Prison of Destruction (討滅の獄 Tōmetsu no Goku) is a short story written by Kazuma Kamachi, illustrated by Kiyotaka Haimura, and printed in the Shakugan no Shana tribute booklet GRIMOIRE. The pair of Kamachi and Haimura are best known for their light novel series A Certain Magical Index.
Prison of Destruction is set between volume IX and volume XI but is non-canon due to inconsistencies with later events in the novels and for its original lore.
Summary[]
At night, the Flame Haze Syrus Lellis was running through a deserted construction site covered by a Fūzetsu that had been cast by his pursuer, who he was trying to escape from. The enemy's calculated pursuit was leading Lellis where they wanted him to go. Though Lellis was a powerful Unrestricted Spell Master he felt odd while running, as if he was drunk, and the source of his power, the Power of Existence of his contracted Crimson Lord, felt like it would pour out of him. Due to this he couldn't even do basic things like physical augmentation and was cautious of exploding.
The two were running just outside Misaki City, on Ōto Bridge. Lellis thought that if he made it to Misaki City, the Flame Haze there would sense what was happening, but his pursuer wasn't allowing him to get there. As Lellis neared the edge of the Fūzetsu, he was in disbelief that he was powerless against the pursuer despite having the achievement of helping suppress the chaos after the Great War and having killed dozens of Denizens. Lellis was scared of dying but was even more scared of losing his sense of purpose as a Flame Haze, revenge on "Destructive Blade" Sabrac. However, his dream would never come true.
5 blade-like iron claws pierced through Lellis' back and out his stomach. He became numb to the pain and as his pursuer pulled their hand from his back, he felt his contracted Lord "Written Blessing" Penemue's presence disappearing. After the claws were fully removed, a tremendous amount of flames erupted out of Lellis and split his body like a flower. The phenomenon was similar to being shot by Trigger Happy. Just before he was extinguished, Lellis asked his assailant, a Flame Haze, why they had killed him. There was no answer and Syrus Lellis was forgotten by the world.
One Sunday at the Sakai Residence, Chigusa was using the vacuum cleaner on the second floor. On the big table in the living room were Cocytus, Grimoire, Persona and Sabia. Behemoth and Khamsin had returned to Misaki City to discuss the recent Flame Haze "cannibalism" incidents. Marchosias didn't think it was a big deal but Behemoth stressed that it was more complicated than usual Flame Haze conflicts. Outside the living room, Yoshida was upset with Khamsin for not contacting her before suddenly returning. Behemoth continued, saying that since the incident started 7 days ago, Outlaw had confirmed 47 deaths, and this number wouldn't include Flame Haze who didn't use Outlaw. The number was unprecedented, as there were powerful Crimson Lords like Orgon who had slain many Flame Haze, but had done so over time since crossing over to this world. At this pace, the kill count could surpass Tenmoku Ikko's. As Marchosias jokingly said that the number must be wrong, as even a drunk Margery couldn't kill that many, Grimoire disappeared, summoned by Margery to the hallway. She complained to him about using her as his example instead of perhaps Bal Masqué. Marchosias teased her saying he had only said the truth, and Wilhelmina had to stop Margery's beating of his Divine Vessel with tools from a toolbox. Margery threw Marchosias back onto the table. Marchosias declined his old friend Tiamat from tending to him with her ribbons.
