She was sitting on a red armchair, the light barely passed through the curtains, next to her there was a table with magic books on it; the girl with long blond hair and cold eyes sipped from a glass of the precious red wine. In front of her, sitting in another armchair, was Vergil, with his legs crossed and his eyes seduced by that girl with such soft features but with a glacial gaze.
"You are an interesting woman, Alda Richter. Many would have fled but you have decided to engage in a dialogue with me."
"I don't want your compliments, monster."
"It's not very nice of you to call me that-"
"Do you think it matters what we call ourselves? Names, especially in this case, are just formalities. I know what you want from me."
"Tantalizing. And how do you know it?"
"The Order of Tot is as good at keeping its secrets as a cat is good at swimming. When I saw you I immediately understood what you wanted from me. You're preparing another Holy Grail War and are looking for the Masters." Alda sipped her wine.
"Perceptive. However let me ask you a question: why are we here?"
"You make the selections, right?"
"Yes. I do."
"Then I'd like you to select a person for me, and if he's already been involved in your Holy Grail War, so much the better."
"Who is it?"
"Friedrich Wolff."
"Now I'm excited. And what would a high-ranking woman like you want from a wild wolf?"
"Why do you care to know, monster?" Alda asked, perplexed.
"Curiosity," he replied with a grin.
"Your purpose is just to prepare a war ... my objective is irrelevant to you."
"I will decide that, Miss Richter."
"You're pretty insistent," she noted with a raised eyebrow.
"Do you find it strange?"
"Quite. I cannot understand the reasons behind your interest. Don't have something better to do? Don't have other Masters to choose from? Wasting your time here could prove counterproductive," she inquired.
"I understand your perplexities… after all, you consider me a monster. Monsters don't ask questions. This is what you think-"
"Wrong," she interrupted. "Don't assume you know me just because I voluntarily decided to call you a 'monster'. Many use that word to describe what triggers their fears, a mysterious creature or a heinous criminal. Not me. I didn't use that word to emphasize a feeling of fear but to express my disgust."
He arched his eyebrows in his amazement.
"So are you really convinced that you're not afraid of me?"
"I'm not afraid of you. You, to me, are a monster in the sense that you are an unnatural, hybrid creature, an anomalous being ... you are revolting." She with an iron look added: "And it bothers me that you keep briging up the fact that I called you 'monster'. I've already told you it's irrelevant so don't try to study me based on these platitudes."
"I admit my mistake, then. But I am genuinely interested. I want to know what makes you want Wolff in the Holy Grail War."
There was a few minutes of silence and then, in an irritated way, the girl replied:
"If you really insist." Alda put the goblet down on the table. "I had a mentor, his name was Herbert Schmidt, it was thanks to him that I managed to become one of the strongest magus among the Rote Mäntel. But he wasn't only my teacher, I was happy to give him my body ... because I loved the man who had made me strong. He treated me like his princess, he adored me, he worshiped me, he even preferred me to his slut wife. If it weren't for Friedrich Wolff, Herbert would never have stayed in London, it was his fault that he died. That traitor must die. That's all. There is nothing more. I will kill Friedrich Wolff."
"Thus you will have exterminated the entire Wolff family."
Alda threw an icy glance, with surprised features, at Vergil. He had the look of one who understood everything. Her expression of surprise turned into one of skepticism. Vergil, with his finger, touched his temple. She understood.
"So you don't just communicate. You can also read minds. But then why did you ask me the question? You already knew my reasons. You literally wasted your time-"
"You're wrong. For a person like you it may seem silly, but take my word for it when I tell you that this conversation is far from being a waste of time. An echo of the past is not like a story. A thought is not like a word. What is in our mind is matter without form and above all without sound. The mouth makes music out of a thought, makes real what is in our head, transforms what is confused into a solid statue. There's nothing more wonderful. I call it art."
"You are a strange creature, Vergil."
He smiled.
"You are finally calling me by name."
"Don't try to fraternize with me, it won't work," she said sharply. "But I would like to know why you care so much about organizing a Holy Grail War. What do you hope to get?"
"You are an interesting woman, Alda Richter. Many would have fled but you have decided to engage in a dialogue with me."
"I don't want your compliments, monster."
"It's not very nice of you to call me that-"
"Do you think it matters what we call ourselves? Names, especially in this case, are just formalities. I know what you want from me."
"Tantalizing. And how do you know it?"
"The Order of Tot is as good at keeping its secrets as a cat is good at swimming. When I saw you I immediately understood what you wanted from me. You're preparing another Holy Grail War and are looking for the Masters." Alda sipped her wine.
"Perceptive. However let me ask you a question: why are we here?"
"You make the selections, right?"
"Yes. I do."
"Then I'd like you to select a person for me, and if he's already been involved in your Holy Grail War, so much the better."
"Who is it?"
"Friedrich Wolff."
"Now I'm excited. And what would a high-ranking woman like you want from a wild wolf?"
"Why do you care to know, monster?" Alda asked, perplexed.
"Curiosity," he replied with a grin.
"Your purpose is just to prepare a war ... my objective is irrelevant to you."
"I will decide that, Miss Richter."
"You're pretty insistent," she noted with a raised eyebrow.
"Do you find it strange?"
"Quite. I cannot understand the reasons behind your interest. Don't have something better to do? Don't have other Masters to choose from? Wasting your time here could prove counterproductive," she inquired.
