Opening
(Dolus is preaching in the center of a village.)
dolus
...And so, the Mother conferred Her
eternal blessing upon us,
Her favored children. We were picked
to live a life of devotion!
A life of piety, humility and love for
She who lovingly created us!
We...
(The crowd begins walking away.)
dolus
...Urgh...
(Dolus approaches another crowd.)
dolus
They who show utmost fealty
to Her are rewarded.
The Mother, in all Her mercy,
keeps us safe from sin.
She watches over us and...
procures?
She procures... No, wait...
Wait, don't go! Heed me...!
(The crowd backs away from Dolus. Frustrated, he retreats to the town church, where Aura and Cybele await him.)
dolus
...Nngh...!
Gah, a pox on it all!
It's imperfect... It's all...
so... imperfect...!
cybele
Nothing new today, huh...
aura
(smiles) Don't worry, though, Your Holiness!
We're still here!
We'll listen to your preaching.
I, for one, love it!
dolus
......
aura
(frowns) Ohh, don't look so disheartened,
Your Holiness.
This is a tough crowd, but you'll
get through to them eventually!
cybele
The Mother's one truth is final and
inescapable.
Sure, now they aren't listening,
but soon enough, I know they'll--
dolus
Grrrr...
(Dolus stamps his foot in frustration.)
Don't you get it?! That is the
whole point, you idiots!
This is the punishment for my
wrongdoings!
Stuck in a world I cannot control,
full of people who don't care...
aura
(smiles) The Mother has such a keen
sense of humor, doesn't she?
I love her so much.
I wish she'd sign my ponytail.
cybele
(smiles) I love her too. It is an honor to be
a humble part of her legions.
The humble part that keeps Your
Holiness company, at that!
aura
Your Holiness's new holy guard...
We never made it so far in life!
Isn't all of this so wonderful?
I wish I could thank Nicaea...
cybele
She'll join us here one day.
I know it.
And then we'll be a happy
family once more...
You can be our surrogate
father, Your Holiness!
aura
Oh, oh! And the Mother
can be our mother!
cybele
Yes! Yes!
aura
Teeheehee!
dolus
......
I wonder if the permanent headache
is a part of the damnation,
or if it's just the result of having
to endure your presence as well...
apate
...!
kyra
Something wrong, Apate?
apate
It looks an awful lot like the
village where we grew up...
Dolus and I.
kyra
You were childhood friends?
apate
Yes... Lifelong friends, until...
Well, what happened.
In retrospect, perhaps I should've seen
it coming.
He was always prattling on and on
about the stupidity of humanity.
The inevitability of our self-destruction.
Our plethora of evils. Society.
He read books about it, you know.
Maybe it was a foregone conclusion.
kyra
Demeter, what can you tell us about
this purgatory's guest of honor?
demeter
Yeah, it's the guy.
kyra
...You're doing this on purpose,
aren't you? Be honest now.
demeter
(smiles) Me? Silly lil' me? I would never!
Teehee!
kyra
......
demeter
(grins wider) ......
kyra
What does your purgatory
look like, anyway?
apate
Mine? It offends me that you
assume I was cast to purgatory.
kyra
......
apate
It looked like a whale's
stomach.
kyra
...Uh huh?
apate
That's it. I happen to
be afraid of whales.
kyra
Yeah, I can understand that.
Whales are scary.
apate
Oh, absolutely.
demeter
No doubt about it.
(The villagers approach.)
villager?
YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE
YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE
child?
DISPATCH INTRUDERS
DISPATCH INTRUDERS
kyra
Oh, no...
Here we go again...
demeter
(smiles) Pfft! C'mon, Kyra. As if a bunch of
civilians could do anything to stop us!
(The villagers turn into soldiers.)
Ending
aura
(smiling) Nicaea... You're finally here...
The three sisters, reunited in
the afterlife at last!
Yet another marvelous blessing
from the Mother!
cybele
(smiling) Now that all three of us
are together,
we can perform our world
famous Triangle Attack!
aura
And we can use it to protect the
Mother and His Holiness!
What a joyous day it is!
I can hardly contain my delight.
Come, Nicaea. Let us join hands and
pray together to the heavens.
nicaea
You know, Aura, I had a whole arc
about repenting for your death.
Now I'm reminded of why I killed
you in the first place.
aura
(frowns) What's wrong, Nicaea?
Don't you enjoy doing the Triangle
Attack with us, your beloved sisters?
(Nicaea twitches.)
nicaea
Beloved-- You--
I don't...!
cybele
(smiling) It's all right.
You know how Nicaea gets.
She's one of those, uh...
What do the kids call them...
aura
(smiles) A tsundere!
cybele
That's right!
A tsundere!
nicaea
I literally murdered you.
aura
I know what's going to cheer you up!
Come, help me out, Cybele.
cybele
Ohhh, I know what you have
in mind!