Alastor and Behemoth said that this incident reminded them of the Prison of Destruction Incident, something Marchosias didn't know about and Tiamat had only heard rumors of. Alastor explained that it was a source of chaos after the Great War of the 16th century, and since it occurred while he and Tiamat had been in Tendōkyū trying to raise a new Flame Haze Vessel, Behemoth had been one of those who settled the incident. The incident had occurred before Marchosias had contracted with Margery, and he made a joke directed at Alastor about Wilhelmina's changing of attire to maid clothes after picking up Shana by talking of her unfashionable bloomers. Marchosias was again teleported away, with Wilhelmina demanding to know when he had seen her bloomers. Marchosias had seen them when Wilhelmina had been drunk at Satō's house after fighting with Shana. He had been put in the dressing room when Wilhelmina and Margery entered the bath together. Satō and Tanaka had lost respect for Marchosias but threatened him with the tools to hear the "details" of the incident, only to both get hit by Margery. The heavily damaged Grimoire was again thrown back onto the table. Marchosias didn't think he was at fault as Flame Haze and their Lords were one in mind and body, but Alastor was disappointed in him, saying he was always put under pillows when Shana was changing and never watched her. Marchosias retorted by calling Alastor a lolicon for having taken children into his castle to "raise" them, throwing them out if they weren't to his tastes, and trying again with another child, finally settling with Shana. This time the pendant was teleported. Wilhelmina was suspicious and Shana didn't fully understand but was angry. Alastor denied the accusation saying he had vowed to spend his life with only one person, but Wilhelmina poured boiling water on him.
Behemoth continued the conversation by pointing out the problem of a large decrease in Flame Haze numbers in the 16th century due to the Great War and how Lords had become hesitant to contract with humans. Lords wouldn't die if their Vessels were destroyed, but they had to go back to the Crimson Realm each time and feared not making it back. It wasn't easy crossing over between worlds, and a certain resolve was needed. Behemoth stated that the Prison of Destruction was a Treasure Tool created by Dantalion to take advantage of that situation, and was one of the reasons why other Denizens despised him. Generally Treasure Tools were created when a Denizen and a human both wished for it, so Dantalion must have gotten help from a human. Around Brocken Mountain, many groups of people had spoken of his strange test results, which had occurred at around the same time he had been developing the Fūzetsu. At this point Alastor was thrown back onto the table, and he stated that one of the main reasons for Denizens' hatred for Dantalion was from the Prison of Destruction having possibly saved Flame Haze from extinction. The Treasure Tool resolved the shortage of Flame Haze by sealing Lords.
Marchosias and Tiamat agreed with Behemoth that they had chosen humans with the aptitude, necessary qualities, and strong will to destroy to contract with, leading to Wilhelmina objecting to Margery that she had made a cry of slaughter before being contracted as Margery had done. Contracts couldn't be completed unless both the human and Lord desired it. Alastor explained that the Prison of Destruction disregarded that requirement and allowed humans to force Crimson Lords into contracts by simply designating them, and it didn't matter whether the Lord was in the Crimson Realm or this world, with the latter being impossible to contract with usually. After the designation, an Instant Flame Haze was created. Normally humans wouldn't know about Lords, but in order to clean up and conduct Tuning after the Great War, a temporary Outlaw was formed at Brocken Mountain, the main battlefield of the war. While they controlled the Prison of Destruction, the Flame Haze told humans about the Crimson Realm and were recruiting Flame Haze candidates. The humans were needed anyway for the Tuning, so the Flame Haze showed no reluctance in involving the humans in The Truth of This World. Marchosias thought that the humans who used the Treasure Tool would have small Vessels and be easily killed, allowing the captured Lord to return to the Crimson Realm, but this wasn't the case. Thanks to the Prison of Destruction, the Lord could only return if the Flame Haze dissolved the contract, and if they were killed, the Lord would also be extinguished, whereas usually they could either return or manifest. Prison of Destruction prevented them from both manifesting and returning, and they would be destroyed by the pressure of being unable to do either. Behemoth recounted that the Prison of Destruction allowed for mass-production of Flame Haze and the sealing of powerful Crimson Lords that they couldn't defeat, and therefore they didn't even need to fight. It was good for the balance of both worlds that dangerous Lords were sealed, and it would allow the superior number of humans to eradicate all Lords in this world. If word broke out in the Crimson Realm about the sealings, the custom of crossing over to this world would also cease. Humans still wouldn't be able to contract with Denizens or Rinne, but both could be defeated conventionally by the "true" Flame Haze.
