The Red Rose and The Black Rose

Once a proud assassin who was a member of the Black Scripture, a human on par with heroes... And yet, here she was, drooling as she devoured the pasta made from tuna mixed with who knows what.

The only meal she had eaten for weeks.

Her once beautiful and sensual appearance was now an animalistic and wild mess that could barely be distinguished from a wild animal.

How long had she, the once magnificent Clementine, been here? In this cold and dark cell of indestructible stone? Being tortured over and over again by that green woman and her shady subordinates, each dozens of times stronger than the once great Lady Clementine?

She didn't know. She didn't want to know. She couldn't know. And even if she could, it wouldn't serve her any purpose.

She had long stopped thinking. Only madness welcomed her while her perseverance was nothing more than a thin thread in the form of the sensation of pain and terror that clung to her rational mind, preventing her from going completely insane.

Her cellmate, a woman with dark skin and silver hair, looked at her uneasily and scared as she ate from the same pasta in a corner of the cell.

Both were naked.

Clothes, food, water... Anything was a privilege that creatures less than animals, less than rats, barely had.

Edstrom had been here much less time than Clementine... Much... But she was not in better condition. She was disturbed.

After all, being gutted over and over like a fish was not a pleasant experience. Feeling thorny roots slithering through her veins, injecting poison like acid into every cell... Neither was.

The door of their cell opened.

Clementine trembled like jelly, and she sat shakily on all fours on the straw-covered floor, like an animal waiting for its abusive owner, fearing a beating.

On the other hand, Edstrom hugged her legs and tried to crawl as far as possible into her corner, wanting to make herself as small as possible.

Clementine hadn't experienced it, didn't know even if she had been here longer... But Edstrom vaguely knew who the woman who opened the cell door was. She had dared to defy her like a fool. She obeyed the idiot Zero to confront her... I-If only she had known... No... It's not like she could have known she was facing such a horrible monster...

"Well~ Well~ Look who we have here~ The most troublesome animals of Titania~" The Queen of Titania, the cause of all their suffering, chuckled.

They didn't know her name. They weren't allowed to know... Well, Edstrom knew her as Nyx Morgause... But... Obviously that was nothing but a false identity, denoting false weakness... Fake hope...

They weren't allowed to speak either. Every letter that came out of their mouths was a lash with chains glowing red-hot against their backs after using sensory enhancement spells.

The queen's heels took a small step forward, not quite touching the dirty straw covering the 'floor' of the two women's cell.

Her bright red eyes like hells scanned the cell briefly.

"My, my~ You've been living better than I imagined~ How kind of Carmellitian~" She placed a hand over her mouth and laughed. The darkness obscured the details, but her figure was unmistakable to Edstrom.

... Was this kindness...? The two prisoners wondered.

They didn't even want to imagine what their cell would be like if the Queen of Titania had been in charge of their 'punishment'...

"But well. I've been postponing it for quite some time. Grab them." She turned around and walked out of the cell.

A couple of creatures like pigs entered the cell... Orcs, in short.

They were tall, standing at 2 meters, with sickly yellow skin, full of warts and large pores oozing unpleasant pus. They were fat, but had large muscles beneath their fat.

They had crude pieces of metal covering their shoulders, knees, groin, and shins, with spikes like rusty and twisted nails on each plate. Ragged brown fabrics covered in blood were attached to the pieces of metal, while leather straps encircled their bodies, keeping the metal pieces together and in place. Belts with construction tools, surgical tools, and other items turned into torture devices.

Their heads were pig-like, fat and chubby, with saliva and blood dripping from their mouths, with bulging silly and cross-eyed eyes, with metal earrings in their ears.

The Orcs entered while sniffling mucus from their noses and wiping saliva and blood from their mouths, making pig-like sounds.

One of the Orcs grabbed Clementine, who was trembling like a leaf in the wind, and threw her over his shoulder. She didn't resist, accustomed to it...

Edstrom wanted to move away, but the walls prevented her. The pig grabbed her by the hair, pulling it violently and earning a whimper from the dark-skinned woman, before being properly grabbed and placed over the shoulder of her torturer.

They didn't resist. It was worse if they resisted.

Edstrom had resisted at first. She paid for it with ice-cold pins being inserted one by one into each of her taste buds while her eyes had been gouged from their sockets, and thanks to magic, they remained functional, making her see as if her own mouth was being opened, with her tongue being pulled and...

The Orcs followed the Queen of Titania slowly, not making a single sound even when she told them to 'be quiet, please'. They even walked carefully to avoid making any noise...

Just... How terrifying must the Queen of Titania be for such cruel monsters like these Orcs not to even dare to breathe too loudly at her command? The Semihumans only followed, worshipped, and feared strength.

Edstrom resisted the urge to cover her ears.

The screams of pain, agony, help, and desperation echoed from the end of the hallway, where the 're-education chambers' were.

