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LIST OF MISSING WOMEN IN THE HERALDRIA-COATES REGION
- MARCHIONESS MIZUKI (27)—PROVINCIAL JUDGE
- YOMIKO TODOROKI (25)—LIBRARIAN
- MITSUKO TENJO (24)—ASTRONOMER
- KUMA TAKEDA (28)—BAKER
- MADAME OMOTEURA (25)—FORTUNE TELLER
- UMIMI HABARA (22)—MERCENARY
- SANA PHEKDA (28)—QUEEN OF MASQUERADIA
- LADY LUNA (???)—FORTUNE TELLER
- NYATALIA CATHERINE (30)—PET STORE OWNER
- ARABELLA KELINSKI (18)—ACTRESS
- CHLOE ARCLIGHT (25)—ENTOMOLOGIST
- DROITE DUPUIS (19)—PRO WRESTLER
- SANAGI CHOUNO-CHAN (25)—LOCAL IDOL
- ANNIE KOZUKI (43)—MECHANIC
- CHU-HUA JINLONG (35)—SEAMSTRESS
- KIRA SOHACHI (29)—BLACKSMITH
- MACH DUBHE (???)—???
- MARIA ALITOH (27)—MERCENARY
- AYAME AMANE (20)—REPORTER
- HANA KAMISHIRO (23)—YOUNGER SISTER OF SANA PHEKDA, DOCTOR
PLEASE TURN TO THE BACK FOR A FURTHER CONTINUATION
1 YEAR BEFORE
“My, you’ve made quite a mess of it, haven’t you?” chuckled a voice from the back of the room.
Shrouded in shadow, the young man jumped. He pointed his sword towards the shadow, stepping over the bodies at his feet.
“Who’s there?” he demanded in a tremulous voice.
The shadowy figure by the doorway laughed again, his sinister laugh echoing across the empty room.
“A friend,” he replied simply, coming towards the young man.
Instinctively, the young man flinched and turned his face away.
“Don’t come closer!” he said, still brandishing his sword with one hand.
With a flick of his hand, the shadowy figure melted the sword, its metal reduced to a puddle of molten iron. He advanced towards the young man, stepping onto the bodies as if they were nothing but rugs. The young man before him let out a yelp and tripped over a body, falling onto the bloody floor.
“As I said. I’m a friend,” said the intruder as he pulled off his cloak.
The rabbit on his shoulder had red eyes that shone even in the darkness. Curiously, it sported a waistcoat and a cravat. Its owner, a young man, gave it an affectionate pat. A toothy grin filled his freckled face and his amethyst eyes shone with delight as he saw the deformed figure before him. Perfect.
“The name is Vector and I can grant all of your heart’s desires if you do me a few small favors…”
His eyes trailed down the young man’s face, drinking in the missing half with a morbid interest. The left side of his face was a swirling mass of colors. Where there was supposed to be an eye, there was nothing but an empty black hole. Red markings were etched upon the young man’s forehead. Throughout his journeys, he had seen various birth defects and deformities, yet this one in particular piqued his interest.
“What do you want?” asked the young man, his voice trembling.
By the young man’s feet was a mask, its broken lock laying discarded to one side. Ah, the cruelty of some individuals, thought the sorcerer. He wondered how long the young man had spent his life in darkness. With a smile, he reached into his pocket and presented the man a handful of cards.
“Simple, really. I’d like the world to have more individuals like me.”
Confusion briefly filled the young man’s face. Aside from the rabbit on his shoulder, the young man appeared quite normal.
“Like you?” he asked hesitantly.
“Yes,” chuckled Vector. “Like me. Children of Don Thousand, in other words.”
He pressed the cards closer to the youth’s face.
“It’s very rare for a Chaos Raiser to be born to normal humans. But to Numbers contractors…?”
Vector let out another dark chuckle, admiring the bodies that were scattered around the room and the young man’s blood stained clothes.
“It’s a guarantee that they’ll be born a monster.”
The young man winced at the final word. His hand consciously covered the deformed half of his face. He eyed the cards in Vector’s hand warily.
“I was always called that here..,” he murmured. “Why would I want to help you?”
He was answered by another grin as Vector tapped on the card containing Number 8.
“Because in return for creating more of my kind, I will give you the acceptance that you have always craved.”
Doubt filled the young man’s expression as he looked at the remains of his family. His younger brother laid on his face, golden hair undone and soaked in blood. Every morning, he had meticulously brushed out his mane, exchanging jokes with his younger brother as he did so. The golden boy of the Arclight family. No one, not even the hardened laundresses could have said no to his smile. The young women around the kingdom had eagerly flocked to his side while his deformed brother was forced to listen from the confines of his basement.
Acceptance... The word was a dangling fruit to him, its skin red and glossy.
“How..?” he asked.
Vector’s smile widened.
“With the power of Number 8, individuals can change their appearance to whoever they wish. But only once,” explained Vector. “In return, all you must do is agree to a contract with my friend, Number 69.”
Unlike Number 8’s graceful curves and deer-like form, Number 69 featured a monstrous beast with a multitude of sharp fangs. Distaste filled the deformed young man’s expression, earning yet another laugh from Vector.
“Have no fear! Despite his wicked appearance, he is the most tender of lovers. With his powers you could seduce anyone you fix your eyes upon,” reassured Vector. “So? What do you think?”
The young man gave the bodies of his family one last glance, his gaze lingering on his dead brother. Acceptance. Love. The deformed half of his face twitched. Something his brother always had but he could not. Briefly, the face of a young woman filled his mind. Her silver hair and purple eyes had always enchanted him, especially when they were under the light of the moon. And her smile...he swore that no one in Heraldria had possessed a smile like that. Hana...
With a hand dyed maroon by dried blood, he reached out to Number 8.