Marchosias and Tiamat didn't fully agree with the use of Prison of Destruction due to the resulting Flame Haze being weaker than usual because they and the Lord weren't suited for each other, as well as due to the discomfort of the Lord. Behemoth agreed and explained how the Instant Flame Haze were distorted. They had no strong desire for revenge and were mentally weak, easily breaking down when faced with their loss of humanity or cornered by a powerful Crimson Lord. Alastor went on to say that the Instant Flame Haze then formed a faction, selfishly attacking humans and desiring Power of Existence, becoming no different to Denizens. Some of the Instant Flame Haze had still tried to help humans with Unrestricted Spells, but spells also leave a small effect on the world's balance. Flame Haze can use Power of Existence from their Lord so as not to take it from the world, but Restorations within Fūzetsu and the continued use of Unrestricted Spells could still have a bad effect, especially with the vast number of Instant Flame Haze. The true Flame Haze had no choice but to consider the Instant Flame Haze their enemies, as they could lead to the destruction of both worlds. The Prison of Destruction Incident was the killing of around 70 of the weak Flame Haze, which was among the top 10 deadliest events in Flame Haze history. Alastor had no idea why Dantalion made the Prison of Destruction to help Flame Haze; he had helped them before and there was no way of knowing.
Marchosias theorized that the current incident was similar to the Prison of Destruction Incident in scale of casualties and involvement of Flame Haze, but the differences were that the victims were most likely not using Prison of Destruction, even though a few Instant Flame Haze may have survived, and that this incident was caused by only 1 or a few Flame Haze. Behemoth had come to warn the others to not trust any unknown Flame Haze. He didn't fully believe they would heed his warning, citing Marchosias' supposed peeking and Alastor's supposed tastes in contractors. Marchosias criticized Behemoth for stripping Yoshida naked and wrapping her in Qadesh's Heart Chamber when they conducted the Tuning of Misaki City. Behemoth was teleported away and he and Khamsin were faced with an upset Yoshida, who hadn't been aware that she had been naked. Khamsin stated that he had had no ulterior motives, as he would become naked within the Heart Chamber as well, but Behemoth might have had one for picking Yoshida to be their cooperator, and he began pulling the Sabia. Marchosias voiced his disappointment in Behemoth but Alastor pointed out that it was odd that Marchosias could explain the details about Yoshida's Tuning. Marchosias was again teleported to Margery and he made an excuse saying his Divine Vessel couldn't move on its own so Margery should've used flames to cover him like how she had made blindfolds for Satō and Tanaka. However, the boys pointed out that he often flew with Margery riding on him, leading Margery to use a welding laser on Marchosias. Yūji pointed out that Alastor's Cocytus had been hanging around Shana's neck during the Tuning, leading to Alastor being teleported. Shana was suspicious, having learned from Wilhelmina that like Yoshida, his previous contractor had had large breasts. Yoshida was appalled by the number of people who had been staring at her while she had been naked. Alastor first objected but then swore an apology to no avail as he was dropped into a pot on a portable stove, with the lid closed after him. Left alone on the table, Tiamat had lost her trust in the other Lords.
Yūji watched the drama that had unfolded and wondered whether Alastor had been abused like that by Shana's predecessor. Not counting the Lords, there were almost 10 people gathered at his house. The screams of the Lords were audible and he was worried about his mother on the second floor hearing them. Yūji remarked that Tiamat alone had had no issues, and she returned to the top of Wilhelmina's head. As Wilhelmina was checking on Alastor, Tiamat fell on top of the pot lid and was burnt. Tiamat used ribbons to push her headdress up off the pot, but bumped into Wilhelmina's hand and fell back onto the pot. Tiamat, Yūji and Shana thought that Wilhelmina had done so deliberately. Wilhelmina proclaimed that Tiamat wasn't a weak Lord who would be discouraged by this, but Tiamat looked weak as she plopped on the floor. Wilhelmina offered to wash and iron her, but Tiamat refused.
