Baccano! Novel v5 ch1 - ~Emotion "Happiness"~
Gosh, it's been so long. Sorry, guys! Got caught up in other pursuits, and at the same time there were a few points in this chapter I was uncertain of, so it was hard for me to proceed. :( In any case, it's finally here. (What happened to my initial deadline?! Lol..) Enjoy, and for those who celebrate it, happy Chinese New Year!
Edit: Some animal stuff. Thanks, saffire_persian. XD
Chapter 1 ~Emotion "Happiness"~
Maiza Avaro
Year 2001____December _____Some country in Northern Europe_______ Some Forest
"Hey, is this really a road?"
A four-wheel drive traveled through the forest. This was what a small youth quipped, from the passenger's seat.
On the tiny sandy road devoid of asphalt, the car vigorously flung away all the snow that had accumulated on the road in its wake.
It had stopped snowing, and outside the window, the sunlight filtered through the gaps in the conifers, shining forth in rays of brilliance. As the car steadily drove deeper into the forest, the light gradually diminished, then--
"Don't even talk about some town, aren't we just going deeper into the forest? And......it doesn't look like the car can go much further on this road."
"We're probably going the wrong way, or rather, the road's gone."
That was what the man in black-rimmed glasses driving replied in response to the youth's uneasy query. He smiled gently even as he clutched the compass.
"......Never mind, it should be fine if that's what Maiza says. But, how do I put it, this forest does seem strange."
"Well, Czes is still as worrisome as ever."
"Not at all. It's you who's too relaxed, Maiza."
The youth -- Czeslaw Meyer raised his voice at the driver -- Maiza Avaro, and pouted.
Maiza peered at the boy out of the corner of his eye, and just smiled a little.
"Since you turned ageless, that temper's been immortalised too."
The youth refused to give in to the man that, no matter how one looked at him, couldn't be more than 30 years old, and said,
"I'm almost 300 years old, and whether it's based on age or experience, my instincts can't be wrong."
To summarise it in a line, these are the people who exist on this world as "immortals".
They aren't vampires or monsters, and aside from being able to kill each other, they have no weaknesses, and instead have perfectly immortal bodies.
But these bodies are, to them, both a blessing and a curse. Because the only way to kill an immortal is by "eating" each other. They only have to place their right hand on the other person's head, then mentally express this wish.
--And they will take everything that is their opponent's into themselves.
Just with that strong wish, everything that their opponent is will be theirs. Memories, knowledge, all the experiences they have gathered.
Like a game, the alchemists slaughtered each other, and everything was under the control of the "demon" who had granted them immortality. But the most part of these atrocities committed could probably be traced back to an old man.
200 years have passed. The alchemist group that once numbered over thirty people has been reduced to a mere handful. Upon the death of the culprit, Szilard Quates, the one who had first initiated the disastrous "feeding frenzy", the terrors of the time have slowly begun to fade from the minds of those involved, replaced by calm.
Maiza and Czes embarked on a world journey to meet and inform their companions of Szilard's death. To meet the immortals who had completely gone into hiding so they could evade Szilard's evil hands.
After they'd received news regarding the whereabouts of one of them -- Elmer C Albatross -- they left the land they knew and stepped away towards faraway countries, driving into dense forests.
As they traveled on the isolated road, a distant roar [*??*] stopped the conversation between the two in its tracks. A blanket of silence descended upon the car. At this moment, a woman's voice rose from the back, echoing in the air.
"Hey, what kind of place is this village we're going to? Can we shower there?"
The clear voice did not have the slightest hint of roughness.
At the right side of the backseat, a woman folded her arms and leaned forward. The arm that peeked out of the sleeve of the winter garments was long and smooth, hinting at her beauty. A few strands of hair danced silently on her forehead, which was delicate and curved like the silhouette of an American lion or panther. Her short silvery mane was not cropped very neatly, but this only served to frame her alluring face to better effect.
By most standards, she would definitely be worthy of the term "beautiful". But this was not the natural, light beauty, exalted in paintings of goddesses -- rather, it was the sublimation of human desire, and revealed the seductive allure of a succubus.
"Mm......"
She--Sylvie Lumiere stretched her upper body, her expression blurred with sleep, and sighed gently. Whether the person looking on was male or female, this gesture gave an impression of immense seduction. Because he'd long since become accustomed to it, Maiza was impassive as he saw this through the rear view mirror.
"Well, we won't know if we don't get there."
"Yea, but is he really here? Elmer."
"He should be, our source there is pretty much still rather accurate."
With this reassured answer, Sylvie did not raise any more questions. But Czes did, in a tone that suggested he was venting some inner anger.
"But, Maiza, the sky's getting darker? It's only noon at the moment."
As if worried about the journey ahead, Czes lowered his head, while Sylvie, in the backseat, placed her two hands on her head.
"Ah, Czes hasn't changed at all, still so cute."
"Geee, stop that, Sylvie! I'm not a kid any more!"
"Alright, alright, you still look like a little one from your appearance, that's why I said you were cute!"
Sylvie leaned forward again, putting her face close to the frantic Czes's. Czes's cheeks were immediately imbued with a rosy pink, but he pretended to ignore Sylvie and turned towards Maiza to say,
"But this forest really is odd......I keep feeling like some monster will jump out."
Upon hearing this, Sylvie started chuckling, then touched Czes's head gently.
"Oh what, monster -- and this isn't a kid?"
Sylvie continued caressing, as Czes muttered thoughtfully to himself.
"Sylvie only says that because she hasn't seen a monster before......"
--What?
As Sylvie was about to retort to this, Maiza spat a phrase out of the corner of his mouth.
"It is a little strange."
"? What's going on?"
"We're surrounded by forests, and......the coniferous trees are growing too densely. At the place where there's especially little light, it feels like the trees are being forced to grow."
Upon hearing Maiza's words, Sylvie returned to her original spot on the backseat, surveying the trees around her. They were so dense it was as if they were twining around each others' trunks, there was so little gap between the trees, almost like they were keeping intruders out.
"It truly is rather strange. Why is this so?"
"Why......if we walk forward a little more, perhaps we'll find out."
"Ahhhh, maybe we're getting closer to Elmer."
All Sylvie could do was believe Maiza's words and try to relax. She said,
"Among the alchemists on that ship, the most evil's probably Szilard, the most terrifying will have to be Huey, but the strangest is definitely Elmer, he was always honestly very calm on the ship......never mind, he's the happiest person too."
"Is Huey really all that scary? He's just an unfathomable person."
"Scary scary, wasn't the person closest to him someone like Elmer?"
"Actually, Elmer didn't know what terror was......telling lies like saying he'd successfully bluffed King Louis XIV, and carried a cursed diamond with no ill effects. If it were really him, it probably wouldn't be easy to do all those things."
[T/N: King Louis XIV: The Hope Diamond]
As Maiza said this, he stopped the car, and looked into the distance through the windshield.
This was a small but high hillock -- steeper than usual.
The slope itself wasn't steep, but the stones and sand had mixed together and accumulated. Normal cars wouldn't even think of passing this, even going ahead on foot would not be easy.
As they turned a curve, the surrounding forests were exceptionally dense, the car compressed the soil underfoot and slowly traveled towards the hillock.
"There seems to have been a tunnel passing through the hillock in the past......but because the soil collapsed, it became like this. Looks like it's been like this for a while, at least there aren't any trees or growth on it, that's a help at least."
"Help or not, can we cross this? Why not try to rebuild the tunnell?"
In reply to Sylvie's question, Maiza shrugged his shoulders gently, and replied,
"It was originally a tunnel that hadn't been used for a while, because this is an entrance to private grounds. Perhaps the people here decided not to use the tunnel."
"Hmm......wait a moment, Maiza!"
Czes, who had been nodding frequently from his spot on the passenger's seat, suddenly yelped in alarm.
"What does private grounds mean? Elmer's at a small village......"
"Right. So, the private grounds ahead seem to be that very village."
In response to Maiza's bland proclamation, Czes's and Sylvie's eyes met in the rear view mirror for a moment.
"Hahaha, some investor used plant research as an excuse to get in touch with the owners of the neighbouring lands, but it didn't work, I don't have those contacts in this country."
Even Maiza, who worked in an illegal organisation in America, had places he could not freely visit on a country where he had no contacts. Upon hearing this, a frown appeared for the first time today on Sylvie's forehead as she muttered to herself,
"A village......on private land?"
"Right."
