get caught up in the flames.
Iâm just a normal bat, so I donât do well against fire.
Iâve âobservedâ Gallerianâs life up until nowâbut that ends today.
I once more set out to fly up to the moonâ
âWait a second.â
.
Gallerian called out to someone.
It wasnât to the doll. It was to someone elseâ
.
YesâŚhe was talking to me.
.
Gallerianâs hand swiftly shot out.
And before I had a chance to fleeâhe had seized me fast.
âI want to talk to you in the end, before I die,â he said with a grin.
Ridiculous.
Thereâs no wayâŚthat Gallerian could have noticed me.
No one noticed me.
Even if they did, they were supposed to think of me as merely a normal bat.
Thatâwas one of the Rules of the world.
âYouâve always been flying around me. I donât know when you startedâmaybe youâve always been there, from the moment I was born. Weirdly enough, no one outside of me ever seems to notice you there. So eventually I just resolved not to pay you any mind.â
âŚBut if the âRules of the worldâ were breaking down?
In other words, these bizarre changes in the worldâtheir manifestation was something brought on by the breakdown of the Rules.
So it wasnât out of the question for a forest to rapidly dry up, and there was no helping a tiger being born to a human family. Maybe there was even a pattern of humans being born to snakes. Dead soldiers ran amok without any connection to the Demon of Gluttony, nights would be abnormally short or unusually longâ
Soâ
.
There was nothing strange at all about a human appearing who could converse with a âgodâ
.
ââYes. I have been observing you this whole time,â I replied honestly.
He seemed able to hear what I was saying.
This wasnât Adamâs power. That contract had already been severed.
âThere are countless people in the world. Why did you choose me?â
âBecause you were Ellukaâs son. She had impurities mixed up into her will. Including a fragment of the consciousness of a âgodâ thatâs a colleague of mine. Thatâs why I was interested in you.â
âI see. Then that would mean that you yourself are a âgodâ, or something like it.â
âYouâre accepting this quite readily.â
âItâs a bit late to wonder at that now. Until this point Iâve been fairly involved with demons like âAdamâ and other strange beings. Even MaâThatâs right, while youâre here there is something Iâd like you to tell me.â
âNo. I canât get involved with humans. So I canât answer any questions outside of the ones that pertain to me.â
And yet, Gallerian asked anyway. âWhatâs this secret Adam mentioned, the one Ma and Bruno hid from me? Surely you must know, donât you?â
ââŚI canât. Itâs a Rule.â
âIâm dying soon. Surely my hearing it wonât have any impact on the world this late in the game?â
ââŚYou would gain nothing from hearing it; it would be meaningless to you.â
âThen isnât that all the more justification for it? If it wonât mean anything, then thereâs no reason not to tell me.â
ââŚâ
Perhaps I had spent a little too long observing him.
Or, perhaps I simply couldnât deny that I may have had something close to this âcompassionâ that humans had, when it came to Gallerian.
Well, alrightâŚ
.
I granted him one piece of knowledge.
.
ââŚâ
Gallerian was dumbstruck.
âDidnât I tell you? It gains you nothing.â
Once I realized that the strength had left his hand, I slipped out of his grip and flew away.
.
Then I made it out the window and headed for the distant sky.
--Midway there I looked down to the ground, and spied a figure about to head into the burning mansion.
.
And on seeing that, I deeply regretted having shared that information with him.
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Episode 10âThe Court Ends; Scene 7
Judgment of Corruption, pages 303-316
It was thought that the revolts would quickly be suppressed by the release of the military.
But on the contrary, it was here that something unexpected occurred for the government. A portion of USE allied forces that they deployed defected to the side of the militia.
The former soldier Gammon likely laid the groundwork for that in advance.
Due to this, the fight spread to one of much larger scale, until what had at first been a simple uprising began to take on the look of a full-fledged civil war.
On August 10th, the Dark Star Bureau was attacked by the militia.
The allied forces and the soldiers of PN put up a fight, but they were at a loss against the militiaâs strength of numbers, and in just eighteen hours the Dark Star Bureau fell into the militiaâs hands.
The next day, reports surfaced that the chief of PN, Bruno Zero, had been captured by the militia.
.
Gallerian had somehow managed to escape from the militiaâs clutches, and slipped out of the bureau.
He used a secret passageway hidden in the back of his fireplaceâa device that had been used for the princess to escape from the palace in the âDaughter of Evilâ story. The same thing had been put in the Dark Star Bureau.
While avoiding the public eye, Gallerian headed for his estate.
He was sure he had at least some final strength left to him for battle.
âEater! Where are you!?â
Gallerian cried out the name of the one who controlled his dead soldiersâthe âdead godâ.
But there was no reply.
He couldnât find that large frame anywhere in either the house or the gardens.
ââŚMaybe he ran away.â
The other dead god Lich must have still been with Ma in âEvils Theaterâ in Elphegort. Â Â
--Gallerian no longer had anyone left here he could count on as an ally.
He was the militiaâs target. He had provoked too greatly the peopleâs animosity with his many corrupted judgments.
Gallerian knew that it would be dangerous to stay in his own home. He outfitted himself appropriately and then immediately moved to leave the mansion.
But once he saw what was outside his window, he halted.
ââŚIâm already surroundedâŚItâs too late.â
At that moment, running out there would be fatal. He turned on his heel and returned to the study, sitting down in his favorite chair.
And then, though I donât know why, he switched on the radio that was sitting on his desk.
ââBreaking news. The corpse of Major General Tony Ausdin of the USE allied forces was recently discovered in the garden of his home. There were several wounds on his body, but the one thought to be the killing blow is a .44 calibre revolver bullet that was fired into his temple. General Tony was declared innocent in a trial heldââ
After listening that far, he shut off the radio.
Then he noticed a smoking pipe that had been left next to the radio.
Something Ma had forgotten.
Gallerian picked it up and lit it.
Right after he put it to his mouth and sucked in the smoke,
âCoughâ
He vigorously started hacking, and immediately set the pipe back down on the desk, putting it out.
ââŚNot my thing.â
He stood and this time passed his eyes over the bookcase next to him.
His eyes rested on the third shelf, whereon seven thin volumes that looked hand-written were lined up.
Other things Ma had forgotten.
The titles to each were written in small print on the spines.
.
The Lunacy of Duke Venomania
Evil Food Eater Conchita
The Daughter of Evil
Gift from the Princess Who Brought Sleep
The Tailor of Enbizaka
.
The remaining two works didnât have titles written on them.
These were screenplays that were based on tales Ma had gathered on the seven Vessels of Deadly Sin.
âThe Vessels of Deadly SinâŚIâd been so close. I wasâalmost about to save Michelle.â
He took one of the screenplays in hand.
Then he sat back down in his chair.
âMichelleâŚPapa wasnât able to save you. But at the very least, you must keep living. Where no one can find you, in that theater in the forestââ
After murmuring that, Gallerian leisurely opened the book and started to read.
.
The Dark Star Bureau had already fallen.
He no longer had any friends or colleagues.
The money that he had saved up was now worthless to him.
Having lost everything, this isolated man waited in his mansion for that moment.
As he read.
That moment when the enraged militiamen would break into his home.
.
ââŚThey havenât come in.â
Gallerian closed the book and put it on his desk.
He stood and then peered out his study window.
Just like before, the militia soldiers were surrounding the mansion.
âWhy havenât they advanced?â
There was no one in the mansion anymore to answer his question.
--Or at least, they shouldnât have been.
âTheyâre waiting.â
Gallerian turned around in surprise at the voice he heard behind him.
Standing thereâwas a blue-haired man who looked similar toâŚor rather, exactly like Gallerian.
âTheyâre waiting for her to arrive. The person who would be most appropriate for killing you.â
âWhoâŚare you?â
They were two Gallerians, facing each other.
âWho am I? What cruel words. Donât you know this face better than anyone?â
âAhâŚYou are me. âŚNo, thatâs ridiculous. I canât be standing in front of myselfââ
âBut itâs the truth. I am you, and you are me.â
The other Gallerian laughed mockingly.
--But I knew, watching from the side.
It was a terrible joke. HeâŚthough he may be identical in formâ
He was not Gallerian.
Gallerian himself appeared to realize this.
âI see, youâare âAdamâ. The being in the spoon.â So saying, Gallerian pulled out the spoon that he always kept on his person. âIt was through contracting with you that I became able to speak to Michelle.â
âCorrect. It is by my power that you were able to converse with the soul that resides inside the doll.â
âMichelleâŚlost her body in that incident. But her spirit lived on, and rests inside the doll. If I were to gather the âVessels of Deadly Sinâ, I could restore my daughterâs body to her once moreâit is believing in that that has brought me this far.â
âBut you failed. Before you could finish collecting them all--here you are in this sorry state. Why could you not notice sooner that your own sin would ruin you one of these days?â
As the two of them spoke to each other with their identical faces, I lost track of who was who.
Gallerianâno, Adam, started to laugh as though to make fun of the other.
âKeh heh heh. Â Iâm disappointed in you. âEven with mine and âEveââs power you failed to gather the vessels, in the end.â
âAnd âEveâ is?â
âThe soul that resides in the dollâYou thought that was your daughter, didnât you? That crafty Ma had you completely fooled. But youâre mistaken. Itâs Eveâs soul. Eve and I are fated to be attracted to each otherâŚItâs for that reason that I can converse with her soul.â
ââŚNo. Thatâs Michelle.â
âThatâs what you want to believe, isnât it? Your mind would be broken if you didnât. Itâs because you know how severe your own weakness is that youâve clung so heavily to Eveâs soul and the Vessels of Deadly Sin. Youâve continued to accumulate money for an impossible wish. Ordinarily the âMarlon Spoonâ houses the demon of âGreedââbut whatever the case might have been, you had no need of that. Even without contracting with it, from the very start youâve been a man greedy for whatâs beyond his lot.â
âYouâre wrong.â
âKeep saying that. âIt is true that once you gather all the Vessels of Deadly Sin, a wish will be granted. But that wish is mine and Eveâs. Once all are assembled, Eve and I will have a second advent. We will recreate this broken-down world. And then we will enjoy eternal happiness in our true Utopiaââ
âYouâre wrong!â Gallerian cried in rage, moving to knock the other man against the wall.
But his hand passed right through Adamâs body.
âYou certainly are obstinate. âVery well. How about I have the very woman herself come here? Iâll call the doll here nowâŚand then weâll ask her directly whether her soul is that of âEveâ or âMichelleâ.â
âCan youâŚdo that?â
âI can. Didnât Ma tell you? I have the power to weaken the repulsion effect of the Vessels of Deadly Sin. Naturally, this isnât normally a power I can actively use, myself. The power is endowed to the person that I contract with. âŚHowever. During my long years of wandering the world, I made my own studies. As long as I am in the middle of contracting with someone, I can receive the benefits of this power. And if I use it skillfully enoughââ
ââNo, hold on. This place is surrounded by the militia right now. Donât call her here under these conditions!â
Gallerian tried to stop him, but it apparently fell on deaf ears.