Khamsin had told Yūji to gather just the Lords together, but in the end it hadn't mattered. Khamsin had been conducting an experiment and wanted to gather them at an Outlaw, but they had their hands full with the incident, so he had settled for Yūji's house. Wilhelmina was making soup with the Cocytus still inside the pot. Khamsin explained to Yūji that since Fūzetsu were constantly cast around his house during his training and Restorations had been done inside, little by little Distortions were being created. He noted that Yūji hadn't improved much from the training. Khamsin's experiment had been to investigate the special characteristics of Divine Vessels, which had a lot of unknowns about them. Their original roles are simply to be the Lord's communication tool. Still pulling Behemoth, Khamsin explained that they could have other powers, like Persona could turn into a mask and summon an unlimited number of ribbons, and Grimoire could emit embers, boost insignias, and use bookmarks and tags to transfer a portion of Power of Existence. Sabia and Cocytus didn't have any abilities; though Shana's Yogasa was part of Alastor, it didn't come from the pendant. Khamsin was more interested in the effect that the powers and wills of the outside world can have on the Lord housed inside the Flame Haze, and wouldn't get enough results using just Sabia. He had gotten the results in the drama just now, with all Divine Vessels being affected similarly. Yūji figured out the true aim of Khamsin's experiment; whether they could influence the Lord inside a Flame Haze through the Divine Vessel in order to not fall victim to the Flame Haze killer. Yūji was sharp to things like this, but was also dense that he didn't even notice Yoshida's upset state after finding out she had been seen naked.
Yūji asked how the Flame Haze had been killed, and Khamsin responded that though Flame Haze and Denizens don't leave corpses after death and it was thus hard to verify, what Yūji was thinking was highly possible. Yūji theorized that Khamsin hadn't come to his house solely because Outlaw was busy and there were many Divine Vessels around. Khamsin had arrived carefree, whereas if they were really cornered, he would have forced their cooperation. Yūji believed Khamsin had a rough idea of the culprit and a plan. He believed that Outlaw couldn't handle it as a Flame Haze was no match for the killer and they would need a different hunter to face the killer, a Mystes who could move within a Fūzetsu and had more Power of Existence than a regular Denizen, meaning Yūji himself. The others were in disbelief at this, with Wilhelmina advising Khamsin that Yūji was powerless. Yūji thought that it was no use complaining about Khamsin pushing this on him and instead he wanted to prepare, because he may actually die. Since Khamsin helped clean up the Prison of Destruction Incident, Yūji asked what happened to the Treasure Tool.
At night, the Flame Haze killer was among the nearby construction sites on the Ōto Bridge. Their appearance was that of a young girl, though appearances didn't matter for Denizens or Flame Haze due to their abilities, and there was an air of killing intent around her. A voice called out to her, seeking confirmation if she was the Flame Haze contractor of the Crimson Lord "Domain of Esoteric Theory" Ratziel, "Hidden Pursuer" Notburga. It was the Mystes housing the Reiji Maigo, Yūji Sakai. In Yūji's right hand was a long sword, and in his left were 5 bookmarks, and Notburga sensed the Power of Existence flowing in both. Though he was only a Mystes, Notburga was cautious and recognized the sword as the one which had been wielded by Tenmoku Ikko. Yūji had borrowed it from Shana and confessed that he had been nervous walking through the city with it, as it had no scabbard. Notburga found this odd, as usually the attacking side would cast a Fūzetsu before battle. Yūji had more Power of Existence than a human but not enough to waste and said it'd be a big help if Notburga cast the Fūzetsu, as he didn't want the surroundings to get caught up in him destroying her. In her vigilance of his unknown nature, association with Tenmoku Ikko, his large amount of Power of Existence, the high-level Unrestricted Spells in his bookmarks, and his knowledge of the Crimson Realm, Notburga failed to notice how pale Yūji's expression was and cast her pale crimson Fūzetsu. Casting a Fūzetsu was a sign for battle as well as a sign of fear.
Notburga after casting her Fūzetsu.
