65 His perspective

"Captain..."

"This..."

"..."

Fire and blood were everywhere. Bodies are stacked upon one another as they get ravaged by the seemingly never-ending crimson fire atop them.

In the distance, razed buildings were seen scattered all over the ground. It was as if an unprecedented great war had occurred.

Among the bodies, a group of people gathered over a plaza as they looked around at the irreversible damage they had caused.

These men were battered with blood bruises, while some were missing a limb. However, one thing is present in all of their faces—

All of them had deep solemn dead eyes.

One of these men, a man was seen holding a revolver. The blood on his coat was noticeably brighter than those around him.

"This... This wasn't supposed to happen." The man said as he clenched his hand on his revolver tightly.

He then lifted his hand and looked at his revolver— his full gray eyes seemingly lost all their life. "Women and children... All of them were..."

None of them were spared.

"There's nothing to feel guilty about, Emanuel." Just then, another man wearing the same uniform as him approached him. However, in contrast to him, the man did not have any sort of stain on his clothing. "Rather than blaming yourself, blame Eduardo and his band of Outlaws."

"If they hadn't escaped the Court's edict, kidnapped our men, and forcefully seized Poisson, none of this would have happened." He added with a solemn tone.

The man then extended his hand and tapped the man named Emanuel's shoulder. "We'll take it from here. You've done your job."

Though the man said this, Emanuel couldn't help but open his mouth. He spoke with a weak voice, "...was it necessary?"

"To burn them all? Even the civilians..." The more he thought of his disgraceful actions, the more his voice faltered. "This could have all been solved with Eduardo. There was no need—"

"You've done your job."

Just then, the man cut off Emanuel's words. The man then looked Emanuel in the eyes. "The Maison Gardiennage will take care of everything. As for you, hunter... Well, there's that saying, right?"

"A Hunter Must Hunt."

Hearing this sentence, Emanuel's teeth clenched as his head throbbed. The sensation of killing everyone in Poisson was still fresh in his mind, never leaving him a chance to breathe.

As a Hunter, he was used to killing the abominations of the night... But Hunting down his fellow humans?

It was sickening.

Seeing Emanuel having trouble breathing, the man nodded his head. "Go back. There's no need to trouble yourself here further."

After the man said this, he left Emanuel to his own devices. The latter then collapsed to the ground trembling.

The guilt of his own actions fell upon him, crushing him in an instant.

Looking at his gun, his eyes wavered back and forth. He then lifted his hand, placed the gun under his neck, and rested his finger on the trigger.

"Forgive me... Basil, Dwight, Karl..." He whispered to himself as he remembered his childhood friends whom he always played within that orphanage.

Those peaceful days in the Narzissenkreuz Institute forever remained the happiest moment of his life. Even now, at his self-condemnation, it was where his mind was drifting to.

Having made up his last prayer, Emanuel was just about to pull the trigger— when suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind.

"You know, Emanuel, you've always acted as the Hunter during our play-actings." In the memory, a woman with grayish-white hair and heterochromatic eyes appeared. She appeared to be drinking tea. "Do you love that role?"

"Yes, Miss Lyris!" The young Emanuel answered as his eyes were filled with innocence. "Together with Basil, Dwight, and Karl, we'll protect the Kingdom from the evil beasts!"

"Haha, then, from now on..." The lady then placed her hand on his head as she put down her teacup. "Always be the fearsome Hunter— unyielding in the face of anything and the most versatile."

It was a beautiful memory he shared with the Director of the orphanage. The kind Oceanid who was always looking out for them, Miss Lyris.

The memory then changes.

"Alain... and Mary-Ann?" In the distant future, Emanuel was now a grown adult and had entered the Marechaussee Hunters.

"Yes," Basil, his childhood friend, nodded. "As you know, the situation with the Cataclysm is... getting worse."

"Ever since Miss Lyris' disappearance, the Institute has been continuously falling into disrepair." She explained. Afterward, two children peeked out from behind her. "That's why... I'm leaving them to you."

"Emanuel, can I entrust you with them?"

"Of course," Finding no reason to refuse, Emanuel accepted without hesitation. "It won't be that hard, would it?"

"Don't worry, they're well-behaved children." Basil chuckled softly. "Well then..."

"I hope that, for their sake, you'd continue to be the reliable Hunter... Just like always."

That was the day he got himself a new family. Ones that he swore to protect.

Once more, a new memory takes place.

"Alright you two," Emanuel, with his usual carefree smile, looked at his two new adopted children. "From now on, you two will share my last name."

