Chapter 4: The Doll with Red Hair
Chapter 4: The Doll with Red Hair
“What a state you’re in, Devil! The humans you wanted to protect have bound and imprisoned you, but I have to say, you look most adorable like this!”
The Saint was brightly smiling and seemed to enjoy Meitzer’s discomfort from the bottom of her heart.
“Oh, really? I’m glad to hear you say that. We’ve known each other a long time, but you’ve always viewed me so harshly.”
“Of course! I haven’t forgotten for one day that you sealed me behind a Door one thousand years ago.”
There was an old legend in Europea about the Saint and the Devil. A great empire had ruled the world but suddenly fell to ruin. The Saint was said to have descended into a world ruled by chaos, where she led the people and restored civilization. The Devil had opposed the Saint and eventually she sealed him away.
Even now, the continent of Europea celebrated the Saint during the Holy Festival at the end of the year. Now the being called the Saint stood before him.
“I suppose there’s no use telling you that you should stop this mischief. If you tamper with human development and throw the world into havoc, it will only lead to irrevocable destruction.”
There was one fatal error in the legend. It wasn’t the Devil who had been sealed away. It was the Saint. Furthermore, the Devil was Meitzer.
“You’ve been doing this for a millennium. So I sealed you away, but...”
“Yes, you did. You got the better of me. May I ask you something? I thought I killed you that time. Why are you still alive?”
“You don’t need to ask what you already know.”
“I see... It was that person’s will.”
Meitzer did not reply. His silence answered more clearly than any words would have.
“Ah... it appears that person is still watching me. How wonderful!” The Saint’s face was ecstatic, her eyes glistening like a dreamy maiden’s.
“You shouldn’t expect too much. He’s growing exasperated with your methods.”
“Silence!” Her smile disappeared.
At that moment, Meitzer was sliced in two.
“Ungh!!”
Wielding some kind of power which left not a scratch on the bars of his cell, she severed his body within.
“Hmf! What do you know about me and that person? You are a fake... Just looking at you makes me angry!”
“You’re as merciless as usual.”
Even with his body cut in half, Meitzer was still alive.
“Hyah!!” The Saint had already factored that into her course of action. She released a second blow and then a third.
“Unnngh?!”
She cut off Meitzer’s arms and legs, literally dismembering him, so Meitzer had to crawl like a caterpillar. Watching him, the Saint laughed loudly.
“I know that you’re invulnerable, but without your limbs, you won’t move for a while. And by the time you do, I will have completed my work.”
“Don’t... do... this...”
“Shut up.” The Saint moved as if to release a deathblow, but then she stopped. “I’ll spare you because of your face. Aside from your face and voice, I truly detest you.” The Saint spoke with venom, then turned and left.
“If she’s here... the situation is bad. Oh, I understand...” Meitzer’s thoughts spun as he writhed in the dark. “If that’s how things stand, this is very dangerous. I hope someone can stop her in time.”
The Saint had come alone. That was not unusual. At crucial moments, she always acted alone. She was inherently unable to trust anyone. More accurately, she couldn’t trust any humans. She hated the human race.
We can take advantage of that...
Sven’s face appeared in the back of his mind. She was his daughter—or rather, the daughter of his true self. Sven wasn’t human, but she had fallen in love with a human, so only she had the power to defy the Saint. However...
“Sven must not meet her.” Meitzer declared this to himself. He did not believe in God. He believed in God’s existence. But he did not trust God. Nonetheless, today he was grateful for the vicissitudes of fate.
He was at the Penmunde Test Site, far from Berun, and even further from Organbaelz. It was impossible for Sven to come across the Saint. He was very relieved about that. If the two met, the result would be astounding.
Lud and Sven raced through the castle looking for Meitzer. The walls changed from concrete to stone. They were deep inside the castle, now used as a headquarters.
“We’re almost there, Master.”
There was little resistance from enemy soldiers now. They seemed to have disappeared. Most had headed out to confront Blitzdonner and Rebecca. They weren’t skilled soldiers and in the confusion, they all rushed off.
“It looks like things are looking up,” Lud said.
