extra ‡ so Five and Seven walk into a man-eating forest...
Note: Authored by Nasu Kinoko. [...] marks the area where a cut has been made, though this is still a good solid 75% of the full short story, since only part 4 is left out. The original translated script has also been slightly edited here, to give the text a better flow. There are spoilers concerning Tsukihime - Arcueid route, you have been warned.
Otherwise, this is the only other short story where Merem makes an actual appearance in canon material. Until Tsukihime 2, at any rate, the legend that never was. ~*~The more you know!~*~
1/Darkwood Kingdom I
"...All dead." She mutters in front of the dreadful sight.
♦♦♦
It was an ominous forest. Two hours have passed since the nightmarish night had ended. Even though the sun has risen, the forest is still shrouded in shadows. The forest is dark even in daylight, and it sheds blood repeatedly in a shade of dark red as if it were the innards of some animal.
Blood is flowing, just like that. The trees of this forest secrete blood instead of sap. It was not made from the inside, but sucked from the outside.
...Speaking frankly, this forest can be called an alien world.
A black forest that reaches 50 kilometers in diameter. It, with a mind of its own, 'moves', and sucks the blood of every single animal in the area. No man who had set foot upon this forest, which can be called an enormous predating life form of its own, has returned alive.
A dense overgrow of tree branches. Countless roots reach into the earth. Blood flows from the end of each, and the forest growls, as if it were one bloodthirsty dark-red beast. Inside it, human ability is powerless. The trees suddenly strike, becoming weapons of free form, and even the air becomes poisonous, leaving nowhere to flee. A man engulfed by the forest has his fate sealed. No, the forest not only attacks humans, but the village itself, and it wasn't rare for it to create a whole new forest in one night.
A vampiric land that thinks, and wanders the world with the earth. Forest dwellers call it the Demon of Schwartzwald. They call it the Disemboweling Forest of Einnashe.
"All dead, here as well." In the darkness, she is the only one alive.
She has no baptismal name. Only the name 'Ciel' refers to her.
Ciel sets foot upon the miserable land. The vegetation in the vicinity has definitely been eliminated. Probably the final struggle of the colleagues. The trees around the square were all slashed, broken, and incinerated. Scattered around the area are around ten dead bodies. Bodies with familiar faces.
The demise of the followers, sent into the forest by the order of the Church. ...In the end, a combat unit of 40 people wasn't even able to survive one single night.
"...Ten men could only eliminate such a small section." Ciel confirms the bodies one by one. Each one is a first-class fighting monk, and a comrade who had trained together.
"So exorcists can be of no help within this forest... magi are not specialized in exorcism, but even to them, this forest would be a fatal place." The combat units of the Church are not accompanied by exorcists. The ones that were sent to this forest are specialized in close combat. There were some who used sorcery as well, but their circuits couldn't have operated. Because, in this forest-
"The source of magical energy is dominated by Einnashe, yes. Wouldn't that be why Narbareck chose you in the first place?"
Ciel's movement stalls. Fixing her eyes on the tenth body, she addresses the person who has appeared - no, he was there from the start, behind her back.
"Merem. Are you the watcher this time?"
"Ahahaha... a watcher, that can't be appropriate." A lively laugh that doesn't match the scenery responds. The one called Merem does not reveal his form.
"Do you know that I really care for my co-workers? Since I'm here to help Ciel for now, why not be friends? Actually, Eins was supposed to come here, but I switched places. He can't possibly protect you, and both of you could be killed. Narbareck still insisted on putting you in charge, though... so I followed in a hurry."
"You care for your co-workers? That's new... I'm just asking, but what did you do with Eins?"
"Ahaha, I ate him," Merem says in an innocent tone. "It doesn't matter, does it? Just say Einnashe did him in. He was at a good age to retire, anyway. This kind of work gets tough both physically and mentally after 50, doesn't it?"
"...I'm hearing this from someone whose life scales up to 4 digits, Merem."
"No, look. I'm Peter Pan, so I can't be measured by common standards."
"... ..." After confirming all the bodies, Ciel starts to walk towards the center of the forest.