âNow thenâcome here, Eve!â
.
--There was no severe change or anything like that.
There was no sound, no flash of light.
She just appeared there beside Gallerian and Adam.
Bizarrely, as she sat in her wheelchair, she was no longer a small doll.
She was the same size as a personâas though she were a living human being.
Even I couldnât tell if that was reality, or else some illusion that Adam was displaying.
--Well, thatâs only natural. I am just a bat, after all.
âEve!â
âMichelleâŚâ
The two of them both spoke up to the doll at the same time.
When they did, the dollâs eyes quietly opened.
Those calm blue-green eyes looked at the two of them.
ââŚThereâs two of you, Papa?â
The doll inclined its head curiously.
âIâm not your Papa. Itâs me, EveâItâs Adam. Your husband.â
Adam sprang towards the doll.
âNo. Youâre Michelle, arenât you? Papaâs beloved daughter.â
Undaunted, Gallerian approached the doll.
The doll compared both of their faces for a short time, but eventually she suddenly faced Gallerian and said, âPapa. I want to see outside.â
ââŚO-of course. Right awayâŚâ
Despite appearing confused, Gallerian went to move the wheelchair so that the doll was facing the window to the outside.
âWho are those people out there?â
ââŚTheyâre militia. A revoltâa war has broken out in this country. Theyâre angry with me, and are all leading an assault on this place.â
âThatâs terrible! You havenât done anything wrong, Papa!â
âNoâŚIââ
âItâs alright, Papa. Iâwill protect you.â
The color of the dollâs eyes seemed to faintly change.
And immediately afterwardâ
âAAAAAUGH!â
Screams became audible from outside the window.
One of the militia-men was writhing, blue flames billowing up from his body.
âDidâŚyou do that, Michelle?â
âDonât worry. That fire only burns people, so it wonât catch on the trees in the garden, or the house.â
One by one, the militia solders burst into flame. They didnât seem to have any idea what was happening. They tried to put out the fire on their comrades even as they flew into a panic.
The doll said happily to Gallerian, âEveryone at the theater tells me this: âYou and us are one and the sameâ. âBut theyâre wrong. âCause I have this incredible power I can use.â
Gallerian was speechless.
And behind him, Adam was trembling all over.
âWhatâŚis that power. EveâŚcanâtâŚdo that. Who the hellâare you!?â
The doll replied to that question, as though it were perfectly normal, âI amâPapaâs daughter. No more, no less.â
ââŚUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuahâŚâ Then Adam suddenly started to wail pitifully, âMa, you bitch! You fucking set me up! This isnât Eve. This isâAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGH!â
Gallerian gazed upon this scene with a cool expression.
âHave you broken, Adam?â
âHa ha ha! Satisfied? Are you satisfied, now that youâve beaten me, Gallerian!? But! Youâre mistaken! Weâve both lost! We were both deceived! Not just with the doll. Thereâs a secret that woman didnât tell you! âDid you think Bruno was your friend? Then I pity you. Even he lied to you. He figured that secret out but he didnât tell you!â
âWhat are you saying? I donât at all get what youâreâThatâs enough now, isnât it Adam? Send Michelle back to the forest where she was.â
âNO! My contract with you is now over! Iâm going back to the forest aloneâAnd you two can stay here and burn away in this house together! HA HA HA!â
And with those as his parting words, Adam disappeared with a pop.
.
The only ones left were Gallerian, andâ
An ordinary doll, no longer able to move.
With Adam gone, and the contract between him and Gallerian brokenâit was now powerless.
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Episode 10âThe Court Ends; Scene 6
Judgment of Corruption, pages 295-303
The ones targeted most in the revolts were wealthy people who had been favored by Gallerianâs judgments.
The USE united government immediately tried to suppress the rioting populace inside Levianta by mobilizing their World Police forces.
But the chaos continued unabated, emboldened by the influence of the news, and the next day the government decided to send in the military.
There were rumors that it was Asmodean guerillas stirring up the people beneath all the revolts. And that these guerillas were linked to the Tasan party.
As far as I know, such rumors were nothing less than the truth. After all was said and done, the one rampaging as the leader of the militia that stood at the heart of the uprising was Gammon Octo.
The fact that the first casualty of the revolt was former Levin University professor Jason Jack supported this. Gammonâs older brother Nyoze had been sentenced under false chargers to take this manâs place, after all. Itâs only natural that he would be the first target for violence.
Around the outbreak of the violence, Bindi Freezisâwho had been staying in Alicegradâimmediately made plans to flee to another nation, but before he could all the main land and air routes were blockaded by the militia, and he was forced to remain.
In a bind, the person he sought for help wasâ
.
âIâd like to borrow your âmail carrierâ,â Bindi declared to Gallerian on his visit to the Dark Star Bureau.
âYou mean Postman?â
âYes, that one. I know of his merits. A pro who can safely deliver anything that theyâre entrusted withâeven if thatâs a person.â
âJust as I might expect from someone of the Freezis Conglomerateâyour information is sound.â
âYes, I remembered my older brother talking once about how he was saved by Postman in the past. Is he still with you?â
âYesâŚBut not here at the building. If you wish to use Postman Iâll have to call first,â Gallerian said, picking up the receiver of the phone on his desk.
He dialed the number and made a call to someone.
âHelloâYeah, itâs me. Itâs about what we were discussing earlierâŚYes, exactly. Heâs in the directorâs room right now. So, please have Postman sent over hereâŚYes, yes, Iâll leave it to you. Bye.â
After that brief conversation, he hung up.
ââThey should arrive in about four hours.â
Bindi sounded awed. âYouâre awfully well prepared. Did you know things would turn out like this beforehand?â
âWell, something like that. âŚBut the military has already started mobilizing. Iâd think thereâs little need to risk danger to flee the country at this stage.â
âI have to make absolutely sure of things. If I were to get caught up in the revolts and lose my life, that would be a severe loss to both the USE unified government and to the Freezis Conglomerate. âNaturally, to you as well.â
âYou took good care of me when Tasan tried to indict me. Please think of my loaning you Postman as being repaying you for that.â
Gallerian inclined his head.
âHo ho ho, you neednât be so self-effacing, Gallerian. Iâd like for our mutually beneficial relationship to continue to flourish hereafter, after allâWell then, I will wait here until Postman arrives.â
Bindi sat down on a nearby sofa.
.
After four hours, Postman arrived before the two of them right on time.
Gallerian said to Postman, âWell then, as we plannedâyou know where youâre to go?â
Postman nodded.
âYou are to take Sir Bindi safely to his destination. âPlease go along, Minister. It looks like Postman came here by car today.â
Postmanâs favored, deep red gasoline powered automobile was visible outside the window.
âWonât it stand out with that color?â
âItâs alright. Everyone will simply thing itâs a mail carrierâs vehicle.â
Postman gestured for Bindi to follow them outside.
âI suppose Iâll get going nowâŚThank you, Gallerian. You take extra care you donât get caught up in the uprising yourself.â
âDonât worry. I have no plans to leave the bureau until theyâre over with, and we have excellent security here.â
âPN, right? Theyâre not proper soldiers, but they should be alright against simple militia.â
âWell thenâFarewell, Mister Bindi.â
Gallerian cheerfully waved him off.
.
The red vehicle that Postman drove splendidly slipped through the militiaâs besiegement, and safely snuck out of Alicegrad.
âStupendous! You live up to your name of âPostmanâ. Exactly as skilled as I heard. Iâll trust you to handle matters from here.â
ââŚâ
After that, the car pushed through a snowy field.
âMy, how odd that thereâs so much snow left around here despite it being summer.â
ââŚâ
âBy the by, where is this car headed? I was wanting to get to Marlonââ
ââŚâ
âAhâŚthatâs right, you donât talk. I think my brother said something about that. Oh well. As long as you deliver me safely I have no complaints.â
ââŚâ
Eventually the vehicle came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the field.
âHm, whatâs wrong? Did the car break down?â
ââŚâ
Postman got down from the car and gestured for Bindi to do the same.
âWhy in the world would we get off at a place likeâWhatâs this metal panel? Should I touch this?â
Postman pointed, and Bindi obediently put his hand on the metal panel that had been stuck into the snowy field.
ââŚWha!? Everythingâs just turned to nighttime! But it was bright out just a second agoâŚNo, it isnât just that. Thereâs a field of stars all over the ground, too! What a bizarreââ
Bindi was so surprised by the scenery that had been brought about by âLunaca Laboraââs mechanism that he didnât notice that there were people approaching him from behind.
âHey there, boss.â
Bindi whirled around, startled at the throaty voice.
âYouâreâGusuma Yarera!?â
âItâs been decades since we were able to meet face to face like this, Bindi. Ha ha ha.â
Gusuma laughed loudly alongside the five subordinates he had brought with him.
âWhy!? Why are you in thisâWhatâs the meaning of this, Postman!?â
Postman ignored Bindiâs cry and gestured for Gusuma to sign some documents.
ââThere, I signed it with my full name of âGreat Super Marvelousâ. Is that enough? âŚAlright then, thank you for your service.â
Taking back the signed documents, Postman then passed through a hole in the space and vanished somewhere.
Gusuma once more turned to Bindi.
âThe person who commissioned this deliveryâwas me. I dispatched Postman to bring you here. âŚYou, who killed my little sister and my niece.â
Gusuma took a shotgun from one of his underlings and pointed the muzzle directly at Bindiâs brow.
âEek!â
âIâve gotta thank Gallerian. He made all the arrangements for you to be brought over like this, after all.â
âThâŚthat bastard! Heâs betrayed me, after all Iâve done for him!?â
âYep. He betrayed youâŚOr rather, I suppose itâs a little different.â Gusuma tilted his head, still holding the gun steady. âHe did have a pretty long acquaintanceship with youâŚSo this is how Iâve come to think of it. âGallerian had no intention of ever letting you off from the start.â
âHuh?â
âThe poor manâs gotten a bit touched. Heâs convinced a doll is his daughter, and this is what he said to me. âMichelle was paralyzed in the incident with the ship. I need money to return her to normalâ. I got fed up with him, and severed ties. So then he goes and joins up with you of all people, and gives you an innocence verdict in trial. ButâŚthere was no way he was going to let slip the man who had made Michelle suffer, given he loved that girl more than anyone.â
âWhat are you saying? Just put the gun down already!â
âIf Iâd been himâJust out of the blue I started considering that. What I would do to the one responsible, if Iâd lost my wife and daughterâŚIt wouldnât be enough just to kill him. I would use him for all that heâs worth, and then cast him to the depths of despair just as he was getting cockyâŚIâm positive thatâs what Gallerian was thinking, donât you agree? And thatâs why he gets in touch with me recently. Tells me Iâm free to use this place, Postman, and Jorm as I see fit.â
âJorm?â
âDonât you know about him? The man who killed the members of âZeusâ and escaped from prisonâmy adopted younger brother.â
There was the sound of something knocking on the other side of the field of stars.