As long as they rescued Meitzer, the rest would proceed smoothly. They could leave the rest to Sophia and the others in the Wiltian special combat unit soon to arrive. Lud sensed the situation had taken a favorable turn. However, he should have known better than anyone that the soldier who voiced relief on the battlefield was the first to die.
“Hm?”
“Huh?”
She suddenly appeared in front of them. As Lud and Sven were rounding a corner, they ran into the Saint. Just one moment earlier, she was underground, slicing Meitzer into pieces. Encountering her was an accident. However, it was very unfortunate.
“You...”
Sven stiffened when she saw the Saint. She didn’t know who this woman was. It was their first meeting. There was no way she could know of her existence, much less what she looked like.
“Yikes!”
Nonetheless, Sven understood with her intuition rather than reason. She did not know her, but Sven feared her.
“Oh my... You’re... Oh! I see...”
The Saint didn’t know Sven either. Until just now, she was barely aware of Sven’s existence. She had known there were such things as humanoid Hunter Units. However, she believed they were just toys created by the boy Daian using Europea’s technology. For that reason, she had neither cared nor had any reason to pay attention to them.
“What in the world...? Oh, I see.”
Yet the Saint understood. At a glance, she understood everything: who Sven was, how she was born, the intention behind her creation... everything. And...
“Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
The Saint broke into laughter. It was too ridiculous. Too irresponsible. She couldn’t help but laugh at how absurd reality was.
“Oh, right! That’s it? That man... This is how... Mm-hmm... Ah ha ha ha!! How utterly, utterly foolish!!”
“W-What the...?”
With no grasp of the situation, Lud was confused. Why was a girl like this in a military facility? She didn’t appear to be a servant. Was she a commanding officer’s mistress? No, that wasn’t it. But something wasn’t right.
“I see... You must be the Shepherd!” The Saint turned her head and gave Lud a very creepy smile.
“?!” He couldn’t make a sound.
Ever since his early teens, Lud had lived in many places worthy of the name Hell. He had lived in a world ravaged by blood, guts, vomit and excrement. He didn’t think much could make him recoil. That was wrong. Very wrong.
What the...?
The Saint before him was different from those horrors. She was ghastly on a much larger scale. When she turned her eyes on him, darkness, the deepest, blackest darkness imprisoned him. This darkness wasn’t just bottomless. It was all-enveloping.
“Aha... So that’s how it is? Interesting!! A fake... In that case, I will teach you what the real thing is, you imitation!!”
As she spoke, she reached out her hand toward him. Lud stiffened.
“Master!!” Sven did not know what the Saint was doing. She only knew that she needed to protect Lud. “Don’t touch him!!” Sven tried to punch the Saint, but the moment she drew back her fist, light erupted like an explosion. “Aaagh?!”
As the light swallowed Sven, some kind of power was activated around her. That power destroyed the stone floor, walls, ceiling and pillars. Everything around her collapsed.
“Master! Master!!!”
Assailed by a vision of the whole world crumbling, Sven reached for Lud. But, she could not touch him. The Saint placed her hand on Lud’s forehead and she was doing something to him. Lud didn’t move. Or rather, he couldn’t move. He had frozen like a statue.
“Master!” Sven shouted again, but Lud didn’t answer.
The Saint’s voice reached her ears with an odd clarity, despite the falling castle.
“Fake doll... I will teach you despair. True despair!”
At that moment, outside the south tower...
“What the?!!” Blitzdonner shouted in surprise at the sudden flash, explosion, and then the deafening crash of the collapsing castle.
“Major!”
At that unguarded moment, a bullet—perhaps random fire—struck him in the chest.
“Gugh!!”
The shot was so poor he would normally have predicted the trajectory and moved aside in time. It was a perfectly lucky hit; proof that even with eyes closed, any shooter has a chance of reaching his target.
“Tch! I flubbed up!”
Blitzdonner made light of it, but for a lucky hit, it was unfortunate for him. The bullet damaged the joint of his right arm, and he couldn’t move it.
“We got him! We got him!”
The young fighters from the Security Department were excited to have delivered a blow against their monster-like opponents.
How amusing...
Their joy over this small success was pitiful.