Yūji was surprised that Notburga had cast the Fūzetsu, proud that she had recognized him as a threat, but above all was fearful for his life. Notburga's Fūzetsu was more complicated than Shana's but more crude than Margery's. However it had a fierce look about it, as if showing her internal strong will. Notburga asked Ratziel for the "Release of Leonardus". A thin chain rose up from Notburga's feet and wrapped around her fingers many times to form fingers like dull blades that could touch the ground. Yūji guessed that the blades were behind the Flame Haze killings; an Unrestricted Spell that influenced Divine Vessels and reversed the flow of Power of Existence from the Divine Vessel in order to explode the Flame Haze from the inside. He was slightly wrong, the blades weren't an Unrestricted Spell but Notburga's Divine Vessel. However, Notburga used an Unrestricted Spell that improved her Divine Vessel and brought out more of Ratziel's power. Khamsin's experiment had been to determine if that attack was possible. An invisible pipe existed between the Divine Vessel and the Lord within a Flame Haze, and applying shocks to the Divine Vessel will send strong pressure to the Lord through the pipe. The attack forcibly wakes the Lord from their dormant state, and they would react to the awakening by exploding the Flame Haze from inside, thus being similar to Trigger Happy. Notburga explained that hearing or looking at the claws caused Divine Vessels to bear pressure due to Ratziel's power. Fearful of exploding from the inside, the Flame Haze would lose the ability to control Power of Existence and would either explode or Notburga would finish them with the claws. However, this wouldn't work on someone with no Divine Vessel, like Mystes or Rinne. Shana and the others had no way of dealing with Notburga, so Yūji had to do it. Notburga figured out that Yūji had gotten his equipment from the Flame Haze in Misaki City and that they had sent him. What was important was whether she had killed almost 50 Flame Haze with her own strength or with a special trick. Marchosias and Tiamat had never heard of Notburga, which was unreasonable if she had the power to defeat so many Flame Haze in such a short time, so Yūji suspected that she has a trick which specialized in fighting Flame Haze. As they didn't know her trick, it was too dangerous for the Flame Haze to face her even if they avoided being killed by her Divine Vessel, and Khamsin had said they'd be killed instantly. Therefore Yūji had to face her in order to save the Flame Haze. He told Notburga that Khamsin had informed him of her, as they had fought together in the Prison of Destruction Incident. He had learned how her Divine Vessel's original power hadn't been for killing and how she had destroyed the Prison of Destruction and ran away. However he didn't know what Notburga was planning.
Notburga was adamant about not withdrawing and attacked. In an instant she was 50cm away from Yūji. He wouldn't make it if he swung the Nietono no Shana normally, and if he used Power of Existence to amplify his strength to swing it, he wasn't skilled enough in swordsmanship to attack with it. As Notburga was about to strike his face with her claw, Yūji cross-countered with his left hand, which held the 5 bookmark insignias. Margery had said she had gone crazy on the spells and Yūji only had enough Power of Existence to activate 5 of them, but Yūji activated them all at once. The first one sent him back 10 meters, a sub-type of the one which allowed Margery to fly on Grimoire. Where he had just been and Notburga now was, the other 4 bookmarks remained, with one swelling, one bursting, one becoming sharp, and one turning into a blunt weapon. They all attacked Notburga before exploding, the flames reaching Yūji, who would have died without Azure. Yūji had a blood nose from the claw brushing him, meaning he would be dead if he had been a second late or hadn't used all the bookmarks. Notburga was mildly injured but would continue fighting. Yūji ran at her and began to swing the sword, but had to block a strike from a claw with it. Notburga's other claw struck Yūji in the chest, only to be repelled by Wilhelmina's ribbons which were wrapped around his body like bandages. The claw of the irregular Divine Vessel Release of Leonardus returned to being ordinary chains, the ribbons having had an insignia which may have repelled it. Notburga, now fearing for her life, turned but was unable to avoid being stabbed in the side by Yūji. Notburga bore the pain and swung up with her remaining claw at Yūji's face, which wasn't protected by ribbons, and Yūji was wide open after stabbing down with the sword. Yūji put his hand in his pocket and Notburga theorized that he had received something from Khamsin, the last of the 4 Flame Haze in the city. She stopped her strike out of fear of Khamsin, familiar with him due to both being subjugators of the Prison of Destruction Incident. Yūji got out his trump card, a little rock, and threw it. The trajectory of the rock would have it land at Notburga's feet, and she sensed no Power of Existence or insignias within it. She thought something was amiss, as the ribbons concealed presence. She was preparing her defense when Ratziel warned that it was a diversion. Yūji had drawn the Nietono no Shana back to his body and he stabbed her chest with it. Notburga collapsed and Yūji drew out the sword. He had received advice on how to use the Nietono no Shana, the 5 insignias, and the ribbons from the Flame Haze, albeit in a belittling way which had worried Yoshida but somehow made Satō and Tanaka jealous. The rock, however, was entirely Yūji's improvisation. Khamsin had said that Yūji wouldn't be able to use and would only be burdened by Mekest, and Jettatura would be useless, so he had nothing else to give Yūji except an ordinary rock off the ground.