(Nicaea backs away.)
nicaea
Don't you dare...!
aura
Tickle tickle, Sis!
cybele
Tickle tickle!
nicaea
I'LL KILL YOU AGAIN--!!
(Aura rushes over and begins tickling Nicaea.)
dolus
Am I to work together with you
again, Apate?
After all those years fighting...
It seems so pointless now.
apate
Was it worth it, Dolus?
dolus
(smirks) Heh. Is this the part where you appeal
to the villain's humanity?
(frowns) I fear even I know not the answer.
It all came to naught in the end.
What does it matter?
There is no point in me debasing
myself with such questions.
apate
Even now, you remain the
same proud bastard.
dolus
As if you were any different.
apate
(smiles) Heh... I guess not so much, no.
We did so much wrong.
Caused so much misery.
If only we had not been such
fools.
dolus
(smiles) If only, if only.
Well, brief as though it shall
be...
I appreciate the chance to
call you my ally once more.
apate
Just don't get any ideas.
I'll be watching you.
dolus
I would not have it any other way.
demeter
(smiles) Aww, isn't that cute?
They're friends again!
And all it took was countless deaths,
including their own!
Small price to pay for such an adorable
scene, though, am I right or am I right?
kyra
You know, you scare me sometimes.
demeter
C'mon, this isn't something you
see every day.
Can you fault a girl for taking in
the moment?
(frowns) That's your problem, y'know.
You're always in a rush.
You've got to learn to slow down
sometimes!
kyra
I thought you were the one who
said we had to hurry...
Before this ominous “she” you love
referring to notices us.
(Demeter starts.)
demeter
O-Oh, my, I completely forgot!
Yeah, we're supposed to be sneaking
around!
I'll get the next doorway open in a jiffy.
Don't go anywhere!
The more we wander, the more risk
there is that she'll notice us...!
(Demeter leaves.)
kyra
(smiles) ...Heh... Oh, well...
jason
(smiling) Greetings.
Welcome to my seminar.
“How to get rich very
quickly 101.”
First I'm gonna need the
fee of admission...
conan
...What...?
It said “free seating” on the flyer!
jason
Sure! You can sit anywhere you like.
No restrictions.
Fee's 12,000 gold, but think of it as
an investment.
With my seminar, you'll make twice
that in a month.
conan
...Mrrgh... I think I'll pass.
I can make more money by
writing spicy fanfiction.
(Conan leaves.)
jason
(frowns) ...Huh...
He's got me there.
dahl
So will this help me with my
world domination plans?
jason
(smiles) Indubitably. I've coached many of
the great villains of our era.
dahl
(smiles) Okay, I'll give it a shot.
Here's your fortune.
glaucus
(smiling) Would you put it on my tab?
I'm a little pressed for dough
right about now.
jason
Went gambling again?
glaucus
(frowns) Just before I showed up here, I was
getting mugged on the street.
(narrows eyes) Tch. One minute earlier and that would
have been one disappointed robber...
jason
Well, with my seminar, you'll never
get mugged ever again!
glaucus
(smiles) ...That doesn't make any sense,
but sure, I'll stick around.
Not like I can pay you, in any
case.
jason
Knock yourself out! Former
client's son's discount.
The rest of you are paying,
though.
xinyi
(smiles) Another 12,000 coming
right up.
jason
(frowns) Hey. There's two of you.
xinyi
Yes, but only I speak Tartaran.
jingyi
(smiling) All your base are belong to us.
xinyi
See?
jason
Hmm...
Okay, okay, just sit down.
jingyi
I am Error.
jason
(smiles) So! The way to become rich very
quickly is quite simple.
You simply have to make some
flyers and fill them with promises.
Then you say a few flowery words,
just to fill up some time,
and you run off with the money of
the morons who answered the call.
Any questions?
xinyi
(still smiling) Can you run faster than
our arrows?
jason
Here's your 12,000 gold
back, ma'am.
xinyi
Thank you.
jingyi
, TF?rururu
(Xinyi and Jingyi leave.)
dahl
That failed spectacularly, did it not?
jason
Not really.
I still have your money.
That's 12,000 gold I did not
have before.
See, that's the secret.
You make your scams really
really obvious, to filter out anyone not gullible
enough to fall for them.
dahl
(smiles) Wow, that's actually pretty smart.
Money well spent!
Thanks a lot, Sir. I'll get to applying
my newfound knowledge post-haste.
jason
Heh, best of luck with that,
buster.
Character Descriptions
Dolus
The hierophant of Tartaros. Less a man and more an abominable, heartless monster.
Aura
A Tartaran squire and youngest of three triplets. A cheerful and devout believer in the theocracy's doctrine.
Cybele
A Tartaran commander and eldest of
three triplets. Serene, caring, and as
loyal to the theocracy as they come.
[Aura and Cybele have C-rank support with each other, but not with Nicaea.]
Torpor
An insentient, yet humanlike entity whose sole purpose is to not listen to Dolus.