“How dare you shoot the major! How dare you!!” The red girl who fought alongside him had no pity. “Major! Forgive me for disobeying orders!” Rebecca’s eyes flashed red, the signal that she had released all functions and was shifting into full-power battle mode.
“Stop, Sharlahart! Don’t kill them!”
“I must teach these rookies a lesson!!”
Blitzdonner’s commands no longer reached Rebecca. Her priority was to execute the fools in front of her for committing the crime of threatening her beloved master’s life.
“Your safety, Major... I must return you unharmed!”
“Sharlahart...?”
Rebecca had promised herself something before beginning this raid. Finally, after disappearing for more than ten years, Blitzdonner had returned to his family. She would take him back to his son Jacob and wife Charlotte. To that end, she would use all her power.
“I’ll kill every last one of them!!” But before Rebecca could slaughter the enemy combatants, something happened.
“What the?!”
One young opponent’s face exploded with a blam!
“No way...”
It was not Rebecca’s doing. She was shocked at what she saw. But that wasn’t all. Bullets were fired from their flanks. Unlike the shots from the Security Department’s recruits, these were accurate. These bullets were shot with considerable training, polished skills and experience in actual combat.
“What? Where’d that come from?!”
“Hide! Find cover quickly!”
“No, fall back! Retreat, retreat!”
Under attack from unknown assailants, the soldiers were confused and frightened. Yet even more merciless attacks pursued them. A sound rang out like the lighting of a candle—pshoonk! Blitzdonner knew what it was.
“Major, get down!”
Rebecca also heard it. In fact, she had recognized the sound before Blitzdonner. It was a Panzerfaust anti-tank rocket launcher.
“Are they crazy?!”
The shell struck, followed by an explosion. The enemy soldiers were blown into scattered bits, as if a mischievous child had tossed a rock at a bunch of dolls. Body parts rained down with tiny thuds.
“Stop! That’s too much!!”
Blitzdonner shouted, but the force behind the surprise attack did not stop. A second shot, a third shot... and each time an explosion occurred.
“Stop!!”
The explosions drowned out his shouts. It only took a few minutes. Within ten minutes, most of the Security Department’s soldiers were eliminated.
“Are you all right?”
Fully equipped soldiers appeared from the bushes. They had removed their insignia, but one soldier’s face was recognizable.
“You... Toolman?”
It was the special combat unit of the regular Wiltian army.
“I’m honored you recognize me. Um, may I call you by your name?”
Blitzdonner was officially missing, even as he undertook secret missions.
“Do as you like. There’s no one left alive here who might cause trouble if they heard.” Blitzdonner answered sarcastically.
“What’s going on? Why are you here?”
The unit led by Captain Toolman wasn’t supposed to arrive until early the next morning.
“Yes, I suppose Major Sophia is leaving the royal capital about now.”
“Did you... trick all of us?!”
He guessed everything from Toolman’s nonchalant expression as the man answered.
“It couldn’t be helped. The Security Department... Or rather, rebellious elements have infiltrated everywhere. They’re even within the royal palace and private companies, and inside the military. This was necessary to avoid any leaks in the plan.”
It was the most basic of strategies: To fool the enemy, start by fooling your allies. To successfully pull a surprise attack, spread misinformation so others let down their guard. You could even deceive friendly forces.
“Oh, I see. I suppose that’s why you included Rundstadt?”
“Affirmative.”
Toolman had never intended for Sophia to join the actual combat unit. For better or worse, she was incapable of deceit. She stood out, so he had fed her false information. Most likely, she was still in the royal capital attracting the attention of the Security Department’s spies. Then, he had gathered only those soldiers he could trust and hidden just outside Penmunde last night.
“You expected us to come and you used us as a decoy!”
“Affirmative. However, I didn’t ask this of you.”
“Why you...”
What Toolman said was correct. No one had ordered Blitzdonner or Lud to come. Toolman had manipulated information and swept them along toward the course of action that best suited him.
After all, he is the Bulletproof Baron...
Toolman had successfully carried out many difficult missions. Blitzdonner understood how Toolman had earned his nickname.