She looked to the side, seeing the metal door with unknown letters in an unknown language...

She saw many humans and other beings enter there... And only heaps of carts with raw meat, bone, and... Other things, come out.

She heard a door creak, and then they went up some stairs, barely lit by flickering torches... She saw the huge metal door covered in spikes and blood move away... It was the legendary 'exit' from that Hell...

She blinked...

Was she...? Was she seeing sunlight?

She looked around... She saw the beautiful corridors of limestone, gold, and silver, with huge stained glass windows letting in colorful mystical light... Butterflies of different shades flew around the vases, leaving luminescent powders behind their flight.

She couldn't believe it... And she couldn't for a long time.

And when she realized it, she was in a circular arena...

She had been here before...

Alongside Clementine.

They were subjected to daily 'training,' against simple and weak monsters at first, and then legendary monsters that defeated them with one blow.

Only they were brought there by teleportation means. They were never 'on foot.'

"This is the designated place. Let them go~ You can leave~ Tell Manjar de Pan that you can have a double ration~"

The pair of women were thrown onto the sandy ground without further ado.

Edstrom saw the Orcs bow deeply, shedding tears of... Gratitude?... Then, the 'pigs' quickly departed, clapping their hands together, as if celebrating...

"Now~ You must be wondering why I brought you here~" The majestic voice of 'Nyx Morgause' brought her back to her current situation.

Clementine just sat back on all fours, while Edstrom hesitated whether to stand up or sit down like the blonde.

She knew there was no escape, so she just stayed still, fearing the worst.

"I'm going to conduct a little experiment with you~ And if I succeed~ You'll be able to live in a couple of residences I have around the forest~ You'll be properly fed, and such~ You'll be free to do whatever you want as long as you don't run away, and of course, if you become vassals of Titania~" The Queen turned around, looking at the pair of women with a malicious and amused look.

Her beauty was dazzling. A blessing compared to the dark stone walls, and the horrors of metal, flesh, or blood from 'that place.' But at the same time... It was a sheepskin. At least Edstrom knew that behind that beauty, there was a monster...

However, despite her beauty, despite the fear... They managed to hear those words...

Both the Dancing Scimitar and Clementine held their breath upon hearing her words...

I mean... If they survived this... They could... Get out of Hell...

"But if I fail... Well, I won't bother reviving you. Just know that your bodies will be used efficiently." She said without a hint of interest in them themselves, but quite amused, mocking their pathetic existences.

While for a normal person this last option was terrible, both Edstrom and Clementine didn't see it that way... After all... One option was to live outside of Hell, but still within its sight, chained to its gates like dogs while knowing they had to behave or they would return inside...

And the other was to die... Escaping from Hell...

Both options were infinitely better than returning to those cells.

"Of course. My friend isn't entirely on board with 'forcing others to be test subjects'." She made 'air quotes' with her fingers as she said it, rolling her eyes. "Therefore, I'll give you the opportunity to 'decline' being part of this experiment. But if you do, you'll just return to where you came from." She didn't sound very upbeat, but neither disinterested.

When the Queen of Titania said they would return to 'that place' if they refused, both, in perfect unison, strangely, knocked their foreheads against the sandy ground, regardless of the pain. For a single second of 'reeducation' there was much worse than having all the bones in their body broken.

""W-We accept!"" They shouted.

Dont blinked, but smiled. "Uh~ Good~ I'd hate to have to find other test subjects~" She sighed in relief. "Now then~" The Queen of Titania hummed, sticking her hand into a circle of fire.

And pulled out two objects.

The first was a kind of black box with murky symbols and heart-like patterns.

And the second was a blood-red wooden stake shaped like a crucifix.

She threw the pair of objects in front of Edstrom and Clementine respectively.

"The box is a 'Seed of Lust', and the other is a 'Cursed Fang of Cain'. They are objects capable of changing the race of a humanoid being into the Succubus and Vampire races respectively." The Queen of Titania explained.

Edstrom didn't quite understand, and Clementine seemed blank.

"Fufu~ The experiment begins~" She snapped her fingers, causing one of the gates within the arena circle to open, letting out a handsome silver-armored knight, who had several chains in his hands, each one tied to different individuals.

There was a blonde girl with a lost look, a pair of children around 5-6 years old, an elderly man, and what appeared to be a priest of the Great Gods.

The knight stopped in front of the Queen of Titania and gave a deep bow.

"Thank you~" She smiled warmly, making Edstrom shudder.

She didn't know if she was horrified by the fact that 'that thing' could show real emotions, real concern, or by the idea that it could fake and deceive everyone so perfectly to appear genuine.

The knight trembled, his expression incredibly grateful, as if his God had blessed him in person.

"Anyway~ You, the little dark one~" The monster pointed at her with one of its perfect ungloved fingers, making her tremble and threaten to cry, out of sheer terror and desperation rather than gratitude like the knight.