Along with a manâs wheedling voice.
ââBig bro, you done yeeet? Iâm tired of waitiiiing. Iâm almost out of meds, and Iâm itching to get going.â
âOh, our conversationâs just about over, Jorm.â After replying to the voice, Gusuma lowered the gun. âI thought about killing you myself, butâeveryone has their own domain. I have never once killed someone with my own hands. Though itâs easy to think otherwise from my appearance. Making the Yarera Zusco Conglomerate into a world-spanning corporation is the domain that was granted to me, and that is my objective. For that reason I canât sully my hands with someoneâs blood.â
Bindi collapsed on the spot, losing his strength. âTh-thank youââ
âThatâs why Iâm going to leave it to Jorm.â
The moment that Gusuma said that, Bindi vanished.
Eventually, his voice became audible from somewhere.
âWh-what is this!? Where did you all go? âWh-who are you!?â
And Gusuma replied to that.
Facing the starry sky.
âLet me introduce you two, boss. Thatâs my younger brother, Jorm. The serial killer who can chop people up empty-handed. Heâs so dangerous even I canât be in the same room with him.â
âY-you put someone like that in here with meâHelp! Let me out of here!â
Once more, there was the sound of something knocking.
âI donât wanna say it, but Jormâs even more far gone than Gallerian. Heâs getting on in years and he still canât stop killing. Jormâs domain, his objective of killing people, has become everything to him. Itâs sad, but since thatâs the caseâat the very least, all I can do as his big brother is to help him.â
âStop clowning around! Youâre crazy tooâO-ow!â
Bindi screamed.
âMaybe soâŚThatâs the world we live in. Maybe there isnât anyone left whoâs sane anymore.â
âMy arm! My arm! Please let me out! Iâm begging you!â
âNo. Well, be sure to have fun, little brother.â
âAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!â
Was that Bindi screaming?
Or was that Jormâs war cry?
ââŚCome on, letâs get back to headquarters.â
Gusuma and his subordinates slipped out the hole in space and returned to the outside world.
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Episode 10âThe Court Ends; Scene 5
Judgment of Corruption, pages 288-294
These spectacles by the name of âtrialsââwhen was it that Gallerian had first made them into a farce, I wonder.
Was it when he declared Bindi innocent? Was it what happened with Loki? Or perhaps it was when he first acted as head judge in Maâs trial.
No, now that I think on it, it was the first trial that Gallerian had been witness toâwhen he was a baby, and Elluka had received the death penalty.
From birth, he had always been involved in sham trials.
.
âI shall declare my verdict.â
Head judge Gallerianâs calm voice rang through the courtroom.
The visitorâs gallery was packed with people. This spoke to how closely society was watching this trial.
âKill the vicious general!â someone from the gallery shouted.
As the courtroom began to fall into an uproar, Gallerian pounded the gavel he held in his hand twice.
âSilence.â
With just that single, calm word, the courtroom immediately fell silent.
The power to command the roomâyou could say that was one of the abilities sought after by a head judge.
âŚLooking at Gallerian now, I couldnât help but feel as though I was seeing what Hanma Baldured had once been.
I know what happened to him after he left the Dark Star Bureau.
But I have no need to explain that here.
This is Gallerianâs story, not Hanmaâs.
âDefendant Tony Ausdinâis innocent.â
Just as expected, the gallery exploded into chaos and shouts from Gallerianâs pronouncement.
âYouâre bullshitting me!â
âThereâs no way youâll get away with this tyranny!â
Most of them were leveled at Tony and Gallerian.
He ignored them, and proceeded on to explain the reasons for his verdict.
--To sum up, he essentially accepted Tonyâs version of events.
That the act of the second division was a just deed, committed due to the possibility of the Zenosai villagers having defected to the enemy, and to protect their unit.
His reasoning was that it was a villager who attacked first, and thus the unitâs counterattack was not an issue in wartime conditions.
Second Lieutenant Shiro Netsumaâs death was an accident due to a gun misfire, and not through any error of the defendantâŚAnd so on.
After finishing his explanation, Gallerian announced amidst the continuing racket:
âCourt is adjourned.â
Then he struck his gavel one last time.
After taking a look at Tonyâs satisfied smile, Gallerian stood and started to head for the exit.
--There was a figure in the final row of the visitorâs gallery who quietly watched him go.
It was the former sergeant major of the USE allied forces, Gammon Octo.
He had quit the military after his older brotherâs trial. It seemed that presently he had become a member of the âTasanâ party in Elphegort.
After Gallerian left the courtroom, Gammon muttered to himself, ââŚNow youâre finished. Gallerian Marlon.â
.
Just as he said, this was to beâthe final trial Gallerian would conduct as head judge.
There to greet Gallerian when he returned to the directorâs room was Bruno, Hel, and Feng.
âOh, whatâs wrong? Youâre all three here.â
Hel stood in front of Gallerian as he cheerfully took his seat, and declared:
ââIâve decided to quit PN and the Dark Star Bureau, effective today.â
ââŚWhat!? You canât just do that without permission fromââ As Gallerian thoughtlessly moved to stand, Hel smacked his cheek with the palm of her hand. ââŚWhat are you thinking, Hel?â
âIâve had enough. First it was Bindi, and now youâve declared Tony innocent. âTony, the man who murdered our friend Shiro. Iâve tried to put up with it, but I can no longer stand to be by your side. I donât want my child to be ashamed of me, working for such a corrupt man as you.â
ââŚWere you not watching the trial? Shiroâs death was an accident.â
âLike Iâd believe you after you accepted a bribe from the defendant!â
âThatâs nothing but a rumor!â
Bruno moved between the two of them as they shouted at each other.
ââDirector. Weâve received word from our secret intelligence unit. It seems that the Tasan party in Elphegort has obtained information that Tonyâs defense attorney deposited money into your account. Theyâve already started on the proceedings to indict you for this.â
ââŚWhy did you not inform me of this before the trial!?â
âI only heard about it just now. After you had already gone ahead and declared your verdict. Tasan also apparently intends to investigate into suspicious areas of your past as well, Director.â
Gallerian turned back to Hel.
âI see. So you heard all that and thus hardened your resolve to leave me. âHey, Feng. She struck me just now. Thatâs an act of assault. âŚArrest Hel!â
But Feng didnât move. Instead, he said to Gallerian, âSorry, but Iâm also no longer a member of PN.â
ââŚYouâre abandoning me too!?â
âThatâs not it. You betrayed us first, Gallerian. That Iâve obeyed you for this long was out of my sense of duty for youâŚBut you threw that away yourself.â
ââTch.â Gallerian pulled out a pistol from a drawer in his desk and pointed the muzzle at Feng. âIf you two are to become my enemies, then Iâll kill you right here.â
âHold on. I donât know whatâll happen if that goes off in a place like this, and I donât think you know either. And anywayâŚI wouldnât be felled so easily by a peashooter like that. Itâd be simple enough to rip out your throat before I die, at the very least.â
ââŚâ
Appearing to give up on thoughts of detaining them, Gallerian quietly put the gun down.
âGallerian. Weâre leaving the Dark Star BureauâŚbut we donât intend to become your enemy. We have no designs on your lifeâThough I wonât deny that I have thought about it. You need to face the judgment of the law, after all. The law that you twisted to your own ends.â Feng turned around, and said finally, ââŚFor thatâs what you yourself believed in, once.â
Then he left the room with Hel in tow.
.
Gallerian and Bruno were left alone in the directorâs room.
ââWhat do you intend to do?â Gallerian asked Bruno.
ââŚNothing. Only continue to serve you as I have done.â
âYour friends have left me. That just leaves Ma andâand two dead soldiers, a serial killer, and an inscrutable mail carrier. âŚYouâre the only one whoâs decent.â
âI wonder at that. I might just be the craziest of us all. I havenât turned on you yet, despite these circumstances.â
âWhy? Why have you not betrayed me?â
Bruno replied, chuckling faintly, âIf I wanted to, I would have done so long ago. âŚTo speak frankly, right now you are just as Feng saysâyouâve forgotten the convictions you once held. Youâre trash. Even if you have Michelle.â
ââŚâ
âBut I suppose itâs enough that there be at least one person who will stand by such trash until the end.âŚJust like the âServant of Evilâ, who once remained as an ally to the prideful princess, the âDaughter of Evilâ, even dying in her place.â
âWhat, did you borrow that book from Ma and read it too?â
âUnfortunately I look nothing like you, so I wouldnât make much of a body double, Director,â Bruno said, this time laughing more openly.
.
Several days later, just as Brunoâs information said, the Tasan party moved to indict Gallerian.
But contrary to expectation, they werenât able to arrest him immediately. On Gallerianâs request Bindi had made preparations beforehand in secret, forbidding the World Police from acting.
--But this in turn invited the worst possible result.
Losing their temper, the Tasan Party leaked all of their information on the corruption of Gallerian and those around him to all forms of mass media.
These changes affecting the world that still hadnât stopped, the continuing warfareâalready miserable from these things, the hearts of the populace were ignited by these reports on the corruption that enfolded their government, their military, and their justice system.
.
On September 4th, year 983, a portion of the people in Holy Leviantaâs capital Alicegrad started an uprising.
And from there, Levianta was engulfed in the flames of a civil war.
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Episode 10âThe Court Ends; Scene 4
Judgment of Corruption, pages 282-288
The massacre of the villagers of Zenosai committed by Tony Ausdinâs unit soon became known throughout Levianta.
âZenosai Village Destroyed by USE Armed Forces Second Division! Military Morals Under Questionâ
âGeneral Tony Ausdin, Vicious Slaughterer of Civilians! A Fool Who Was Promoted Only By Connectionsâ
These were the provocative headlines that decorated the front page of the newspaper.
Glancing over these newspaper articles in the directorâs room, Gallerian asked Bruno, ââIâm quite certain that the USE unified government had been concealing the matter of Zenosai VillageâŚHow did it leak to the press?â
ââŚThis is just a guess, but I imagine itâs the work of the anti-war movement.â
âThe anti-war movement?â
âPeople who have begun to make their presence known due to the heavy casualties of the war. The people of Levianta have not experienced war in quite some time. They have no immunity for itâAnd there are rumors that the anti-war movement is being propped up by Elphegortâs âTasan Partyâ.â
âThose are the ones that made such strong objections after Heleus Goneâs trial.â
âThe name of the organization is taken from that empire in the ancient era, but outside of that the party is fairly vague. First they start agitating for war, then suddenly they shift to being against itâThere are some who mock them as simply wishing to make a show of themselves.â
âWhatever the case, now that all this has hit the papersâI suppose we canât hold off on indicting Tony.â Gallerian stood.
