Burn The Ashes: Ends Justified

[Ends Justified]

Guilt was not a feeling that Kuroka was very familiar with. There simply wasn’t any room for it among the hurt, anger, and fear that always lingered in the back of her mind and knotted itself tightly in her chest.

And yet, as she raced through the deep forests of the Underworld, guilt was all she could feel. It stained her like the blood of her master stained her hands—a deep, sinful crimson that trailed from her broken nails up to nearly her forearms. She could still feel his skull breaking under her fingers, flesh and bone turning into a pulpy mess as she hit him again and again until the fog faded from her brain and she could feel the floor through the back of his head.

It was less than he deserved, but more than she should have done. His dying breaths lingered in her ears, stoking the flames of negativity inside of her. She wanted to stop and rest, to purge herself of these feelings before they consumed her. But she had to keep going. She had to get away and give them something to chase, a target for the crime she had committed.

Shirone... I’m sorry.

She’d never see her sister again. The thought broke her heart, but she bore with it, locked the heartbreak up with the rest of the world’s anger, and tamped it down until not even whispers remained. She’d made a murderer out of herself already; there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do. Even if that meant tearing herself away from the one she loved most.

She tore through the undergrowth, her bare feet skipping over mud and leaves as she darted through the dense jungle. She needed to get away from civilization, far enough that a teleportation spell couldn’t be felt or tracked. The ambient magic of the Underworld would scatter her trail, but only if it wasn’t fresh. She needed distance.

But how far was far enough? The question nagged at her as she crossed a ravine in the blink of an eye, continuing her path on the other side.

They’re probably already looking for me. I saw Mayai calling someone before I ran.

Her tails lashed behind her at the thought and she grit her teeth, reaching out to gouge a deep furrow in the bark of a tree as she passed it by. Her claws sheared straight through it, causing it to fall to the ground only moments later. By then, she was far enough away that she didn’t even hear it.

Her chest ached, though Kuroka knew that it wasn’t from exertion—she hadn’t been running that long. The cold grip of despair ate away at her from the inside, numbing her limbs and threatening to drag her down into its depths. She fought against its pull as best as she could, clinging to her anger and rage and all of the things that threatened to drive her mad.

She didn’t recognize this part of the forest. The trees were different and she could smell water in the distance. There weren’t any lakes in Naberius territory. Maybe she was far enough away that she could—

Kuroka’s hair stood on end, a thousand strands sticking straight up all at once as a thunderous boom rocked the sky. The Nekoshou dove to the side, clearing over a dozen feet in an instant, and even still, it almost wasn’t enough as a jagged bolt of lightning exploded against the ground behind her, vaporizing several trees and leaving a deep scorch on the ground.

“Hey! I found her!”

No... Kuroka looked up, her heart sinking as several shapes descended from the sky around her. Leading them was a woman with grey skin and an extremely revealing white uniform. She leered down at Kuroka, a pair of bright green wings shaped like thunderbolts holding her aloft.

“Not so fast, little kitty,” she said, sparks flickering around a gloved hand which she held up towards Kuroka. “You’re wanted for questioning in regards to the death of Lord Naberius of the House of Naberius. Come quietly, or else.”

Several more Devils descended alongside her, clearly deferring to her judgement. They were each wearing coats of red and black, with a silver button on their lapels. Kuroka’s heart sank even further as she recognized the uniforms of the USB. How had they caught up to her so fast!?

Kuroka swallowed. It didn’t matter.

The woman opened her mouth to say something else, but Kuroka suddenly pivoted on her heel and bolted. Bark exploded from trees she clipped, branches whipping past her face as she wove between the trunks as fast as she possibly could.

“Hey! I wasn’t done talking!” the woman shouted from behind her. Kuroka felt a charge in the air as she sent lightning after her, but none of the attacks ever actually hit her. They slammed into the earth behind her, each explosion shaking the ground and sending showers of dirt and splinters into the air. One struck close enough that she felt the heat kiss her back, singing the edges of her kimono.

She immediately recognized she wasn’t going to be able to outrun them, or at least not the most dangerous of them. Twisting, she planted her feet against the trunk of a massive tree, the wood groaning under the force of her push, and launched herself upward. Her wings unfurled and propelled her even faster through the air as she screamed towards the group above her.

The green-haired woman’s eyes widened as Kuroka burst toward her. She twisted midair, barely ducking out of the way of Kuroka’s outstretched claws. Kuroka scowled as she missed but just changed targets, focusing on the men instead.