“Deal.”
LIST OF MISSING WOMEN IN THE HERALDRIA-COATES REGION (CONT.)
21. MIRAI SATO (25)—EXPLORER
22. YUMIKO OKUDAIRA (35)—ACTRESS
23. CHARLENA MCCOY (27)—PROFESSIONAL TREASURE HUNTER
24. HIKARIKAWA (21)—NINJA
25. GOJUGO MISAWA (55)—OVERSEER OF THE SHADOW LODGE
26. SAKURA HANAZOE (29)—FLORIST
27. JOSEPHINE HEARTLAND (45)—MAYOR OF HEARTWOOD
28.KOUGYOKU KUROSAKI 38—ARTISAN
29. HARU TSUKUMO (59)—RETIRED
30. SHIZUKU SASAYAMA (38)—SEAMSTRESS
31. ENA ASTRAL (???)—SECRETARY
32. OBOMI (???)—???
33. EMONEG RETIREH (⑧)—???
34. EMONEG TAOC FO SMRA (⓺⓽)—???
35. NOSYD EREHPS (⓽)—BIG EATER
36. YLAMONORHC SIDNALTA (⓺)—???
37. KCIMMIG TEPPUP LAIRES RELLIK (⓵⓹)—???
38. ROREPME EPOH (⓷⓽)—???
39. KRAHS EKARD (⓷⓶)—???
40. YXALAG SEYE NOTOHP NOGARD(???)—???
Mirai, Mirai, Mirai... He whispered his wife’s name over and over again in his mind like a magical spell. Kill, kill, kill, whispered the blade in his hands. The 95 engraved on the blade seemed to pulse with a malevolent light as he made his way towards the dark mansion. The Genom Woods shrouded the mansion in dark trees and eerie shadows. In all of his years adventuring, he had never felt more tense. Mist swirled around his skirts as he made his way down the darkened path.
His past self would have laughed at this situation. There he was, a man in the midst of his prime, wandering through these cursed woods dressed like a simpering woman. He had even shaved for the occasion, which was something he rarely did, despite Mirai’s protests. The lace collar at his throat itched worse than a mosquito bite. His dark blue skirts flew around him, stirring up the foliage wherever he went. Yet this was the only way to enter the Arclight estate. As a woman.
He saw the mansion’s doors before him and quickened his pace. Taking in a deep breath, he yanked open the doors, surprised at the lack of resistance. A cold air tinged with perfume filled his nose. Various statues and sculptures adorned the halls, yet there wasn’t a single painting to be seen. For a duke renowned for his handsome looks and refined tastes, his estate seemed like the setting for a lurid novel.
His heels tapped against the tiled floors and his heart beat against his ribs. The dagger seemed to pulsate with greater frequency the deeper he traveled. As much as he was tempted to scratch his itchy wig, he knew that he would never be able to put it back in place. The magician Yuma had taken hours to arrange it and would throw a fit if it was mussed. Well, whatever. That wasn’t the reason why he was here. He was here to save his wife from the duke.
Despite all of his efforts to search for the missing women and his shows of concern, Kazuma doubted that any of it was genuine. There was just something about the duke that Kauma distrusted. A drunkard had claimed that he had seen the duke’s handsome visage warped into a thousand-fanged beast with scythes for claws. A victim’s father had claimed that the duke had stopped by their tailor shop the night before his daughter went missing. A treasure hunter had said that her partner had come to the duke’s mansion in search of valuable treasures and never returned. Although most people would regard these rumors as nothing but attention-seeking riffraff, Kazuma had a habit of listening to the downtrodden.
Before him, two heavy doors opened as if by magic. Clutching the dagger to his chest, he turned his gaze downwards towards the floor as he caught a glimpse of the duke.
“Ah. A new bride has come into my embrace,” stated an elegant voice.
Kazuma’s grip around the dagger tightened. There. He saw the man’s finely tailored aqua suit and his ruffled cravat. Feigning hesitance, he snuck a glance at the duke’s handsome face. Demon’s eyes, he thought as he was pulled into the man’s arms. A heady cologne threatened to take over his senses. He let out a high and whispery sigh as he leaned into the man’s embrace. Slowly, he raised his arms over the duke’s head.
“There, there my dear...You are safe now. My hall welcomes all women—”
Shnk. Kazuma plunged the blade into Duke Arclight’s back, making sure it went straight to the other side. The 95 on the blade glowed in the darkened hall, as if it was delighted to drink in the contractor’s blood. Quickly, Kazuma pulled away and threw off his wig, relieved to be free of the itchy thing. Instead of the deep mauve of blood, a sickly pink dyed the Duke’s chest. He looked up at Kazuma in shock, golden eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.
“Where is my wife?!” roared Kazuma as he wiped the blade on his skirt.
The duke’s lips slowly moved, yet only strangled noises escaped him. A wind seemed to blow across the room. From afar, Kazuma heard the sound of something shattering. Outside, he thought he saw a glimpse of sunlight peeking through the darkened leaves. The sound of running feet followed soon after. A multitude of screams and cries followed and he ran towards the sound. He pulled open the doors closest to him and saw a mass of women running towards him.
There were women from all walks of life, from the well-bred to the hardened bodies of fishwives. Fear and confusion filled their faces as they saw him beside the duke’s body. Among them, he saw his wife.
Her orange hair stood out like a blazing fire, her red eyes gleaming with relief when she saw him. She pushed past the other women and bounded towards her husband.
They fell into a tight embrace, Kazuma burying his face into Mirai’s soft locks.
“You came,” she breathed. “You finally came.”
“Of course I did,” said Kazuma in the same breathless tone.
He looked at the sunlight filtering in through the dusty windows.
The women of Heraldria were finally free.