RM Vol 3: For a World without Boundary – Chapter 37: Do you know how fucked you are?

Author notes:

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for keep on accompanying both my mom and I on our journey together! Currently, we are sitting at precisely 530/800 USD per month according to Pa-treon, and without all of your help, this story wouldn't have been possible to continue to this point. I have to say though, last month has been an interesting development period for this story of ours, and I will strive to keep making it better and better for you all!

Up next but most importantly... WARNING! WARNING!

The following chapter contain morally disturbing contents and graphical descriptions that may be off-putting to some of you. Please proceed at your own discretion. It is, however, important to note that this chapter may become relevant later on in the story.

With the warning out of the way, enjoy the two pictures of Dreamer!

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ONI Blacksite Atlas, under the governing of ONI Section Two, is built and hidden to host the largest HUMINT operation in the entirety of Europe. Understandably, only core military personnel are privileged to the existence of such a site. Nonetheless, most of them don't even know the name, much less know about its location. And even if they know, it will be a secret they will be carrying to the grave, enforced by a variety of means to ensure the Blacksite maintains its secrecy. To quote the Marshal:

If people start calling you names, that means you have failed your job miserably.

It's a quote that any good ONI agent engraves on their hearts. As the daggers in the dark, ONI's main strength is subterfuge, failing that, they would be better off killing both themselves and their enemy. But we have digressed a bit.

Currently, Blacksite Atlas is receiving a very, very important guest. It's the Reich Marshal herself, their Big Boss. Aside from the top brass in charge of the site, no one knows why she is here. And quite frankly, they don't need to and don't want to know. What they need only do is to ensure this visit of her goes over smoothly. So when the black Fi-22 Osprey touches down on the landing pad, the whole area is already set up for a full contigence of security details ranging from heavily armed guards, and anti-air installations to APCs and tanks, and even a full fireteam of Ravens... Up in the sky, nondescript flights of CAP and CAS are high above the clouds, right up there at their service ceilings. This is to ensure that if there's a hint of the slightest threat appearing, they will be ready nearly immediately for tasking.

Now you may be wondering, with such a sudden force build-up, people will surely ask questions, right? Well, had the security details been sourced from the standard armed force of Belka, then yes. But it's important to note that ONI has its own separate military force. This means that ONI can maintain their cloak and dagger scheme without outside interference if they choose to. While not as large as the Army or the Marine, they're no doubt the best equipped and even better trained due to the nature of their work. ONI takes the quote 'Failure is not an option' to the next level, after all.

The rear loading ramp of the Osprey lowered itself, thus revealing to the welcoming committee the sight of the Marshal's bodyguards stepping down and flanking the craft. Finally, the Marshal herself steps off, and surprisingly, she comes here without her usual plus-one. The Marshal takes the time to adjust her cap as a breath of cold wind blows by. Using this time, Agent, Section One's Chief, and the one holding down the fort for Section Two when its own Chief is still in Rusviet, approaches the Marshal. The Chief then performs a perfect, prim, and proper maid curtsy, slightly lifting her maid skirt in the process and welcoming the Marshal.

"Good afternoon, Master." While outsiders may look askance at the sight of a maid in a covert military installation, it's just another Tuesday for ONI agents. "I hope that the flight has been without trouble for you?"

Yuki nods, smiling. "It has been a smooth ride, Agent. Have the others arrived?"

"They arrived at this installation an hour ago, Master." Agent answered dutifully.

"Then we will continue the conversation inside. The weather is cold and I would hate to have our troops get sick standing out here." Yuki said while pulling her coat tighter. Coincidentally, Yuki is wearing her Marshal attire in white due to the winter atmosphere.

"Right this way, Master. Erika, Lola, please kindly escort your liege." Agent calmly addressed the two women who headed Yuki's guard detail.

"On it, Agent. Alright, First Squad, form up. Second Squad, go grab the others and discuss protection plans with the site commander. Play nice for me, you hear?" Erika addressed her subordinates, leading to a resounding "Yes, ma'am!" to be heard across the landing pad.

