'Just what is going to become of this city?', Ramrod thought as he walked back to his home alongside Lisa, who was shivering as she walked.
She was the subject of cruel torture.
Her entire face had been burned off.
Even if she put on a front and acted like she was fine, and even if the wounds had been healed and the pain was no longer there, Ramrod knew better than that.
She was in torment.
Ramrod was furious that he was forced to make peace with the woman who did this to Lisa, but he bit his tongue and swallowed his pride.
Never before had he seen a figure so overarching.
'I should bring her to see my grandson. Perhaps he will make her feel better.', Ramrod thought as they made their way through the streets.
"Send word to every person in the city that we are to perform a full retreat, and all fighting is to cease. Ah, and spread the word that everyone is to meet at the arena tomorrow morning.", Ramrod barked out to the men around him.
A few men ran off in all different directions after voicing their understanding.
'That angel.... or demon.... whatever she was, I have to obey her. I can't even imagine what will happen if I don't..... somehow, I feel like anyone who goes against her will find themselves destroyed before they even know it....'
Ramrod looked into the smog filled sky as he walked.
'Is she really trying to help us? Or will she just lead this city to it's doom?'
----
"Let me out of here!!!!"
Banging on the door could be heard all throughout the tenant as Mori desperately tried to escape his room, which the two men outside had locked up.
"We can't, Mori."
"If we do that, you'll just run off to save Lisa and end up getting wounded again. You might even die this time."
"You were too lucky already. That luck has been used up."
"If you go out again, you won't get another chance."
The two wouldn't budge as they stayed by the door, ensuring that Mori didn't so much as attempt to escape.
"Grr!!! Please!!!! Why don't you two help me go and save her!?!? If we were to combine our power-"
"Mori, she is likely in the middle of the ferret's territory by now. Three people wouldn't make a difference."
"Please calm yourself. We're concerned for Lisa as well, but there is nothing to be done."
Mori walked himself over to the corner of the room, where he balled himself up, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"It's.... my fault.... she's gone because of me, and I can't even go to save her?"
It had been a few hours since Mori awoke, but right now he was unable to contain himself.
"I'm sorry, Lisa.... I... never wanted things to turn out this way...."
"A message has already been sent to your grandfather, and I am sure that the angel woman is aware of what has happened at this point as well."
"Everyone will likely be working hard to get her back. Though, it will likely come at a high cost."
These daggers dug deeper into the heart of Mori, who could not think of anything aside from the fact that he was not strong enough.
If only he had been able to protect her, then things would have turned out better.
Remembering back, Mori realized that there was another woman- a gerbil kin who had been kidnapped as well.
"Are they.... going around and kidnapping all the women in the city!?"
The two stayed silent.
"I.... have to become stronger and stop them.... C.... what would you do? I hope that you can do something to help Lisa...."
----
The sound of a door swinging open could be heard even from Mori's room, where he was locked up.
"Sir Ramrod!!"
"Lisa!! You've both returned, and safely!!"
"What is with the tired face, Sir? Has something happened?"
"Just how much did you have to bargain to get Lisa back safe and sound, and without so much as a scratch on her?"
Despite hearing the voices of the two men, Mori was right now in bed, resting due to his wounds.
His fatigue had overcome him, and he was barely even able to lift up his head.
However, he smiled as he closed his eyes.
'Thank goodness.... she's back....'
"It isn't that I had to give anything up to get Lisa back.... no.... something much larger has happened.... where do I even start?"
Hearing his grandfather's voice, Mori could not help but feel that he sounded strange.
He seemed exhausted.
All his life, his grandfather had always been full of spunk, whether he was going off on him or complaining about the situation.
But right now, not a hint of that energy was in his voice.
"But more importantly, how is Mori?"
"Ah, he is resting right now. He was quite restless when we first found him, but he seems to have calmed down."
"I'm sure he will be delighted to hear that Lisa has made it back safe and sound."
The door to Mori's room opened, and his grandfather entered first, with a face of concern.