This man is a whole different creature from Rundstadt, Langart or me. He’s more like Genitz.
Like that resourceful general, Toolman would even use human psychology as a tool.
“Hm?”
Gunfire was audible although the battle was supposedly over. Shots were followed by more shots.
“Hey, what’re you doing?!” Blitzdonner shouted.
The special combat soldiers led by Toolman were still firing at the defeated fighters from the Security Department.
“The fight is over! Why kill soldiers no longer able to resist?!”
Toolman responded quietly to Blitzdonner’s shouts.
“Major, this is not war.”
“What?!”
“These are violent criminals defying the law. They are not prisoners covered by the conventions of war.”
“What are you talking about?!”
Massacring defenseless soldiers was strictly forbidden on the battlefield. They were to be captured as prisoners, disarmed, and treated according to military rules. Even if this standard wasn’t always followed faithfully, it was the rule.
“They are traitors to the nation. We must thoroughly break their rebellious spirit. If they die as a result of that, it is not my concern.”
“Do you really think that’s a sufficient excuse?!”
Blitzdonner—the man known as the Crimson Hawk—felt a chill at how lifeless and cold Toolman was. He was less human than a mannequin.
“I have received complete authority for this operation from the marshal, so I need explain no further.”
Toolman’s message was, “If you’ve got a problem, take it up with Marshal Elvin.”
“Furthermore, by what chain of command have you come here, Major?”
“Urgh!”
The captain asked as if he already knew. Blitzdonner’s party was not acting under any orders. They were acting on their own initiative.
“My apologies, but until the completion of this operation, I must take you into custody.”
As Toolman spoke, two soldiers stepped behind Blitzdonner without being signaled.
“Tch! I guess there’s no choice, huh?”
Blitzdonner pretended to be at a loss and prepared to go along quietly, but then he released a kick at Toolman. With the strength of a mechanical soldier, he could kill a human being in one blow if he made contact. He held back, of course, but it would have immobilized his target.
“What?!”
However, he kicked only air.
“I thought you might try that.”
Faster than Blitzdonner could move, Toolman bent and grabbed the hilt of the sword at his side.
Uh-oh!
Toolman had dodged, leaving Blitzdonner wide open and unprotected. It happened so fast even Blitzdonner couldn’t evade the attack.
“Major!”
However, someone sprang between them. It was Rebecca, the girl who considered herself his faithful servant. The high-pitched clank of metal on metal rang out.
“—!!”
Something flew through the air. It was an arm. Toolman had sliced off the arm that Rebecca had extended to defend Blitzdonner.
Impossible!!
Rebecca let out a silent cry of surprise. She was a humanoid Hunter Unit, so she didn’t feel a human’s pain. On the contrary, she was shocked a human being was able to damage her body.
“That girl is also a mechanical soldier? No, that felt like...”
There was no blood or flesh on the katana Toolman had used to sever Rebecca’s arm. Of course not. She was made of neither blood nor flesh.
“I see. She is the Sorcerer’s invention.”
The corners of the Bulletproof Baron’s mouth twitched.
How much does this guy know?!
Even the most skilled, well-trained soldier would be startled and confused to encounter someone who wasn’t human. Toolman, however, seemed unsurprised. He had already known there were humanoid Hunter Units.
“You resisted. Both of you. That’s unfortunate. I will dismember you and then... Well, I’ll decide that later.”
His blade rattled. Blitzdonner and Rebecca possessed superhuman prowess, but they shuddered before this blade forged by people of the East and able to slice through iron.
“Oh, you guys look like you’re having fun!” An unexpectedly cheerful voice cut in.
“Ugh...” Seeing the owner of the voice, Blitzdonner released a moan of despair. “What are you doing here?!”
“What a thing to say! That’s what I’d like to ask!”
It was the Saint. Blitzdonner had encountered her a few days ago in Haradin, but now here she was in Penmunde.
“Argh! What a day!” He couldn’t help but feel cursed by fate.
“Oh... Why are you here?” Toolman did not sound alarmed at the sight of the Saint.
Of course not. She looked like a young woman, but more beautiful than any other. But this woman had once appeared before Blitzdonner and cut off his arms and legs.
