ROM 6 - Chapter 1 Part III (english translation)
Translator: Roven, Editing: Lamy
Trinity Blood (by Sunao Yoshida)Â Â
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ROM 6Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Link for Part I
Chapter 1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Link for Part II
Part III
âAh, ah, ah, ah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
  Between the sound of the sirens, there was a cry of pain. Looking at the priestâs headless body Esther thought it was a very annoying loud noise.
  A girl screamed as if a piece of her soul was taken and been crushed. Esther didnât realize that the scream came from her own throat until she saw a hand rising as if it was a puppet. The nun raised the shotgun without hesitating pointing at the young blond man and pulled the trigger.
  âWatch out, mein Herr. Esther is... âsaid Butler...
  Or was it KÀmpfer? Or whatever...
  The muzzle of the shotgun, thick as a thigh, launched a deadly discharge. The bullets were hurled into the air as if they were a steel net. Their target was the handsome young man called Cain, the angel who was looking sadly at the decapitated body of the devil. The rain of bullets hit his body and made him bend.
  âAaaaah, aaaah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
  Esther didnât stop moving while she was screaming. She fired and reloaded the shotgun almost at the same time.
  The nun observed expressionless how the young man's body flew away, and she reloaded again...
  She felt like a veil of blood was spreading through her mind. She wasnât able to think. Rather, her heart forbade her to think. Her body moved as if it were someone else's. She fired mechanically again and again. It was like watching an endless movie. A terror movie.
  When would that nightmare end? Esther realized that she couldnât even hear the shots anymore. With her left hand she continued to reloading, but she felt no longer the effect of the bullets entering the barrel. Did she run out of ammo? Or was it that the gun had been locked...?
  The room was filled with smoke thicker than the mist of the city. The air conditioning system, which had survived the centuries, made the mist swirl.
  Esther stared with empty eyes at the two bloody figures âone white, the other blackâ lying on the floor. The nun stepped forward without realizing that she stepped at the remains of the round glasses, until she reached the side of the headless black corpse.
  âFather..? She asked with a trembling voice.
  âFather? âshe repeated with more force.
  But there was no answer at all.
  The remain of the bloody neck were to see at the end of the habit like a chopped trunk.
  The head that should have been there was disappeared. Some gray stains were visible among the reddish liquid spread across the floor, probably parts of the cerebral fluid. Some shining small white masses were also to see which must have been the teeth. The eyes with the color of a winter lake with nerves still hanging on it were covered with a whitish veil.
  Esther stared at the decapitated body as if it were of someone she saw for the first time. With eyes fixed on the still bleeding cut, she repeated incessantly the same word:
  âNo, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...
  That was impossible. There had to be a mistake. He couldnât die. Even if he was poor and clumsy, he couldnât die in that terrible way. She was certain that at any moment he would appear calling her with his carefree voice: <<Esther!>>. She would turn to scold him, as he deserved...
  â"Esther!" â A clueless voice addressed the girl.
  It was a quiet voice showing no sign of worry. While turning toward the voice the nun was turning pale as if she had the same hell before the eyes.
  âEh? What's the matter? Is something wrong with my face?
The young man dressed in white had appeared before the stupefied girl. He didnât have any scratch on his face, but when he noticed that Estherâs gaze was fixed on the gap that had open in his stomach, he annoyed snapped his tongue:
  âOh well, what a hole I have in the suit!⊠Esther, doing this to a friend... You've gone a bit too far with this joke.
  âAh...! Ah ...! Bu..,. but... how? How is it possible...!?
  The hole that pierced the young man was so large that Esther almost could have put her head in it.
  It wasnât unusual, considering that he had received a discharge in a close-range. However, there was neither a drop of blood nor a piece of entrails. There was only a white interior just like a perforated puppet.
  âAh, this? It's because a long time ago I had a pretty big fight with my brother and he threw me from a very high place, âexplained the young man laughing and embarrassed to the girl stupefied in horrorâ. How many year have passed since then...? The burns from then still havenât healed well yet. When it rains they itch awfully. Thatâs why I came here to look for our genetic map to fix me... What Isaak? Did you found it?
  âMy lord, the truth is that... âexplained Panzer Magier, with an expressionless face, running his fingers over the console. ââŠ.the wrath of your brother has been a bit disproportionate. The files are completely useless. And not just the ones here. It seems that there were security copies in the system, but even though I tried to recover them, it was impossible.