"The sources you mention, are they really reliable?"
"Of course."
Maiza said this with utter confidence, while Sylvie only fixed her eyes dully on a point in the air.
"Well, let's go. Hold on tight!"
Go where? Before Czes could ask, Maiza had stepped on the accelerator in a smooth motion.
"Wait, Mai......"
Czes's cry was lost in the powerful roar of the car's engines.
Kakakakakakakakakakakaka.
The roar continued.
Czes's small body shook in the cramped confines of the car, the motion rocking through his waist and back to his stomach and liver.
"Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"----Ho!"
Czes let out a shout with the rocking of the car, while Sylvie only lay on the backseat and endured it.
This continued for a few more minute, then finally stopped after a particularly big roar.
The downward-sloping hill was cut off halfway by a cliff.
About three meters ahead of the gap, the snow-covered gravel road continued.
The three seated people straightened their backs a little, preparing for another shock in a moment's time.
[Ah!]
In that moment, from even further back than the backseat -- the space between the rear of the car and the back seat -- came the keening of a man. But the three people did not seem to mind, only began calming their breathing down.
"Geez, Maiza, you're always doing unexpected things."
"Oh dear, it's an occupational hazard."
"Sometimes I really envy you that kind of character."
"Oh dear oh dear, thank you very much then."
Czes and Sylvie both stared sharply at Maiza, who hadn't even broken a sweat. To this, he only continued to smile, surveying the surroundings of the car.
The forest was as dense as ever, but in comparison to the fields, there was less snow on the ground.
"Continuing along this way, we should reach the place after about five kilometers..."
[Maiza! Were you trying to kill me!]
Suddenly, an angry shout rose from the backseat, which was where the luggage was stored......but Maiza continued stepping on the accelerator as if nothing had happened. After he confirmed that there was nothing amiss with the engine, he stepped on the clutch and entered neutral gear.
[Did you hear me?]
"Oh, I heard you, Nile,"
Maiza answered mildly, and stepped heavily on the accelerator again.
"The road ahead is rough, be careful not to bite your tongues, everyone!"
As the sound of the words sank, the snow on the ground danced around the car as the tyres began spinning faster and faster.
[Don't patronise me. I daresay your girlfriend left you because you were always like that!]
A dull voice came from the boot. For just a moment, Maiza turned towards the back, worry on his face, then he faced forward again, focusing on driving.
The man's voice did not ring out again.
From an outsider's point of view, it was an extremely strange situation, but the people in the car did not seem to care, really.
--They only continued advancing in the shadows of the forest.
To search for their friend of old, traveling towards the village that cannot be found on the map---
====
People were at the village.
They came sitting on a strange thing.
It was a huge box made of metal. A little like a wagon, but somewhat shorter.
It looked like the supply vehicles traders sometimes came here in.
Running by itself, without need of horses, this was like the traders.
But this seemed to be different from the traders', no goods were loaded onto it.
The metal boxcar that was stopped at the entrance of the village.
I was the first to find it.
But the first to approach were the villagers.
Everyone had a weapon in hand. People, more and more, gathered around this supply vehicle made of metal.
Who would shortly encounter misfortune again.
Who, would shortly encounter misfortune again.
I was certain of this point. Because, like that time---
---Five years ago, when Mr Elmer was first killed---
I could only watch. Facing all those villagers who still only had unrest and murderous intents in their hearts, I could only watch.
Then, I could only tell them. (*Makes no sense. T-T*)
Because this, was my duty now.
====
"Hey, I can see it."
As they finally traveled out of the forest, Maiza and the rest drove steadily forward.
Suddenly, their line of sight was expanded, and they were surrounded by white-silver. At first they thought this was just a field, but from the levelness of the road, this was, unfortunately, probably farmland.
"It's wheatfields!"
At Maiza's words, Czes and the rest looked at their surroundings, a large patch of farmland was bound much as the forest was, the area was huge. Snow was not accumulated thickly, so the colour of the ground could occasionally be seen.
At the end of the road -- towards the direction the car was traveling -- a few buildings could be seen clearly.
"There really is---a town."
"Is this really private land?"
As the two surprised voices rang out, Maiza stopped the car at the entrance of the village.
Stone buildings. In the distance, it could be a granary, or perhaps a village residence.
It could be mistaken for a granary mainly because its architecture was starkly different from what they had seen in this country so far.
The building itself was old, but it imbued the entire village with a vintage flavor, quite as if one had stepped onto a movie set. Even the surroundings did not have a whiff of modernity, it was as if one were completely immersed into the movie's scene.
But they did not feel like they had purely entered a "time machine" -- this is because the scene in the village was different from the "past" they had actually lived through, so there was a sense of dissonance. It was rather as if this town was not naturally formed, but created out of someone's plans.
"This town is bigger than I'd thought."
As they went deeper into the village, rows of houses lined both sides of the road, which seemed to be the main one. Besides stone houses, there were wooden buildings or small houses of natural wood, so therefore, the atmosphere was not very integrated.
"This town seems to have been built in a rush. But it is pretty vintage......"
"Isn't it rather nice to be nostalgic?"
After Maiza and Czes had briefly expressed their ideas, Sylvie suddenly had a change of expression, and whispered, voice choked,
"What it pity, looks like I can't shower......they don't seem to have water pipes here."
She lowered her shoulders dejectedly, bent her head, and sighed in disinterest.
In an instant, Maiza's tone changed.
"Sylvie, that might not be the problem."
"Why?"
At that, Sylvie turned her head towards the window once more. Then, she noticed something.
In the middle of the road running through the village stood a girl dressed in tattered clothes, waves of fear emanating from her body as she looked this way in terror.
"What's wrong with that child?"
"Look at the side."
Czes's voice betrayed a hint of panic.
Perhaps sensing some strangeness in Czes's expression, Sylvie held her breath and stared at the little girl. Then, she realised that it wasn't only the girl on the road, a great many other eyes were on them.
Several people seemed to appear out of the shadows of the buildings, or from the windows, their gazes towards Maiza's car glinting from every corner.
"Hm---so that's how it is."
"What?"
Upon Czes's panicked query, Maiza clutched his compass, troubled.
"No. There're villages on private land anywhere. For example, for those specially-designated religious groups, or illegal organisations, this can be seen anywhere."
"Which means?"
"Don't know what they'll do to outsiders. If we're just treated as trespassers and handed to police it might be alright, but if our luck is bad---"
Maiza squinted his eyes into a slender line, and bluntly stated his conclusion.
"I cannot predict how this will end."
"Let's run away. I don't like troublesome things."
"Do wait a moment, Czes. If Elmer is living in that village, these are the only people we can ask about that. If Elmer has become one of them, as soon as we tell them how things are, they will surely welcome us with open arms."
Czes expressed uncertainty regarding Maiza's optimistic prediction.
"If we're not accepted, or Elmer never even came to this village?"
"Oh, someone's approaching us."
"Maiza? Hey, answer me first, look at me!"
Disregarding Czes shaking him by the shoulders, Maiza got out of the car by himself and walked over.
"Ah, when it comes it comes. If it comes to that, we'll run away in full force, then."
Far from the road, a man leading a group of youths walked towards them.
It was a middle-aged man, with a moustache under his nose, his eyes glinting, giving off an ominous aura. Thick winter clothing garbed his skinny frame, these clothes did not have any synthetic materials, they were purely made from fur and skin. The youths who followed were similarly dressed, they even had hunting rifles and gold clubs in their hands. The rifles were of very old make, from Maiza's memories, the models were over 100 years old.
The men reached out to push the girl standing in the middle of the road, then walked towards the tracks the car Maiza was in had made. As he stepped on the stone ground exposed by the melting snow, he stared at that sharp pair of eyes, full of tension.
When they walked towards this direction, owners within the buildings at the sides of the road came out, one by one, as well, so that their numbers strengthened as they approached Maiza's group.
There were females interspersed among the new figures, holding metal axes and kitchen knives tightly in their hands. This group seemed to have no intention of seeing why Maiza and company were here; instead, they were full of hostility.
Yet, Maiza nonetheless closed the car's door with nary a hint of fear. With a hand on the door's handle, he leaned forward, prepared to get back in at any sign of danger.
---But first, they needed to be able to communicate.
"......Who are you? You don't look like traders......why are you here?"
Disregarding the worried Maiza, the man with the moustache spoke. Even though they rushed towards Maiza and the car as he spoke, they stopped at a place further than Maiza would have expected.