"Eeh? What, you're going to do it alone? You know you can't use any sorcery in this forest, right? The only thing that one can trust here is his personal ability. Supernatural powers that rely on exterior mana cannot be used. After all, everything in this forest is-"
"-Dominated by Einnashe, corect? I'm aware. This is a Reality Marble created by the Dead Apostle Ancestor Einnashe. One cannot enjoy the world's benefits when the world around one belongs to the enemy."
"That's right. I mean, even if you are skilled in the martial arts. You didn't train yourself to master level. The two factors that made you a member of the Burial Agency have no meaning here. Without your sorcery and your immortality, you can't survive in this place. Knowing this and still picking you, Narbareck's really got a rotten spirit."
"It's probably just a test. Without my immortality, I am not attractive firepower. The director is indirectly telling me to die."
"See, you're stubborn. That's why Narbareck likes you."
"...Useless meddling. If you want to talk, then talk to those trees. They can attack people, so maybe they can talk to people as well." Ciel leaves the square behind.
And behind her-
"-Ciel, you're leaving the Burial Agency, are you?" A question is posed with murderous intent.
♦♦♦
"I've heard that such rumors are spreading." Ciel replies in an emotionless voice.
The one called Merem giggles.
"So it is. Your objective was to regain your humanity by killing Roa. Since that has been accomplished, there is no reason to be with us. Frankly speaking, you were already invited by the British Museum, weren't you? Now that your next workplace has been arranged, don't you think that this rumor is becoming quite persuasive?"
"...I am no magus. Even if something goes wrong, I won't be joining the Association."
"Ah, that's fortunate, since it's really dull over there. I figured that if someone like you, who already knows the taste of blood, went to join them, then you'd end up dying of boredom. Of course, death by boredom: you wouldn't want to die in such a fashion that's far more befitting of a Dead Apostle. ...Well, although you are more like a Dead Apostle yourself, compared to that other one over there in the first place."
"..."
"Besides, I know that the rumor is just a rumor. After all, if you were really trying to leave, then you would have left a year ago. It's been that long since Roa was exterminated, and you've been continuing to hunt and slay Dead Apostles. If your objective was to sorely regain your humanity, then isn't it strange that you didn't leave back then?"
"So, what are you trying to say, Merem Solomon?"
"Eh? Well, I'm saying that you don't really care about being a human or not. All you're interested in is eradicating vampires. Like the others, you're no more than a killing machine. Ah, but I'm different. I'm just a kid who likes toys."
"Are you? Then don't bother with my affairs. It is exactly as you have said: I'm just a machine that slays Dead Apostles. So even if you're a co-worker, there's no guarantee that I won't assault you, is there?"
The Dead Apostle named Merem laughs, shrouded in darkness.
"Then, Ciel, why are you still hunting Dead Apostles?"
2/Opening
There is a Dead Apostle by the name of Einnashe. It is regarded as one of the 27 Ancestors, but the vampire has changed its matter of existence dramatically some 800 years ago.
The vampire called Einnashe follows a forest.
There is a sorcery called Reality Marble, which materializes a person's mental image, altering the world temporarily. The 'Living Forest' that Einnashe controls is a form of it.
While a typical vampire can only maintain a bounded barrier for a few minutes, however, and even when the most powerful Ancestors may only do so for a few hours, Einnashe is capable of maintaining it for days. This forest, the alien world called the Disemboweling Forest, is also an elusive one. It is normally hidden under a state of hibernation, and upon awakening, sucks the blood of hundreds of people. It then disappears, retuning to a dormant state for a couple of decades, before showing itself again in about 50 years. This cycle is a recurring one.
This is why the Church hasn't been able to seal it, even though it repeats mass homicide. No, to speak the truth, they have no way of destroying Einnashe in the first place. Out of the 27 Ancestors, ones that rank in the top 10 cannot be destroyed by ordinary concepts. For if one is to compete against a being that lives in an illusion, one must use an illusion whose mystique must surpasses it.
This time, Einnashe is active again, and two towns have already been exterminated. The Church has sent first-class combat units out of dignity.
The result is obvious: the Church has failed again.
The Church, however, is also not the only one that would be interested in Einnashe. There are many organizations that are trying to negotiate or capture it, one of the most powerful Dead Apostles in existence. They, too, sent their elite into the forest, but the result was the same. Einnashe does not distinguish friend from foe: everything that sets foot upon its alien world has no more meaning to it than food.