âWhat do you intend to do, sir?â
âIâm going to see Tony. Once this goes to trial Iâm certain I will be acting as head judge, butâŚI want to hear his side of things at least once before then.â
âIf that happens then wouldnât it be unwise for you to meet with him, given heâs the defendant?â
âI donât see any problem. Itâs for times like these that Iâve given the head of the prison such large sums of money.â
Gallerian straightened up and moved to leave the room.
Bruno called out to him, âDirector MarlonâNo, Gallerian.â
ââŚItâs been quite a long time since youâve addressed me without honorifics. What is it?â
âPlease bear this fact in mind. This time it was a friend of yoursâShiro, who was killed by this man.â
ââŚI know.â
Gallerian left, showing neither a smile nor a scowl.
.
Tony had been slim from the start, but the man who arrived in the visiting area of the first detention block of the prison looked far bonier than he had been before.
ââAre you not eating?â
Tony smiled weakly at Gallerianâs greeting. âThe food here doesnât suit me. âŚWell, Iâm glad to see you.â
âYou showed up in the paper.â
âI know. I can read the newspaper even here in prison, and I can listen to the radio too. âSomeone in the unit must have been the whistleblower.â
There was a single jailer on the other side of the glass behind Tony, observing the both of them. But it seemed he couldnât hear the contents of their conversation.
After giving that jailer a brief glance, Gallerian turned back to Tony and asked, âI need to know if everything they reported is true.â
Tony didnât respond right away.
But eventually he resumed speaking, appearing to steady his resolve.
âThe gist of it, yes. It is true that the unit that I led killed all of the villagers at Zenosai. Thatâs a fact. ButâŚIt wasnât something I did out of curiosity or fun like they wrote in the paper. âThey were all connected with the Asmodean army.â
âYouâre certain of that?â
âA child of the village attacked me with a bombâŚI came close to being killed.â
âAnd do you have any proof that the rest of the villagers were like that?â
ââŚYou sound like my defense attorney.â Tony covered his face with his palms. âProof? âNo, I donât. But if I hadnât done something they probably would have done me in. Thatâs just what war is like! âŚMaybe you donât understand that, staying cooped up in the Dark Star Bureau as you do.â
ââŚAnd Shiro?â
âThatâŚwas an accident. The gun just went off. Please believe me. I had no intention in the least of killing herâFor what happened to her I am truly sorry. To both you and Bruno as well.â
I donât know if Gallerian believed his words. I couldnât tell that from his expression.
However, he made a face that was far more grief-stricken than Tonyâs before him.
âYouâwill most likely be indicted, and then put to trial. Itâs a grave crime for military soldiers to kill unresisting civilians. Given that you were in command of that unit, youâll likely receive either life imprisonment if found guilty, orâŚcapital punishment.â
âThatâs whyâŚIâve been telling you, they were attacking me!â
âItâs doubtful your defense attorney will be able to substantiate that. Even if Iâm the one acting as head judge, I canât say anything to give the defendant an advantage in open court.â
âBut isnât it the judge that passes down the final verdict?â
âWell, thatâs true, butâ"
ââŚPlease help me. I donâtâŚI donât want to die in this place. My wifeâs only just given birth to our second childâŚâ
What did Gallerian think, watching Tony as he pitifully made his entreaties? His memories of college, the time he and Tony drank together to celebrate his promotion, or perhapsâŚLoki?
I had no way of knowing. Iâm just a mere bat, so I cannot read someoneâs mind.
--After a short silence, Gallerian opened his mouth.
âI understand, Tony. I will do my best toââ
ââŚI have money.â
ââHuh?â
âIâve heard the rumors. That as long as they can pay, youâll declare anyone innocent. In spite of all this, Iâm still the general of the allied forces. I have enough saved up to pay a bribe for you.â
ââŚâ
Tony continued speaking, irrespective of Gallerianâs speechlessness.
âJust say the amount and Iâll have my lawyer deposit the money into your account. Heâs an attorney on retainer from my fatherâs day. Thereâs no way heâll let any of this information slip to the public, so you can relax there. Come onâtell me how much, Gallerian.â
ââŚHa ha haâŚI see, thatâs rightâŚâ
ââŚ? Whatâs wrong?â
Gallerian hid his face with his hand.
When he removed it again, there was a wicked smile there.
ââŚTwo million Ev. Deposit it within three days. Then youâll pay me another two million once youâre declared innocent.â
âOh, thatâs cheaper than I was expecting. I thought you took more.â
âItâs a âfriend discountâ. Specialâjust for you.â
âThank you, Gallerian. Youâre the kind of friend a guy should have after all.â
The jailer came out of the door behind Tony.
âTimeâs up.â
At that, Gallerian stood.
âSee you, Tony. Letâs meet again in court.â
âRight!â
Turning his back on Tony, Gallerian left the visiting area.
.
I cannot read someoneâs mind.
Even so, there is something I can tell.
Gallerian was, in the endâŚalone.
Howeverâthat was something that his own actions had brought upon him.
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Episode 10âThe Court Ends; Scene 3
Judgment of Corruption, pages 274-282
February, year 983.
The second division of the USE allied forces led by major general Tony Ausdin were marching through the snowy field of Samadin in the southeast region of Levianta.
Their destination was the border of Asmodean that lay behind the field.
âExcuse me.â
Wielding her rifle, Shiro Netsuma stood in front of armored vehicle that Tony was riding in.
âWhatâs wrong, second lieutenant Netsuma?â Colonel Mars, riding along in the same vehicle, poked his head out.
âWe received some correspondence from the front line. They say that the snowfall has gotten too deep, and that itâs dangerous to advance any farther. They want to find a place to stop for a time.â
ââŚSo thenâWhat would you like to do, Major General?â Colonel Mars asked Tony, sitting in the back seat.
âHmphâŚNothing for it, I guess.â
âThereâs a village named Zenosai in the direction weâre headed. Might we let the troops rest there?â
âZenosai, huhâAlright, that sounds good.â
âRoger that, sir.â Colonel Mars once more poked his head out of the car, and told Shiro, âYou have permission. Everyone is to pause the march at the village of Zenosai and take a rest until the weather improves.â
âUnderstood,â Shiro replied, and then grinned slightly.
Zenosai was one of the few settlements where Netsuma lived.
It was a place of great nostalgia to Shiro.
.
Hating how she had been made a subject of worship for Held devotees, Shiro had fled from the place where she was born.
At the end of her wandering she arrived here at Zenosai Village, and it was here that she met friends who were Netsuma like herselfâas well as a mercenary who would later become her adopted father.
He was also a white-haired Netsuma, and a master sniper.
Shiro had learned how to use a gun from him. To both protect herself and to change her timid nature.
Before she knew it, Shiro was running onto the field of battle alongside her adoptive father. It was what she had wanted for herself. He would praise her for her achievements in these battles, despite looking somewhat bitter about it.
Chiefly she would fight Asmodean anti-government militia, but once she wound up going as far as the continent of Maistia far across the ocean. That was to rescue a friend of her adoptive father who was caught in a predicament down there.
Sheâd been able to safely rescue this friendâs lifeâat the cost of her adoptive fatherâs.
In her despair, Shiro had then thrown herself into a small-scale civil war going on in Maistia.
It was there that she had been noticed by the commander of the Freezis Conglomerate, and hired on as his bodyguardâ
All of this is a summarization of things that Shiro had told Bruno while under the influence of alcohol.
.
The people of Zenosai Village were glad to see the soldiers, and welcomed them in most courteously.
To this village that was near the border of the country, the soldiers of the USE were a promising sight.
As the soldiers all went to relax on their own, Shiro was entrusted with guarding Tony.
âSorry. Iâm sure you want to get some rest too, but these are regulations,â Tony told her apologetically.
âThereâs no issue here. I know that the front-line soldiers and the generals and officers take precedence when it comes to taking a breather.â
âWell, itâll be time for a shift change soon. Just try to hold out until thenâIâd like to clean my face off, do you know where I can get some water?â
âThere should be a small river if you go down that side street, although at this time of year Iâd think itâs most likely frozen over.â
ââShould beâ? Is this where youâre from?â
âNo, although I did live here for a time.â
âThen Iâm even more sorry. âŚI guess Iâll just have to give up on the water. Itâd be a bit of a bother to melt snow solely to wash my face.â
Tony told her that heâd like to look around the village, and so Shiro ended up accompanying him.
When they reached the village square, two women ran up to Shiroâs side.
âShiro! If it isnât Shiro!â
Upon seeing them, Shiroâs face lit up.
âHua, and Mido! Long time no see!â
Tony watched them hug from off to the side, and then asked Shiro, âFriends of yours?â
âYeah. From long agoâErââ
âOh, go on, I donât mind. I was just thinking that I might like to take a smoke around here. You talk as you like while I do,â Tony said, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket.
ââThank you.â After thanking Tony, Shiro then started to engage in a lively conversation with her old friends. âHave you been doing alright? Hua?â
âWell, Iâve been having to take care of my husband and my kid every day, so thatâs been a pain in the butt.â
âI seeâŚThat sounds rough. Mido?â
âIâm in the same boat. âWhat about you, Shiro? Youâre of a good age, you must be married by now.â
ââŚUmâŚuhâŚsorry.â
âShe said it! You just said your catchphrase, âumâŚuhâŚsorryâ!â
âNoâŚitâs not really a catchphraseâŚâ
With a side glance to the chattering and giggling women, Tony began to wander around, puffing on his cigarette.
--A young Netsuma girl carrying a flower basket approached him then.
ââMister.â
âHm? What is it, little miss?â
âAre you a general, mister?â
âIndeed I am. Iâm the most distinguished general in this army,â Tony said, patting the girl on the head.
âI seeâthen, this is for you.â
The girl stuck her hand into her flower basket.
âOh, do you have a flower to give to me?â
.
What the girl brought outâwas dynamite with the fuse lit.
.
ââWha!?â
Hearing Tonyâs scream, Shiro rapidly turned in his direction and noticed what the girl was holding.
âGeneral!â
She immediately launched herself at Tonyâs body and knocked him away.
--Immediately afterward there was an explosion, and fire rained on the square.
âGhu--!?â
Tony was stunned, but he didnât seem to have been significantly harmed.
But Shiroâs right leg had been caught up in the blastâŚand it was miserably charred black.
It was still attached, but only barely.
There was no sign of the girl who had been in the blast radius, nor Hua and Mido.
They had likely been blown away without a trace by the dynamite explosion.
ââTheyâre enemies! This town has fallen into Asmodean hands!â
Nearby soldiers had already taken up battle stances before Tony started screaming.
The people of the village watched on in agitation.