But at least the other side'd used a language he could understand -- the official language of this country. At this, Maiza breathed a sigh of relief, his anxiety slightly quelled.
"Pardon me, we are travelers."
If they got off reporting the name of the person they were looking for, they might instead make them wary. Therefore, Maiza first held out the flag of a traveler, to test the other party's reaction.
"Are...travelers?"
The moustached man's face expressed shocked, as he stared unblinkingly at Maiza, now in front of the car. That dim light that shone from his eyes betrayed not quite rage, but rather a strong feeling of hate.
Hastily glancing at the people behind Maiza, the man said, harshly,
"Everyone in the car, get out!"
"What?"
"To be certain. Let us determine if there're freaks in the car."
Determine with which yardstick? If a fight broke out with no reason, it's be pointless. As Maiza thought this, he sighed and cast a glance towards Czes and the rest in the car.
As soon as Czes, with his youthful appearance, exited the car, the hostility of the crowd lowered by several notches.
Then, when Sylvie got out from the backseat -- everyone's eyes were as large as platters.
She was wearing the winter cloak she had removed in the car, and surveying the crowd around them with challenging eyes, then she slowly half-closed her eyes, and leaned against the car's door lazily.
Sylvie's actions again seemed to dissipate the crowd's confusion. A few of the males were looking at her with an expression quite different from a few moments ago.
"......Is that all the people?"
Only one person, the man with the moustache, did not lower his guard, and he tossed Maiza a severe look.
"How suspicious of you."
Maiza did not answer the man's question, and instead spoke with sarcasm. The moustached man neither got angry nor relaxed, only said, coldly,
"I am the village chief, Dez Nibel."
"Hello, I am---"
The moustached man--Dez ignored Maiza's introduction, and turned his head to speak,
"I am not interested in outsiders, you cannot stay at this village, go back quickly."
"This isn't very safe, you know. We don't have any other place we can rest at, you can't expect us to live in the forest."
"This village currently does not have any space for outsiders to live in. I'm really sorry, it's a rule. If you outsiders do unnecessary things, that demon will---"
At this, Dez suddenly stopped.
"Demon?"
A man's face came to Maiza's mind. That was the "demon" who had given him immortality---the face of his companion now far away in New York. But that was unrelated, so Maiza tried to confirm things with the village chief.
"Nothing, hurry, leave this village, no, leave this forest!"
"The demon is?"
In the face of Maiza's curiosity, the villagers clucked their tongues, then said hesitantly,
"......There's a freak here."
In a patch of land far from the centre of the forest, there was a freak that attacked the village.
The secret that suddenly came to fore--sounded much like a myth or legend. But Maiza did not disregard it, only silently listened to what Dez said.
"You don't know how much that freak has made us suffer. I never used to believe stuff like this."
"What kind of monster is it?"
"Anything else is not worth saying! Quick, leave!"
Maiza was silent a little as he regarded Dez, face red and exhaling white puffs of air, then as if deciding something, he muttered.
"......Elmer......Elmer C Albatross."
Whoosh---
The atmosphere suddenly changed.
The instant Maiza spoke the name, the expressions of everyone around them changed. The hostility that had disappeared resurfaced again, and even the men who had been staring at Sylvie started to turn towards Maiza, one by one, not unlike tumblers in a lock falling into place.
Even the rather-expressionless village chief was staring, eyes wide, at them.
"You......"
"We are looking for that man. If he is not at this village, we will leave immediately---"
"Seize them!"
Even before the tones of Maiza's words had left the air, the chief's shout roared through the road.
The nervous villagers suddenly welled up like floodwaters against a dam, the power of their approach much like a pack of predators chasing their prey. Perhaps it was a figment of the imagination, but aside from hostility, their eyes seemed to hold some other emotion.
---Terror?
Maiza recognised that feeling hidden deep in the gazes, but a pity he did not have time to confirm this, and could only defend against the men's attack. But it seemed Maiza had already anticipated something like this might happen, and was, as usual, very calm. Without moving his line of sight, he stomped on a wooden board, which sailed gently past the men's arms.
".....Wait, we aren't---"
Maiza was just turning to look at the chief when the young people standing to one side raised their guns, aiming towards this side.
"Anything you say is useless!"
The gunshots pierced the calm of the village. Maiza's body was hit, and he swayed.
"Maiza!"
Seeing this happen, Sylvie couldn't help but cry out. Because she had not understood how things were proceeding like Maiza had, she could only lean against the car, unmoving. Czes, on the other hand, had clearly seen how things would develop early on, and hidden under the car.
The bullets shot through Maiza's thigh, tore a hole in the thick pants, and suddenly blood was flying.
In a moment, the villagers had Maiza surrounded in a huddle, and only the village chief was looking at somewhere else, and that was the fresh blood that had pooled under Maiza's foot.
Dez trembled uneasily, watching the drops of red that had sprayed on the stone ground.
Before long, his unease was justified.
The traces of blood that should have just sprayed on the stone began sliding along the ground in a moment. As if capable of conscious movement, the red spots gathered under Maiza's foot. Like in a dance, they bumped into each other, mixing, melding--and finally climbed onto Maiza's leg, towards the tear in his pants, which was where Maiza's wound was, sliding across.
The villagers who were approaching when Maiza was attacked saw this and stopped, then started retreating, their faces turning white.
"The same......"
"Monster!"
"The same as that man......!"
"Going to die."
"Going to be tainted."
"Don't look into his eyes......"
The villagers looked with consternation at each other, discussing in hushed voices.
"?"
Seeing this kind of scenario, Maiza was suddenly reminded of something.
Even now, when humans who did not understand saw the scene of 'regeneration', they would be scared, so everyone tended to avoid Maiza. Only one person was the exception, and that was his unique boss -- the ringleader who had brought him into the New York families.
Yet, the villagers' reactions were somewhat different from usual. Usually, when people saw Maiza's body regenerate, they would think he had a "supernatural existence" and be very fearful -- but the group of people now somehow gave the feeling they had just seen a horror they were familiar with, and subsequently very scared of. This was not the unknown terror, the principle of regeneration seemed to already be within their knowledge, and they felt that there were scary terms within this principle.
---So that's how it was. He more or less understood.
Maiza silently expressed his certainty to himself, then assessed the surroundings again.
At this moment, a few people far from Maiza were approaching Sylvie. Approaching the person who was utterly confused about what was going on, and he was worried they would take her as hostage.
"Wait, please hold on!"
Sylvie stuck close to the door even as she swatted the hands of the man who was nearby.
But the villagers quickly caught Sylvie's slender arm.
Maiza leaned forward, as if to help Sylvie, but he seemed to suddenly notice something, and he paused. Behind Sylvie -- the car windows at the back of the car were beginning to vibrate gently.
The villagers clutching Sylvie's arm were engrossed in grabbing her, and did not notice.
From the window, a brown palm snaked out---
Kachak.
The long arm that stretched out from the car window mercilessly grabbed the arm of the villagers attempting to attack Sylvie.
"Ah!"
The young villager cried out once, and involuntarily left Sylvie. Then, as if in answer to this action, the hand that had stretched out suddenly retreated. And the arm of the villager who had been caught was correspondingly dragged back quickly.
"Whoa---ahhhhhhhhh!"
Unable to resist, most of the villager's arm was pulled into the car, then a rumbling began from inside the car once more. The villager's arm was trapped like this between the car's windows, and the person inside closed this in a moment.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
The youth's experienced waves of pain from the pressure. His arm was not broken, but was wedged in place by the hard glass of the window, which did not open again, only produced a clattering sound as it clung on to the youth's flesh.
Seeing this sudden development, the villagers around Sylvie were frozen from fear. Sylvie, who was standing at a side, stole a look through the car window -- then hastily jumped away from the doors.
In the instant Sylvie jumped towards the front of a car, after a particularly-loud clatter, the back car door was forcefully kicked open -- the car window still clamping on that poor villager's arm.
"Oh owwww!"
The villager's body suddenly sprung up and would have flown across the road if his arm were not still restricted by the window. Following that was a enormously-loud ringing sound, whether this sound came from the window or from the villager's bones, no one could tell.
Then, along with the screaming, from the car came a---
"Fr----eak?"
The reaction was different from the earlier one towards Maiza. There was a kind of haplessness in the fear in the villagers' voices. Furthermore, the man who came out of the car looked really very strange. He was wrapped in clothes like white cloth, though brown skin could be spied from his sleeve. Even though it couldn't be said to be thin, it did make anyone feel cold in comparison to the current external temperature.