Soon after, Yuki is escorted into the main building, flanked by Agent with Erika and Lola shoring up 360-degree security. Once inside the air-conditioned building, Yuki is led to a meeting room, it's there that Yuki meets up with the other VIPs for this mostly unplanned trip.

"Nicolae, Dreamer, Mobius, and Einstein, I hope you all hadn't waited long." Yuki greeted them, earning both smiles and nods in return.

"I do believe I speak for others that it wasn't an arduous task to await your arrival, Master." Dreamer spoke on behalf of the brainiac trios. "Nicolae here has been keeping the mood pleasant for everyone."

Yuki smiles, turning to the girl in purple. "Shoggoth stuff?"

Nicolae giggles, admitting. "Shoggoth stuff."

"Ok, you have me interested." Yuki said while coming to their table, leaning over a chair with her hands resting on it.

Einstein blanches when Yuki says she's interested. "The stuff is Nicolae chatting about Shoggoth reproducibility and their undying self, with Mobius taking notes and Dreamer advising here and there while I am forced to listen to a biological debate."

Hearing the exasperated tone coming from Einstein, Yuki smirks, and jestingly says. "You had me interested. Now you have my attention." The only thing missing here would be a glass of wine. Of which Agent immediately substituted by handing over a mug of cocoa for Yuki. Raising an eyebrow at Agent, who is just dutifully standing there, Yuki shrugs. "Eh, this works too. Thanks for the prompt addition to the meme, Agent." And then the Marshal raises her glass in an exaggerated gesture before drinking from it. The action garners obvious amusement from Nicolae and Dreamer while the uneducated Einstein and Mobius can only stare in confusion. The guards behind Yuki just ignore the proceeding till they're required.

Agent then disperses the hot drinks she gets from, and get this, Yggdra knows where and when to everyone. The group then goes on to enjoy the delectable and energizing drinks before discussing the things they must accomplish today.

Yuki starts off by saying. "I must apologize for pulling all of you from your work on such short notice. I understand that currently, your projects require undivided attention to ensure they meet the deadline and the qualities required of them. But the situation has forced my hands, I, for once, would have to act on my impulse and be selfish for once. I will have to take an action that will require your supervision and analytical capabilities. Hopefully, we can bring about something good from me following my inconsiderate desire."

Surprisingly, it's Mobius who speaks first. "You need not apologize, Yuki. We all have heard of the attempts at Elysia's well-being. And quite frankly, we know how you feel and we have an inkling about what you will do next. You don't have to explain yourself since I will be with you all the way till you think it's fine for me to carry on."

Nicolae raises a hand. "I second that. They basically just signed their death warrants."

"Third." Einstein followed suit, nodding at Yuki.

"Fourth. Master can count on me to back you up in anything." Dreamer smiled dangerously, being the one of the people who is most intimate with what Yuki will come to do next.

Hearing their willingness to accompany her, despite a few of them obviously lacking the more nauseating details, Yuki is glad that she has them as friends and even better in this life. Without further words, Yuki nods gratefully at them before heading outside, the others soon follow suit.

Along the way to their destination, Yuki's group stops by a lab. It's here that Mobius and Nicolae help attach a few monitoring instruments to Yuki's body while Dreamer and Einstein operate their tablets to check the readings. Once done, they then continue on, this time, heading down underground via a slanted lift, useful for carrying both personnel and cargo alike. With each step of the way, security guards and intelligence officers can be seen patrolling or going about their daily, albeit critical tasks for the longevity of the Reich. Finally, the group stops at a fork in the road, meeting up with a person wearing an embellished nun habit. It has been a while since Yuki sees her in person. Hence, it surprises no one when Yuki is the one to step up and embrace the nun, an action the woman tentatively returns.

"It has been a while, Godmother."

The nun, bearing the identity of an orphanage mother and the Godmother of Yuki, ever so slightly smile. "Indeed it has, Yuki. From the look of it, you seem to be a bit taller."

The nun then turns to the others behind Yuki. "Good afternoon, everyone."