âKill them! Kill all the villagers! If you donât, theyâll do it to us!â
Shiro tried to stop Tony in a panic as he gave those orders to the soldiers.
âWait! We donât know that for sure yââ
There was no doubt that that girl had been an assassin from Asmodean.
But just as Shiro had said, perhaps it had been just that one girl, by chance. Perhaps the other villagers hadnât known anything.
--But Tony wasnât in any state to listen to her.
âDo it! Now! Thatâs a direct order!â
He had gone completely deranged.
He stood, and picked up his gun with shaking hands.
--Tony had never commanded a large unit like this as a general until this point.
He had never taken part in a large-scale war that went up against an entire country.
The only direct battles that he had participated in were against shoddy militiamen or sluggish dead soldiers.
He had already been made general by the time the dead soldiers had started to mutate, and so by then he wasnât standing on the front lines.
Despite being a military man, Tony had never before felt death so close to himself.
Evillious had simply been too peaceful up until that point.
--But now it was different.
âAAAAAAAGH!â
Tony started firing blindly.
The unresisting villagers fell with a clatter.
âPlease stop, General! âI said stop!â
Shiro tried to grab at Tony while dragging along her leg.
âShut up!â
Tony turned to her, the rifle in his hands.
And then, without thinking, he pulled the trigger.
âAhâŚâ
ââHuhââ
The bullet left Tonyâs gun.
It flew straight to Shiroâs chest.
And then it pierced right through her.
ââŚBrunoâŚâ
That became Shiroâs last word.
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Episode 10âThe Court Ends; Scene 2
Judgment of Corruption, pages 270-274
Just as Nyoze predicted, a war began.
In September, Asmodean declared war on the Republic of Lucifenia. They then launched an invasion into said-country.
In October, the USE country Holy Levianta received a request for aid from Lucifenia, and so they declared war on Asmodean. But Elphegort refused to help, despite having received a similar request. Marlon began to look into a resolution through diplomatic channels. Due to differences in how each of the signatory nations were treated, the USE unified government was unable to put forth a collective stance, and so parliament merely continued to argue in circles.
Giving up on diplomacy, Marlon joined in the war that November. Upon receiving this information, the Kingdom of Beelzenia declared war on all member nations of the USE outside of Elphegort.
The war quickly developed into something that would engulf all of Evillious. And yet, the USEâs unified government displayed no leadership, collapsing to the point where the soldiers of their allied forces each began to take action on their own in accordance with the plans of their respective home countries.
.
Elphegort, the Millennium Tree Forest.
The construction of a new building was being finished here under Maâs direction.
Gallerian and Ma stood side by side, watching as it was put together.
ââIn just a month, âEvils Theaterâ will be complete,â Ma said with a smile.
âA theater for demons, huh. I donât much care for the name, but if thatâs what you want it to be, then fine. âŚIt will end up being just as the name suggests, after all.â
âOnce itâs finished, letâs move all of the âVessels of Deadly Sinâ that we have right now here. With all of the other regions breaking out in war, Elphegort is the only safe place right now.â
Upon constructing the theater, Gallerian and Ma had first bribed the Sisters of Clarith who watched over the forest. As the order had already shifted its priorities from faith to money-grubbing, they were all too quick to give Gallerian permission to build as he had requested.
He dismantled an abandoned hut in the woods, and this became the site where the theater was planned to be built. Ma had drawn up the blueprints for it, putting in several of the technologies that had been present in the Magic Kingdom. Thanks to that the construction work became far more large-scale than initially planned, and the amount of time and money it needed increased. But still, theyâd managed to get it finished.
âThe trees of this forest will be a big help in obstructing invaders. The camouflage effect of the Forest of Bewilderment will be greatly amplified by the ancient technology installed in the theater,â Ma said with satisfaction.
âAs for whoâll manage this placeâŚIâd heard you would be doing it by yourself, Maââ
âOh yes, of course. One of my dreams as a screenwriter is to have a theater of my own, you see.â
âLich is against it. He said it ran counter to your promise not to get close to âThe Glass of Conchitaâ.â
âWhat a frustrating manâŚThen tell Lich he can come here too. He should keep an eye on things so that I donât get near the glass, just like he has been. âHeâll make a good guard for Michelle, too.â
âMichelleâŚItâll be hard to have to live apart from my daughter for so long.â
âThis building is also for her security. Iâm positive that the peaceful atmosphere of the forest will have a good effect on her recovery from her illness as well.â
.
One month later, âEvils Theaterâ was finished as planned; the âVenom Swordâ, âGlass of Conchitaâ, âFour Mirrors of Lucifeniaâ, and the dollâthat is, âThe Clockworkerâs Dollâ, were all moved there. Aside from the âMarlon Spoonâ, which Gallerian continued to carry on his person as before.
With this, that left two âVessels of Deadly SinââOr so you would think.
.
Sitting in a guest seat in the finished theater, Ma was gazing at a movie playing out on the screen.
The title of the film that was playing was âThe Tailor of Enbizakaâ. It was based on a screenplay that she had written in her past.
There were no other members of the audience. When the words âThe Endâ finally showed on the screen, Ma stood and clapped quietly all alone.
Deeper in the main hall was the directorâs room.
All of the âVessels of Deadly Sinâ they had gathered were neatly on display inside. As soon as Ma entered, Lichâwho was insideâglowered at her.
ââŚRelax. I wonât go near the glass,â Ma said, though Lich remained displeased.
ââReally, I could have never imagined that I would be returning to the forest in this fashion.â
âHa ha, maybe you could go see your old friends while youâre here? âEven your little brotherââ
âIf I met them with this form it would only cause a stir. Worst case, I get run out of the forest again. If that happened there would be no one to protect my master.â
ââŚI think if that was what they wanted, they would have done it long ago.â
Ma moved away from Lich and laid something metallic down next to the âVenom Swordâ.
âAnd that is?â Lich asked.
âConsidering the kind of items we leave in hereâdo you really need me to tell you?â
ââŚI see, still a cunning one, arenât you? Youâveâalready obtained it.â
What she had set down were two pairs of scissors.
--One of the Vessels of Deadly Sin, âKayoâs Scissorsâ.
.
With that, there was only one left.
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Episode 10âThe Court Ends; Scene 1
Judgment of Corruption, pages 268-270
As a benefit of the founding of the USE, for a long time no major border-spanning wars occurred in the Evillious region.
Conversely, this had the effect of making its people forget that war was something that brought great tragedy.
Asmodean and Beelzenia, both being non-member nations of USE, were each fumbling around for their connection to each other. In January of year 982, the two of them made an alliance with Elphegort of the USE. On the surface, their reason for it was to form a beneficial military pact to counter the increasing number of dead soldiers. But it was clear that their true goal was to keep in check the Republic of Lucifenia that they shared a border with.
In Lucifenia, which had suffered the most casualties from the dead soldiers, a great discontent was spreading through its citizenry due to political decay. Rumors were circulating that the Kingdom of Beelzenia was the source of the dead soldier outbreak, and there were many public voices calling for them to ignore the USEâs military pact (USE member countries were forbidden from launching any invasions on outside countries on their own without permission from the joint government) and invade Beelzenia.
It was with an impending sense of doom that Beelzenia had sought aid from Asmodean, and Elphegort had gotten on board as well owing to the fact that their relationship with Lucifenia hadnât been all that great to begin with, due to their history of warfare in the past.
Wanting to avoid a war breaking out, the USE unified government tacitly accepted Elphegortâs participation in the alliance. They had likely believed that this would result in Lucifenia quieting down from the turbulent actions they were displaying.
--But that is not what happened. On the contrary, this lit the flames of anger for the bulk of Lucifeniaâs populace.
.
In June of year 982, the crown prince of Asmodean was assassinated on a visit to Elphegortâs capital of Aceid.
The one arrested as perpetrator was a young man of the Lucifenian Republic by the name of Heleus Gone.
He was put to trial in the Dark Star Bureau.
In the room of an apartment in the town of Rolled in the Lucifenian Republic.
A single man sat in a chair, and tuned in to the news coming from his radio.
ââDefendant Heleus Gone, prosecuted as the culprit behind the assassination of the crown prince of Asmodean, was sentenced to ten years of penal servitude. The prosecutor had sought the death penalty, but head judge Gallerian Marlon lightened the severity of the sentence in account for the defendantâs young age and that he showed sufficient remorse for the deed. âUpon receiving this verdict the Asmodean government has immediately declared their objections, and there has also been criticism coming from the third political party âTasanâ of their ally nation, Elphegortâ"
The man flicked the radioâs switch off, expressionless.
ââŚHeleus Gone is the nephew of the rich merchant PerseâYou never change, Gallerian Marlon.â
He stood and adjusted his appearance.
âWith thisâŚwar will probably break out. I wonder what Gammon will doâ"
The door to the living room opened, and his girlfriend entered.
âOh, youâre done getting dressed up.â
When he said that, she smiled. âYeahâŚâ
âWell then, shall we go? The summer festivalâs gonna start soon.â
He and his girlfriend left the room together.
.
The manâs real name was Nyoze Octo.
The former soldier that Gallerian had imprisoned on false charges.
He had escaped from prison, changed his name, and went into hiding in Lucifenia.
.
He is little more than a single example.
Those who were plotting to grant Gallerian his âpunishmentâ were budding all over the USE.
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Episode 9âHouse of the Undead; Scene 4
Judgment of Corruption, pages 261-266
By now, Gallerian had gained a reputation from society at large as being a completely corrupted judge.
Big-shots in politics, popular actors, the top brass of the underworldâhe would give anyone with money an innocent verdict, and then conversely send anyone who opposed them to prison on false charges.
Gallerian gained many new friends that way. Fairweather friends linked only through money and interest. But they were all people who stood to serve him in his goal of collecting the vessels.
There was once a great merchant by the name of Keel Freezis. He was always saying this as his catchphrase:
âThose who control information control the worldâ.
He had amassed a quite sizable fortune, but that was only because he had been proficient at gathering information that circulated through society.
Information begat money, and that money begat more information.
Money and information had an inseparable relationship.
The people that Gallerian currently called friends were those that had money and information. And on the other hand, destitute people who had neither of those steadily grew to despise him.
At times, Gallerianâs enemies would make attempts on his life. Not just directlyâthere were those who would try to drag Gallerian from his position as director through strategy.
All such people were consigned to darkness. They would be done in by Lich, Eater, or Jorm. Monsters who crept through the night, and a serial killer who could control invisible blades. With them at his disposal, Gallerian had no blind spots even in the underworld.
Many people ridiculed Gallerian as being âmoney-madâ.
But there was hardly anyone who knew how he was using that money, or why he had gathered so much.
Gallerian immersed himself more and more in his affection for his âdaughterâ.
.
Gallerian was gathering money in order to get his hands on the Vessels of Deadly Sin.