This wasn't even the strange part, that was mostly to do with his head. The most attention-grabbing thing was the strange mask on his face. A mask with such a complicated pattern as this was usually only seen in South-east Asian or Hong Kong temples, and gorgeous colours were drawn on the mild background. Even more scary was that the area exposed under the mask was not skin, but the pure white of bandages. That is to say, the man's face and head was first twined with bandages before the mask was put on. At the eye part of the mask, a pair of sharp sanpaku eyes glinted.
(*T/N: Sanpaku eyes: Possibly a sign of violence/chaos/imbalance*)
The appearance of this strange-looking man unsettled the villages, and in a moment they erupted in chatter that rang across the plaza.
The masked man peered at Maiza, uncaring of his surroundings, and said mildly,
"You, your driving skills are too dreadful. I'll say it again. I dare to say it again -- were you trying to kill me?"
The mask hid the man's expression, but you could tell from his voice that he was enraged.
"I was thinking of beating you up or crippling you, but what to do, situations are situations. Forgive you, I forgive you."
"Thank you, how rare, Nile."
Maiza answered the man's bragging tone with a shrug of his shoulders. Then, he spoke to the village chief, whose eyes were as round as marbles.
"Ahhh, this person has actually always been 'stored' at the backseat, so he didn't get off the car earlier......we didn't mean to hide him, so please don't misunderstand."
But the chief did not listen to his words. Facing the man who had appeared in front of him, there was a nightmarish expression on his face.
Possibly realizing the commotion around them, the masked man called Nile crossed his arms and asked Maiza,
"I'm not too sure what on earth's happening, but you seem to be pretty calm eh, so I'll dare ask. Maiza, what do I do now?"
"Ah--I think we should try our best to settle this peacefully, and not take violent actions."
Maiza was still worried about what the villagers might do. Nile nodded his head with a "Yeah", and returned to the boot.
Stepping on the spare tyre laid there, the masked man nimbly climbed up tot he roof of the car. Standing there, arms still crossed, he looked down at the villagers, pose magnificent.
Facing the villagers who had no idea what was going to happen, Nile opened his mouth languidly.
"Alright, kneel down. We'll talk later."
It was a soft, yet projected voice. Even though it was an unreasonable demand, Maiza and Sylvie seemed to be used to it, and did not protest. But--
"Nile. These people don't understand English, you know."
---In a way, not knowing might be a good thing.
As Maiza spoke, the surroundings silenced for a moment.
"What?!"
A panicked voice issued from under the mask.
"Don't lie to me!"
"Who's lying to you......I haven't spoken English to these people since the beginning. Didn't you hear?"
"----Hm, can I be wrong? Must I admit that I'm wrong? If I'm wrong I'll definitely admit it! But aside from Berberes (*T/N: A native African language*), all I can say is French, Japanese, and Indonesian. What to do?"
"Please refrain from doing anything. But, I hope you don't flatten the roof, so stepping down might be a good idea."
Maiza said, a little tiredly, and Sylvie finally opened her mouth to say,
"The villagers have been scared witless by you. Because you said those things they couldn't understand."
"Ah."
Nile peered through the mask towards the villagers one last time, still from a lofty position. He only saw the villagers steadily inching back, as if consciously wanting to put distance between them and Nile and Maiza. The villager with the trapped hand seemed to have extricated his hand, tearfully skulking off to the furthest line back.
Facing those seemingly-slow villagers who spoke a different language, Nile's hostility seemed to have dampened down, but he then said, in a different, strange voice,
"So that's how it is......Maiza. I daresay."
"Say what?"
"You can't possibly settle this calmly."
"Yeah."
Hearing Nile's words, Maiza had surveyed the area around him in a broad sweep before he answered.
Among these fearful villagers, only the youths beside the village chief appeared calm. At some point of time, the villagers with guns had also increased by a large amount, and they held Maiza, Sylvie, and Nile at gunpoint.
"Aim for the head."
Following the chief's orders, the men set their aims without hesitation, much like hunters.
"If they're the same kind as that fellow, they won't be able to move not long after the brain is hit, if we hit one, the rest will be easy."
It seemed the villagers had the upper hand, yet in this group of people, none of them believed they'd be successful. Even those who had calmly aimed at the enemies had palms that were sticky with sweat.
The man on the roof scoffed, as if mocking the dangerous situation at hand, and said,
"Try shooting. The instant you pull the trigger, I can view you as the enemy. I daresay, I would kill you all!"
"I've said they don't understand English....."
Maiza sighed softly, then focused his attention on the rifles the villagers were holding.
---Then, what on earth do we do? Maybe intentionally let ourselves be captured--
As he was thinking this, the villagers' hostility towards the rose again. The tranquil azure blue sky overhead seemed to be mocking all of this. Maiza stared at the sky silently, then resolutely made a decision.
He would follow the villagers first, while the other three would temporarily leave. This idea rushed to the forefront of Maiza's mind. It was possible for all of them to escape, but before that, he had to find a lead regarding Elmer's whereabouts.
As a member of the secret Black Hand Association and a member of the New York criminal organisation, the "Martiggio family", Maiza had temporarily left the organisation to begin traveling the world. The reason for this trip was not only to sightsee and relax, but more importantly to search for immortals spread throughout the globe.
For 30 years, Maiza had always been searching, together with Czes, for all those old Alchemist friends. Even though they had spent a large amount of time and effort to find Sylvie and Nile, this period of time was nonetheless not long for an immortal. Just when they had decided the last two people would never be found and were about to give up -- Maiza received news regarding one of them, Elmer C Albatross. It was a piece of news from the Intelligence Department, and clearly noted the location of the village. There was, however, no other explanation or summary regarding this village, and the report was only stamped "Classified". But to Maiza, even such a small thread of possible life was a big enough clue to work on.
He couldn't pass up on such a good opportunity! He still had 8 months before he had planned to return to the New York organization, if he mised this chance, he might never find Elmer.
The current situation was a tad worrying. Maiza sensed that the idea that "Demon = Elmer" was deeply rooted in the minds of the villagers, which was why he had let the name slip. Now, they were actually in an obvious hostile situation with the villagers, and he definitely could not let the arrogant, prideful Nile, or Czes and Sylvie, be implicated. Even though they were immortals too, they would not be able to escape from the torture of pain, so Maiza planned to use himself as bait.
The instant he turned to look at Sylvie and the rest -- at the edge of his line of sight, something seemed to have appeared.
Just outside the village, just beyond the small street Maiza's car was on, three horses had appeared from the opposite direction they had approached the village from. A few small figures were atop the horses, and they were all in red.
Maiza, whose back was to them, did not move. The villagers peered at the three horses and breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Hey......the emissaries are here."
"Lay down your weapons!"
"Dammit, they shouldn't have come today......"
"Those people are really of the Devil......"
That was what the villagers muttered, some put down the guns they were holding, while others ran frantically towards their homes and shut the door, and soon even the group of villagers standing oppressively at a corner of the main road had disappeared. In a moment, there was only the village chief and his followers left, who glared, unmoving, at the three people clad in red.
"What? Has something happened?"
"Yeah?"
Sylvie and Nile seemed not to realise what had happened. Hearing the sound of hooves from behind them, they turned as well.
The three horses simultaneously stopped about ten metres from the car. The three girls on the horses -- they appeared to be young girls in their early teens. Because the three of them looked very similar, Maiza and the rest immediately determined that they were sisters.
All three of them wore clothing made of red cloth, and their sleeves were decorated by white hems, much like Santa Claus. This kind of attire was rather at odds with the old-fashioned air of the villagers' clothes.
"----M'lord Dez."
One of them dismounted, and gazed with some unease at the village chief staring at her.
"These people are M'lord Elmer's guests, we are here to escort them to the city."
"You......"
The village chief glared viciously at the three girls. This kind of expression was not the terror he had expressed upon facing Maiza and Nile, but rather a pure unhappiness.
"No matter what, please accept this, Sir. It is M'lord Elmer's command."
"......"
After peering at the girl for a moment, he intentionally clucked his tongue loudly, then turned and raised his chin at the surrounding people. Thus, the remaining youths walked away along the main road.
The noisy village entrance was momentarily quiet upon the appearance of the three girls, and now fell into a kind of unspeakably subtle atmosphere. Maiza and the rest were speechless at the sudden intruders, and only looked at each other in silence.