Even so, there are many humans who wish to enter the dark forest. One of the reasons is related to immortality. In the center of the dark forest, there is a giant tree, and in that throne of Einnashe is a fruit of vivid red: it is a singe fruit holding the condensed blood of hundreds, thousands of animals that had lived in the forest. One who eats that fruit can gain temporary immortality. That is why it is very similar to a light trap. Countless humans enter the dark forest, lured by the fruit of immortality. This year is no different: it has been 4 days since Einnashe has appeared again, and the number of hunters that have entered the forest goes over a hundred.
...Only four remain.
Numbers 5 and 7 of the Burial Agency, the prized anti-vampire organization of the Church. A wind magus from the Mage's Association, who has visited the forest as a hunter.
And, one other.
3/Black Sheep
They continue to march on within the woods.
It has been four days since she has entered the Disemboweling Forest. Ciel still hasn't been able to grasp its true colors, nor the location of its central area. Although it only reaches around 50 kilometers in size, the Disemboweling Forest is constantly in motion from the start. It's a forest that walks inside a forest. To find the center of a place that never stays in the same area is not something that can be done under such a short amount of time, especially not under conditions as hostile as such.
"Ah, so we're lost again. Wouldn't it be better to take some appropriate rest here? Either way, it'll be safe if we make a clearing by knocking the trees down to their roots." Merem's voice is heard behind Ciel's back. Even if Ciel were to try and look behind, however, she wouldn't have seen a shadow of a man.
"..."
Ciel continues on in silence. Her robe is torn here and there, and her breath is scattered. Four days after entering the forest: this is the result of 46 hours of combat with trees assaulting from all directions.
"Eh, are you listening to me? It's no use just wandering around the Disemboweling Forest. For now, it's best to take a rest and recover your stamina."
"..."
Ciel walks on.
"Really. Ciel, why don't you listen to what I say?"
"Because I don't like you."
"Wha, that's so mean~" A merry voice rings out from behind. In this forest, where a moment's lack of tension could get oneself impaled, he is the only cheerful one.
-And then, his presence became just as easily lost.
"---Merem?" Ciel stops abruptly.
A loud boom is heard some hundred meters ahead.
"Merem!" She dashes toward the source of the sound.
In the end, no matter how she tries to deny it, she has a tenderness inside that cared for her colleagues - and that is what that allowed her to stay as herself.
♦♦♦
It was a ruined wasteland.
There was a large patch of charred earth in the middle of the forest, as if a meteor had crashed onto it. The ground was dug deep, so much that even the roots would surely have been blown away.
"...Unbelievable. This is..." Like someone just scooped the ground away with a giant spoon, she muttered.
"Okay, now we could rest in peace." An angel-like boy stands in the middle of the ruin.
Merem Solomon.
This boy was the 5th of the Burial Agency, and one of the 27 Ancestors, just like Einnashe.
♦♦♦
The two sat around a bonfire. Looking up, the sky was already dark... Although there wasn't much of a difference, since it was dark inside the forest during the day as well. ...Well, maybe the stars could make a difference.
"It's alright. Einnashe won't move around anymore. It's also about time for it to start making the fruit." Merem, who was making noises with his rings, speaks out. The boy dons a ring on every single finger.
"...A rare thing, for you to use your Beasts in front of someone else."
"Hm? Ah, well. I haven't been feeding it enough lately, and the soil of Einnashe makes for very good food. Besides, I wanted to speak to you like this. Since you're talking, I should prepare the stage, shouldn't I?"
"Talk. What, about what we were saying earlier?"
"Eh... No, not that, but..... yes, um, you know. You, said you met... a year ago?" The boy mumbles, avoiding Ciel's eyes, as if he was ashamed of something.
"It's about her, is it?" The boy flushes furiously. Ciel was amused, on the other hand, rather than surprised. "This just makes no sense at all. You're already well considered as a traitor to the Dead Apostle Ancestors, and now you're on her side too. Where did the wise and cool Merem Solomon go off to?"
"That's my left hand. I only show my true self to you and Narbareck. You see, our organization values experience. It could get quite tiresome in many ways if I show myself. ...Anyway, is it true that the princess won't be returning to her castle?" The boy speaks in an uneasy tone.
♦♦♦
The Church has a morbid hatred for vampires.