He was convinced that those vessels would restore his beloved daughter back to normal, unable to freely move as she was currently.
--That was utter nonsense. Granting a wish by collecting vessels of deadly sin? Thatâs impossible.
Certainly they did have the power to fulfill a personâs desires. But at the same time, they also invited misfortune for those who used them.
A great âsinâ carries a commensurate âpunishmentâ.
There was no way that collecting all seven would bring one happiness.
Ma was the one who pushed this lie on Gallerian. Howeverâperhaps to her, this did have a grain of truth to it.
A wish would be granted by collecting all of the vesselsâ
But that wish would be Maâs.
When she had all of the demons assembled, she would be able to grant her wish.
She would be able to become a truly âpureâ being.
.
I am a simple bat, but Iâm at least able to converse with a doll.
While Gallerian was away from home, I decided to go into Michelleâs room.
--In the center of the room was the doll, sitting upright in its wheelchair.
âHello, good day,â I said to the doll.
ââŚGood day,â the doll replied. It had an adorable voice that no one outside of Gallerian, who had contracted with âAdamâ, could hear. âYouâre the bat thatâs always fluttering around Papa.â
âYeah, I am. âArenât you bored, always being here by yourself?â
âI donât mind. I have Papa.â
âBut your papa has to go out to work during the day, doesnât he?â
âThatâs alright. I have other friends here.â
âOh my. Who are they?â
âI have my big-sis in the wineglass. She always talks to me. She has twin servants named Hänsel and Gretel.â
âI see. It must be very lively here, then.â
âOutside of them, I have my big-bro in the spoon. He looks a lot like Papa, and heâs very kind. âŚBut heâs always with Papa, so he doesnât play with me much. After thatââ
âThereâs others?â
âThereâs gramps in the katana. But he left the sword recently. No matter how I call on him he wonât answer. âBut Papa told me that heâll bring me even more new friends. Papa left today to go to something called an âauctionâ for that.â
One of the Vessels of Deadly Sin was the âFour Mirrors of Lucifeniaâ. It was two sets of double mirrorsâin other words, a set of four mirrors in all. Gallerian had obtained some information that this set was being sold at an auction being held in the Republic of Maistia. So he had taken a vacation from work and went to the continent of Maistia with Ma.
âYouâll have more fun when your new friend arrives.â
âYeah. ButâŚI might have to move out of this room soon.â
âWhyâs that?â
âApparently some bad people are after this place, so Papaâs making a new home in the forest and moving me there. Papa says the new home is going to be a theater. That I wonât be bored, because Iâll be able to watch movies every day. But Iâm not bored at all, even now, and I donât want to say goodbye to everyone.â
âDonât worry. Iâm sure your Papa will bring the others to the theater with you.â
âThen Iâm glad.â
âYou seem happy, Michelle, to be loved by your father so.â
ââŚâ
The doll had been chattering on quite talkatively, but there suddenly fell silent.
âWhatâs wrong?â
ââŚI donât like that name. Papa calls me that too, but thatâsânot really my name. But if I tell him that, Papa wonât love me anymore.â
ââHuh. Then, what is your real name?â
ââŚYou wonât tell Papa?â
âOf course, I promise.â
âReally? Then Iâll tell you.â
âAlright.â
âMyâmy real name isââ
.
Through this conversation with the doll, I learned something new.
Or rather, perhaps it would be better to say that I knew something again.
The personâwhose soul Ma had put into the doll.
SheâŚwas a considerable villain, and had deceived many people.
Both Gallerianâand âAdamâ.
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Episode 9âHouse of the Undead; Scene 3
Judgment of Corruption, pages 258-261
The next day, Eater and Feng were having a conversation in the garden of Gallerianâs estate.
ââŚThatâs an impressively large frame you have. I suppose I ought to be pleased to have gained such a promising ally.â
âAuuughâŚâ
âYour skin is awfully white. Are you sick with something?â
âAuuâŚIâŚâ
ââNo, that was too personal a question. I myself have had many negative experiences due to my appearance, since I was very young. These are the times we live in. Thereâs nothing strange whatever about someone like you with such white skin. I look forward to working with you, anyhow.â
ââŚMhmâŚSame.â
Maâs eyes had widened as she gazed upon that scene from inside the mansion.
ââEaterââŚand âLichâ. To think that I would be reunited with these two in this wayâŚFrankly it makes my head hurtâŚâ
âDo you know them?â Gallerian asked, standing with her.
âKnow themâŚYes, from long ago. I once met them ages past in the âMillennium Tree Forestâ. It wouldâŚtake quite a bit of time to explain the whole story to you, so I will leave it at that.â
Maâs hesitation to say much further was understandable.
Lich and EaterâŚthe two of them had once been forest spirits who served the Millennium Tree.
Once, Lich had committed the taboo of creating a human being out of mud, perhaps out of a desire for mischief. This invited his godâs wrath, and so Lich was driven from the forest. Eater, who had been a good friend of his, followed him out.
--At some point, the two of them were spotted by the demon of âGluttonyâ, and became that demonâs subordinates. The demon then recklessly changed these spirits into dead soldiers.
The result of that was that they became their current formsâŚâdead godsâ. Long had they resided with the demon inside the glass, but as Michaela had explained to me, recently they had left to the outside world and for reasons unknown started running a restaurant.
âThey have forbidden you from getting near the âGlass of Conchitaâ. I have it in one of my rooms further in, and Lich watches over it. âApologies, but it seems like itâll be difficult for you to seal the demon in the glass, at this rate.â
âI believe that is theirâor rather, the demon that is their masterâsâobjective. To keep me from stealing its powerâŚWell, thatâs alright for the time being, I suppose. As long as we abide by its demands, the demon isnât liable to bring us any harm.â
âOh well. It seems as though Lich and Eater are getting along alright with the other members of PN. âŚThough there is the problem of them having a bit of a rotten smell.â
All else aside, with this Gallerian had been able to obtain the âMarlon Spoonâ, âVenom Swordâ, and âGlass of Conchitaâ.
âŚOr rather, to be strictly accurate, in addition to those he also had the âClockworkerâs Dollâ in hand as well. That doll that he was convinced was his daughter, Michelle. That was also a Vessel of Deadly Sin, but poor Gallerian hadnât realized that fact.
.
Gallerianâs task of collecting the Vessels of Deadly Sin seemed to be progressing steadily enough, but it wasnât completely so. Close to a year had passed between him obtaining the âVenom Swordâ and the âGlass of Conchitaâ. Despite the results of his making a contract with âAdamââthis was the reason why Lich had called Gallerian the âCollectorââhe would still need time and luck to gather the remaining vessels.
And he would need to foot the bill for researching into them.
Having severed his connection to the Yarera Zusco Conglomerate, Gallerian used his own position as the director of the Dark Star Bureau to save up that money. Whenever wealthy and socially influential people like Bindi and Jason were put on trial, he would declare them innocent in exchange for bribes.
Gallerian sank all of the money that he had obtained that way into finding the Vessels of Deadly Sin.
Him becoming a judge had been for the purpose of reforming the witch trials. That may have been done out of Gallerianâs sense of justice and affection for his deceased mother, but Gallerian had not been a completely upright and honest person from the start. If it was to fulfill his goals he would even use bribery, a misdeed on its own. That was what he had done with Loki.
Having been surrounded by wealthy friends since his time at school, Gallerian must have felt the notion of being âpoorâ as being a shameful thing sink deeply into his mind.
In the end, in this world it was the people with money who won. Poverty dulled oneâs wit. Money was the best lawyer in hell. âMaybe that was what he started to believe. Perhaps the rumors that circulated when he married Mira, that he was after the fortune that the Yarera Zusco Conglomerate possessed, were the truth after all.
As I have continued to observe him, thirty years have gone by. For me it is a very slight span of time, but for Gallerian it is long enough that it could even be considered half of his life. Itâs very rare for me to continue to watch a single human being for such a period.
I feel as though I have come to greatly understand this man called Gallerian.
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Episode 9âHouse of the Undead; Scene 2
Judgment of Corruption, pages 247-258
It was nighttime on Gallerianâs estate. Gusts of snow blowing in from the crosswind continued to slam against the windows. It seemed the blizzard wasnât going to let up for some time.
The red wineglass that he had retrieved from the âGraveyardâ restaurant sat on the table. Bruno took it up in his hands, bringing it closer to his eyes.
ââŚSo this is a âVessel of Deadly Sinâ. To me it just looks like an ordinary glassââ
âYou probably shouldnât touch it. Thereâs supposed to be a demon lurking within it. Apparently, those who contract with it become âevil food eatersâ who can eat whatever they want,â Gallerian informed him, wiping his face with a napkin after having finished his meal.
âA demon of âGluttonyâ, huhâŚPerhaps you ought to contract with this one instead, sir. You havenât been eating as well lately.â
âItâs not that I canât eat. Iâm just trying not to eat as much. I did just put away an entire full course meal at âGraveyardâ, you know.â
The phone started to ring. Bruno picked up the receiver and began to speak to the other person.
After a moment he set the receiver back down and said to Gallerian, âItâs Ma. Sheâll have to come over here tomorrow morning.â
âI see. Well, thatâs understandable, with this blizzard.â
âShe says that we must make sure to keep the glass under observation until she can apply her sealing magic to the demon.â
âYou say that, but itâs not like it can do anything right now. Just put it in an interior room with the sword.â
Bruno once again gazed at the wineglass in his hand.
ââŚIâm thinking that perhaps it isnât so wise to leave these items in the house. I donât know much about demons, but what is clear to me is that these are items you have obtained via unlawful means. You never know if the people who run the bureauâs storage might betray you someday.â
âI do have an idea for that. Maâs made a certain request of me recently. My idea could not only grant that request, but also provide me a place to store the vesselsâThough it requires a bit of money.â
âMaâs greed isnât a recent development. Perhaps she thinks that she can withdraw any amount of money from you. âŚIâm not sure you should be hearing out any of her whims.â
âButâ"
There was the sound of something breaking in the living room.
Gallerian stopped talking and looked in that direction.
âWhat was that?â
âMaybe the window glass shattered from the force of the wind. Iâll go check.â
ââŚTake care. We donât have anyone on guard for tonight.â
ââIâll take the gun with me.â
Bruno took a pistol that had been left in a cupboard and set the wineglass there in its stead.
But in the very next momentâThere was a loud crash, and a window right near him exploded inward.
â--!?â
Then something pure white entered from thereâand it wasnât snow. It was the arm of a human being, with skin that was unnaturally white.
Bruno fired at the spot without thinking. But the creature pulled its body into the dining room without flinching away.
The moment his eyes locked on its form, Bruno shouted in surprise, âItâsâa dead soldier?! Sir, run!â
Gallerian shot to his feet, and fled into the hallway from a door further in.