"You too, Aponia." The others returned the greeting, not surprised that the nun was presented in Blacksite Atlas. Aponia is, and perhaps will forever be, the most powerful psychic ever employed by Belka.

She can easily "convince" others to do her bidding. For the most part, she seems to want the best for everyone. The more precise answer will be the best for the orphaned children that is and were under her care. But her definition of "the best" is skewed due to her mental powers. As such she doesn't shy away from ONI's wetwork.

It's an occupation that most would think unbefitting of her holy attire. Aponia is a tall woman with light brown hair. Her blue eyes are usually bowed down, like in reverence. She wears a long white veil with thorns and flowers accenting the sides. She has a tight white turtleneck with a butterfly brooch extending around a blue gem on her chest. There are various cross-like symbols over her body.

She has black and puffy sleeves which end in white cuffs. Her shorts are white and frilly. From her torso down to her feet, she dons a long black cloth with golden accessories. Connecting to her back is a long robe that resembles blue butterfly wings. There are much shorter, wilted, butterfly wings connected to the black piece. Her heeled boots are a simple white. Yuki would dare to argue that the nun habit, despite its oddly sinful design, accentuated Aponia well enough that any other dress would pale in comparison.

Having taken a moment to admire Aponia's visage, Yuki soon brings up the reason why they're all here. "Are the prisoners ready for processing, Aponia?" The Marshal sports a smile that doesn't reach her ruby-red eye.

Aponia answers softly. "That they're, Marshal. But please excuse my presumptuousness, are you sure you want to follow this through? If it's just for intelligence gathering, you need only trust me and not dirty your hands with their undesirable blood." Though it was soft-spoken, Yuki could see that Aponia was upset.

Yuki raises a hand, touching the medical eyepatch that covers up her left eye. Smiling in reassurance, Yuki replies. "Thanks for worrying about me, Godmother. But it's fine. The action that I am about to take will be a necessity in the future. The Sardegnians only hasten the process by trying to lay their grubby hands on my love." Nearing the last part, Yuki said it with a veiled-anger.

Hearing the conviction in Yuki's tone, Aponia bows in reverence. "Then please, follow me, Marshal. The scientists will be taken to the observation room by Ms. Agent."

After exchanging a few words of comfort, the group splits into two, with Yuki and her guards following after Aponia, thus reaching a reinforced bulkhead. Behind the blastproofed doors are eight Sardegnian females. The unfortunate subjects that will come to bear Yuki's wrath. One may even say that she is the daughter of The Devil for a reason.

"Please, open the door for the Marshal." The standing guards that stood by the door nod mutedly. They then move to activate a keypad, inputting the passwords and palm prints before opening the heavy metallic door with a press of a button. As the door opens up to the sides, the guards raise their weapons, moving to secure the room before Yuki can step in.

Accompanied by Aponia, Yuki comes to see the eight detained prisoners in all of their disgrace. They're the Crusaders who dared to have harmful intentions for Elysia. The veils they used before were removed, revealing their pretty faces if not for Yuki feeling repulsion and fury at the sight of their gagged, and blindfolded appearance. Their bodies are draped in mana diffusion mental-patient costumes, tied and bolted onto operating tables for dangerous subjects. To prevent them from even thinking about escaping, a specific surgery was made on each of them, thus revealing their beating hearts that are attached to micro-explosives. Coincidentally, the operation leaves their ribcages wide open, they're only kept alive because the tables they're tied to are responsible for keeping them alive.

Cruel and queasy, yes. Is this necessary, of course. Yuki revels in the sight of their scared and paled faces as they listen and feel their beating hearts out in the open. Nonetheless, Yuki easily stemmed the feeling, that it's not necessary and she still has work to do.

Turning to the security member in charge of detaining these Crusaders, Yuki speaks up. "Remove their gags and blindfolds. If they attempt anything, weapons free." Yuki does not want to deal with any potential surprise. She is angry, but her feeling does not cloud her judgment.

