ACCOUNTABILITY.

[blackmass]

[The sound of footsteps is slow, but deliberate and without hesitation. And as they echo through the room he walks into view lacking fear, lacking hesitance, lacking...much of anything at all.]

[He's tall--perhaps taller than his profile had implied--wide-shouldered and built like an unbreakable fortress wall, wearing the solid black of a priest; the light catches a gold cross around his neck to confirm the fact. And as he steps forward, his long coat (the deep purple of poisons and nightshade itself) trails behind him before coming to a stop as he does.]

[A smile cut across his gaunt and pale face, but it was far from a pleasant one. It was the enigmatic smile of someone witnessing a joke only they found humorous, and yet it did not reach the dark and emotionless eyes that scanned the room briefly as though the priest was carefully calculating what course of action to take.]

At last we meet face to face, my Apprentices.

[The voice that leaves him is recognizable as the same one that was heard only moments before, but clearer in person. Now it seems to ring like the largest, deepest bells of Notre Dame itself, no louder than an ordinary speaking tone--the result sounds more like distant thunder heralding an oncoming hurricane.]

[The real difference lies not in how he speaks, but what he says. The short, impersonal sentences of the weeks prior are at last discarded, and the man before them speaks as a true preacher--a true wordsmith--would address his congregation.]

Rejoice and be proud of your accomplishments. Each and every last one of your number, dead or alive, has truly exceeded all expectations I had for this group. And now you have clawed and scratched your way here, on the backs of your fallen friends' struggles and failures. You have proven that their own accomplishments would not be in vain simply by standing here before me--I do not doubt that your success is the wish most of them held in their hearts, at the very end of their lives.

[He places a hand over his own heart, taking on a tone that nearly sounds genuinely proud...until a patronizing current begins to run through each syllable like a deadly undertow.]

Do you perhaps feel satisfied? You would be right to, for making it so far. Your sorrow, desperation, joy, determination...all of it has been a magnificent thing to behold as you fought to reach this point in time. Each second of it has served its purpose, and served it very well. I am one who believes such struggling and effort deserves to be rewarded, and so this alongside my own endless gratitude is what I will grant you in return for all that you have done for me.

My name is Kirei Kotomine.

[He holds his arms out slightly to his sides, a gesture that would almost seem welcoming if 'Kageshirou' did not react and coil--completely harmlessly--around his arms like a black serpent. The smile he wore turned to a razor-edged smirk, the challenge set before the remaining Apprentices clear even without his next words:]

And now that we have properly met, tell me: shall we continue our discussion?

Comments

[feistytrader]

[...Wow, that is some seriously pretentious shit.

Silver pulls out his airhorn and blasts it a little, just for old time's sake.]

[blackmass]

Put that away before I destroy it.

[iaspis]

Am I supposed to be impressed.

[She is not here for this.]

[blackmass]

That is entirely up to you to decide, Jasper.

[matchbreaker]

... No wonder you're so ill-informed about vampires!

[ HE IS A PRIEST. ]

[blackmass]

The reason for that is not what you expect, Elda Marker.

[He sighed, mildly annoyed.]

I am actually very informed with regards to vampires and their functions--you are simply different than the ones of my own world.

1/2

[oyashiromama]

[There is the man who's put them through so much. The man who...

Hanyuu peers at him, mouth a thin line.]

You're wrong.

[oyashiromama]

Our friends have fallen...and they have been sacrificed, the blame pushed on to them forcibly, but we do not stand here on their backs. We are here carrying on their hopes. As long as I exist, I will carry them, I will not disregard their sacrifices!

[firstaid]

Kirei...

[She looks to him, her expression focused.]

...my name is Estellise. Though I suppose while we have discussed with one another you have known me as Noble.

[She bows, polite as ever to the enemy.]

Please, tell me why you have trapped us here. The meaning behind this. The outcome you wish to see.

[blackmass]

Estellise Sidos Heurassein.

My wish is the same as that of what you call Kageshirou. I wish it to exist. I wish it to take form and do as it will to the world and all things in it.

[elepe]

...Really, I must admit that I am not certain what I expected.

[Lusamine's...not immediately damning, at least? Her look remains cold, but she's watching for the time being.]

Yet, to know our captor is better than what I would have expected weeks prior, Mr. Kotomine. Is your appearance our final reward?

[blackmass]

That has yet to be seen. This too is, perhaps, just another step on the path this group has elected to take.

[oyashiromama]

[Hanyuu clears her throat.]

Probing Kirei won't get the results we hope for, I fear. We have much to discuss, still.

Sportacus and Jasper found a blacksmith workshop of some kind, with no forge but many attempts at making weapons, hilts. In this room, there was an alchemy circle on a table, and a note about fueling something. It confirms there were groups before us, and that we are reaching "the end" in whatever capacity that means.