One of the men was too slow to react and her claws raked across his face in a spray of crimson. He screamed and tumbled backward through the air, hands clutching at the ruin of his features.

Kuroka spun, nature energy screaming through her veins like wildfire. Touki flared along her arms, turning her skin to iron as she swiped a hand through the air. Three bolts of destructive magic cut through the sky towards her targets, roaring almost as loudly as the lightning that had been slung at her.

Two of the Devils weren’t fast enough and were shot out of the sky, spiraling toward the ground in smoking heaps. The third managed to pull up a hasty shield and though it shattered, the explosion didn’t obliterate him like his friends.

Ducking around a stream of fire, Kuroka soared towards him to take him down as well, when her hair stood on end.

She managed to turn just in time to catch a lightning bolt to the center of her chest. Electricity seared her nerves and her muscles locked as pain radiated out from her chest and into each of her limbs. She screamed, but the sound was drowned out by the ringing in her own ears and the smell of burning hair in her nose.

“Gotcha, bitch,” the woman’s voice came from a distant place as the current sapped Kuroka’s strength. “You really should have just surrendered. This isn’t gonna look good on you when you wake up from your nap.”

Kuroka hit the ground before she realized she was even falling, her sister’s name on her lips as she fell into blackness.

“...and it is with all respect and hope that you genuinely consider the offer laid before you. Though I understand your aspirations are high, a bond of matrimony between yourself and the eligible young Lord of House Oriax would... Tch. Rubbish.”

Tanya rolled her eyes at the words on the letter before her, leaning over just so to feed it into the paper shredder that had found its home directly next to her desk. She’d thought a letter bearing the official seal of House Oriax warranted due attention, but it was yet another attempt to get into her good graces. What a shame that it had the opposite effect. Even more so that she’d wasted time on such drivel.

Tanya leaned back in her chair, taking a moment out of her busy day to watch the shredder do its work of turning Lord Oriax’s proposal into ticker tape. The shreds joined a pile of similarly inane proposals that she had been slowly but steadily working through since she had become of eligible age and standing to even receive them.

And to think, it was only a few short years ago that these very same nobles turned their nose up at her like she was some upstart brat. Oh, the irony.

A knock at the door drew her attention and she turned from the spectacle, gently smoothing the papers on her desk as she called, “Come in.”

The door opened to reveal a vaguely familiar young man. He was young, with neatly combed hair and glasses that lent themselves to a studious appearance. He clutched a folder against his chest, nervousness apparent all over his face despite the fact that he was addressing someone several years his junior.

“I apologize for the intrusion, My Lady,” he bowed his head as he entered. “We’ve finally received the revised contract with House Stolas. The runner made a point to inform me that this would be the last revision they were willing to do... Eh, though he didn’t put it quite in those terms.”

“For being such a minor nobility, House Stolas certainly clings to their privacy. One would think they’d appreciate patrols making the rounds in their territory, considering their blatant lack of manpower,” Tanya mused aloud. She waved a hand. “Send it to Connal and I’ll take a look at it later. They’ve taken their sweet time giving us the runaround, so we’ll see how they like being put on hold.”

The man seemed almost aghast at the prospect of delaying the review of the contract, but he was unwilling or unable to argue and simply nodded, slipping out the door as meekly as he had come in.

As her door closed, Tanya turned her attention to the coffee mug on her desk. The brew had gone cold, but she simply wrapped a hand around its porcelain surface and soon enough, steam was rising once again. She took a sip. Bitter and a bit burnt, but delicious all the same.

Enjoying coffee in your own office, surrounded by a hard life's work... is there any greater pleasure?

Tanya took a moment to muse on the strides she had made securing power in the Underworld. incursion by Chernabog a scant four years ago had proven to everyone that Devilkind was not above the machinations of other pantheons. The death of a noble had them in an uproar, and the idea that the same could have happened to any of the remaining Pillars had been a cause for concern.

It had also been an incredible boon for Tanya’s plans for the seat of Asmodeus.

This entire division of the military had been born on that day. It was her greatest contribution to Devilkind thus far, and proof to the masses that she was exactly as intent on following this path as she was the day she stated her goals.

The Underworld Security Bureau was the compromise made in her original plans of nationwide militarization. An organization focused on creating and maintaining a standardized police force within the Underworld to respond to threats, both internal and external. It drew from the preestablished garrisons as well as any Devil willing to volunteer, nobility or not, and focused on protecting and maintaining the peace across the territories of all families who made it clear that they were willing to submit to higher authority.