The clear voice of one of the girls broke this silence. While mounting the horse once more, she said to Maiza and the rest rather fearfully,
"Well......please follow me, we'll......we'll help you. It's---too dangerous here."
Edit: Some animal stuff. Thanks, saffire_persian. XD
Chapter 1 ~Emotion "Happiness"~
Maiza Avaro
Year 2001____December _____Some country in Northern Europe_______ Some Forest
"Hey, is this really a road?"
A four-wheel drive traveled through the forest. This was what a small youth quipped, from the passenger's seat.
On the tiny sandy road devoid of asphalt, the car vigorously flung away all the snow that had accumulated on the road in its wake.
It had stopped snowing, and outside the window, the sunlight filtered through the gaps in the conifers, shining forth in rays of brilliance. As the car steadily drove deeper into the forest, the light gradually diminished, then--
"Don't even talk about some town, aren't we just going deeper into the forest? And......it doesn't look like the car can go much further on this road."
"We're probably going the wrong way, or rather, the road's gone."
That was what the man in black-rimmed glasses driving replied in response to the youth's uneasy query. He smiled gently even as he clutched the compass.
"......Never mind, it should be fine if that's what Maiza says. But, how do I put it, this forest does seem strange."
"Well, Czes is still as worrisome as ever."
"Not at all. It's you who's too relaxed, Maiza."
The youth -- Czeslaw Meyer raised his voice at the driver -- Maiza Avaro, and pouted.
Maiza peered at the boy out of the corner of his eye, and just smiled a little.
"Since you turned ageless, that temper's been immortalised too."
The youth refused to give in to the man that, no matter how one looked at him, couldn't be more than 30 years old, and said,
"I'm almost 300 years old, and whether it's based on age or experience, my instincts can't be wrong."
To summarise it in a line, these are the people who exist on this world as "immortals".
They aren't vampires or monsters, and aside from being able to kill each other, they have no weaknesses, and instead have perfectly immortal bodies.
But these bodies are, to them, both a blessing and a curse. Because the only way to kill an immortal is by "eating" each other. They only have to place their right hand on the other person's head, then mentally express this wish.
--And they will take everything that is their opponent's into themselves.
Just with that strong wish, everything that their opponent is will be theirs. Memories, knowledge, all the experiences they have gathered.
Like a game, the alchemists slaughtered each other, and everything was under the control of the "demon" who had granted them immortality. But the most part of these atrocities committed could probably be traced back to an old man.
200 years have passed. The alchemist group that once numbered over thirty people has been reduced to a mere handful. Upon the death of the culprit, Szilard Quates, the one who had first initiated the disastrous "feeding frenzy", the terrors of the time have slowly begun to fade from the minds of those involved, replaced by calm.
Maiza and Czes embarked on a world journey to meet and inform their companions of Szilard's death. To meet the immortals who had completely gone into hiding so they could evade Szilard's evil hands.
After they'd received news regarding the whereabouts of one of them -- Elmer C Albatross -- they left the land they knew and stepped away towards faraway countries, driving into dense forests.
As they traveled on the isolated road, a distant roar [*??*] stopped the conversation between the two in its tracks. A blanket of silence descended upon the car. At this moment, a woman's voice rose from the back, echoing in the air.
"Hey, what kind of place is this village we're going to? Can we shower there?"
The clear voice did not have the slightest hint of roughness.
At the right side of the backseat, a woman folded her arms and leaned forward. The arm that peeked out of the sleeve of the winter garments was long and smooth, hinting at her beauty. A few strands of hair danced silently on her forehead, which was delicate and curved like the silhouette of an American lion or panther. Her short silvery mane was not cropped very neatly, but this only served to frame her alluring face to better effect.
By most standards, she would definitely be worthy of the term "beautiful". But this was not the natural, light beauty, exalted in paintings of goddesses -- rather, it was the sublimation of human desire, and revealed the seductive allure of a succubus.
"Mm......"
She--Sylvie Lumiere stretched her upper body, her expression blurred with sleep, and sighed gently. Whether the person looking on was male or female, this gesture gave an impression of immense seduction. Because he'd long since become accustomed to it, Maiza was impassive as he saw this through the rear view mirror.
"Well, we won't know if we don't get there."
"Yea, but is he really here? Elmer."
"He should be, our source there is pretty much still rather accurate."
With this reassured answer, Sylvie did not raise any more questions. But Czes did, in a tone that suggested he was venting some inner anger.
"But, Maiza, the sky's getting darker? It's only noon at the moment."
As if worried about the journey ahead, Czes lowered his head, while Sylvie, in the backseat, placed her two hands on her head.
"Ah, Czes hasn't changed at all, still so cute."
"Geee, stop that, Sylvie! I'm not a kid any more!"
"Alright, alright, you still look like a little one from your appearance, that's why I said you were cute!"
Sylvie leaned forward again, putting her face close to the frantic Czes's. Czes's cheeks were immediately imbued with a rosy pink, but he pretended to ignore Sylvie and turned towards Maiza to say,
"But this forest really is odd......I keep feeling like some monster will jump out."
Upon hearing this, Sylvie started chuckling, then touched Czes's head gently.
"Oh what, monster -- and this isn't a kid?"
Sylvie continued caressing, as Czes muttered thoughtfully to himself.
"Sylvie only says that because she hasn't seen a monster before......"
--What?
As Sylvie was about to retort to this, Maiza spat a phrase out of the corner of his mouth.
"It is a little strange."
"? What's going on?"
"We're surrounded by forests, and......the coniferous trees are growing too densely. At the place where there's especially little light, it feels like the trees are being forced to grow."
Upon hearing Maiza's words, Sylvie returned to her original spot on the backseat, surveying the trees around her. They were so dense it was as if they were twining around each others' trunks, there was so little gap between the trees, almost like they were keeping intruders out.
"It truly is rather strange. Why is this so?"
"Why......if we walk forward a little more, perhaps we'll find out."
"Ahhhh, maybe we're getting closer to Elmer."
All Sylvie could do was believe Maiza's words and try to relax. She said,
"Among the alchemists on that ship, the most evil's probably Szilard, the most terrifying will have to be Huey, but the strangest is definitely Elmer, he was always honestly very calm on the ship......never mind, he's the happiest person too."
"Is Huey really all that scary? He's just an unfathomable person."
"Scary scary, wasn't the person closest to him someone like Elmer?"
"Actually, Elmer didn't know what terror was......telling lies like saying he'd successfully bluffed King Louis XIV, and carried a cursed diamond with no ill effects. If it were really him, it probably wouldn't be easy to do all those things."
[T/N: King Louis XIV: The Hope Diamond]
As Maiza said this, he stopped the car, and looked into the distance through the windshield.
This was a small but high hillock -- steeper than usual.
The slope itself wasn't steep, but the stones and sand had mixed together and accumulated. Normal cars wouldn't even think of passing this, even going ahead on foot would not be easy.
As they turned a curve, the surrounding forests were exceptionally dense, the car compressed the soil underfoot and slowly traveled towards the hillock.
"There seems to have been a tunnel passing through the hillock in the past......but because the soil collapsed, it became like this. Looks like it's been like this for a while, at least there aren't any trees or growth on it, that's a help at least."
"Help or not, can we cross this? Why not try to rebuild the tunnell?"
In reply to Sylvie's question, Maiza shrugged his shoulders gently, and replied,
"It was originally a tunnel that hadn't been used for a while, because this is an entrance to private grounds. Perhaps the people here decided not to use the tunnel."
"Hmm......wait a moment, Maiza!"
Czes, who had been nodding frequently from his spot on the passenger's seat, suddenly yelped in alarm.
"What does private grounds mean? Elmer's at a small village......"
"Right. So, the private grounds ahead seem to be that very village."
In response to Maiza's bland proclamation, Czes's and Sylvie's eyes met in the rear view mirror for a moment.
"Hahaha, some investor used plant research as an excuse to get in touch with the owners of the neighbouring lands, but it didn't work, I don't have those contacts in this country."
Even Maiza, who worked in an illegal organisation in America, had places he could not freely visit on a country where he had no contacts. Upon hearing this, a frown appeared for the first time today on Sylvie's forehead as she muttered to herself,
"A village......on private land?"
"Right."
"The sources you mention, are they really reliable?"
"Of course."
Maiza said this with utter confidence, while Sylvie only fixed her eyes dully on a point in the air.
"Well, let's go. Hold on tight!"