--But then he immediately whirled back inside, closing the door and locking it.
âItâs no use, Bruno! Theyâre already swarming the hallway!â
âWhat!? âŚDammit, how did dead soldiers get into a mansion in the middle of townââ
As Bruno fired at the dead soldier that had come in from the window, he once more picked up the wineglass with his other hand and backed towards a corner of the dining room, moving as though to shield Gallerian.
From the other side of the door they could hear vicious blows. They were likely trying to break the door down. Before they knew it there were three dead soldiers in the dining room, and they were steadily advancing on the two men.
And thenâan even worse invader leaped into the room from the broken window.
âGWAAAAAARRR!â
--And that was an enormous giant human over two meters tall. No, they couldnât even tell if he was truly human. He was wearing a uniform. A faintly sullied chef uniform. They couldnât tell if the red fluid that was splattered across it was animal blood from cooking or human blood. In his right hand he held a large cleaver, and his skin was a quicklime white like the rest of the dead soldiers around him.
ââSo, you Gallerian?â
The man thrusted the cleaver before Gallerianâs eyes.
âGive back our master.â
âMasterâŚ!? What are you talking about? Just who are you in the first place? Are youânot a dead soldier?â
âUrghâŚDonât give me questions! Donât ask me anything hard! Hand back our master now!â
The man grew enraged, and lifted the cleaver high.
â--!â
Bruno shot him twice in the stomach.
--But that only seemed to make his target angrier.
âThat hurt! Whadda you doing, asshole!?â
After clutching at his stomach with his left hand, he then reached out and grabbed Bruno by the neck.
âBruno!â
âGrkâŚâ
While in clear suffering, Bruno pointed the muzzle of the gun at the manâs head and pulled the trigger.
But the gun only made a hollow click, appearing to have run out of bullets.
All the color steadily drained from Brunoâs face.
ââCut it out, âEaterâ.â
At that moment, a voice called out from the window to stop the man.
ââŚâ
The man obeyed the voice, and released Bruno.
The owner of the voice gracefully jumped in from the window, clearing away snow from his shoulders.
âSighâŚIâve spoiled my best tuxedo.â
It wasnât to the degree of the man called Eater, but this one was extremely tall. He wore a black tuxedo and silk tophat, gripping a walking stick in his left hand. Additionally, he too had skin far whiter than was humanly possible.
Upon seeing his figure, the dead soldiers all ceased moving and stood in place.
The noise from outside the door had also died down.
âI apologize for my colleagues, Mister Zero. Andââ The man in the tuxedo peered at Gallerianâs face with great interest. ââI see, so you are Mister MarlonâŚThe âcollectorâ.â
âCollector?â
âYes, thatâs right. I have heard you are gathering the âVessels of Deadly Sinâ, are you not? That is what I would call someone with such capabilitiesâOop, do forgive me.â The man took a step backward and then neatly bowed. âI should introduce myself. I am the proprietor of âGraveyardââMy name is Lich Arklow. This one beside me here is Eater Sabear. He is my chef.â
âTheâproprietor of Graveyard!?â
âCorrect. You can surmise the reason for our having come here tonight, I expect? âŚWe came to request the return of the vessel you stole from my establishmentâthe âGlass of Conchitaââand the immediate release of my waitstaff, âWaiterâ.â
âHo, and is this what you call a ârequestâ, to break in the windows of a personâs home and strangle their servants?â
Lich replied to Gallerianâs provocation with an unruffled expression, âOohoohoo, I could say the same for you. Thanks to you my establishment is in shambles. Thereâs no way we can open for business again.â
âYou called me the âcollectorâ earlier. You said that was someone who is capable of holding onto the Vessels of Deadly Sin. âSo then there shouldnât be any problem with me owning the âGlass of Conchitaâ, right?â
âYou might have the capability, but that doesnât mean you can just steal someoneâs property. âIâll be taking it back now,â Lich said, snatching back the wineglass from the fallen Brunoâs hand. âRelax, Mister Marlon. As long as you obey my demands we wonât make any more trouble for you.â
âYouâre telling me to listen to the kind of person who comes accompanied by dead soldiers?â
ââŚOh my, this puts me in a bind. How can you take such a stubborn position in a situation like thisâŚ?â Lich pushed his index finger into Gallerianâs throat. âDonât you forget. Your life is currently in our hands.â
ââŚâ
ââOh?â
Lich noticed a change in the wineglass that he was holding.
The glass was giving off a red light, flickering repeatedly.
ââŚEater. Hold this for a bit.â
Lich handed the âGlass of Conchitaâ to Eater.
And then in that next momentâbefore their eyes Lichâs body was swallowed up inside the glass.
â--!?â
Gallerian watched on this with an expression of shock.
--After a few seconds, Lich once more flew out of the glass, sporting an expression of slight dissatisfaction.
ââŚHonestly, that oneâs willfulness is quite vexing.â Surprisingly, Lich turned to Gallerian and kneeled, adopting a subservient posture. âOur master has accepted you becoming the owner of the âGlass of Conchitaâ, Mister Marlon. And as such, I must acquiesce to your decision. This very night, I, Lich Arklow, and Eater Sabear shall become your servants.â
âWh-wha!?â Gallerian was dumbfounded. âWhatâs with this sudden development?â
ââHowever, our master has some conditions. That you not bring the âGlass of Conchitaâ anywhere near your companion, Miss Ma, and additionallyâthat you look for the âgrave yardâ.â
âThe âgrave yardâ? You mean your restaurant?â
âNo, theyâre different. The restaurant âGraveyardâ originally took its name from that. The discovery of the âgrave yardâ is our masterâs fondest wish. Our master has told me that if you are able to collect all of the Vessels of Deadly Sin, Mister Marlon, then that location will naturally become clear to youâAnd also that if you do not agree to this demand, then Eater is to lop off your head with his cleaver.â
ââŚSo in the end, the fact that Iâm being threatened hasnât changed.â
âI donât think itâs such a bad proposal. You will be able to come into possession of one of the Vessels of Deadly Sin. AndâŚyou will obtain a loyal unit of dead men.â
âYou must be joking! Having dead soldiers as my underlings will only make me an enemy of the army!â
When Gallerian cried out in anger, Lich merely shook his head in disappointment. âYou appear to be under a misconception; the dead soldiers that are laying waste to the territory of the USE have nothing to do with us. Rather, they are an annoyance. Thanks to them we wound up being attacked by the military once.â
âYou say that, but to the average person a dead soldier is just a dead soldier.â
âWell then, letâs do this. Outside of emergencies, we will have all of the dead soldiers outside of myself and Eater sleep in their graves. As you can see, there is little different between us and normal humans at a glance, and we are able to communicate. If I may, I heard that you were being targeted by the Yarera Zusco Conglomerate. If you leave your security to us, then we will be able to ensure your safety.â
âJust to be sureâŚYou and the big guy there are both dead soldiers after all?â
âYes. Though our origins are different from these others. You may even refer to Eater and I as--âdead godsâ.â
ââŚWhat an extremely unpleasant designation.â
âCome then, what will it be? Decide quickly. Come on, quickly now!â
ââŚâ
As Gallerian struggled to make a decision, the fallen Bruno finally stirred.
ââŚI think it best you quietly go along with them, sir.â
âBruno, youâve come to. How much did you hear?â
âEverything from around the point where this man said he would become your servant. Whatever the case, this situation doesnât leave much room for us to decide.â
âTrue enoughâI guess thereâs no helping it.â Gallerian turned to Lich again. âVery well, Lich Arklow. From this point on, you will be tasked with the security of this mansion as members of PNâŚMake sure not to go around telling other people your true identity.â
âOohoohoo, donât worry. I did manage to run a restaurant for several years, after all. Although, wellâŚMost of the actual serving of customers was done by âWaiterâ.â
âNow that you mention it, what should I do about this âWaiterâ? You did demand her release earlierââ
âAh, that will be unnecessary. Thereâs no need to rush, now that weâve become your servants. Sheâll be let out in six months anyway; let her remain in prison for now.â
ââŚThatâs quite cold of you.â
âEater may have worked with her in the restaurant, but I had no real acquaintanceship with her.â
ââŚI see.â
And in this way, the uninvited Lich and Eater were forcibly added into Gallerianâs circle of allies.
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Episode 9âHouse of the Undead; Scene 1
Judgment of Corruption, pages 246-247
The great courtroom wasnât the only place in the Dark Star Courthouse where trials were held.
There was also a small courtroom that was used when dealing with less important cases.
That day, the trial that Gallerian was serving as head judge for was being held in that small courtroom.
Apparently, it was quite irregular for the director to be serving as head judge in a small courtroom trial.
There was one head judge, one defense attorney, one prosecutor, one defendant, one security guard, and no aides.
It wasnât a private hearing, but nonetheless there was no one in the visitorâs gallery.
That was because the trial was of no interest to the world at large.
The defense attorney was beginning to yawn, the prosecutor was beginning to polish their nails, and the female defendant was sitting with a sulky posture in her chair.
.
âWell then, I shall announce my verdictâŚThe defendant is sentenced to six months penal servitude. The defendantâŚErm, nickname âWaiterâ, worked at the restaurant âGraveyardâ that was operating without a business license, and served dubious meals to its customers. This fact is verified by myself, Gallerian Marlon, having actually gone to eat at âGraveyardâ, as well as the screenwriter Lady Kayo Sudou, and several other âPolice Neutralityâ officers. While there was no poison in the meals we were provided, I must say that operating a busines without a license from the USE coupled with years of tax evasion is quite loathsome. However, the defendant has claimed to have no involvement with the restaurantâs administration, and as both the proprietor thought to be the mastermind and the chef are still at large, we have insufficient evidence to refute the defendantâs claim. For that reason, I feel the primary sentencing is appropriate.â
After his short verdict explanation was over, Gallerian turned to the girl in the defendantâs chair.
âDoes the defendant have any last words to say?â
âPay up!â the girl suddenly screamed. âYou took advantange of the confusion to dine and dash you son of aââ
ââŚI guess not. Alright, then court is adjourned. âIn addition, all of the utensils and ingredients in the restaurant will be confiscated as evidence and stored in the Dark Star Bureau until the owner is captured. That is all.â
Gallerian swiftly left the small courtroom, ignoring the girl as she continued to rant and rave.
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Episode 8âSweet Seduction; Scene 5
Judgment of Corruption, pages 238-243
Bindi came to visit Gallerian as he was finishing up some documents in the directorâs room.
âHey hey. Thanks for your help earlier.â
He looked to be in good spirits.
