Sef's heart was calm as the guards fastened his wrists on the metal crucifix. In front of him was Erze, and in front of her were hooded figures assembled like a three columned choir. Those in red occupied the right side, those in black occupied the left, while the middle was left for two individuals. Parvanos who sat at the lowest step, and the queen of heaven who stood at the top most level.

She was dressed in a glittering gown, and was veiled like a bride yet to meet her groom. A human from the head down to the waist, but a hell hound starting from the hips to the claws of her four reptilian legs. Her left hand held a staff with an eight-rayed sun as its head, and her right carried a black orb that hovered a few inches chest above her fingertips.

“brothers and sisters!”

Parvanos broke away from the assembly and walked towards Erze, summoning applauses with every step he took. “tonight is the night of harvest! Tonight our queen sheds her lesser vessel, and take on a greater one!”

“as above, so below! As above, so below!”

The hoods bowed to their queen and chanted without cease. At first it sounded like a chorus of normal people, but with every repetition, the voices became less human and more beastly, turning from words understood by the ear, into growls that forced a sinister grin on Sef's face.

“time to say goodbye, Sef"

Parvanos raised a hand, and the queen opened her mouth in response. Out of it came a white serpent that slithered across the air and bit Erze on the neck. Her face was blocked by the crucifix and her screams were drowned by the chants, but the way her fingers dug on to the metal showed how much pain she endured.

“so we meet again Sef"

Another hooded man appeared before Sef carrying a crucifix on one hand and Bel on another. “here's your request. Enjoy losing your treasure beside it"

He planted the iron cross next to Sef and hanged the chain on Bel's wrists around its head, making her scream as her shoulders and joints were forced to carry all the weight.

Sef did not take his eyes away from Erze, but allowed the little girl's screams to fuel his rage. Soon enough, thoughts best left unspoken filled his mind, making the hooded man turn to him in excitement.

“oh what did I just hear? Is it true? Do you really want to rip my throat?”

With a calm exterior, Sef lowered his gaze and replaced his thoughts with insults only he could speak. As expected, a heavy hand grabbed his neck and forced him to look up again, but before the mind reader could spit a word, Erze's screams rose above the chants. She flailed like a beast in its last struggle to survive, rocking her crucifix as the snake pumped silver venom in her body.

“there, there” Myrno wrapped an arm around Sef's shoulders and pointed at the snake's head. “I'm sure your witty nutcase already figured some of this out, but see that silver liquid leaking out of the goddesses' tongue? Yes, that's her in elixir form. A minute from now, all of her will be inside your girl, all you'll do is watch her take over"

Fear, sorrow, anger. All once well kept now raged inside Sef without restrictions. There was not much time left, he needed to start his plan now, and it starts with a desperate glance, a plea of help to the monster chained beside him.

“finally!” Myrno walked back to Bel and traced her face with a finger. “master was right, you do have something under your sleeve”

“Sef! Help me! I'm scared!” Bel begged Sef, but all he gave her was a despaired gaze and a whispered apology.

“so let's see...” Myrno pulled a knife from his cloak and pressed its blade on the little girl's cheek. “you want this girl to look at the goddess, then something will happen right? Very well...”

Blood splattered on Sef's face and screams pierced his ears. He wanted to look away, but his conscience, or what was left of it, froze his neck in place. This was his idea, if someone must be tainted by it, that someone must be him.

“Papa... I'm scared... It's so dark...” Bel's voice broke into sobs, but instead of tears, it was blood that gushed out of the holes where her eyes once sat.

“see this Sef?” Myrno dangled the knife in front of Sef and slowly plucked the eyeballs skewered in it. “this is your plan that I just ruined just now. Do you have anything else? Better attempt it now, the transfer is about to be complete"

“thank you Myrno, you're truly the best tool Paravanos have"

“ha, stop bluffing! I can read you like a book!”

A sinister grin etched itself on Sef’s face. “go ahead then, read me"

Myrno's jaw dropped, and his eyes widened in fear. “you... what did you do?”

“oh it's not me” Sef said. “you're the one with free hands"

“master! The gir---"

Before Myrno could finish his warning, an endless number of glass chains bursted out of Bel's eye sockets. They shackled everything they came in contact with, and pulled them apart like twigs. Only Parvanos remained intact, hovering above the chaos as he carried a queen with a headless serpent dangling from her mouth.

“I see, this is why Sef did it"

Bel appeared out of the chains and stared unblinkingly at Sef. Nothing about her appearance suggetsed a change, it was the unseen things that revealled it. The air around her was forbidding and the emptiness of her gaze screamed uncertainty. She was no longer the sweet girl he travelled with, but a monster disturb from its slumber.

“s-so...” Sef flashed a nervous smile. “we meet again"

“who is it?” Belfred undid Sef's bonds. “who is him that blinded my Faith?”

“you probably killed him by now"

“how about him that flies? Is him involved?”

Sef inhaled to suppress his laughter. “yes, his the one behind all of this, he even called your daughter a pet"

The chains shot to the ceiling and swarmed Parvanos from all sides. Bones cracked and blood showered the floor, but when the frenzy subsided, no corpse was found.