  âWell, that is a problem indeed... And canât you connect to the net? Arenât the blueprints kept in any database out there?
  âIt is not possible to connect. This electronic system is disabled. I am very sorry, but it seems that your brother and his anger have erased everything.
  âAll right. It's just that Abel has always had a bad temper. What are we going to do? It is indeed a problem..., a big problem... What can we...? Oh, sure!
  The young man clapped with his hands as if he had just realized something, and he looked at the bloody corpse lying next to Esther.
  âThinking about it, we donât have the blueprints but we have a sample... My brother and I are completely identical. Let's use his body... I donât know why I didnât think of it before.
  âUse his body? âEsther repeated mechanically. She didnât quite understand the meaning of those words, but she had a baleful presentiment. It seemed difficult to imagine that anything worse could happen but Esther drew back frightened. Embracing the corpse of Abel she was about to escape running from the room..., when the young man dressed in white stepped quietly to her side.
  âWhere are you going, Esther? âhe asked with the same expression as the priest who was no longer in this world.
  Cain's voice was sweet but the nun couldnât help but chatter her teeth.
  âExcuse me if I frighten you... but we will be okay soon. Afterwards we will go back upstairs and eat some delicious food. What do you desire? Meat? Fish? I love pasta...
  When the young man reached out Esther pulled away instinctively. Rather, she tried to do it but her body didnât answer. Though Cain smiled at her with affability she stood petrified like a frog in front of a snake.
  The young man extended his hand toward the corpse the nun was embracing.
  âCome on, let's not lose no more... Huh!?
  âWhat is it, my lord? âasked Panzer Magier surprised manipulating the mummies in front of the console.
  When he turned around he saw that the young man in white had withdrawn his hand with which he was just about to touch the corpse. The fingers twisted in pain and showed a few black burns.
  âWhat...? What happened? âEsther murmured in astonishment.
  Upon coming into contact with the body a bluish light forced Cain to withdraw his hand immediately. It was the energy produced by the priest turned into Krusnik. But why? If Abel had already died...
  âTake it easy, Isaak. I just got a little scared. Or maybe...Do you want to make things difficult for me, 02? âsaid Cain serenely, as if he wanted to reassure his subordinate, although in his gaze a metallic light appeared. âThese melodramatic show of fighting to the end isnât your style. Or do you just want to annoy me? Even if this makes you angry, this is not...Huhh?
  Cain stopped abruptly talking to the corpse or to the person who had lived in it and glanced with a strange look at his own hand. The flesh until then of an almost transparent white was darkening periodically as if the burns from before were about to spread through it. The blackened skin oozed a yellowish and foamy liquid which gave off a putrid stench. And it wasn't only the hand changing. The edges of the gap that Esther had opened in his stomach were also turning into another color. What was happening?
âEh? My body is... decomposing? âmoaned Cain moving away from the nun who was staring at him with wide eyes. âWhat does this mean? Isaak, what is happening to me?
  â My lord, unfortunately it means that we are running out of time.
  The young man replied politely but in his voice was a shadow of disgust. Watching his superior falling apart Panzer Magier shook his head annoyed.
  âIt was supposed to last longer but the fight with your brother must had costed you more energy than we thought... Anyway, we have to go back before your body fall apart completely.
  âWell, well, this is indeed a nuisance... I canât walk around with this body, âCain replied with a childish tone as if he was told to go home but he wanted to keep playing. âAnyway, what could we do? Thereâs no choice but return. It's a shame since we've come this far... Oh, by the way, Esther?
  Cain turned to the young woman, who looked at them as if she would see visions. He didnât approached her physically but his voice had the closeness of an old friend.
  âHard days are waiting for you. Cheer up! Promise me you will neither cry nor fall into despair, okay?
  âLord, please hurry. The body will not last much longer.
  âGot it. I will go right now... Well, see you later, Esther.
  The young man blinked his eyes at her and winked her a goodbye kiss before he disappeared from the room together with Panzer Magier. Literally, they disappeared. Esther was alone, with no other company than the decapitated corpse in her arms and Vanessa who was lying dead on the floor her stomach destroyed by the jellyfish. The four mummies had also disappeared and with them the documents they were hugging, so the room seemed even larger.