"I understand your perplexities… after all, you consider me a monster. Monsters don't ask questions. This is what you think-"
"Wrong," she interrupted. "Don't assume you know me just because I voluntarily decided to call you a 'monster'. Many use that word to describe what triggers their fears, a mysterious creature or a heinous criminal. Not me. I didn't use that word to emphasize a feeling of fear but to express my disgust."
He arched his eyebrows in his amazement.
"So are you really convinced that you're not afraid of me?"
"I'm not afraid of you. You, to me, are a monster in the sense that you are an unnatural, hybrid creature, an anomalous being ... you are revolting." She with an iron look added: "And it bothers me that you keep briging up the fact that I called you 'monster'. I've already told you it's irrelevant so don't try to study me based on these platitudes."
"I admit my mistake, then. But I am genuinely interested. I want to know what makes you want Wolff in the Holy Grail War."
There was a few minutes of silence and then, in an irritated way, the girl replied:
"If you really insist." Alda put the goblet down on the table. "I had a mentor, his name was Herbert Schmidt, it was thanks to him that I managed to become one of the strongest magus among the Rote Mäntel. But he wasn't only my teacher, I was happy to give him my body ... because I loved the man who had made me strong. He treated me like his princess, he adored me, he worshiped me, he even preferred me to his slut wife. If it weren't for Friedrich Wolff, Herbert would never have stayed in London, it was his fault that he died. That traitor must die. That's all. There is nothing more. I will kill Friedrich Wolff."
"Thus you will have exterminated the entire Wolff family."
Alda threw an icy glance, with surprised features, at Vergil. He had the look of one who understood everything. Her expression of surprise turned into one of skepticism. Vergil, with his finger, touched his temple. She understood.
"So you don't just communicate. You can also read minds. But then why did you ask me the question? You already knew my reasons. You literally wasted your time-"
"You're wrong. For a person like you it may seem silly, but take my word for it when I tell you that this conversation is far from being a waste of time. An echo of the past is not like a story. A thought is not like a word. What is in our mind is matter without form and above all without sound. The mouth makes music out of a thought, makes real what is in our head, transforms what is confused into a solid statue. There's nothing more wonderful. I call it art."
"You are a strange creature, Vergil."
He smiled.
"You are finally calling me by name."
"Don't try to fraternize with me, it won't work," she said sharply. "But I would like to know why you care so much about organizing a Holy Grail War. What do you hope to get?"
" 'If one drew a clear dividing line, I might not recognize it as the line that I too always wanted to draw, or that I have already drawn mentally. The concept of it is not the same as mine, but it is related to it.' Whoever said these words was an intelligent person. The previous war was produced by the desire of a subordinate of mine, her desire was not exactly like mine but it was related to mine. Her dream was rooted in mine but it was a calculated deviation."
"This is not an explanation," Alda commented, annoyed.
"Consider it the preamble to the explanation."
"Tch. Then explain to me instead of wasting my time."
"What if I told you I know the way to end every conflict in the world?"
"I would tell you that you are crazy."
"I would have imagined it. But I don't accuse you of not having adequate knowledge of the magic dimension, yet your limited understanding is a major obstacle to me. I could spend hours explaining my plan but unfortunately I can't give you all this time, however if you manage to get to the top ..."
"Let me guess: the only way to get you talking is to kill the other Masters?"
"You are really too smart." Vergil got up from his chair. "Maybe we'll meet again if you can survive."
"One moment," Alda said, grabbing Vergil's arm. "Will Friedrich Wolff be there?"
"Obviously. And there will also be Valfredo Otto Herrmann, I know that he also knows Friedrich. Maybe he'll give you a hand. And with you two I collected the first eight Masters."
"The first eight?" asked Alda, astonished.
"Didn't I tell you?" She turned to the girl. "There will be sixteen participants in this wonderful war."
A magic circle appeared below Alda Richter and the girl disappeared in a flash of light. Vergil, left alone in that living room, took the glass of wine and the bottle with him. There were still two fingers of wine in the glass. He smelled the aroma and brought the glass to his sewn mouth. He smiled. He spilled the wine on the sofa and left.
"This is not an explanation," Alda commented, annoyed.
"Consider it the preamble to the explanation."
"Tch. Then explain to me instead of wasting my time."
"What if I told you I know the way to end every conflict in the world?"
"I would tell you that you are crazy."
"I would have imagined it. But I don't accuse you of not having adequate knowledge of the magic dimension, yet your limited understanding is a major obstacle to me. I could spend hours explaining my plan but unfortunately I can't give you all this time, however if you manage to get to the top ..."
"Let me guess: the only way to get you talking is to kill the other Masters?"
"You are really too smart." Vergil got up from his chair. "Maybe we'll meet again if you can survive."
"One moment," Alda said, grabbing Vergil's arm. "Will Friedrich Wolff be there?"
"Obviously. And there will also be Valfredo Otto Herrmann, I know that he also knows Friedrich. Maybe he'll give you a hand. And with you two I collected the first eight Masters."
"The first eight?" asked Alda, astonished.
"Didn't I tell you?" She turned to the girl. "There will be sixteen participants in this wonderful war."
A magic circle appeared below Alda Richter and the girl disappeared in a flash of light. Vergil, left alone in that living room, took the glass of wine and the bottle with him. There were still two fingers of wine in the glass. He smelled the aroma and brought the glass to his sewn mouth. He smiled. He spilled the wine on the sofa and left.
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| A story by Bikowolf |