Since the Fūzetsu was still active, Notburga was still alive. As she lay dying, Yūji asked her why she had attacked Flame Haze, to determine if he had been right to defeat her. Notburga saw that Yūji's hand was shaking, out of fear or regret. This was the first time Yūji had given someone grave injuries directly; he had hurt Wilhelmina before at Ōto Fancy Park, but that was an indirect attack using Power of Existence. The immobile Notburga stated that she was the same as the Engage Link, Pheles and Johann, who Yūji knew created the Reiji Maigo. She talked about a Lord who had been widely known before the Great War, and how they had been researching an Unrestricted Spell which would allow easy coming and going between this world and the Crimson Realm. It would allow humans and Denizens to get along, and the stays would be short so Denizens wouldn't need to consume Power of Existence and humans wouldn't need to consume a similar power to stay in the Crimson Realm. Notburga had loved that Lord, but they had been sealed inside a human by the Prison of Destruction. She had spent a long time searching for him to no avail and destroyed the Prison of Destruction, but the contracts of the Instant Flame Haze hadn't dissolved. Notburga had then modified her Divine Vessel to be able to wrench open Flame Haze. She had also planned to use an Unrestricted Spell, Nobiliacum, which would set up a barrier blocking Prison of Destruction's effects of not allowing the Lord to return to the Crimson Realm or manifest, and its scale and amount of Power of Existence required was less than even Yūji's Azure, meaning it would barely have any effect on this world. Notburga had spent 500 years developing her Divine Vessel and Nobiliacum. Even though the Lord she loved had likely been killed during the Prison of Destruction Incident or by a Denizen, she couldn't give up. She had pried open Flame Haze who had used Prison of Destruction, and had tossed them away when the sealed Lord had been a different one, as Nobiliacum could only be used to protect 1 Lord. Notburga asked Yūji if she had been able to take away his guilt for killing her, and he thanked her, wondering that if Notburga was like Johann, who the Lord like Pheles was.
Notburga said farewell to Ratziel, closed her eyes, and stopped moving. Ratziel asked Yūji if he was satisfied, and Yūji moved back. As their contractor dies, a Lord can forcibly manifest. Though this was like a suicide act, Yūji wouldn't be able to do anything about it. He briefly thought to call Shana and the others, but decided against it; as Release of Leonardus was a Divine Vessel, it was a power borrowed from Ratziel, and the Lord would likely have a far greater Flame Haze-killing ability. Ratziel took pity on Notburga and lamented not being able to find the Lord she loved for her or help her more. Yūji heard a crack from Notburga's body and thought it odd as Manifestation occurred after the Flame Haze had died, but he figured out that Ratziel was going to use his own power to pry open Notburga. As he would have no way of stopping Ratziel after he manifested, Yūji tried to convince him not to kill Notburga, saying his goal was only to stop the Flame Haze killings, and he threw Nietono no Shana to the ground. Knowing his ribbons and Azure wouldn't protect him from the Lord's attack, Yūji continued, saying he was made to fight Notburga because he didn't have the power to kill a Flame Haze and Khamsin and the others only wanted to stop her. Ratziel argued that there was no other way of living for Notburga and she wouldn't give up. Yūji said that they should find a new path, and Ratziel should show her the way.