  The sirens were still ringing. Sitting in the middle of the room, Esther had lost all sense of time...
  âSister Esther!? âscreamed somebody suddenly. âDid you come here, Saint!? Doctor Wordsworth, it's sister Esther! We have found the Saint of IstvĂĄn!
  Some figures appeared in the room and were screaming to each other. They were men dressed in black, probably members of the Secretary of Vatican Papal State. The gentleman who was leading them had a face that the girl was familiar with. But who is he? She couldnât remember. The truth was that she didnât want to think about anything...
  âAre you alright, Sister Esther? Good luck, I have put a transmitter on you for the case something like would happen. Let us return to the surface immediately. This area will be blocked very soon... Eh, who is this...?
  While trying in vain to get the nun out of her stupor the gentleman looked at the body she was holding. Since his head was missing at first sight he wasnât able to recognize it, but seeing the habit and the rosary he was looking like he suspected it already. Without realizing that the pipe had fallen from his mouth, he groaned:
  âBut this habit... It canât be...
  Esther couldnât hear the gentleman's voice. Her mind was fixed on the corpse in her arms. The nun was stupefied shaking the body in her arms, repeating his name as if she were expecting an answer:
  âFather Nightroad... Father...
  But obviously her call got no answer. However, Esther kept shaking the corpse.
  âFather, wake up... Father..., wake... wa... wa... Ah, ah, ah...! Nooooooooooo!!!
  âNooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
  A scream of despair made Esther to come out of her nightmare in order to fall into an even more terrible reality.
  When she opened her eyes and rose from the chair the scream had disappeared, but instead she heard monstrously violent gasps. As she instinctively moved her hand toward the place where she would have her shotgun, the nun realized that it was her own breathing. Her cheeks were soaked.
  The girl lifted her face, letting the tears run freely.
  Several portraits of saints decorated the walls of the room and on the altar was a large silver crucifix.
  The shadows dominated in the chapel of St. George's Cathedral, located on the grounds of Windsor Palace. Only the weak light of the winter night shone through the stained glass windows. How many hours had she been there? How much time had passed since that?
  The Professor had rescued her from the underground levels and carried her back to the surface. Then she thought to remember to be examined by several doctors, but she wasnât quite sure how everything went. The only thing she clearly remembered was the pool of blood stretching out on the floor. And the corpse dressed in habit, but without a head...
  âIâŠ, I've killed him... I...
  Esther repeated over and over again the same meaningless words in front of the coffin that lay next to the altar. It was a simple coffin of cedar without decoration and aperture. However, Esther was painfully aware of who was in there.
  âIf I hadnât said that... If I had shot him before...
  âSis..., Sister Esther? âasked a hesitant voice.
When did he entered? Esther looked back, full of tears, towards the teenager who had appeared in the chapel.
  âE..., E..., Esther..., are you okay?
  Instinctively, Alessandro stepped back when the nun lifted her face towards him in a mechanical way, like a puppet. There was no doubt that he had impressed the girl's emaciated face. After hesitating a moment, with a fearful look, the teenager said:
  âI've... been told⊠that... you havenât left... this⊠place in a⊠while.
Are you... you ... are you okay? You havenât..., eaten anything and... Iâm sorry..., Iâm really sorry⊠the Fa... Father Nightroad... I donât have... I donât have words for...
  Esther dropped her face again while the Pope tried to comfort her clumsily. She decided to remain silent, because she knew that if she would say something it would be terrible things. Despite of how exhausted she was, she still kept sufficient lucidity to know it.
 Thinking that the nun was just tired, Alessandro said, looking towards the coffin:
  âSorry... I'm sorry to bother you now, but... I wanted to talk about something. Is it⊠okay? It's..., about Virgil and Angelica... Pe..., Petros is hurt and..., they donât let me see him... Paula wouldnât hear⊠she wouldnât hear me, and... Esth... Esther, would you mind if...?
  âI'm very sorry, Your Holiness, but I donât think I can be useful to you. <<Donât talk to me anymore!>>
  Esther barely controlled the scream that raged in her chest and she replied in a measured voice:
  âI am sorry. I'm no good⊠Iâm useless...
  âYou aâŠ, you are uâŠ, useless?
  âNo use... I'm no use! For nothing at all!