“Captain Toolman! Be careful! She isn’t an opponent you can beat!” Blitzdonner shouted a warning.
A warning to be careful because this woman was not what she seemed. A warning that, although Toolman had no way of knowing, she was more insane than he could imagine. However...
“Why in the world are you here?” Toolman spoke without alarm and returned the sword in his hand to its scabbard at his side. “I thought you were leaving everything to me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry but circumstances have changed. Am I troubling you?”
“Not at all.”
The two exchanged words casually.
“What is...” Blitzdonner stared in confusion.
“Hm?” The Saint looked as though they were having a friendly chat at a party.
“Oh dear, oh dear... Of course. You didn’t know.” The Saint spoke as if introducing an acquaintance to another friend. “Toolman is my devotee.”
“...............!” Blitzdonner was a veteran soldier who had survived many scenes of carnage, but he was now speechless.
The Saint had awakened 150 years ago. Since then, she had quietly controlled the world from behind the scenes. Some individuals discovered her existence. They were startled, scared and some were even awestruck and eventually developed faith in her.
The Saint made full use of that. She commanded her faithful to collect children. Many, many... countless children. Some parents willingly sold their children, and some even paid her money to take their children. She gathered these castoffs and put them through harsh training. The training was physical and mental, but she also gave the children enlightenment. By the time they were ten years old, they would gladly cut off their own heads for the Saint. Furthermore...
“I’ve sent them all over the world, placed them in businesses and the underworld, regardless of nation or ethnicity. They’re all excellent specimens, and they always find success and burrow into the center of their organizations.” The Saint spoke as if showing off a prized collection. “Don’t misunderstand. They commit themselves to their employers and work hard for them. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t get very far.”
However, every last one of these men and women would always put the Saint above all else.
“They diligently carry out their duties, earn the recognition of Captain Toolman and other superiors, and the confidence of their subordinates. Some get married and have beloved families.”
They blend into society and carry out their normal lives. No one noticed them. They appeared to be sensible and conscientious citizens.
“But when I give an order, they’ll obey instantly. Right, Toolman?”
“Yes, Ma’am!” Toolman responded like a machine.
“That man is your subordinate, isn’t he?”
“Yes, Ma’am!”
“Kill him.”
“Yes, Ma’am!”
Toolman drew the katana at his side and cut off the head of one of the soldiers standing behind Blitzdonner. The movement was so quick and unhesitating that it didn’t seem real.
“..................” Blitzdonner was stunned. Toolman had acted like a madman, yet none of the other soldiers were surprised. “No way... All of them? Are all the soldiers in this special combat unit your followers?”
“Yes, indeed.” The Saint praised him happily as if he had guessed the correct brand of black tea.
“What are you trying to accomplish?” Blitzdonner was stupefied as he asked.
These two behaved so irrationally that he couldn’t imagine what they might do next.
“As for the missile launch, there’s no need for any tests. We made it, so let’s launch it and drop it now!♪” The Saint’s laugh was charming and cruel.
“Where... Berun? No! Surely not!”
“August. Isn’t that nice? You’re safe.”
She was going to drop a new weapon of mass destruction developed by Wiltia on the capital of her own nation. It was an attack with the potential to start another Great War.
“You can’t do that!!”
“It can’t be helped! Wiltia and the other nations are reluctant to fight! Even August is increasingly war weary.”
“Of course!”
The ten-year Great War had gone on too long. Every nation was exhausted, with both the victorious and the defeated simply struggling to get through each day.
“I made a mistake. I should have stopped it sooner. At four years, they would have believed they could win next time.”
Over fifty million were dead or missing from the recent war. The Saint was talking about a mistake that resulted in that scale of suffering as if she had messed up a cooking recipe.
“So...” The Saint’s eyes flicked toward Blitzdonner. “What will you do?”
It was a kind of death sentence. He couldn’t win against the Saint no matter how he struggled or resisted. She was a conqueror capable of freezing even the will to fight.
Ugh. Oh no...
Blitzdonner felt like a helpless pig facing a wolf. No... it was even worse than that. He was like meat on the dinner table, completely powerless to prevent being eaten.