Surprisingly, a large number of the Pillars had agreed—those families who had little to lose and everything to gain by organized protection had been quite amenable to a little oversight. Not every family had the luxury of employing their own security detail, and even fewer could afford competent security, as House Valac would attest.

As it would happen, they were the first to join.

Tanya took another sip of her coffee before the door suddenly opened again, making her look up in annoyance before she saw who it was. Smoothing her expression, she said, “I assume you have good news?”

Candice Catnipp strolled into her office without a care in the world, hair swishing with her smooth movements. Tanya momentarily marveled at how utterly alive the woman seemed despite the grey pallor of her skin. Ajuka’s research had done wonders.

Though Tanya had been able to reincarnate both Liltotto and Giselle into her peerage, the Bambies were another story. Not only did Tanya not desire to waste the majority of her pieces on a handful of women—Liltotto and Giselle had taken five Pawns between them—Giselle had a rather violent reaction to Tanya taking them under her thrall.

Luckily, Devils were no stranger to resurrection, and the chief advisor to the technologies department had been intrigued by the prospect of animating bound corpses that seemingly still contained their souls. The result wasn’t perfect, as they weren’t fully alive and were still fully under Giselle’s thrall, but they were more... animated. Their original personalities were back in full, if a bit more subservient, at least according to Liltotto.

Tanya wouldn’t call Candice subservient on her best day. The less said about Bambietta in regards to following orders, the better.

Candice dropped roughly into the chair across from Tanya’s desk, crossing one leg over the other. The woman’s bored eyes rolled over the papers on her desk before ignoring them completely. “The problem was dealt with. That old guy is super dead, though. Could barely recognize him.”

Tanya’s cup paused at her mouth, a frown gracing her face. “Lord Naberius?”

Candice huffed. “I don’t know his name. He was dressed like a noble though, and they were sobbing over his body pretty damn loud, so probably.”

The Bambies weren’t technically members of the USB, but they answered to Giselle and thus, Tanya herself. Given the nature of the distress call they’d received from Lord Naberius’ Pawn, she felt it prudent that the situation be dealt with by someone directly linked to her.

That being said, she couldn’t say she expected this. Lord Naberius may not have been powerful in most senses, political or otherwise, but he was important enough that eyes would be on this little debacle. Tanya could already feel a headache coming on.

Tanya set her cup down, bringing one hand to her temple. “How in the world did this happen?”

The question was more to herself, but Candice answered regardless. She shrugged, slouching in her chair. “It was one of his pieces that did it. His Pawn was the one who sent out the distress call in the first place, and when we fanned out to track the killer, his Bishop was high-tailing it through the woods a few miles away. If we were like ten minutes late, I don’t think we would have caught her.”

Tanya’s brow furrowed. “You mean to tell me that the one who killed him was a member of his own peerage?”

“Yep,” Candice said. “His other pieces said she went nuts. Heard a commotion and busted in while she was turning the old man’s head into mulch with her bare hands. There was blood everywhere. I’ll need some new boots.”

Tanya eyed the woman’s heels, noting that there did seem to be a rather large swatch of crimson directly underneath the pure white toes. “I’ll let someone know. Where is the one responsible now? Did you kill her?”

“Nah, we’ve got her locked down below, but she hasn’t said a word since we brought her in.”

“Is she coherent?”

“Dunno. She's barely moved an inch since we got here but I know I didn't hit her hard enough to give her brain damage. Maybe they were right and she actually did just go crazy.”

Tanya leaned back in her chair, fingers steepled in front of her as she considered the situation.A reincarnated piece killing their King usually implied something was amiss mentally, but that usually came in the form of psychosis or, in rarer cases, potent narcissism from one who gained more power than they knew what to do with. For a Stray to commit such an act and simply give up when she was captured painted an interesting picture.

“Good work,” Tanya said, and she meant it. “I’ll handle things from here. Thank you for your help.”

Candice stood with a shrug, already heading for the door. “Whatever. I’m gonna go see Gigi.” And then she was gone, the door swinging shut behind her without a backward glance.

Alone again, Tanya turned the situation over in her mind. This was going to cause an uproar, no matter how it was handled. Lord Naberius may not have been a Pillar, but he was nobility, and nobles took the deaths of other nobles personally. There would be questions, demands for explanations, and no shortage of opportunists looking to leverage the incident for their own gain.