  The emotion then gushed out of the girl. She herself was surprised at the strength of her voice, but once she started she couldnât control herself. The teenager drew back, terrified by the shrieks of the nun, who tore off her hair and threw them towards the altar. From her clenched fists dripped blood and stained the floor.
  âI canât do anything! The father has died because of me... And I wasnât able to shoot⊠I was  too scared!
  In that dark underground she hadnât lost only Father Nightroad. She had lost everything she had. A feeling of emptiness more violent than hunger made her voice break. She wasnât yet considered as a mature woman, but she had overcome many difficulties that had helped her to gain self-confidence. She had just begun to feel within herself the strength that encouraged her to move on.
  But it seemed that everything had suddenly evaporated. Instead, there was only remorse, fear and self-hatredâŠSuch violent emotions that it seemed they were about to tear her chest.
  She felt a huge emptiness in her heart, a void that couldnât be filled. She had lost him forever. He would never come back...
  âI'm no use! I'm no good!
  âE..., E..., Esther...
  Alessandro watched horrified as the nun scratched her face and bit on her lips until they started to bleed. Not knowing what to do he just stayed there watching her, terrified, as blood and pieces of skin dropped on him...
  A calm voice but full of authority made the young woman to stop. When Alessandro turned toward the voice, the person who just spoke had already passed his side with a martial rhythm and grabbed Estherâs wrists.
  âStop! A lady shouldnât damage her face like thisâŠ
  âColonel Spencer?" âshe said, looking at the newcomer with empty eyes.
  Ignoring the teenage Pope who was looking at them with horror, the nun repeated to the orange-haired officer:
  âColonel... I killed himâŠ, I..., IâŠ, I killedâŠ, IâŠ,
  Something made a dry sound on Esther 's cheeks. As the slapped nun looked up with an expression like a demon just had been fallen of her face, she met with her gaze the sky-blue eyes of Bloody Mary.
  âSister Esther Blanchett! Have you forgotten that you are the Saint!? You have been chosen to fight against the evil in the world, to be the voice of the Lord and the admiration of the people... How can the Saint fall apart like this!? I wonât let you!
  The scream almost came from her lips, but something stopped her.
<<Where have I been wrong?>>, said the revenger in her hometown.
<<Can I trust you, Esther?>>, asked the young man she met in the desert city.
<<You are not my subject. You are my friend.>>, said the girl who ruled the city of non-humans.
<<You will be the Saint.>>, said the friend she lost in the winter city.
<<I am on your side>>, said the one who had always been by her side and now he was silent forever.
  Esther buried her nails tightly in her fists, to avoid taking them back to the face.
  She didnât want to have anything to do with this name. She could only be saved when she erased that agname. But in doing so, she would also erase all those people who she kept inside. It would be like eliminate everyone who live thinking about her and those who donât live anymore, except in her memories...
  âAh! âcried the girl and covered her face. <<What an ugly voice...>>
  As a Saint she should cry a little more beautiful âthought Esther without realizing that she was burst into tears at the same time. Her shoulders trembled violently and felt as if she were going to vomit all the blood that ran through her chest.
  <<I am not a saint!>>
  The girl cried with all her might just in order to stifle that scream. Her face was soaked with tears and snot, as if there wasn't left a drop of liquid in her body.
  Mary waited patiently for the nun to finish crying. With her gaze fixed on her, she didnât even realize that the Pope had left the room. When she saw that the tears abate a little, she whispered:
  âYou really loved him, isnât that so?
âDid... love him...?1
Â
 Esther raised her head with a confused look, full of tears, as if she just heard the voice of an incomprehensible oracle.
  Mary hugged her murmuring:
  âAll right. You can still cry. But then you must get up again, Saint... Now cry all you want.
  âWhy? Why are you worrying about me...?
  âMaybe it's because we're sisters. Yes, you are... my only sister.  And soon my only relative.
  <<the only relative>>... Those words made Esther's eyes light up. Didn't she had someone else in the palace? As if Mary had guessed what she thought, she shook her head.
 âOur grandmother... The queen is doing very badly. The representatives of the aristocracy have been called to her side. That's why I came to pick you up⊠When you are calmer, get ready. We'll go to the palace together.
  âTo ... together? But I...