Khamsin observed that the Manifestation had been prevented. The group were a little ways away from the construction site but were still within Notburga's Fūzetsu and had observed the battle. The Flame Haze could see but it was too dark for a human, so Yoshida had been teary and trembling listening to the loud noises of the fight. Wilhelmina's ribbons were concealing their presence from Notburga and allowing Yoshida to move within the Fūzetsu. Shana was annoyed that Yūji had protected Notburga with the act of throwing her sword, but Khamsin defended the reasoning behind the action, paying no attention as to why she was annoyed. Yoshida worried about the state of Yūji and Shana informed her that he had no large injuries, and even if he had he would recover with the Reiji Maigo as long as he still had his existence, so they didn't have to worry about him. Shana was hiding her true feelings, but her eyebrow twitched when she heard Yoshida say that though Yūji was safe, she wanted to see him. Marchosias and Margery had been watching this, with Marchosias believing Yoshida had "scored a point over" Shana, while Margery teased Wilhelmina about this being a problem for her and about Shana's upbringing, and suggested that Wilhelmina had been similar to Shana, but Wilhelmina feigned ignorance. Khamsin had listened in but remained business-like and asked Margery and Wilhelmina to give treatment to Notburga, as their specialties were alcohol and bandages respectively, and to restore the interior of the Fūzetsu using Yūji's Power of Existence. He also warned them not to praise Yūji, as self-confidence could be fatal. They understood, with Margery saying Yūji was soft for not going for the kill, but Marchosias teased her that she was having a hard time with Satō and Tanaka after praising them. Alastor couldn't find anything to praise, but noticed Shana was pouting. Shana had thought it was okay to at least give Yūji a shoulder, as she knew how comforting that was.
Margery inquired as to why Khamsin was forgiving Notburga for the killings. Khamsin answered casually that Flame Haze are humans who no longer exist in this world, so it wouldn't affect the world if they disappeared. Margery added to this by saying that it would be better if Shana cleaned up the damage from the fight. Whereas she was a respected figure, Shana's "stocks would increase" from Yūji's perspective if she went to reassure him. This statement caused most of the group to rush off, with Shana suddenly wanting to go clean up, Yoshida wanting Margery to do it, Wilhelmina trying to prevent Shana by doing it herself, which led to an argument between the two as Shana thought Wilhelmina had feelings for Yūji as well, and Margery and Marchosias going for the fun.
Behemoth asked Khamsin if it was alright not telling Notburga the truth; that he had captured the Flame Haze contracted to the Lord she loved. If Khamsin had gotten Yūji to be a messenger, Notburga may have gone after them to determine the message's validity. That Flame Haze had also lost sight of their mission, and Khamsin planned to destroy them after learning about Nobiliacum from Notburga, as the Lord inside was harmless to the world like Lamies. He would tell all this to Notburga when she had gone down the right path.
Characters[]
* denotes if the character is original to this story
- Syrus Lellis*
- Notburga*
- Sabrac (mentioned)
- Penemue* (mentioned)
- Chigusa Sakai
- Marchosias
- Behemoth
- Kazumi Yoshida
- Khamsin Nbh'w
- Tiamat
- Alastor
- Orgon (mentioned)
- Tenmoku Ikko (mentioned)
- Margery Daw
- Wilhelmina Carmel
- Keisaku Satō
- Eita Tanaka
- Shana
- Dantalion (mentioned)
- Sorath (mentioned)
- Tiriel (mentioned)
- Friagne (mentioned)
- Yūji Sakai
- Ratziel*
- Pheles (mentioned)
- Johann (mentioned)
- Lamies (mentioned)
Powers and Abilities Used[]
Unrestricted Spells[]
Treasure Tools[]
- Nietono no Shana - Yūji
- Azure - Yūji
Locations[]
- Ōto City - bridge just outside Misaki City
- Misaki City - Sakai Residence
Quotes[]
- Lellis (thinking to himself): "Wait. Not yet. Not yet! I know that, damn it!! I can't be erased until I get one hit on that shitty bastard!! I'm a Tool of Destruction whose purpose is to behead "Destructive Blade", that madder red executioneeerrr!!"