She needed to get ahead of this. The USB had jurisdiction for the moment, but the organization was new and its authority had yet to undergo a trial by fire. The nobility would step over her in a panic once they learned of this, and that would absolutely devastate her credibility. She would need to handle this carefully, control the flow of information and have the situation well in hand before the wrong ears learned of this.

Tanya spooled up a communication spell, her mind already running through the exact words and phrases to exploit in order to gain full control over the investigation into Lord Naberius’ estate and his holdings. House Naberius was a vassal of House Nebiros, and both had agreed to oversight by the USB. Tanya intended to exploit that as best she could without stepping on too many toes.

Kuroka had no idea how it ended up like this.

Or well, she did. She understood the process of events that led up to her being shackled to the floor of a dirty cell, but she didn’t know how she had let it get this far. All she wanted to do was protect her sister, Shirone. But she might have doomed them both in the process.

She pulled her knees tighter to her chest, using what little space she had to get slightly comfortable. The cell was tiny and the iron clamped around her wrists was digging into her skin. She could feel her power being sucked out of her through them, leaving her weaker than she had been in years. Even the nature energy she’d spent so much time absorbing and getting used to felt like it was walled off from her soul, calling to her through another room with no door in sight.

Her entire body ached, and her fingers twitched from the nerve damage she’d sustained from the lightning. She’d been in here for days and yet the effects still lingered. To do that much damage in one shot… if not for her Touki, she’d probably be dead right now.

And yet, the worst part wasn’t the residual pain or the chains or the steadily growing ache in her wrists where the metal bit into her skin. The worst part was not knowing what was going to happen to Shirone.

Kuroka let out a shaky breath and pressed her forehead against the floor. The damp stone beneath her was cold and uncomfortable, but she barely noticed, focused as she was with planning her escape. She couldn’t just sit here and wait for them to execute her. Because that was what was going to happen; she knew it. You didn’t kill a High-Class Devil and walk away from it. She’d be made an example of, her execution broadcast to anyone who might get similar ideas. Harsh crimes begat harsher punishments, and killing your master was about as harsh as it got.

She needed to get out and disappear, but the chains on her wrists were doing an admirable job of keeping her power suppressed, and her body felt like it was made of lead. The lightning coursing through her muscles had fried them well. She felt like a well-cooked steak.

Kuroka’s ears twitched and a noise echoed down the hall: footsteps, followed by voices. Someone was coming. Hers was the only cell down here, at least as far as she could see when she peeked earlier. There was no question whether they were coming for her.

Kuroka lay on the ground, curling into a ball facing away from the cell door. Her tails went limp, spread across the floor behind her as she quieted her breathing and waited.

“Once again, I really must recommend against this course of action. This woman is dangerous!” a male voice said.

“You’re just a random guard. Do you really have the authority to recommend anything?” another voice responded, this one female and devoid of most inflection besides maybe annoyance.

“How dare—”

“That’s enough,” a third voice said sharply. “I am well within my rights to speak to this prisoner. Or do I need to remind you of just how far my position extends beyond yours?”

A pause. “No, My Lady. I apologize.”

“I’ll commend you for looking after my safety, but I can take care of myself. Besides, if she hasn’t already escaped from a prison like this, I doubt there’s much she could do to stop me.”

Kuroka’s eyes twitched at the cocky words, made especially worse since they seemed to have come from a girl her age, but she kept still as the footsteps and voices grew closer.

“Here she is,” the man’s voice came from the cell door just behind her. “It looks like she’s asleep.”

“It doesn’t look like there’s anything else to do in here,” the first girl said sarcastically. There was the sound of something crumpling and then… chewing? When the girl spoke again, her mouth was clearly full. “Did you chain her to the floor? Crazy.”

“She severely injured several of the people we sent to capture her. If it weren’t for the military reforms, she probably would have escaped.”

“So I’ve heard.” There was a beat of silence during which Kuroka could feel a pair of eyes burning into the back of her head. She fought to stay still, evening out her breathing as she feigned sleep. “Leave us.”

“My Lady?”

“Return to your other duties. I’ll handle the prisoner from here.”

“I–My Lady, I really must protest. This prisoner is extremely dangerous, and to leave you alone with her would be…”

“She gave you orders, idiot. I’d get going before she gets mad and demotes you or something.”