  âIt's all right, Esther... âMary said, offering the nun a handkerchief to wipe away the tears.â I'll take care of everything. I will protect you... I will not let that bunch of scavenging vultures to do anything to my sister.
  âSister, âEsther repeated.
  The emptiness in her chest made her feel a deaf pain which would never cease. But, at the same time, the hand that the Colonel was giving her was warm and soft.
  âThank you sister...
  âDonât worry... Are you calmer now? Calm down a little and we will go. The car is waiting outside. The palace is not so far from here...
  Mary was hugging her sister and talking gentle but some shouts outside interrupted their conversation. When she turned to see what was it about, someone violently opened the door without knocking.
  âJane!? âMary yelled in surprise.
  The colonel was so shocked by the sudden appearance that she exclaimed, forgetting all manners:
  âBut what are you doing here?! Hadnât you gone to the palace!?
  âI've deviated halfway.
  Jane Judith Jocelyn Albion's most notorious nobleman was pale as ever. With a stiff expression, free of all irony, Calamity Jane pointed outward.
  âIt's a terrible thing, Mary... Look.
  The aristocrat pointed toward the castle gate. By following her directions with the eyes, Mary and Esther were shocked.
  âButâŠ, but, what is that?!
  The first who broke the silence was Mary, still hugging Esther andlooking towards the entrance of the castle.
  âWhat happened!? How could...!?
  Before her eyes stretched a sea of ââpeople and people and more people... The crowd filled the field of vision of the two girls, who were looking in astonishment.
  The road leading to the castle was full of people and cars. And not just at ground level. Above the cars, on the roofs, and even on the streetlamps there were people looking curiously into the palace. Many of them carried sheets of newspapers in their hands. In addition, there were groups of men with the appearance of journalists arguing with the soldiers who protected the enclosure. What was happening!?
  âLook at this... It's the Times special edition that has been out ten minutes ago.
  Jane showed them a newspaper identical to the ones that the crowd was carrying. On the cheap paper it was printed a photo of Esther and Mary, taken the day before at the airport, but it wasnât the fact what attracted the attention of the sisters. Their eyes were fixed on the letters that danced around it: <<Sister Esther is the lost princess>>.
  â<<Sister Esther is the lost princess>>?....It can not be!
Why did they published this!? âcried the older of the two sisters, and turned to her friend, who was drawing the curtainsâ. Jane, what does this mean?! Why has this story been leaked out to the media!? Who is responsible!?
  âHow should I know it!? All the newspapers have published the story at the same time and also the radios have announced... âexplained Calamity Jane, pulling out more and more newspapers from her coat.
  The aristocrat took out more than ten balls of papers, which soon filled the floor.
  âWho has spread the news especially now? The Vatican? It canât be, they donât have such strong ties with Albionâs media. The Duke of Argyll... he isnât skilled enough to do such a thing. Letting all the newspapers take the same story in the evening edition... nobody is able to do this. I donât know who it was, but itâis someone very skilled.
  Esther began to speak in a hesitant voice, and the perplexity in her eyes showed that she still didnât fully understand what had happened.
  âThen, what are we going to do? We have to go to the palace to see your majesty... but with all those people...
  âThere's a car ready at the back exit, âJane quickly replied, crossing the newspapers on the floor with her needle-like high heels. âWe'll catch the attention of the people outside with a decoy and you can escape⊠Mary, are you alright?
  Jane's question went unanswered. Seeing her sister absorbed by her thoughts, Esther asked fearfully:
  âIt will be a fight to death...
  The colonel had spoken in such a low voice that the nun hadnât understood what she had said. Tilting her head Esther asked:
 âColonel? What did...? What did you say, Mary?
 âEh? Oh, nothing, it's nothing... â the officer replied as if she just woke up from a dream.
 As she turned her gaze to the nun her eyes had lost their hardness of before. Shaking her head, Mary said softly to her sister:
  âIt's nothing, Esther. Donât worry...
1 The japanese original version uses æ (love) which very uncommon. Usually they use for âto love somebodyâ ć„œăă§ă (literally: I like you). The use of æ implies very strong emotions here - thatâs why Esther is surprised by the use of this word. It seems like she realizes in this moment that she was really in love with him. (Compare with the conversation between Mary and Jane about her before.)
Illustrations by Thores shibamoto and Kiyo Kyujyo.