Later, the Empire, city of Rodsgard, inside a nondescript tavern...
A man donning a dark cloak sits on a stool, hunched over the tavern bar. His eyes are unfocused as they seem to stare into the glass of hard liquor in front of him, his fingers slowly tracing the rim of the glass. After several moments, the man promptly brings the glass to his lips, tilts his head back, and downs the liquor like a shot.
He slams the glass onto the bar with a pained grunt and a low growl.
"Ungh...another!" (cloaked man)
Nearby, the bartender eyes the man warily, taking in his scruffy beard, disheveled hair, and bloodshot eyes. Nevertheless, he grabs a shelved bottle of liquor and refills the man's drink. After all, he doubts he'll cause any trouble - the man, albeit clearly disturbed, has been a regular customer for the past week.
As the man lazily inspects his refreshed liquor glass, a mocking voice is heard from nearby in the tavern.
"Better slow down there, friend...what if a big bad monster comes and wipes out the city while you're passed out drunk? Pahahahaha!"
Rounds of laughter and jeering ensue from others nearby, but the cloaked man just grimaces and ignores the taunts. He's gotten quite used to this, ever since he started trying to warn people to release their slaves before they're killed and the city destroyed. He's aware it sounds insane, but...he knows all too well that every word of it is true.
After all, he's none other than Lobe – the guard who escorted Mizuki and his party to Belmod, then bore witness to the uncontested slaughter of everyone in the throne room.
As he's reminded of that day...Mizuki's warnings...images of a smirking young boy standing inside a red-washed throne room flash through his mind. He recalls the blood spilling in from every corner of the room, inescapably coating his hands and clothes, and the sight of Belmod's scattered limbs, his bloody, mangled torso placed on the throne with his face twisted in agony and madness. Most importantly, though, Lobe remembers the cold, detached look in Mizuki's eyes as the previously easygoing young man stood amidst the slaughter.
Despite the warmth and sweet numbness the alcohol had started to grant him, Lobe suddenly shivers as the flashbacks impose a feeling of inescapable dread. He hurriedly downs his next glass of liquor, his hands trembling uncontrollably as he places the empty glass back on the bar top.
'How...how did my life end up like this? Where did I go wrong?'
Lobe has asked himself that question a lot lately. After all, he's always prided himself on making wise decisions - training himself in the right skills, befriending the right people, not unnecessarily antagonizing others - and it's served him well until now. It's how he's managed to climb so far in the Empire's ranks so quickly.
Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Commander, Colonel, and General - these are the six ranks of the Empire's army. Lobe, at the ripe age of 22, is already a Major! The Empire being in the midst of peacetime only makes that achievement even more outstanding. As far as he knows, there isn't a younger Major in the whole army! Truly, he was destined for glory within the Empire's ranks...
Until he met him...that horrifying young man...Mizuki.
Lobe reflects on and regrets that meeting quite a lot these days. It's when his whole life went awry. He clearly remembers the incredulity he felt when Mizuki's unassuming person came sauntering right up to Rodsgard's checkpoint. His polite smirk and amused, green eyes as he casually presented his golden, S-rank guild card. 'This is the S-rank party leader that the Emperor has taken a personal interest in making an example of!?', he'd thought.
However, he'd quickly noticed that Mizuki was...off, to say the least. He practically taunted Lobe and his subordinates at the gate, threatening to ignore the summons from Belmod and walk away. He even seemed unfazed by Kurt blatantly threatening harm to their party. Honestly, Lobe thought the poor young man was completely oblivious to the dangerous nature of Belmod's summons. He assumed watching Rodsgard's gate for Mizuki's arrival was a fool's errand to begin with, because anyone with a brain wouldn't come.
Yet, not only did Mizuki show up, but after Kurt outright threatened him, he went so far as to suggest leading his party to the palace so that Lobe could call for backup. That was when the restlessness in Lobe's heart first took root.
It wasn't just the absurdity of the suggestion, but how Mizuki said it. That light smirk on his face, his eyes that held equal parts curiosity and indifference – like whether Lobe yielded or not was just of passing interest to him. It made Lobe feel like...like Mizuki was tossing him a lifeline.
It was unsettling.
So, he led Mizuki's group to the palace personally. As he did...his unease only grew. It was clear to him that Mizuki was neither oblivious nor an idiot. But then, why did he remain so carefree as he walked towards what was likely to be his death? Why were his companions so calm? Why did they never question him? Why did they look so...amused?
These were the questions on his mind at the time.
When they arrived at the palace, though, everything seemed to change in an instant. Gone was Mizuki's nonchalant, mocking demeanor – he was practically groveling in front of the Emperor. It was like Mizuki had two faces, and he'd swapped them at his convenience. Lobe was left wondering...which was his true self?
On one hand, Mizuki's behavior in front of the Emperor was understandable...a finally natural reaction. He was surrounded by innumerable, powerful enemies. But on the other hand, the behavior felt...out of place, to Lobe.
As Mizuki had continued speaking with the Emperor, Lobe's heart had only grown more restless, until he finally realized why. Mizuki's companions...they weren't scared or apprehensive, they weren't even cowed. If anything they looked annoyed, watching Mizuki expectantly every time that Belmod said something distasteful.
Before Lobe could marinate in his confusion too long, however, he saw Mizuki's third face.
Lobe didn't even catch what comment from the Emperor triggered it, but the next thing he knew, Mizuki was glaring at the Emperor with so much disdain that he was nearly unrecognizable. His deferential behavior was replaced with a cold and predatory aura. When Lobe saw that, he knew...he was glimpsing Mizuki's true self.
Then came Mizuki's ultimatum – Belmod's life is forfeit, and guards should keep their swords sheathed if they want to live.
Lobe watched as Belmod sneered at the claim, obviously filled with indignation. But Lobe...he'd only felt a sense of foreboding. One so profound that, even as the other guards drew their swords, he'd been too paralyzed with fear to follow suit. Then...
The next thing he knew was pain.
The feeling of being crushed into the floor, like the world itself had been dropped on his soldiers. He felt so heavy...too heavy to stand, too heavy to breathe, and eventually, too heavy to even remain conscious. His last memory was of Mizuki walking towards Belmod with a slow, menacing cadence as his fellow guards' dying screams echoed around him.
When he eventually awoke, there was only darkness and terror. He thought he'd died and been cast into some void of an afterlife. But as if to taunt him for thinking that was the worst fate that could befall him, he was soon welcomed back into the light, only to find that Mizuki's first, carefree face was once again studying him. However, the context was all too different than before, and it only made his nonchalant attitude more horrifying.
Lobe's senses had been assaulted with an absolute personification of slaughter. A throne room painted red with his comrades insides, the smell of piss, shit, and death heavy in the air. The sight of that madwoman, Nina, covered in blood with a heretical, loving smile on her face behind Mizuki. Finally, the mutilated, displayed corpse of Belmod.
The seemingly sudden change in the throne room was so nightmarish to Lobe, so jarring, that he'd struggled to focus on all that happened next. He'd just conversed with Mizuki in a daze, doing his best to follow the young man's demands and revelations. All he could do was stare at Mizuki's amused, playful expression and try not to tremble.
'It's a lie...that smile is a lie...everything is a lie. He's not a boy, he's a monster. He'll kill me...I'm dead...he'll kill me...' he'd thought in a loop.
But...Lobe lived.