บท 6: The Clock Tower
"You... How could you do this?" Arcueid's eyes flared in anger at Altrouge, who was still humming the song amidst the suffering of others.
"Should you leave with Titus?"
"I do what? I didn't kill a single one of them or inflict harm upon them. If you want to lecture me, save your argument for others, Arcueid," Altrouge snorted disdainfully.
"What we do in front of them doesn't matter too much anyway when their memory is wiped by Alaya. Look, Arcueid, they no longer respect us as patrons but fear us as monsters. Now, we show them what we are capable of as monsters. Hahaha, funny, isn't it?"
Arcueid saw them pretend not to hear their conversation and stay away from them. Even though she had saved them, they saw her with fear and scorn, but when they saw Altrouge, they lowered their heads humbly.
Why is their treatment so different?
"Yes, now you seem to understand something, Arcueid. In front of the strong, they become humble, but when you act weak and tolerate them, they will bully you and overstep you. They will never be grateful for your help. Now, excuse me, I have magi to hunt rather than further argue with you." Altrouge saw Arcueid's confusion and reaction, and her disdain became stronger as she didn't want to talk anymore.
"Wait... I want to know why Titus has become as he is now. He used to be gentle. Why has he become so violent now?" Arcueid grabbed her shoulder and refused to let her go.
"Gentle? Hahaha, I don't know if sleeping so long has made your brain convoluted or if you're really a fool, Arcueid," Altrouge chuckled as if she were hearing a funny joke.
"Indeed, he was gentle in peaceful times and treated everyone with kindness, but in times of war, that kindness was worthless to him."
Arcueid couldn't help but remember the time when Titus and she got along well. He treated her respectfully, with a gentle smile and humorous remarks. He always introduced her to the culinary world and told her good stories, very different from the cruelty he shows now. In the past, she was there when Titus befriended various heroes and had drinks with them. He was always the guy that everyone wanted at the party.
But after the massacre he committed against humans, he was very different from the past. Not only did he kill them mercilessly, but he also didn't respect her as before. She could see his contempt and disdain for her were real, and she didn't know why he treated her like this.
"There should be more to the story, right?" Arcueid grabbed her shoulder tighter, which annoyed Altrouge, and she slapped her hand away.
"There is, but this is none of your business." Altrouge then turned around and prepared to leave, but Arcueid grabbed her once more. When she wanted to teach her sister a lesson, they were forcibly transported into the castle hall along with Arcueid.
"The war is over. There will be no further bloodshed. You will stay here," Arcueid commanded. She trapped her sister in her reality marble, Millennium Castle, so she couldn't harm more humans and break the peace.
"You know what? You're so annoying, Arcueid," Altrouge snorted.
"End this, Titus has summoned all of us to meet him. I will not pursue the magi further."
Arcueid nodded and released her as both of them disappeared from the place.
...
Jerusalem lay in ruin. Smoke plumed from the wreckage, a grim testament to the recent battle. Lord Bartholomeoi, his face etched with fury, landed heavily beside Zelretch amidst the debris. His white dragon, a colossal creature with eyes that burned like embers, watched with silent menace.
"You only arrived now, Zelretch, everything is too late, we have been defeated by the Vampire," Bartholomeoi spat, his voice laced with venom.
"Is there anything you have to say, Zelretch?" He grabbed Zelretch by the collar, his grip tight.
"You know who the true reason why this happened in the first place is; you should be ashamed of yourself. You ruined Yumina's beloved home and her foundation; now we have nothing except our terrible end. Everyone is dead, even your best friend is dead." His voice cracked, his anger tinged with raw grief. "Say it, Zelretch, say it! Do you have any defense against this?!!!"
Zelretch met his gaze, his own filled with deep, weary defeat. "I have nothing to defend, my friend."
He pushed Bartholomeoi's hand away with a sigh and slumped onto a broken piece of masonry.
His physical wounds were not only numerous and old, but his mentality too was shattered. The blonde hair that he had been proud of was lost, replaced by white hair. He was no longer the youthful man of the past, but an older man. The price of his vengeance against Crimson Moon not only cost him his best friend and his comrade, but his youth too.
Now, he had nothing left except his broken body and broken spirit. Albeit he became an immortal vampire because of Crimson Moon's parting mocking gift, it didn't give him anything except weakness.
Bartholomeoi scoffed, unimpressed by Zelretch's show of weakness. He wanted answers, not self-pity.
"Well, what's done is done. What now, Zelretch?"
"Ahem, how about my place? The Britannia." Just when things were about to get even more epically sad, the dragon decided to interject. With a booming cough that rattled the broken masonry, it offered them a place to crash – its place, The Britannia.
A flicker of the old Zelretch, the arrogant, badass mage, returned to his eyes. He straightened up, a hint of defiance flickering in his gaze.
"So be it, the Mage Association will be rebuilt once again in Londinium."
"So, what will the name of the organization be, Zelretch?" Bartholomeoi inquired, his tone no longer accusatory but curious.
Zelretch, ever the showman, delivered the final mic drop.
"The Clock Tower."
...
Question: For the chat group members' part, I encountered a bit of problems and don't know which members I should add for DXD world. Do you think I should add Gabriel, Serafall, or Runeas Gremory? Choose one among the three of them, yeah, no Ophis, not yet.
The second choice is the world and member. Do you think I should choose Campione, Overlord, Redo Healer, or Strike the Blood? For members of those four worlds, I choose Athena for Campione, Princess Reiner for Overlord, Sword Saint for Redo Healer, and Minamiya Natsuki for Strike the Blood. Like the previous rules, choose one.
For the rest, I already have candidates; they are Emma Frost from Marvel and Arisu Sakayanagi from COTE.
Second question, should the members of the chat group be all girls, or should I add some male members next?
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