Is she truly this dominant?!
He had no desire to strike a blow. The thought even occurred to him that the correct course of action was to admit defeat and surrender his life.
This is the end?
Blitzdonner started to kneel when suddenly a voice yelled out.
“Nooooo!!!” It was Rebecca. Her voice, raised as loudly as she could, lifted her master’s wavering heart. “Major! Run! I’ll buy you time!” Rebecca turned and glared at the Saint with one lost arm.
“It’s no use, Sharlahart! You can’t beat her!”
“I’ll fight her anyway!” Rebecca was so determined to challenge the Saint that she refused Blitzdonner’s command to stand down. “You must live, if only for one minute—one second—longer!” She seized Blitzdonner by his neck and threw him with all her might.
“Uaaagh?!”
“Pardon my insubordination!!”
Without looking back, Rebecca launched herself at the Saint. With no concern for her own protection, she mobilized all her strength for one blow. Rebecca had released all her limitations. She could pierce iron and crush rock.
“You... You’re not like her. In that case, it doesn’t matter.”
The Saint made no attempt to dodge. She knew there was no need to dodge.
“Kneel.” The Saint uttered a single word. The moment the Saint spoke...
“—?!”
The red girl was slammed to the ground. No, she fell to the ground.
This is like that other time...
Rebecca had experienced this before. When she had tried to strike Meitzer, she had lost control of her own body and her legs gave out.
What is this? What in the world is this?!
It was an unknown, unpredictable power. If there was one thing for certain...
She can control my body better than I can!
It was impossible, but there was no other explanation.
“I have no use for you, so stop right where you are.” The Saint spoke without even looking down.
What is she... This is... Oh, I see!
Rebecca finally formulated a guess. Before she could say it...
“Where did that man go?”
“It appears he has fled.”
Blitzdonner was nowhere to be seen. After Rebecca had thrown him aside, he had raced away, as fast and far as he could.
“Oh dear. He did not let his companion’s last wish go to waste. He’s quite a man.”
The Saint was mildly impressed. Not many people would run when told to in such circumstances. Most would hesitate in confusion and freeze, unable to do anything.
“Having tasted humiliation, he chose the path of survival. Indeed, he is an outstanding soldier.” This was a rare instance of her genuinely praising a human being. “Oh well. I’ll let him go. There’s something I must do now. Toolman, lead the way!”
“Yes, Ma’am!”
The Saint’s plan was entering the final stage, so she headed for the control room for launch of Verne 1. Attended by Toolman and the other soldiers, she was as lovely as a princess.
Only Rebecca remained behind. She was a red-haired doll lying on the ground with no strength in her limbs and no light in her eyes.
“Umph... Heave-ho!”
Sven emerged from beneath a pile of heavy rubble. The mysterious light had swallowed her and she was trapped by the collapsing castle.
“There... seems to be no damage to my body, but my clothes are in tatters!”
One year ago, when she had started working at Tockerbrot, she made her own waitress outfit from materials she found in the bakery’s storeroom. She had sworn to wear the outfit until the cloth wore thin while she helped the bakery prosper.
“Too bad... I’ll never be able to repair it!”
Throughout the scrapes and blows over the past year, she had patched the tears and sewed the frayed parts, but the fabric had finally reached its limit.
“Forget about that. What about Master?!”
Lud’s safety was more important right now. She looked around but could see neither Lud nor that odd woman.
“What was that?”
She wondered about the woman’s strange power, but also about the sensation, the feeling she had the moment she faced her. That feeling was difficult to describe. However, she searched for an analogy.
It was like I was seeing another me!
She hadn’t been startled as if seeing herself in a mirror. Instead, she had felt dread as if meeting an identical replica of herself.
“I have to hurry!”
Sven didn’t know the woman’s identity. She definitely wasn’t friendly. If Lud had been taken captive, she must rescue him. Sven steeled her resolve and set off. Rescuing Meitzer was urgent, but Lud took priority.
As she ran, Sven failed to notice something. She automatically knew where to go and proceeded without thinking, even though she didn’t know the identity of that woman—the Saint—or where she had gone.
As for Lud...