Go where? Before Czes could ask, Maiza had stepped on the accelerator in a smooth motion.
"Wait, Mai......"
Czes's cry was lost in the powerful roar of the car's engines.
Kakakakakakakakakakakaka.
The roar continued.
Czes's small body shook in the cramped confines of the car, the motion rocking through his waist and back to his stomach and liver.
"Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"----Ho!"
Czes let out a shout with the rocking of the car, while Sylvie only lay on the backseat and endured it.
This continued for a few more minute, then finally stopped after a particularly big roar.
The downward-sloping hill was cut off halfway by a cliff.
About three meters ahead of the gap, the snow-covered gravel road continued.
The three seated people straightened their backs a little, preparing for another shock in a moment's time.
[Ah!]
In that moment, from even further back than the backseat -- the space between the rear of the car and the back seat -- came the keening of a man. But the three people did not seem to mind, only began calming their breathing down.
"Geez, Maiza, you're always doing unexpected things."
"Oh dear, it's an occupational hazard."
"Sometimes I really envy you that kind of character."
"Oh dear oh dear, thank you very much then."
Czes and Sylvie both stared sharply at Maiza, who hadn't even broken a sweat. To this, he only continued to smile, surveying the surroundings of the car.
The forest was as dense as ever, but in comparison to the fields, there was less snow on the ground.
"Continuing along this way, we should reach the place after about five kilometers..."
[Maiza! Were you trying to kill me!]
Suddenly, an angry shout rose from the backseat, which was where the luggage was stored......but Maiza continued stepping on the accelerator as if nothing had happened. After he confirmed that there was nothing amiss with the engine, he stepped on the clutch and entered neutral gear.
[Did you hear me?]
"Oh, I heard you, Nile,"
Maiza answered mildly, and stepped heavily on the accelerator again.
"The road ahead is rough, be careful not to bite your tongues, everyone!"
As the sound of the words sank, the snow on the ground danced around the car as the tyres began spinning faster and faster.
[Don't patronise me. I daresay your girlfriend left you because you were always like that!]
A dull voice came from the boot. For just a moment, Maiza turned towards the back, worry on his face, then he faced forward again, focusing on driving.
The man's voice did not ring out again.
From an outsider's point of view, it was an extremely strange situation, but the people in the car did not seem to care, really.
--They only continued advancing in the shadows of the forest.
To search for their friend of old, traveling towards the village that cannot be found on the map---
====
People were at the village.
They came sitting on a strange thing.
It was a huge box made of metal. A little like a wagon, but somewhat shorter.
It looked like the supply vehicles traders sometimes came here in.
Running by itself, without need of horses, this was like the traders.
But this seemed to be different from the traders', no goods were loaded onto it.
The metal boxcar that was stopped at the entrance of the village.
I was the first to find it.
But the first to approach were the villagers.
Everyone had a weapon in hand. People, more and more, gathered around this supply vehicle made of metal.
Who would shortly encounter misfortune again.
Who, would shortly encounter misfortune again.
I was certain of this point. Because, like that time---
---Five years ago, when Mr Elmer was first killed---
I could only watch. Facing all those villagers who still only had unrest and murderous intents in their hearts, I could only watch.
Then, I could only tell them. (*Makes no sense. T-T*)
Because this, was my duty now.
====
"Hey, I can see it."
As they finally traveled out of the forest, Maiza and the rest drove steadily forward.
Suddenly, their line of sight was expanded, and they were surrounded by white-silver. At first they thought this was just a field, but from the levelness of the road, this was, unfortunately, probably farmland.
"It's wheatfields!"
At Maiza's words, Czes and the rest looked at their surroundings, a large patch of farmland was bound much as the forest was, the area was huge. Snow was not accumulated thickly, so the colour of the ground could occasionally be seen.
At the end of the road -- towards the direction the car was traveling -- a few buildings could be seen clearly.
"There really is---a town."
"Is this really private land?"
As the two surprised voices rang out, Maiza stopped the car at the entrance of the village.
Stone buildings. In the distance, it could be a granary, or perhaps a village residence.
It could be mistaken for a granary mainly because its architecture was starkly different from what they had seen in this country so far.
The building itself was old, but it imbued the entire village with a vintage flavor, quite as if one had stepped onto a movie set. Even the surroundings did not have a whiff of modernity, it was as if one were completely immersed into the movie's scene.
But they did not feel like they had purely entered a "time machine" -- this is because the scene in the village was different from the "past" they had actually lived through, so there was a sense of dissonance. It was rather as if this town was not naturally formed, but created out of someone's plans.
"This town is bigger than I'd thought."
As they went deeper into the village, rows of houses lined both sides of the road, which seemed to be the main one. Besides stone houses, there were wooden buildings or small houses of natural wood, so therefore, the atmosphere was not very integrated.
"This town seems to have been built in a rush. But it is pretty vintage......"
"Isn't it rather nice to be nostalgic?"
After Maiza and Czes had briefly expressed their ideas, Sylvie suddenly had a change of expression, and whispered, voice choked,
"What it pity, looks like I can't shower......they don't seem to have water pipes here."
She lowered her shoulders dejectedly, bent her head, and sighed in disinterest.
In an instant, Maiza's tone changed.
"Sylvie, that might not be the problem."
"Why?"
At that, Sylvie turned her head towards the window once more. Then, she noticed something.
In the middle of the road running through the village stood a girl dressed in tattered clothes, waves of fear emanating from her body as she looked this way in terror.
"What's wrong with that child?"
"Look at the side."
Czes's voice betrayed a hint of panic.
Perhaps sensing some strangeness in Czes's expression, Sylvie held her breath and stared at the little girl. Then, she realised that it wasn't only the girl on the road, a great many other eyes were on them.
Several people seemed to appear out of the shadows of the buildings, or from the windows, their gazes towards Maiza's car glinting from every corner.
"Hm---so that's how it is."
"What?"
Upon Czes's panicked query, Maiza clutched his compass, troubled.
"No. There're villages on private land anywhere. For example, for those specially-designated religious groups, or illegal organisations, this can be seen anywhere."
"Which means?"
"Don't know what they'll do to outsiders. If we're just treated as trespassers and handed to police it might be alright, but if our luck is bad---"
Maiza squinted his eyes into a slender line, and bluntly stated his conclusion.
"I cannot predict how this will end."
"Let's run away. I don't like troublesome things."
"Do wait a moment, Czes. If Elmer is living in that village, these are the only people we can ask about that. If Elmer has become one of them, as soon as we tell them how things are, they will surely welcome us with open arms."
Czes expressed uncertainty regarding Maiza's optimistic prediction.
"If we're not accepted, or Elmer never even came to this village?"
"Oh, someone's approaching us."
"Maiza? Hey, answer me first, look at me!"
Disregarding Czes shaking him by the shoulders, Maiza got out of the car by himself and walked over.
"Ah, when it comes it comes. If it comes to that, we'll run away in full force, then."
Far from the road, a man leading a group of youths walked towards them.
It was a middle-aged man, with a moustache under his nose, his eyes glinting, giving off an ominous aura. Thick winter clothing garbed his skinny frame, these clothes did not have any synthetic materials, they were purely made from fur and skin. The youths who followed were similarly dressed, they even had hunting rifles and gold clubs in their hands. The rifles were of very old make, from Maiza's memories, the models were over 100 years old.
The men reached out to push the girl standing in the middle of the road, then walked towards the tracks the car Maiza was in had made. As he stepped on the stone ground exposed by the melting snow, he stared at that sharp pair of eyes, full of tension.
When they walked towards this direction, owners within the buildings at the sides of the road came out, one by one, as well, so that their numbers strengthened as they approached Maiza's group.
There were females interspersed among the new figures, holding metal axes and kitchen knives tightly in their hands. This group seemed to have no intention of seeing why Maiza and company were here; instead, they were full of hostility.
Yet, Maiza nonetheless closed the car's door with nary a hint of fear. With a hand on the door's handle, he leaned forward, prepared to get back in at any sign of danger.
---But first, they needed to be able to communicate.
"......Who are you? You don't look like traders......why are you here?"
Disregarding the worried Maiza, the man with the moustache spoke. Even though they rushed towards Maiza and the car as he spoke, they stopped at a place further than Maiza would have expected.
But at least the other side'd used a language he could understand -- the official language of this country. At this, Maiza breathed a sigh of relief, his anxiety slightly quelled.
"Pardon me, we are travelers."