"Safe and sound? You two weren't there to see what happened to her. Mori. Get the hell up. You may have been wounded, but you need to attend to your friend. Her wounds are far worse than anything you might have suffered."
With that, Lisa walked in, and Ramrod closed the door, leaving the children alone before walking back and sitting at the dining room table, motioning for his two subordinates to sit down.
"I have a lot to say to you two. So many things happened.... well, to make the long story short.... the mafia has been disbanded. This city is now united under a single Dictator."
----
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"Eh?"
"Sir, you must be joking. I've never heard you tell a joke before. No wonder you haven't, since this is the worst joke I've heard in a while."
The two refused to believe the story of their boss.
"Do you think I would joke about something so serious? That angel.... she is something from another world. I'll say it again. The system that was barely held in place before has been destroyed. And we are to attend a hearing tomorrow morning in the arena where this person will likely officially establish their rule over this city. I don't know what she did, but she was able to get 100 men to shoot each other in an instant- and then after they were killed, she brought them back from the dead."
Upon seeing the grave expression of their boss, the two were forced to believe his story- or at least believe that he legitimately thought it was true.
"I see...."
"Then.... there really was something off about her...."
The man fixed his monocle and held his head as if he had a migraine.
"Get me a drink. I would like to forget all about this."
One of the men stood up and went over to grab a drink, pouring it for their boss.
"This is a first, boss...."
"To turn to drinking.... this must be bad...."
Shot with a nasty glare, the man turned his focus to the pouring, and the other looked down.
"I don't know what's going on anymore."
----
Mori sat up, seeing the scared face of Lisa as the door was closed on them.
He smiled at her, barely able to keep his head up.
"Lisa.... you're ok.... I... I'm sorry.... I couldn't protect you.... I became a liability to you...."
However, despite his attempt to apologize, the mouse girl ran over and hugged him.
"You.... idiot.... why....."
She began to cry, and he felt her tears as they dripped onto him.
"Why would you go so far for me? You should have just run yourself...."
However, Mori noticed something off.
Lisa was shivering.
She was scared.
Even though she was putting up a brave front right now, she was in actuality terrified of what had happened to her.
"Did.... did they do anything to you!?!?"
Lisa slowly nodded yes, still hugging him.
"What did they do!?!"
"You know.... C is amazing..... she saved me in an instant, and somehow even healed my face.... the second she saw me though.... she turned into a demon...."
Mori tried to piece together what his friend was trying to tell him.
"So C saved you then? And you were wounded!? But she healed you!?!"
Lisa nodded once again, slowly as more tears flowed.
"I.... I see.... I'm sorry....."
"Don't be... but.... there was one thing...."
The shivering of Lisa did not stop.
"The woman who wounded me.... she burned my face with a torch..... yet.... even that was nothing.... compared to the fear that I felt when C became angry...."
----
Two gerbil kin sisters walked side by side, both looking at one another with concern.
"Sister...."
"Sister...."
"I.... was scared.... but I'm glad you came..."
"I..."
The older sister, Fina, looked off into the distance, filled with a sad anger.
"I wanted to show you the sky so badly that I lost focus of you."
The younger sister, Gina, hugged the older one.
"No.... it was my fault for wandering around on my own.... you told me not to do it...."
The one with the mechanical limbs choked up, unsure what to say.
"That woman was scary.... but she saved me and healed me. My heart felt like it was about to explode just being near her, but I could tell.... there was a kindness in her actions. Even if she did all those crazy things..... she was doing it because of her own sense of justice."
Gina's face distorted when she heard herself say this, remembering the wicked face of that demon.
"I.... think...."
Fina nodded solemnly, and looked around to see the men following her.
"Follow the orders of that woman. Inform all men to cease fighting operations, and to gather at the arena tomorrow. I cannot put sister at harm by failing to follow orders."
The men agreed immediately, running off.
"Sister, I will show you what's beyond this smog someday. But it may be a long time before that day comes."