The guard made a sound of indignation, but Kuroka heard his boots squeak as he turned on his heel and marched down the corridor, his footsteps echoing until they faded away entirely.

“Man, that guy was stubborn.” A crunch, then the sound of some kind of wrapper being crinkled into a ball and shoved into a pocket. “You’d think following orders was hard.”

“His job is to keep the prisoners secure. In any other circumstance, I’d be quite angry that he left as quickly as he did.” A pause. “I’ll have to remind someone to see he’s properly disciplined.”

Who is this girl, Kuroka wondered. She seemed so comfortable ordering around that guard, and it was clear that she had the authority to do so. Some kind of noble? The guard called her Lady, and there weren’t many people who could simply march into a prison and demand to be left alone with a sleeping prisoner.

Most importantly, what did she want with Kuroka?

Kuroka’s claws tightened against the stone floor, the tips scraping faintly, and she forced herself to relax. Escape was going to be harder than she anticipated, but not impossible. If she played her cards right, she could get out of these chains and out of this cell, and from there things would be much easier. She wouldn’t be caught so easily again.

“It would be in your best interest to stop faking,” the girl’s voice broke through Kuroka’s thoughts. She tensed as footsteps drew closer to the door. “I have no intention of stepping foot in that cell until we’ve talked, and I’d rather not stand in this hallway all day.”

Kuroka didn’t move, and the voice released a sigh. “She’s not gonna budge,” the other voice chimed in.

“She’s stubborn,” the girl agreed. “Though perhaps she’d change her tune if she knew what befell her sister while she’s been locked up here.”

In an instant, Kuroka was on her feet and standing in front of the cell door, yellow eyes blazing with fury and every meager ounce of power she had available to her. She found herself face-to-face with a lithe young woman in a crimson suit who seemed wholly unimpressed with her display. A USB badge was fastened to her lapel, though it looked different than the others.

Kuroka grit her teeth, her fingers clenching around the bars of the cell. “What have you done to Shirone!?”

“Oh, that got her up.” Another Devil standing just a bit further back watched the scene with interest. Clad in white with chin-length blonde hair pouring out from underneath a similarly colored cap, golden eyes pored over Kuroka. “She seems mad.”

“Liltotto,” the young woman said, and the girl shrugged, digging into her pocket and pulling out a half-eaten bag of chips.

“Right. Seen, not heard. Not sure why I even asked to come, honestly.”

Kuroka’s skin itched more with every second her sister’s fate was left unknown, and she slammed her hand against the cell door with all of her might. Metal groaned but didn’t bend, and dust poured to the ground as the Nekoshou’s rage shook the wall above.

“Tell me!”

The young woman reached up and smoothly brushed a bit of dust off of her shoulder, looking utterly unconcerned with Kuroka’s anger. That just made her even more mad, and Kuroka prepared to scream again, to wail and rage and demand information about the fate of the most important person in her life, but she was stopped cold by a single sentence.

“Your sister is fine.”

Kuroka stared uncomprehendingly, her rage giving way to confusion. “What? But you said—”

“I embellished the threat to get you to stop being so obtuse,” the noble interrupted. “Your sister has been taken for questioning regarding her involvement in your master’s death. There are some who demanded that some punishment be doled out upon her for your misdeeds, but I’m not one to punish the child for the sins of the father. Or sister, in this case. She is unhurt and will remain that way as long as you cooperate.”

Though relieved, Kuroka’s eyes narrowed. “Cooperate with what? Actually, who even are you? One of my Master’s rivals?”

Liltotto snorted while the woman in front of her simply raised a brow. “Not quite. While I’m sure House Naberius has some fine members, your former master was quite far beneath my notice until recently.”

“Then who are you?” Kuroka demanded. “And what do you want?”

The response came in a flash of light. Kuroka gaped as a pair of fiery wings burst from the woman’s back, accompanied by a wave of heat. A Phenex!?

That’s… Kuroka’s eyes widened as she finally put a name to the face before her. It can’t be!

“My name is Tanya Phenex. First-born daughter of House Phenex, and head of the Underworld Safety Bureau,” Tanya spoke clearly over the flickering of her wings. “As for what I want with you...”

The flaming wings vanished as quickly as they appeared, tongues of fire curling into the air in their absence. Tanya stepped up to the cell door, her eyes boring into Kuroka’s so intently it felt as if her soul was being put on display.

“I want you to tell me everything you possibly can about your former master and his experiments.”