"Alain Guillotin and Mary-Ann Guillotin." Uttering their new names, Emanuel warmly smiled, feeling a warm feeling in his chest. "Sounds neat, doesn't it?"

"A last name... I now have a last name!" Hearing their new names, Alain felt excited. He then turned to his sister, "Mary-Ann, did you hear that? We've got our last names now!"

"Indeed, brother," His sister, Mary-Ann, was much calmer in her contrast to him.

The twins then looked at Emanuel and smiled. "Thank you, Father!"

"—!" Returning to the present, Emanuel, who was about to pull the trigger, quickly evaded.

Bang!

His revolver fired. However, with his reflexes, he managed to evade it in time with only a wound on his neck.

Bam*

Emanuel then dropped his revolver to the ground. "No... What am I doing..."

All of a sudden, his mind became clearer. His selfish thoughts almost made two children lose their new parental figure.

Digging his hands deep into the soil, tears streamed down his face. "Alain... Mary-Ann... Forgive me..."

"I won't..."

"I promise that I won't leave you two."

Uttering these, Emanuel let out his pent up emotions. He then lifted his head and looked at the charred corpses around the plaza.

Wiping his tears, he looked around for a minute before staring off into the distance.

This time, he wanted to make the right choice.

The next day, Emanuel would retire from the Marechaussee Hunters.

---

"And cut!"

The clapperboard sounded the end of the scene and soon, the actors on stage found a breather.

"Good work, everyone!" Furina, who had been watching the whole time, nodded her head. She then looked at Isaac. "Especially you, our dear Hunter. Your acting is excellent!"

"Really?" Isaac, who finally managed to take a break, wiped his tears from his face. "I don't think it was that great."

"Nope, you can't escape this one, Monsieur Isaac." Lyney, who was still wearing Alain's costume, approached. "I admit, that was some brilliant acting. I almost felt like I was Alain himself when facing you."

"But isn't that the core principle of an actor?" Lynette interjected. "To embody their characters?"

"Well... You aren't wrong." Lyney smiled wryly at his sister's words.

"They're right, Monsieur Isaac." Navia, who was also watching, also joined in. "You have a knack for showing raw emotions— and that's not easy."

'No, I just channeled my inner edge lord...' Isaac lampooned inwardly. He then smiled wryly. "Thank you for the compliments, everyone. To be honest, you all did an excellent job too."

"Hmph, then I suppose we'll save this take," Furina commanded the production team. She then looked at Isaac from her director's chair.

"...You truly are great at acting."

"?" Hearing Furina's ominous compliment, Isaac got confused for a moment. He then nodded his head. 'Uh... Sure?'

'Why does it feel like Furina's been watching me more than usual today...' Isaac thought to himself suspiciously. 'Hmm... I better keep my guard up.'

Clap*

Just then, everyone heard a clap.

"Alright, everyone. Have some water! Courtesy of the Spina Di Rosula!" Navia clapped her hands and announced. "Freshen yourselves up and stay hydrated!"

Shortly after, Spina Di Rosula members arrived and gave each person in the studio one bottle of water.

'Now's a good chance.' Approaching Navia, Isaac spoke. "Thank you, Miss Navia— oh, and the Spina."

"Don't worry about it, Monsieur Isaac!" Navia said as she smiled warmly. "As one of the organizers of this film, it's only natural for us to do this."

"Well... That is true." Isaac nodded his head in agreement.

Just then, after Navia spoke, a man approached her.

"Navia, there you are. I want to ask—" However before the man could continue speaking, he stopped midway when he noticed Isaac.

Isaac, who saw the man, suddenly broke into an enigmatic smile.

"Oh, did you find what I was looking for?" Navia then turned around, oblivious to Isaac's smile behind her. "It didn't bother you that much, did it?"

"Uncle Marcel."

"No, not at all." The man named Marcel quickly regained his composure and shook his head. He then took out an envelope, "Here, just what you wanted."

"Aw, thanks, Uncle Marcel!" Receiving the letter, Navia thanked the older man. "I'll make sure to drop by Confrerie later!"

"O-Of course, my doors will always..." Although he and Navia spoke, his eyes couldn't help but deviate behind her from time to time. However, every time he did, more cold sweats ran down his back.

"Welcome you."

Behind Navia, the man who was quietly drinking his water was smiling devilishly at Marcel without saying anything. His deep amber eyes, coupled with that hideous smile, made it seem like he was the devil himself.

In the face of such a thing, Marcel could only comply and never say anything.

On the other hand, Isaac, who was watching Marcel's panic, couldn't help but entertain himself more.

'Looks like my pet still knows its place.'

It felt great having pawns.