"I don't mind. I'll wait as long as you need me to. After all, if we lose our lives then we will lose our chance to see it."
----
Tiffany walked through the corridors of the arena, unsure of anything.
'What should I do? What should I do?'
'Do I listen? Do I obey? Do I bow down to her? Me? Bowing down.... I have already done that to her though.... I can't beat her no matter what.... but am I going to accept that? Am I just going to accept that I am not the most beautiful person in this city?'
The demonic face of that woman as she stuck the torch to Tiffany's face played in her mind.
That horrible yet gorgeous grin, that sadistic beauty.
It was something beyond comprehension.
'No no no.... I can't go against her.... I give up... it's my loss.... I'll bow down... I'll obey.... I don't need to become the most beautiful.... that's right... so long as I still have these eyes, I can still be beautiful!! I just won't be number 1.... that's fine.....'
"Um.... so are we going to serve that woman from now on?"
The man who asked was Al, the former leader of the mafia.
Al understood what it meant for someone powerful to take over as a new leader.
After all, Tiffany had done the same thing to him as what the demonic woman now was doing to Tiffany.
"We can't fight her. She's.... we can't. I'll bow to her. I'll do it, you hear me!?! We can't.... not even my eyes can compete with that.... that woman is a calamity.... a disaster, waiting to happen.... a wolf in sheep's clothing...."
Tiffany was clearly quivering and overcome by terror.
"A wolf in sheep's clothing... a demon in the form of an angel.... that's all she is.... we can't fight demons...."
Al nodded.
"Then, I will begin sending the word out."
Feeling into his pocket, he reached to take out another cigar and slid his hand past his pistol.
'How useless this new weapon was against her.... all it did was help us kill off one another.... haha... I wonder if the day will be soon when I wield this thing not for the woman in front of me, but rather for that demon.....'
Taking a cigar, Al puffed a circle and almost caught himself grinning.
'Well, I suppose at the end of the day my boss has just changed from one demon to another. I wonder just how much dirty work I'll have to do with this new boss?'
----
When Tiffany exited the corridor, her feet aching after having gotten rid of the shoes she was wearing, she exited into the dim lighting of the city.
After turning a corner, she was immediately met by a carriage. Her vision became somewhat distorted, and she felt slightly nauseous.
Sitting on top of the carriage was an angel, swinging her legs as she sat on the roof while she held onto a pole which was attached to a flag- one with the same terror inducing design as the one that she had stuck into the ground just earlier.
Caught by surprise at seeing this woman, Tiffany was unsure what to do.
"You-!? What are you doing here!? Er! I mean.... y-your eminence.... for what purpose have you awaited me?"
Tiffany immediately bowed before Claire, ignoring the swirling vision which she could not shake.
"Ah well.... actually I just wanted to apologize.... it looks like my other self went a little overboard there, so I'm sorry. But then again, you went overboard as well, doing the same thing to those two girls. Think about how they felt when you did that to them!! Well.... I suppose now you know how they felt. So never do that again! Got it?"
Tiffany didn't feel the same demonic pressure coming from this woman as before, however her own memory of it combined with the nausea she felt was enough to make her throw up.
"Blergh!!!! Urg!!!! Blergh!!!!!!"
She threw up chunks of puke, littering the ground with her stomach contents.
"Ah!! Are you ok!? Did you eat something bad? Here, let me help you out with that."
Claire jumped down from the carriage and placed her demonic hand on the back of Tiffany, who's eyes went wide with fear as she was touched.
"Don't touch me!!!!", she screamed, breathing heavily as she barely wiped away her own bile from her mouth.
She was quivering beyond belief and hyperventilating as if she was face to face with a being of terror.
Then again, she was.
"I mean..... f-forgive me.... your eminence.... your presence is just.... far too much for me to h-h-h.... han.... blergh!!!!! Ugh... handle..."
Claire frowned, disappointed in herself.