It is known that they will do whatever it takes to eliminate vampiric beings that were once human - that is, what is now commonly referred to as a Dead Apostle. That's because while they can tolerate demons, they cannot accept beings that their God is not involved with from the Start.
To hunt down a heretic, however, is to acknowledge its existence. That would be harmful to the organization, so therefore, it has created and kept a darkness within in order to protect itself from matters as such. An agency that exists not to solve a contradiction, but to eradicate it, to say it wasn't there. Not to exorcise, but to simply annihilate.
That is the darkness in which she resides.
The darkness requires not faith, but brute force, to protect the organization.
Out of those forces, these two can be called extraordinary.
The woman called Ciel was once tainted. The boy named Merem is the target of elimination itself.
♦♦♦
The two share a common situation.
"...Hm. Then it should be about time for her bloodlust to take over." The boy mutters, expressing regrets.
"Is that so? From what I've seen, she didn't seem to have reached that stage back then."
"Well, the True Ancestors are different from other vampiric creatures. They suck blood because of psychological reasons, not physical ones. The incentive is emotional, so their hatred against humans and their love for them may actually be quite similar."
"...Hah. You mean that for a True Ancestor, the more emotionless one is, the longer he lives?"
"Yes, since nature has no emotions. Ones belonging to nature only have a will to stay beautiful. That's why the world is so-" and suddenly, the boy breaks off in his speech.
"Merem...?"
"---"
The boy does not answer. His dazed eyes seems to be gazing out far beyond the darkness. [...]
5/Darkwood Kingdom II
"Merem?"
"-Hahah. That's a rather ridiculous coincidence." Light returns to the boy's eyes. Merem, who has been like an empty shell for some time, deeply exhales.
"Coincidence? What do you mean?"
"Eh? Oh, I was just off for a moment to hear the truth. How Einnashe can maintain a Reality Marble for days, and such."
"Heard? From who?"
"Mmm, that's a secret. I can, however, tell you the details. It's quite a pressing story. Ciel, did you ever hear about what type of Dead Apostle Einnashe is?"
"No. I've heard that the Dead Apostle Ancestor Einnashe became prominent some 800 years ago, but I do not know of its identity."
"Yes, Einnashe is like Zelretch. He's a magus who turned himself into a vampire. He was a powerful hypnotist, to a point that his abilities could be called memory remodeling. He was a cautious one, so he rewrote the memory of every single human that ever came to know him. Even the princess was fooled into thinking 'There is no Dead Apostle called Einnashe'.
There was, however, just this once. Einnashe remodels memory by making the target 'understand', but there was also a magus who could sink thoughts into the subconscious, making it impossible to recall. The princess eliminated Einnashe with his help: that was 800 years ago."
"...800 years. Then that would be when she was still hunting the Dead Apostles by the order of the True Ancestors. If she eliminated him then, she should have destroyed the whole lot. Did the entire clan of Einnashe not get completely wiped out?"
"Yeah, that's what happened. For some reason, however, the princess made a big mistake. She left Einnashe's dead body and returned to the castle, but she left it under some tree."
"Some tree? What's that?"
"A carnivorous plant. You were in Japan, no? You'd have heard of such things. Like gajumal or jubotko, stories of trees that suck blood. He also said that cherry blossoms drink blood as well. Regardless, the corpse was under that tree, so as a result, the tree accidentally sucked Einnashe's blood.
You know the rest. The tree that sucked the blood of a powerful monster such as Einnashe then became a transcendent life form that moved on its own. It kills and absorbs, and with time, it steadily grew.
"...That leaves me speechless. Completely unbelievable. That airhead vampire, she really had a screw loose from the very start, didn't she?!"
"Ahahaha. Yeah, he showed the same sort of appreciations too." The boy laughs innocently.
"Eh... Wait a second, Merem. Someone who knows such a truth that only she could know, and talks about it just like that. Um, it's just a possibility, but..."
"Yeah, it's the one Ciel was talking about earlier. He was quite surprised when I mentioned you, as well. Like 'whoa, Senpai is here too!', or something of that sort."
"..." Ciel flushes, becoming as red as the boy did earlier, and takes a breath. "Ah, um, Merem. That-"
"-If it's his location, it's simple. He was closer to Einnashe than we are, so I gave him some guidance. Either way, he says he's here to destroy Einnashe."