If they got off reporting the name of the person they were looking for, they might instead make them wary. Therefore, Maiza first held out the flag of a traveler, to test the other party's reaction.
"Are...travelers?"
The moustached man's face expressed shocked, as he stared unblinkingly at Maiza, now in front of the car. That dim light that shone from his eyes betrayed not quite rage, but rather a strong feeling of hate.
Hastily glancing at the people behind Maiza, the man said, harshly,
"Everyone in the car, get out!"
"What?"
"To be certain. Let us determine if there're freaks in the car."
Determine with which yardstick? If a fight broke out with no reason, it's be pointless. As Maiza thought this, he sighed and cast a glance towards Czes and the rest in the car.
As soon as Czes, with his youthful appearance, exited the car, the hostility of the crowd lowered by several notches.
Then, when Sylvie got out from the backseat -- everyone's eyes were as large as platters.
She was wearing the winter cloak she had removed in the car, and surveying the crowd around them with challenging eyes, then she slowly half-closed her eyes, and leaned against the car's door lazily.
Sylvie's actions again seemed to dissipate the crowd's confusion. A few of the males were looking at her with an expression quite different from a few moments ago.
"......Is that all the people?"
Only one person, the man with the moustache, did not lower his guard, and he tossed Maiza a severe look.
"How suspicious of you."
Maiza did not answer the man's question, and instead spoke with sarcasm. The moustached man neither got angry nor relaxed, only said, coldly,
"I am the village chief, Dez Nibel."
"Hello, I am---"
The moustached man--Dez ignored Maiza's introduction, and turned his head to speak,
"I am not interested in outsiders, you cannot stay at this village, go back quickly."
"This isn't very safe, you know. We don't have any other place we can rest at, you can't expect us to live in the forest."
"This village currently does not have any space for outsiders to live in. I'm really sorry, it's a rule. If you outsiders do unnecessary things, that demon will---"
At this, Dez suddenly stopped.
"Demon?"
A man's face came to Maiza's mind. That was the "demon" who had given him immortality---the face of his companion now far away in New York. But that was unrelated, so Maiza tried to confirm things with the village chief.
"Nothing, hurry, leave this village, no, leave this forest!"
"The demon is?"
In the face of Maiza's curiosity, the villagers clucked their tongues, then said hesitantly,
"......There's a freak here."
In a patch of land far from the centre of the forest, there was a freak that attacked the village.
The secret that suddenly came to fore--sounded much like a myth or legend. But Maiza did not disregard it, only silently listened to what Dez said.
"You don't know how much that freak has made us suffer. I never used to believe stuff like this."
"What kind of monster is it?"
"Anything else is not worth saying! Quick, leave!"
Maiza was silent a little as he regarded Dez, face red and exhaling white puffs of air, then as if deciding something, he muttered.
"......Elmer......Elmer C Albatross."
Whoosh---
The atmosphere suddenly changed.
The instant Maiza spoke the name, the expressions of everyone around them changed. The hostility that had disappeared resurfaced again, and even the men who had been staring at Sylvie started to turn towards Maiza, one by one, not unlike tumblers in a lock falling into place.
Even the rather-expressionless village chief was staring, eyes wide, at them.
"You......"
"We are looking for that man. If he is not at this village, we will leave immediately---"
"Seize them!"
Even before the tones of Maiza's words had left the air, the chief's shout roared through the road.
The nervous villagers suddenly welled up like floodwaters against a dam, the power of their approach much like a pack of predators chasing their prey. Perhaps it was a figment of the imagination, but aside from hostility, their eyes seemed to hold some other emotion.
---Terror?
Maiza recognised that feeling hidden deep in the gazes, but a pity he did not have time to confirm this, and could only defend against the men's attack. But it seemed Maiza had already anticipated something like this might happen, and was, as usual, very calm. Without moving his line of sight, he stomped on a wooden board, which sailed gently past the men's arms.
".....Wait, we aren't---"
Maiza was just turning to look at the chief when the young people standing to one side raised their guns, aiming towards this side.
"Anything you say is useless!"
The gunshots pierced the calm of the village. Maiza's body was hit, and he swayed.
"Maiza!"
Seeing this happen, Sylvie couldn't help but cry out. Because she had not understood how things were proceeding like Maiza had, she could only lean against the car, unmoving. Czes, on the other hand, had clearly seen how things would develop early on, and hidden under the car.
The bullets shot through Maiza's thigh, tore a hole in the thick pants, and suddenly blood was flying.
In a moment, the villagers had Maiza surrounded in a huddle, and only the village chief was looking at somewhere else, and that was the fresh blood that had pooled under Maiza's foot.
Dez trembled uneasily, watching the drops of red that had sprayed on the stone ground.
Before long, his unease was justified.
The traces of blood that should have just sprayed on the stone began sliding along the ground in a moment. As if capable of conscious movement, the red spots gathered under Maiza's foot. Like in a dance, they bumped into each other, mixing, melding--and finally climbed onto Maiza's leg, towards the tear in his pants, which was where Maiza's wound was, sliding across.
The villagers who were approaching when Maiza was attacked saw this and stopped, then started retreating, their faces turning white.
"The same......"
"Monster!"
"The same as that man......!"
"Going to die."
"Going to be tainted."
"Don't look into his eyes......"
The villagers looked with consternation at each other, discussing in hushed voices.
"?"
Seeing this kind of scenario, Maiza was suddenly reminded of something.
Even now, when humans who did not understand saw the scene of 'regeneration', they would be scared, so everyone tended to avoid Maiza. Only one person was the exception, and that was his unique boss -- the ringleader who had brought him into the New York families.
Yet, the villagers' reactions were somewhat different from usual. Usually, when people saw Maiza's body regenerate, they would think he had a "supernatural existence" and be very fearful -- but the group of people now somehow gave the feeling they had just seen a horror they were familiar with, and subsequently very scared of. This was not the unknown terror, the principle of regeneration seemed to already be within their knowledge, and they felt that there were scary terms within this principle.
---So that's how it was. He more or less understood.
Maiza silently expressed his certainty to himself, then assessed the surroundings again.
At this moment, a few people far from Maiza were approaching Sylvie. Approaching the person who was utterly confused about what was going on, and he was worried they would take her as hostage.
"Wait, please hold on!"
Sylvie stuck close to the door even as she swatted the hands of the man who was nearby.
But the villagers quickly caught Sylvie's slender arm.
Maiza leaned forward, as if to help Sylvie, but he seemed to suddenly notice something, and he paused. Behind Sylvie -- the car windows at the back of the car were beginning to vibrate gently.
The villagers clutching Sylvie's arm were engrossed in grabbing her, and did not notice.
From the window, a brown palm snaked out---
Kachak.
The long arm that stretched out from the car window mercilessly grabbed the arm of the villagers attempting to attack Sylvie.
"Ah!"
The young villager cried out once, and involuntarily left Sylvie. Then, as if in answer to this action, the hand that had stretched out suddenly retreated. And the arm of the villager who had been caught was correspondingly dragged back quickly.
"Whoa---ahhhhhhhhh!"
Unable to resist, most of the villager's arm was pulled into the car, then a rumbling began from inside the car once more. The villager's arm was trapped like this between the car's windows, and the person inside closed this in a moment.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
The youth's experienced waves of pain from the pressure. His arm was not broken, but was wedged in place by the hard glass of the window, which did not open again, only produced a clattering sound as it clung on to the youth's flesh.
Seeing this sudden development, the villagers around Sylvie were frozen from fear. Sylvie, who was standing at a side, stole a look through the car window -- then hastily jumped away from the doors.
In the instant Sylvie jumped towards the front of a car, after a particularly-loud clatter, the back car door was forcefully kicked open -- the car window still clamping on that poor villager's arm.
"Oh owwww!"
The villager's body suddenly sprung up and would have flown across the road if his arm were not still restricted by the window. Following that was a enormously-loud ringing sound, whether this sound came from the window or from the villager's bones, no one could tell.
Then, along with the screaming, from the car came a---
"Fr----eak?"
The reaction was different from the earlier one towards Maiza. There was a kind of haplessness in the fear in the villagers' voices. Furthermore, the man who came out of the car looked really very strange. He was wrapped in clothes like white cloth, though brown skin could be spied from his sleeve. Even though it couldn't be said to be thin, it did make anyone feel cold in comparison to the current external temperature.