Elda and I found a chapel, Kirei's own personal one. The pews were burnt and beaten, and there was a note among them, about running out of time. Candles were recently lit, as I assume Kirei was praying, though to what I'm unsure. These flowers [the white hydrangeas] were around some of them, and...if I recall correctly, in Hanakotoba, hydrangeas mean "pride." Additionally, there was a hidden compartment at the pulpit, but whatever was in there was removed. ...Perhaps it's something he has with him now, or something someone else found.

Silver and Lusamine discovered his room. There were entirely too many things needing locks, a fancy bottle of wine, and some gem shards. Lusamine in particular discovered books, relating to cross world travel, philosophy, and the philosophical nature of the soul. ...Presumably, he was reading this regarding himself, but it's likely souls have something to do with why we're here. Since Lusamine found a note about an energy source, that is the assumption we have been running with. It's clear the energy source is related to what needs fueling.

Lastly, Guzma and Estellise explored his study or...a sort of library. There was a book no one could read, written in...a language none of us can even vaguely recognize. Most of the books were about the soul once again, especially regarding self-actualization and the process by which how to achieve such a thing. Many of them also included information about the soul being connected to the body and separating it, through death.

[...She catches her breath.]

If...there's anything significant I missed, I apologize but...that is where we are right now. We should determine...why this game, and just what Kirei is fueling. The assumption is...Angra Mainyu?

[elepe]

Angra Mainyu would be the least far-fetched assumption. If he is using us as the energy source, he must...want us to get angry. To disdain, to despair...

[...Hmm.]

And perhaps...his intention is to travel through the worlds, with it. This is but one world, isn't it? To think, what could be done with two...or three...or more...

[firstaid]

Perhaps it's as he said, he wishes for us to feel anguish, despair, hatred, and rage. Certainly they are emotions we've felt when we've lost others to this game. However, I believe that we need to express the opposite emotions. Happiness, hope, love, and we need to remain calm. To act otherwise is what I believe Kirei and Angra Mainyu want of us.

[matchbreaker]

[ Man Hanyuu is their goddess.

But okay no, ]

Does that mean the dead people are inside Angra Mainyu as fuel already?

[blackmass]

I believe, unless I have very much lost track, that most of your current situation has been made clear to you. [Returning the Jewel Sword to wherever it had been hidden in his coat, Kirei once again folded his arms behind his back and addressed the group.]

And now I have a question for you. What will you do now? Your friends remain somewhere you can not reach, and I have no means to return them to you. Will you perhaps kill me? Destroy Avenger? Both options at once?

...I will assure you that you will not be able to defeat me in a fight. Not singlehandedly and not together. If you choose that option, I will be forced to kill everyone in this room.

[But for now he simply...stood there, and spoke calmly.]

So...What do you intend to do from here, my Apprentices?

[oyashiromama]

No means, or no desire? You truly can't reach them?

[matchbreaker]

The dead ones: Are they already inside Angra Mainyu?

[sportadork]

... You could tell us where the door out of here is? Just to start? [maybe they can go find someone more useful than this dude...]

[firstaid]

Are you saying for us to find another way to defeat you? It almost sounds like you want us to defeat you.

[feistytrader]

...So, I know everyone's asking you important stuff, but I've got something important to ask too.

[He pulls out the gummy tails, because... Noir said they might be important?]

What the hell are these?

1/3

[blackmass]

...

As I said, I dislike lying. So you can be certain every word I am about to say is without deception.

[He spoke in response to Hanyuu, and once again, he took on the voice of a seasoned preacher.]

I prayed tirelessly to God for salvation, and then for the strength to continue on this path long enough to find an answer. I struggled, suffered, and even died to get to where I stand before you, and now...now you tell me I was looking at this incorrectly all along?

[Kirei look to his hand and the manifested evil wrapped around it, visibly trying to understand his own line of thought]

...I don't have the time. Or the energy, my own or otherwise. And if, as you all say, what I want was understanding more than the answer itself, then...then is it possible that even I failed to understand myself?

2/3

[blackmass]

...No. I refuse to admit I could have been wrong. I could--no, I should kill every last one of you, and erase you all just to finish this. With as close as I am to my goal, I could-...

[He trailed off, the Jewel Sword again drawn from his coat and held it up like he intended to bring it down on the entire room.]

[It glowed for a brief moment, reflecting a prismatic rainbow of colors within itself, and then-]

[blackmass]

[The light faded as a scowl crossed Kirei's face, and he lowered the sword, tossing it to Hanyuu.]

Get out. All of you.

Your course of study at Chronos University is complete.