'I.... did I drive this woman to insanity? I didn't mean to... Clarice, why did you go so far?'
'I didn't even go that far. I just made her experience the same thing that those girls did. If she's so terrified maybe it was something you did.'
'Ehh? But I didn't do anything as far as I remember....'
"A-anyways... I just wanted to tell you not to worry! I won't hold a grudge towards you! I let that woman slap you around because you did something bad to her sister, and if the other man wanted to do the same I would have let him.... but I won't kill you! I want you to become one of my subordinates, and I don't want you to hate me. I know that you probably don't want your position to be stolen from you like this.... and I didn't really want to take it from you like this.... but I guess I went a little overboard. Anyways... please! I'll let you help out in leading this town if you just follow my conditions and get along with everyone else! Will you do that for me?"
Al, who was standing behind her and looking at Claire with fear, merely watched this scene. Many of the other men had already dispersed around the city to inform the other members of the ferrets of the recent events.
"I'll.... do it.... just don't hurt me.... I'll listen, ok? P-please... don't hurt me!!"
"I'm not going to hurt you!! As long as you don't do anything else bad, you'll be fine. So that's that."
Claire then smiled, and lowered her demonic hand to touch the woman's back.
[Set condition: Nauseous=False]
Tiffany's sight became clear and she looked up as the angel in front of her jumped up onto the carriage, lowering herself into her seat.
Claire smiled down at her, and whipped the reins so that the horses headed off.
'Ah.... she's so beautiful.... I'll serve her..... even if I can't be number one..... I'll serve her.'
A strangely peaceful smile came across the face of Tiffany as her bloody red eyes watched the figure disappear from her sight.
'Because objectively- this woman is the most beautiful angel to touch this planet.'
----
"Sister, I will show you what's beyond this smog someday. But it may be a long time before that day comes."
"I don't mind. I'll wait as long as you need me to. After all, if we lose our lives then we will lose our chance to see it."
"Yo!"
The two sisters who were walking side by side looked ahead to see an angel standing in front of them in the street.
"Ah. It's the demon woman.", Gina stated. "Hello, your eminence."
With a movement that would have been like a curtsy, the girl who was wearing worker clothes covered in oil addressed the angel who was supposedly the new leader of the city.
"Y-your eminence..."
Fina, who's eyes were once blank and lifeless, was now filled with fear, glaring back and forth between her sister and this woman.
"I-is there an objective you need to accomplish by conversing with us?"
The angel closed her eyes and nodded her head no.
"Nah. I just thought I should catch up to you two and apologize. I let the other woman off pretty easy because I'm kinda soft. I hope you are alright with that.", Claire said.
"Yeah, this idiot is still trying to be a hero, so she goes easy even on the bad guys. It took everything I had just to give her a little torch to the face.", Clarice slipped out.
"Are you alright?", Gina asked, confused. "You seem.... not right in the mind, your eminence."
"G-Gina... is that acceptable speech towards your leader!?"
Fina looked scared at her sister who said such bold things, but Claire simply laughed it off.
"Of course I'm not right in the head. If I was, would I have come into this city, thrust someone off their throne, and taken it over as the Dictator myself?"
Claire looked at the ground nostalgically.
"But... I hope that I've done more good here than bad. I have a lot of hope for this city, but that depends on how everyone takes this. I feel that if the fighting stops and we work together, that things will improve.... ah, and I overheard you all talking. Can I say my opinion?"
The two looked at each other before nodding yes.
"Go ahead, your eminence.", they said in unison.
"This city is the only place I've ever seen with smog covering the sky like this. But I promise you that if you leave this city to me and my comrades that one day the smog will be no more. You'll be able to see the light of the sun, the beauty of the sunset, and the sparkling of the stars with the dim light of the moon at night. I'll make it happen. I'll help you all to take back your sky. Please just trust in us."
Gina smiled grandly, and Fina too did so as they bowed before Claire.
"Please make that happen. I would love nothing more than to see the beauty of what lies beyond this smog."