This wasn't even the strange part, that was mostly to do with his head. The most attention-grabbing thing was the strange mask on his face. A mask with such a complicated pattern as this was usually only seen in South-east Asian or Hong Kong temples, and gorgeous colours were drawn on the mild background. Even more scary was that the area exposed under the mask was not skin, but the pure white of bandages. That is to say, the man's face and head was first twined with bandages before the mask was put on. At the eye part of the mask, a pair of sharp sanpaku eyes glinted.
(*T/N: Sanpaku eyes: Possibly a sign of violence/chaos/imbalance*)
The appearance of this strange-looking man unsettled the villages, and in a moment they erupted in chatter that rang across the plaza.
The masked man peered at Maiza, uncaring of his surroundings, and said mildly,
"You, your driving skills are too dreadful. I'll say it again. I dare to say it again -- were you trying to kill me?"
The mask hid the man's expression, but you could tell from his voice that he was enraged.
"I was thinking of beating you up or crippling you, but what to do, situations are situations. Forgive you, I forgive you."
"Thank you, how rare, Nile."
Maiza answered the man's bragging tone with a shrug of his shoulders. Then, he spoke to the village chief, whose eyes were as round as marbles.
"Ahhh, this person has actually always been 'stored' at the backseat, so he didn't get off the car earlier......we didn't mean to hide him, so please don't misunderstand."
But the chief did not listen to his words. Facing the man who had appeared in front of him, there was a nightmarish expression on his face.
Possibly realizing the commotion around them, the masked man called Nile crossed his arms and asked Maiza,
"I'm not too sure what on earth's happening, but you seem to be pretty calm eh, so I'll dare ask. Maiza, what do I do now?"
"Ah--I think we should try our best to settle this peacefully, and not take violent actions."
Maiza was still worried about what the villagers might do. Nile nodded his head with a "Yeah", and returned to the boot.
Stepping on the spare tyre laid there, the masked man nimbly climbed up tot he roof of the car. Standing there, arms still crossed, he looked down at the villagers, pose magnificent.
Facing the villagers who had no idea what was going to happen, Nile opened his mouth languidly.
"Alright, kneel down. We'll talk later."
It was a soft, yet projected voice. Even though it was an unreasonable demand, Maiza and Sylvie seemed to be used to it, and did not protest. But--
"Nile. These people don't understand English, you know."
---In a way, not knowing might be a good thing.
As Maiza spoke, the surroundings silenced for a moment.
"What?!"
A panicked voice issued from under the mask.
"Don't lie to me!"
"Who's lying to you......I haven't spoken English to these people since the beginning. Didn't you hear?"
"----Hm, can I be wrong? Must I admit that I'm wrong? If I'm wrong I'll definitely admit it! But aside from Berberes (*T/N: A native African language*), all I can say is French, Japanese, and Indonesian. What to do?"
"Please refrain from doing anything. But, I hope you don't flatten the roof, so stepping down might be a good idea."
Maiza said, a little tiredly, and Sylvie finally opened her mouth to say,
"The villagers have been scared witless by you. Because you said those things they couldn't understand."
"Ah."
Nile peered through the mask towards the villagers one last time, still from a lofty position. He only saw the villagers steadily inching back, as if consciously wanting to put distance between them and Nile and Maiza. The villager with the trapped hand seemed to have extricated his hand, tearfully skulking off to the furthest line back.
Facing those seemingly-slow villagers who spoke a different language, Nile's hostility seemed to have dampened down, but he then said, in a different, strange voice,
"So that's how it is......Maiza. I daresay."
"Say what?"
"You can't possibly settle this calmly."
"Yeah."
Hearing Nile's words, Maiza had surveyed the area around him in a broad sweep before he answered.
Among these fearful villagers, only the youths beside the village chief appeared calm. At some point of time, the villagers with guns had also increased by a large amount, and they held Maiza, Sylvie, and Nile at gunpoint.
"Aim for the head."
Following the chief's orders, the men set their aims without hesitation, much like hunters.
"If they're the same kind as that fellow, they won't be able to move not long after the brain is hit, if we hit one, the rest will be easy."
It seemed the villagers had the upper hand, yet in this group of people, none of them believed they'd be successful. Even those who had calmly aimed at the enemies had palms that were sticky with sweat.
The man on the roof scoffed, as if mocking the dangerous situation at hand, and said,
"Try shooting. The instant you pull the trigger, I can view you as the enemy. I daresay, I would kill you all!"
"I've said they don't understand English....."
Maiza sighed softly, then focused his attention on the rifles the villagers were holding.
---Then, what on earth do we do? Maybe intentionally let ourselves be captured--
As he was thinking this, the villagers' hostility towards the rose again. The tranquil azure blue sky overhead seemed to be mocking all of this. Maiza stared at the sky silently, then resolutely made a decision.
He would follow the villagers first, while the other three would temporarily leave. This idea rushed to the forefront of Maiza's mind. It was possible for all of them to escape, but before that, he had to find a lead regarding Elmer's whereabouts.
As a member of the secret Black Hand Association and a member of the New York criminal organisation, the "Martiggio family", Maiza had temporarily left the organisation to begin traveling the world. The reason for this trip was not only to sightsee and relax, but more importantly to search for immortals spread throughout the globe.
For 30 years, Maiza had always been searching, together with Czes, for all those old Alchemist friends. Even though they had spent a large amount of time and effort to find Sylvie and Nile, this period of time was nonetheless not long for an immortal. Just when they had decided the last two people would never be found and were about to give up -- Maiza received news regarding one of them, Elmer C Albatross. It was a piece of news from the Intelligence Department, and clearly noted the location of the village. There was, however, no other explanation or summary regarding this village, and the report was only stamped "Classified". But to Maiza, even such a small thread of possible life was a big enough clue to work on.
He couldn't pass up on such a good opportunity! He still had 8 months before he had planned to return to the New York organization, if he mised this chance, he might never find Elmer.
The current situation was a tad worrying. Maiza sensed that the idea that "Demon = Elmer" was deeply rooted in the minds of the villagers, which was why he had let the name slip. Now, they were actually in an obvious hostile situation with the villagers, and he definitely could not let the arrogant, prideful Nile, or Czes and Sylvie, be implicated. Even though they were immortals too, they would not be able to escape from the torture of pain, so Maiza planned to use himself as bait.
The instant he turned to look at Sylvie and the rest -- at the edge of his line of sight, something seemed to have appeared.
Just outside the village, just beyond the small street Maiza's car was on, three horses had appeared from the opposite direction they had approached the village from. A few small figures were atop the horses, and they were all in red.
Maiza, whose back was to them, did not move. The villagers peered at the three horses and breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Hey......the emissaries are here."
"Lay down your weapons!"
"Dammit, they shouldn't have come today......"
"Those people are really of the Devil......"
That was what the villagers muttered, some put down the guns they were holding, while others ran frantically towards their homes and shut the door, and soon even the group of villagers standing oppressively at a corner of the main road had disappeared. In a moment, there was only the village chief and his followers left, who glared, unmoving, at the three people clad in red.
"What? Has something happened?"
"Yeah?"
Sylvie and Nile seemed not to realise what had happened. Hearing the sound of hooves from behind them, they turned as well.
The three horses simultaneously stopped about ten metres from the car. The three girls on the horses -- they appeared to be young girls in their early teens. Because the three of them looked very similar, Maiza and the rest immediately determined that they were sisters.
All three of them wore clothing made of red cloth, and their sleeves were decorated by white hems, much like Santa Claus. This kind of attire was rather at odds with the old-fashioned air of the villagers' clothes.
"----M'lord Dez."
One of them dismounted, and gazed with some unease at the village chief staring at her.
"These people are M'lord Elmer's guests, we are here to escort them to the city."
"You......"
The village chief glared viciously at the three girls. This kind of expression was not the terror he had expressed upon facing Maiza and Nile, but rather a pure unhappiness.
"No matter what, please accept this, Sir. It is M'lord Elmer's command."
"......"
After peering at the girl for a moment, he intentionally clucked his tongue loudly, then turned and raised his chin at the surrounding people. Thus, the remaining youths walked away along the main road.
The noisy village entrance was momentarily quiet upon the appearance of the three girls, and now fell into a kind of unspeakably subtle atmosphere. Maiza and the rest were speechless at the sudden intruders, and only looked at each other in silence.
The clear voice of one of the girls broke this silence. While mounting the horse once more, she said to Maiza and the rest rather fearfully,
"Well......please follow me, we'll......we'll help you. It's---too dangerous here."