"What...!?" Ciel rises to her feet, and at that moment.
"Eh- No way?!"
The whole forest shook, and suddenly, one of the boy's legs ruptured.
♦♦♦
If there was such a thing as a God's beast, then this would be it. A dark mass: a silhouette like a whale stands up from the middle of the forest. Were there so many birds in these woods of death? A flock of wild birds, big enough to cover the stars, fly up.
The black whale roars. Something was clinging at an alarming rate, starting from the legs of the giant beast. It was a group of trees, literally running over the black skin of the creature. The enormous beast, who had the size of a mountain, was covered entirely by the carnivorous vegetation in less than a minute. It then halts, having become a new part of the forest. The beast that should have stomped and crushed the world was defeated by the corrosion of the very world that it should've destroyed.
No.
It was no match for it in the first place.
♦♦♦
"Argh-that thing, is doing quite well...!" The boy presses down the ruptured right leg, and the forest continues to shake. Perhaps it's the excitement of consuming such a giant life form, the trees suppress a strong desire to move around.
"Merem, that was-!?"
"No, this bodes ill-- Of course, it lives purely on instinct. It seems that it has noticed something capable of killing it drawing close. That Disemboweling Forest- is about to kill every single living thing within it."
"---!!!" From that, she understands the whole turn of events.
Holding the few black keys that are left, she stares into the depths of the forest. Inside, would be her target.
Not the target to destroy, but the target to protect.
"Merem. Where is Einnashe's core?"
"There, around 3 kilometers in distance." The boy who speaks is missing a hand. Displeased at the forest's retaliation, it seems that he has already sent another Beast in that direction.
"I'm going. Will you be able to protect yourself alone?"
"It'll be fine. I'm not alone."
"Of course, it was foolish of me to ask." Ciel takes a brief pause to answer, and then dashes off. Severing countless assaulting branches on her way, she rushes to the core of the dark forest.
♦♦♦
What happened after that would be needless to say, since it would be an ending like what anyone would imagine.
6/Epilogue
They leave the forest.
The sun, which they haven't seen for a few days, glows a dazzling white in the distance.
♦♦♦
"Ciel, you let him go. The Church had ordered his capture as an important reference."
"But you let her go. The director sent out orders to dispose of her on sight, did she not?"
The two halts at the exit of the forest.
After staring at each other in the eye for a few seconds...
"Well, I'll let it slide this time"
"Yeah, let's forget about it."
And they walk.
It seems the boy's leg is still immobile. His movement is awkward, so much that he cannot move properly without her assistance.
"..."
The two continue on in silence.
Suddenly.
"Ciel, if there's a chance, that would be now." The boy breaks the silence.
"..."
She stops in her tracks.
His intentions are incomprehensible, but his words ring the truth. There is no watcher on her, and her only companion is injured to the point that he cannot walk on his own without help. If she is to disappear, like a cat without her leash, now is the perfect chance.
"......"
After taking a deep breath-
"-Forget about it. The opportunity has left a year ago." She softly replies, and begins to continue walking with the boy in her arms.
"Hm. You're just putting up a front, isn't it."
"Yes. Since this is the first time, however, it would be impudent to stop because I can't bear it anymore. Giving up just because I'm fed up with it would be rather childish."
"Oh? Is that like paying the price of your sins? It's funny, since that sounds quite human."
"Of course, I am human. Do you envy me, Merem?"
"...Yeah, in a way. About as much as you envy me, I would say. How how long does it last, though, if you put it that way? You're not saying that sin lasts until you die, are you?"
"That would be convenient... Though I don't believe that, since I'm not even aware of what my sins are, to begin with."
Until it is certain, I will continue to confront the darkness within me, she says.
The boy gazes far.
"Hm? Then it's a damned bond that lasts a lifetime, isn't it? Don't you know the simple truth? That nothing can be cleared before it comes to an end?" He says in a rather exhausted tone.
"Indeed... those words do carry a weight when you say them, Merem." She giggles like a boy, but she doesn't stop walking.
---And like that, she returns to her old workplace.
The boy doesn't know. He doesn't know that she had always wanted to escape, that she repeats the same things over and over again in each task - just because.
In the end.
The woman called Ciel shall continuously search for her sins, until her old nest itself is gone.
Afterward, whether the sin comes in the end or not, will be another story.....
/end