âYou seem to be doing well, Minister of Finance Freezis.â
âThanks to you.â
âWhat business do you have here today? I would think thereâs no more need for you to deliberately set foot in the Dark Star Bureau yourself.â
âOh yes, Iâm fine. But my friend is in a little bit of trouble. âJason Jack. Do you know that name?â
ââŚI know it very well. He was originally a professor at Levin University. I had a class with him back when I was a student. I heard that he was arrested a week ago on suspicion of murder.â
âThe World Police hasnât been so accommodating lately. The detective in charge of the case apparently had no idea that Jason was a friend of mine. ButâŚI know better than anyone that heâs not the sort of man who would stab a prostitute to death.â Bindi sighed, making a sad face. âThereâs nothing in the world I would like more than to see him declared innocent at trialâŚAnd Iâm certain Jason would be grateful to you as well.â
âIs that right.â
âThis completely unrelated, but from the looks of things youâre saving up quite the bundle, arenât you? Your account in the Freezis bank has a rather enormous amount in it.â
ââŚWell, Iâll make doubly sure to have Jason tell me his side of the story this time.â
Upon hearing that, Bindiâs smile lit up his whole face.
âI see. Well then, I leave this in your hands, sir Director.â
After watching Bindi off, his smile unbroken, from the mountain of documents on his desk Gallerian drew out the one that pertained to Jasonâs case.
ââŚâ He scanned his eyes over it, reading the contents aloud. ââŚThe victim is Medea Col. Occupation, prostitution. She was found stabbed to death in her homeâŚThe murder weapon is assumed to be a Jakokuan katana that was hanging up as decorationâŚJason was under suspicion as having visited her as a client just beforeâŚI see. Well, if they didnât catch him red-handed, then Iâm sureââ
There, Gallerian once more pulled the documents close to his face, seeming to realize something.
âThe weapon was a Jakokuan katanaâperhaps I can use this.â
Gallerian stood, and then moved to leave the directorâs room.
But just as he got to the door, he ran into Bruno.
âDirector. Are you heading out?â
ââNo. I was actually going to see you. You have good timing.â
âYou have some business with me?â
âMhm. Here.â Gallerian showed Bruno the documents on Jasonâs case. âI was thinking of ordering PN to reopen this case.â
.
Two weeks later.
In the meeting room, Helâs irritation had reached its peak.
ââŚThis doesnât make any sense.â
Feng looked up at her face with a carefree air. âItâs not good for your looks to get so worked up.â
âDonât you think this is strange!? For thisâfor this to have gone so smoothly.â
âThatâs true. Thanks to our investigation we were able to arrest the real murderer.â
âAnd with only a tiny bit of searching we were not only able to find a new weapon, but determine that it was indeed the one used in the murder. Doesnât that sound a bit convenient?â
âPerhaps the World Policeâs investigation was just that sloppy.â
But Hel didnât look convinced. Â
ââItâs been verified that Jason who was initially thought to be the culprit had an alibi, and has conversely been made clear that the owner of the âVenom Swordâ, Nyoze Octo, was nearby when the crime took place. âŚIf weâre to take all of this as the truth, then the World Police should be disqualified as a police organization. Nyoze has no involvement with the Freezises. Itâs hard to imagine the World Police intentionally hid the truth to cover up for him.â
âBut it was none other than us here in PN who found the evidence that Nyoze was the real killer. You intend to deny that?â
ââŚThatâs why Iâm saying it doesnât make sense.â
Feng suddenly stood up on his hind legs.
It was generally hard to notice, but when he stood up like that, his body was close to three meters tall. Hel pulled back from him on instinct.
But he gently put his paws on Helâs shoulders.
âYouâre heavy, Feng.â
ââHel. It seems to me that ever since Bindiâs trial, youâve been carrying a lot of resentment. How about we share a drink this time, for a change? Iâll listen to your complaints.â
ââŚAre you making a pass at me?â
âSorry, but Iâve got no interest in putting a hand on someone elseâs wife.â
âMy husband and I split up two years ago. Didnât you know? Iâve been getting stressed because I have to raise my daughter all on my own. And itâs not like I can quit my job.â
âWhat? Youâre thinking of quitting?â
âWhen I see what Gallerianâs become, yeah. I never thought heâd be the sort of man who would distort the truth for his own greed.â
ââHm.â
On hearing Feng give a snort, Hel once more raised her voice.
âWhatâs so funny!?â
âItâs a bit late for that. After allâwhat was it that we did back in Lokiâs trial?â
âWe bribed the head judge with moneyâB-but that was different! Back then we did it for a just causeââ
âAnd maybe Gallerian has his own just cause now. Â Though I donât know what that might be. âWeâve known him for a long time. We should try to believe in him, shouldnât we?â
ââŚâ
âHoweverââ Feng took his paws off of Helâs shoulders and let them drop back to the floor. ââIf he really has fallen to evilâŚThe moment that becomes clear, Iâwill be exactly like the tiger I appear to be. Iâll tear his throat out like a beast.â
âFengâŚâ
âI pray that doesnât happen. âŚCome on, letâs get going. We have to get our evidence to storage.â
The two of them left the room, while bathed in the rays of twilight streaming in from the window.
.
--After that, USE allied forces second lieutenant Nyoze Octo was indicted as the culprit of the prostitute murder case, and was sentenced to fifteen years hard labor by the head judge Gallerian.
The Jakokuan sword that was treated as the murder weapon, the âVenom Swordâ, was stored in the Dark Star Bureau, but like the Marlon Spoon it wound up being passed to Gallerianâs hands through forging documents and bribing all involved.
.
Naturally, it would have been difficult for Gallerian to fabricate this hoax that Nyoze was the criminal by himself.
Gallerian accomplishing this was largely due to having help from a collaborator.
--Who was that collaborator, you ask?
Why, that needs no real thought.
.
It was the proxy commander of PN, Bruno.
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Episode 8âSweet Seduction; Scene 4
Judgment of Corruption, pages 233-238
Gallerian wound up meeting with second lieutenant Nyoze Octo of the USE allied forces by an introduction from Ma.
They met at the Octo brothersâ personal home in Samadin, located in the southeastern region of Levianta.
ââThis is it.â
Nyoze had set down on his living room table a single Jakokuan katana.
âMy, this is quiteââ
Gallerian moved to take it in his hands, but Nyoze stopped him.
âPlease do not touch it. An ominous spirit lies within this katana, and so if anyone outside of the Octo family touches it, they may become possessed.â
ââŚI do certainly sense an unusual presence here. âMa.â
Gallerian inclined his head towards Ma, standing next to him.
âOh yes. I am certain that this is indeed what we have been searching forâit is none other than the âVenom Swordâ.â
âI seeâŚSecond Lieutenant Nyoze. You just said that if I were to touch this sword I would be possessed by a spirit, but why is it alright for members of the Octo family?â
âWe have a cleansing sigil passed down from our ancestor that is tattooed onto our bodies. It has considerable power to resist the spirit.â
Gallerian then asked Nyoze why it was that they had the sword.
According to him, this cursed blade was an heirloom passed down in the Octo family.
âMy great-grandfather, Anan Okuto, came to the continent of Maistia from Jakoku in order to recover this heirloom that had been stolen by thieves, and then after that he arrived in the Evillious region. After a span of forty years he finally found the cursed bladeâŚbut he passed away in this land instead of making it home to Jakoku. As his descendants, we continue to protect this katana throughout the generationsâI own it as the current head of the Octo family.â
âHmmmâŚâ Gallerian tapped his cheek, then suggested to Nyoze, âBut if you say that this katana is dangerous, do you really think itâs wise to have it be in the possession of a military man such as yourself? To say nothing of the fact that, as I hear it, you and your brother Sergeant Major Gammon are often away from home on military duty. It would be terrible if some burglar were to break in.â
âIâŚsuppose thatâs true.â
âI think you already know Ma, but she is extremely learned when it comes to magic. I believe that she knows ways to keep from being possessed by the spirit in the katana.â
Maâs eyes widened unintentionally.
That probably meant that what Gallerian was saying now was not something that they had gone over beforehand, but rather him making an excuse on his own.
In other words, it was complete bull.
âA much more secure place would be better for keeping it. Such as one of the military facilities, or the Dark Star Bureauâs storage area. âEven my house would be alright, if that suits you? At the very least it would have tighter security than here.â
If it was in a military facility he could just collude with Tony on that later, and if it was in the Dark Star Bureau he could use the same tactics as with the Marlon Spoon. And putting it in Gallerianâs home would be the quickest route overall.
In other words, he was contriving so that no matter who took custody of it, ultimately the katana would end up with Gallerian.
But Nyoze didnât nod along to his suggestion.
âI appreciate your concern, butâŚI still wonât be parting with this cursed sword. I told you this already, but it is a family heirloom. I would be a disgrace to my family if I were to pass it along to someone else.â
âA family heirloomâŚHm.â Ma faintly smiled, blowing out smoke from her pipe. âYou have no proof that this katana is really the ancestral property of the Octo family in Jakoku, is that not true? If it took him forty years to get his hands on it, then Anan must have been at quite an advanced age by then. Thereâs a chance that the old boy got senile, and convinced himself that a completely different katana was his family heirloomââ
Nyoze scowled, glaring at Ma. âPardon me, but thatâs purely your own speculation. You have no proof.â
âWellâŚI suppose thatâs true.â
âWhatever the case, given that this katana is one that was passed down by my great-grandfather, that makes it a precious treasure to me.â
Gallerian leaned forward. âI didnât say it would be free. Iâll pay you 10âno, 20 million Ev. A sum that an officer of the USE army could never save up his entire lifetime.â
ââŚWhy do you want this katana so badly, sir Director? Iâm having trouble gauging your true motives here.â
âIâll speak frankly. I am something of a sword enthusiast. I collect rare blades from every country, all over the world. So I absolutely must add this to my collection as wellâ"
âYou cannot. Please leave.â
He was completely unapproachable.
.
Gallerian drove the two of them along the road that led back to Alicegrad.
âHe wouldnât go for this, he wouldnât go for thatâDespite appearances heâs a very stubborn man.â He made no move to hide the irritation on his face. âEven all that money didnât get him to bat an eye. Just why is that blade so important to himââ
Sitting in the passenger seat, Ma said simply, âHeâhas already been taken over by the katana.â
ââŚWhat do you mean?â
âThe demon that dwells in the Venom Sword is the demon of âLustââand it has a tendency to speak to the hearts of those who own it in order to secure a contract. ââGive yourself overâ, and things like that. The demon of âLustâ in particular has powers of bewitchment, so its influence on peopleâs hearts is quite great. Someone who has been taken over by the demonâs allure will come to have a strong attachment to the vessel. âŚAlmost as one might love the opposite sex.â
âBut Nyoze said that he had a cleansing sigil tattooed on his body.â
âThat has no bearing on it whatsoever. A tattooâs not going to ward off a demon. Nyoze, and of course his brother Gammon, are alreadyââ
âIf thatâs the case, then itâll be difficult to get the sword from the two of them via lawful means. IâllâŚhave to think of something.â
The automobile moved along the path at a casual speed.
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