- Lellis (final words, to Notburga): "Why... Why point your blade at me, Flame Haze!!"
- Marchosias (to Alastor): "Come to think of it, "Crown-and-Sash of Fantasies"' contractor wears lame maid clothes, but I recall she started wearing them after picking up the flame-haired burning-eyed girl. Did you order her to wear them, thereby laying your tastes bear, "Flame of Heaven"? Heheh, otherwise there's no way anyone would wear those unfashionable bloomers!!"
- Marchosias: (to Alastor): "Keh, like you can talk, you lolicon! Let's talk about how you took kids from the surface into your castle, ganged up on them in order to "train" them, and if you didn't like them you'd throw them away and choose another one. Heheh, I bet your contractor's appearance is to your liking, you lecherous Demon God!"
- Behemoth: "Hmph. I'd like to believe your words, but there seems to be a frivolous mood here. Things like peeking in baths and choosing contractors by tastes in appearance... for an old-timer like me it feels like I can't keep up with the changing eras."
Marchosias: "Huuuhh!? Why are you pretending to be the only good little boy, "Steadfast Sharp Peak"! When you used Qadesh's Heart Chamber to tune Misaki City, you stripped the girl Yoshida naked and wrapped her tenderly in your flames! Be honest, how'd it feel? Noooo don't, I can already tell. Presumably from the brightness of the brown flames and the dancing embers during it, you were in an ecstatically good mood! Ahh shameful, shameful, why were you getting excited for, it's unbecoming for your age old man!!" - Yūji (to Notburga): "As you can see, I'm just a Mystes. I have the characteristic of being able to move within Fūzetsu, but that's all. I have a lot of Power of Existence, more than a human, but not enough that I can waste it. That's why it'll really help me if you would cast the Fūzetsu. I'm just going to destroy you, so we don't need to involve the neighborhood, right?"
- Notburga: (to Yūji while they fought): "Not good enough. I said, not good enough. I'll break you Mystes!!"
- Yūji (to Notburga after being protected by ribbons): ""You're so meager that I have no choice but to help, indeed.", was what Carmel-san had said!!"
- Notburga (to Yūji): "I loved them. Though the worlds we were born in and our methods were a little different, I loved them so much that I didn't care about those things."
- Ratziel (to an unconscious Notburga): "You're a pitiful woman. It's been a long time, Notburga. 500 years. That's how long you've continued to yearn for "them", that's enough. It would be nice if "they" appeared here, in your last moments, but things wouldn't be that convenient. ...I'll teach you The Truth of This World? I couldn't tell you where "they" were. If you had a greater Lord with you, they could have shown you a different path. Pitiful woman, I'm sorry. This is the limit of what this meager Lord can do for you."
- Ratziel: "...Is that so? However, that consideration won't bear fruit. Even if she escapes from death here, what would happen? The woman called Notburga can only choose this way of life. If she can give up just from your words, she could never have come this far. But you won't approve of Notburga's future path. That is why it won't bear fruit, nothing will."
Yūji: "If that's so, you should think of a method of doing something without killing Flame Haze! It won't bear fruit you say, don't say that when you're trying to break her! You know more than me about how she felt while coming this far!! You should show her a way! Who was the one who lent their powers to Notburga!!?"
Trivia[]
- Marchosias mentioned the time when Wilhelmina had been drunk at Satō's house after fighting with Shana, in volume IX.
- It was mentioned that Alastor had bitter memories of Dantalion from encountering him at the Misago Festival, in volume VII.
- A heated discussion broke out concerning when Yoshida helped Khamsin with the Tuning of Misaki City, in volume VII.
- It was mentioned that Yūji had inflicted injuries on Wilhelmina at Ōto Fancy Park, in volume IX.
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