Everything around her vanishes, and she finds herself standing on the city streets she has walked countless times once more, thick fog swirling all around.
A devil with hazy features emerges from the fog, thick shadows like blood surging in its palm.
She knows the voice all too well, having heard it countless times in her dreams.
You have been bound by this mortal flesh for far too long.
Cast off the shackles of your role as a sheriff and embrace true freedom, Bloodthirsty Siren.
Go forth and rule over your city. Make its people bow beneath your wings.
...Shut up!
She struggles to pierce the shadows that form the Apostle's body with her lance. The shadows simply stitch back together and reform after being dispersed.
The Apostle with obscure features continues to stand before her.
On that blurred face formed of frozen shadows, something resembling a human smile seems to emerge.
I don't like it when my test subjects have a will of their own.
A proper test subject should respond to changing conditions and produce the results I expect.
Just like those rats... They're obedient. Perfectly obedient.
Scatter a few breadcrumbs, and they'll do exactly as I command.
As if responding to the Apostle's will, countless rats emerge from every direction, gathering at his feet in ever-growing numbers.
The Apostle's power is overwhelming, as invisible forces press down relentlessly on Veronica, trying to force her to bow.
But she refuses to lower her head, instead fixing the entity with a cold, unwavering stare.
Hah! You won't even show your face, and you demand me to submit to you...? Pathetic. Coward!
Show yourself! Face me properly... What's wrong? Don't have the guts? Scared to show me how disgusting you really are?
I'm right, aren't I? You're just some coward hiding in the shadows, pulling the strings on these revolting rats!
The figure seems utterly unmoved by her furious outburst.
The Apostle's tone remains unchanged, as if he is speaking to a mere object—a test subject unworthy of respect.
You are quite powerful, but you're not good enough... because you still refuse to submit to me.
You haven't become what I wish to see. I want you to appear before me as the "Bloodthirsty Siren".
So stop disappointing me, Veronica.
You only need to make a... tiny change.
Shadows flow from the Apostle's hands, dispersing and hungering for their destined host.
The flowing shadows surge forward, coiling around Veronica's body and clawing at the sanity she fights to protect.
The Apostle's crushing presence descends once more, and Veronica feels a burning thirst rising in her throat.
Blood... Where...
She seems unable to control her own words, as if some powerful force born from the shadows is fighting for dominion over her body within her.
Seemingly answering her craving, a fresh sacrifice has been prepared for her.
You lie before her, blood-soaked, your living body destined to become a blood offering in her honor.
That detective named [player name] should belong to you completely.
Go and seize control. Claim the detective's flesh and blood. Revel in everything that is rightfully yours, my "Bloodthirsty Siren".
Searing pain warps her mind, slowly carving away what remains of her sanity.
Her voice gradually grows fainter and fainter.
More and more parts of herself fade from her mind.
The trust she placed in her detective partner, your unwavering resolve to travel the Mist together, the warmth of your hand gripping her wrist...
Who... are you?
Her mind offers no rational response.
In the end, only the craving for warm blood remains.
Give me... your blood...
She can smell the metallic sweetness of human flesh and blood that is filled with the warmth of life.
You look up, meeting her gaze with an expression that seems to hold some enchanting power over her.
Your expression and words are filled with a dissonance she cannot comprehend.
It is as if she has heard something else you told her before.
Those words are already lost to her now.
But that strange dissonance still acts like the last thread connecting her to you, stubbornly clinging to what little rationality she has left, refusing to snap.
You... are not...
Fragments of rationality on the verge of shattering clash with her craving for human blood, sending waves of agonizing pain surging through her mind.
Weakened by blood loss, you struggle to prop up your body, but you finally manage to stand and embrace her after several failed attempts.
With your final breath, you whisper your last words.
<color=#ffffffff><size=50>Wake up...</size></color>
<color=#ffffffff><size=50>...Wake up! Veronica!</size></color>
The embrace seems to have drained the last of your strength, and she feels a cold, lifeless body collapse into her arms.
Veronica looks down at the lifeless corpse in her arms.
Blood continues to pour from the wound in your neck, coating her hands with its lingering warmth.
...
Your warm blood flows across her palms like the warmth of your touch, invisibly enveloping her hands.
The cold chaos that has wrapped her mind begins to melt away bit by bit under the touch of such warmth.
Mist swirls around her, and the scene before her eyes shifts once more. She's no longer standing on the familiar streets, but within an intricate, bewildering maze.
But now, she is no longer trapped by such illusions.
The Apostle emerges from the far end, and she finally sees the face of the man whose features have been shrouded in mist.
So you're the one who's been pulling the strings this whole time?
Using that bastard as your puppet, giving him dark power to bend the minds of everyone in this city.
Driving so many people mad, keeping my deputy from finding peace...
The black-haired, golden-eyed man wears an enigmatic smile, utterly unfazed by her accusations.
Fascinating. You can still see the truth even under these circumstances.
They chose you, and you've proven to be an excellent test subject.
The "Apostle of the Archdevil" makes a subtle gesture, and an intricate model maze materializes in his palm, faint sounds emanating from within.
They come from several rats that are endlessly trying to find their way out of the maze. Constantly pressing pedals at each turn with their paws, they attempt to find the right path to earn a small snack.
They press the pedals in a mindless, mechanical fashion over and over, slowly inching their way through the maze.
Each correct attempt rewards them with just a few cookie crumbs that drop from a mechanism above, yet even this pittance is enough to keep them trying relentlessly.
Without a will of their own, they are only driven forward by instinct.
Success is within reach now.
Add just the right variable, and fascinating changes will occur to test subjects. You're no different from them.
In a sense, this is your destiny. You should accept it without question.
Walk the path that's meant for you, Veronica.
The dead humans, Veronica herself, and the mindless rats are all just filthy specimens in his laboratory, ready to be discarded at a moment's notice.
Pure rage sears her heart, burning away the last traces of confusion clouding her mind.
Don't you dare compare me to those filthy rats!
I'm not your test subject!
Holding you close in her arms, she raises her lance, shattering the towering maze walls before her.
The moment her mind snaps back into reality, she sees your face clearly once more.
No longer the cold, lifeless corpse the illusion had her believe, you are a warrior who has not stopped fighting.
Even when bloodied from head to toe, you still stand beside her, fighting with stubborn determination.
[player name]...
Using her lance for support, Veronica rises to her feet and takes her place beside you once more, joining the fight.
The black-haired, golden-eyed man who orchestrated everything within the illusion now stands before you, but not in the form of the "Apostle of the Archdevil".
Still, this spokesperson, empowered by the Archdevil, continues to preside over this chaotic banquet.
Don't resist our invitation. Everyone has been waiting for you for far too long.
Embracing this new power and destiny as we did is the correct choice to make.
But first, we should eliminate the interference that keeps disrupting things here.
At his gesture, invisible shadows surge from every direction, coiling around your body.
[player name]!!