“hm, looks like my soul wasn't silenced after all. Is it because a wasn't touched by the chains?”

Parvanos appeared in front of Bel's crucifix with a hand scratching his beardless chin. The queen was no longer with him, nor was she seen in any corner of the hall. A clear hint that the immortal's soul was truly in play.

“a phantom?” Belfred asked, ordering another cluster of chains to stand like cobras around him.

“watch your mouth failed one" Parvanos said. “you may have a very formidable spirit, but don’t ever think you'll stand against me"

“him is the one who should bite his tongue. Him will pay for hurting my Faith!”

“um, about that...” Sef scratched his head. “I think we should leave that for another day”

“is Sef siding with him?”

“no, Sef is saying we should escape now"

Belfred sent a chain around Sef'’s neck. “is Sef telling me to back down? Is Sef not mad for my Faith?!”

Sef grabbed the chain and returned his eyes on Parvanos, begging for the Belfred to do the same. “Sef... wants your Faith... to be corrected! It won't happen... if we die here!”

Belfred's icy demeanor dissolved into a face of realization and surprise. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and his chains cocooned around him and Sef, forming a dark room no one else could enter.

“what is Sef's plan?” he asked

“can't... breath...” Sef said.

The chokehold transfered to his wrist. “there, tell me now"

“I'm not sure where we are exactly, but we need to get to the northern sea's gate as fast as possible”

“myself does not know the place”

“just harmonize with my soul and you'll see it"

“myself warns you now Sef. This will not be an easy escape. Once myself goes to that place, myself can no longer keep your enemies at bay. They will attack you together with their goddess"

Despite of the darknes covering his eyes, Sef reached out a hand and trusted the monster's vision. “we can't stay here either, you know Sure, your soul may silence Parvanos now, but I'm sure he'll eventually find a way around it"

“very well"

As soon as the monster's fingers locked with Sef's a darker version of Bel's song invaded his body. However, unlike last time, it only took a second for him to harmonize with it.

“myself didn't not expect to be tamed so easily. Myself is impressed" Belfred said.

Sef chuckled. “this isn’t the first time I heard your soul you know”

“myself doesn't recall doing this before"

“yours may sound nastier, but it's just the same as your daughter's"

The cocoon of of chains swirled back behind the Belfred and revealled Erze sprawled on his feet. “state your command please"

Sef scooped Erze, gazed at the nearest window and visualized a door similar to the one at the foot of their prison. “snare"

In exchange for the monster's disappearance, the dormant mass of chains turned into a flood of iron ropes that swept Sef and Erze along. It climbed the walls, drilled through the window and flowed down to the castle's front yard like lava dripping out of a volcano.

The castle's giant doors creaked open, and released a horde of hounds ridden by cultists with missing limbs. Some were half dead, while others were fuelled by revenge. Regardless, Sef did not care. Erze was crying, and she has yet to open her eyes. There was nothing more important now than to know why.

“wake up” Belfred said, slapping a chain on his face.

“what was that for?!” Sef asked.

“myself did it to help Sef focus. The pursuers are ganing ground"

Sef lared at the chain, and grudgingly looked over his shoulder. The monster was right, the hounds were now near enough to leap on him, and before he can do anything about it, three of them did exactly that.

“snare"

Chains caught the voids midair and dragged them back to the horde, causing clusters to stumble and be trampled under the vicious current of rampaging feet.

“worry about Erze later, command me now!” Belfred said.

Sef frowned at Erze, but decided to oblige in the end. He crossed his legs, locked his hands and immersed himself at the song knocking at the door of his senses.

“snare”

One front runner after another, the chains snared every foot that came close enough to spring forward. At the same time, the flood doubled its speed and reached the stair case faster than Sef expected, turning the possibility of the horde catching up into a mere afterthought.

“we did it!” Sef shouted.

“Sef shouldn't be complacent” Belfred said.

“loosen up, there's no way they'd catch... us...”

The air on Sef's lungs evaporated as he caught sight of the sky. It was a plain black canvas when they got out of the castle, but now, silver stars occupied it from every corner, descending towards them like arrows from the gods.

“cage!”

He crouched on top of Erze and recreated the shell of chains from earlier. In a heartbeat, the sound of metal slithering across stone drowned in the noise of fire falling from heaven.

“myself cannot protect Sef forever” Belfred said.

Sef took one last glance at Erze before embracing her as tight as he could. He was scared, uncertain of what his in coming foolishness will result to. But as his partner's tears soaked his face, and her hushed sobs entered his ears, he was reminded onf why they were here in the first place. On why they chose to leave that peaceful place and charged into hell's heart itself.

“remove your chains and run as fast as you can”

“will Sef and Erze be fine?”

Sef closed his eyes. “don't worry, I'll make sure we will"

As soon as the shell broke apart, Sef drew every ounce of his forbidden authority and directed the queen’s projectiles to his back. At first, it was as if a rain of burning knives dug into his skin. But as his flesh thinned, and his bones became exposed, his sense of touch was erased completely.