The Queen of Titania gestured to the knight, and he grabbed a sword from his waist, throwing it in front of Edstrom.

It was a simple steel sword.

"Kill each of these people with the box in your hands, and then follow my instructions~" She smiled.

"E-Eh?..." The former member of the Six Arms said tremulously.

The Queen didn't repeat, just looked at her with a gentle smile as she gave her the instructions.

Edstrom looked at the sword in front of her, and then at the 'targets'.

…

Clementine-sama was hypnotically staring at the red wooden stake that the Queen of Titania had thrown in front of her when she heard a scream.

She looked towards the source of the scream and saw her cellmate using a sword to cold-bloodedly, but desperately, murder a group of humans.

They didn't resist. They couldn't resist.

One of the children threw himself in front of the knight, grabbing his leg, pleading. But the plea fell on deaf ears as the knight did nothing but shake his leg to push the child away before being run through by the sword of her dark-skinned companion.

The one who seemed to be a priest among his tattered clothes from the Church of the Wind God shouted with frustration, anger, and fear as he lunged towards the Queen of Titania.

But he didn't get far, as the knight reacted faster, pulling on the chain around the priest's neck and wrists with hatred, causing him to choke and fall backwards.

The knight's expression made her shudder.

It was pure hatred. Pure rage. Beyond reason.

But he did nothing. He just stepped aside to let the woman with the sword kill the priest desperately, stabbing him again and again.

He had been the last one alive.

After that, 'Estor' or something like that as she vaguely remembered, clung to the black box she had been holding all this time in her other hand.

It glowed with red marks all over it, in a flash that made Clementine shudder at how malicious it looked. She looked away.

She heard the unpleasant sound of her companion moaning painfully... Along with the sound of something tearing... No. It was more like something sprouting from within the flesh.

Silence...

When she dared to look again...

"Uh~ Success~" The Queen of Titania celebrated with small, cute claps, along with a lively and satisfied smile.

And Edstrom... Was no longer human.

Bat wings sprouted from her back, small but there, with a long black tail with a heart-shaped tip emerging from her coccyx.

A pair of white horns sprouted from her temples, curving upwards to give a slight illusion of a heart.

Her eyes glowed with a pink halo around the iris, while her fangs could be seen through her open mouth as she breathed heavily. Lastly, there were the long Elf-like ears... And well, the noticeably superior beauty of the dark-skinned woman.

She recognized the creature as a Succubus... Her companion had become a Succubus...

"Fufu~ Well then~ It's your turn." The Queen of Titania stared fixedly at Clementine...

She shivered.

"Grab that stake and drive it into your heart~" She instructed with a smile.

Clementine froze for a moment, looking between the Queen of Titania, the impassive knight, and Estor, who was examining her hands with slightly longer, but sharp, nails, with awe.

But once the realization dawned on Clementine that the Queen of Titania had ordered something, she grabbed the red stake and quickly drove it into her heart.

There was no time to hesitate. And the pain was nothing compared to that Hell...

Although the sensation of her life extinguishing was unpleasant...

Her consciousness faded for a moment, and then returned abruptly with incredible clarity.

There was no 'madness', no 'fear'. At least not complete.

She blinked, noticing that the red stake was no longer there.

Also noticing that... Everything felt very overwhelming.

The sounds, the smells, the sensations, the taste of her own blood. Even her vision was much sharper now.

"Yay~ Another success~" The Queen of Titania applauded again.

The knight at her side smiled, happy to see his queen cheerful.

On the other hand, Clementine looked at her hands. Skin as pale as a corpse... Longer and sharper nails...

Her tongue ran over her teeth, noticing the fangs much longer than normal.

A chill wanted to run down her spine, but Clementine felt nothing.

In fact, everything felt very... Dull. The emotional sensations. But at the same time, others felt more... Strong.

A shiver wanted to run down her spine again, but Clementine felt nothing.

In fact, everything felt very... Dull. The emotional sensations. But at the same time, others felt more... Strong.

"So~ Normally, I'd just send you to that little house I promised. Buuut~ I'd like to use you for another experiment~" The Queen of Titania smiled, catching the scared attention of the two women.

... Was she going to torture them now? Even though she promised them peace...?

"Así que… {So I'm gonna…} Voy a disfrutar jugando con sus cerebritos~ Veamos que horrores psicológicos podemos construir~ {I'm gonna enjoy playing with your little brains~ Let's see what psychological horror stuff we can build~}" She said something in an unknown language, with an almost malicious smile as a cruel and evil glint appeared in her sinister eyes as Hells.

The pair of women, now heteromorphic, shivered.

...

On the other hand, Dont-Say-My-Name had a good time experimenting with the brains of both non-human maidens. In fact, they were a good acquisition for 'defense', no matter how weak they were.

She just had to twist her promise a bit, using the wonderful spell of [Amnesia Control] again.

She had to thank 'Balam' for that.

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