One by one, a guard removes the items from the Crusaders. Some immediately take in deep breaths, praying to their Lord. Others try to maintain a semblance of calmness, one that they obviously fail when their ribcages are still cut open. Either way, the collective assessment will be that: They're all afraid.

Yuki can confidently say that despite all of their training, not one Crusader has dealt with this grim situation in their relatively short life. She is proud that ONI's interrogation repertoire and prisoner-detaining techniques are improving at a fast pace.

Yuki levels a cold smile at the captives, moving forward to a stainless steel table that is bolted onto the floor. Pulling out a chair for herself, casting an audible screeching noise that shocks and grabs the attention of the Crusaders, the Marshal then sits down on it, putting her right leg over the other while linking her fingers together. For five whole minutes, Yuki maintains her gaze on the offending group. Despite the look, her uncovered eye betrays no emotion that the Crusaders can gleam into.

Finally, it's the Crusaders that break first. One of them, hanging by the leftmost, nearly hysterically screamed out. "D-Devi-!"

Yuki just raises a finger to mouth, shushing the woman into a scared silence. Somehow, the sound Yuki makes can be heard clearly by their ears, a brush of non-existent wind seems to blow into their ear canals. "Can you all hear that?" Yuki asked a rhetorical question, putting a palm by her left ear.

Yuki maintains her collected smile. "That was the scream of a desperate, and borderline madness of a woman. Having chosen the wrong master to serve, such a fine, young lady is now coming face-to-face with the Devil they're preached about. A most unfortunate circumstance if not for the reasons behind it." Yuki mocks a sigh. "I lament your current situation..."

"Nah." Yuki shrugs. "That was most certainly a lie of the highest order. I am relishing it."

Yuki beckons with her hand. "Go on, continue your vain attempt a resisting. You can't fight, you can't run, you can only scream. Your voices will be music to my ears."

Unfortunately for Yuki, the Crusaders are stunned and muted after Yuki gives what can only be an insane speech from their point of view.

Yuki raises an eyebrow at their collective silence. "I am disappointed, to think the revered A-rank Crusaders are breaking under mere psychological pressure. Seeing your disparaged state, I would argue that you wouldn't even be able to stand up to Natasha Ciora, must less your Saint, Kallen Kaslana."

The mention of the two renowned Crusaders immediately brings out the feeling of spite in the leader of the prisoners. "Tsk! They're traitors, traitors will be judged before the Lord! Much like you Devils who will be cast into Hell!"

Yuki immediately laughs at the attempt to act brave." On whose authority? You?" Yuki lays her gaze on the leader. "Need I remind you that you're the one bound to a bomb after being defeated in less than thirty seconds by one person? If the A-rankers are this useless, I don't think Sardegna will be able to survive a month beneath our iron treads and boots."

Before the leader can refuse, however, Yuki stands up, moving behind the Crusader's bounded form. Just the fact that they cannot see Yuki due to their heads being tied to the front, rings alarm bells as their hearts beat wildly. Yuki just smirks. "Fascinating, isn't it? With your hearts out in the open, I can immediately ascertain what you're all feeling."

Yuki then lowers her mouth by the leader's ear. "Excuse my impolite wordings, but honestly, do you know how fucked you are?" The question makes even the leader's eyebrows shoot up in mild panic.

"You're detained, hopeless. Your hearts are wired with explosives and the only thing keeping you alive are the tables you're bound to. You all had played a very, very stupid game. And now, you will be winning an exceptionally stupid prize."

Giving the leader a few pats on the shoulders, Yuki moves back to her chair, saying. "I am saying this with full honesty, Girl Scout's honor, that normally, we don't treat our captives with such... Fine cares. You've landed yourself into this mess because you dared touch my girl, my Elysia." Yuki emphasized the name of her pink elf.

"For that fault, you are captured and are now obligated to offer us all the military intelligence you have. Normally, Aponia here will be in charge of extracting valuable information from HVTs like you. But due to your transgression of the highest order, I will be dishing out the punishment myself." Yuki gestured to the Aponia who was dutifully standing by her side. She also need not check to know that her entourages are also nearby, monitoring everything she has done and will do.

The sight of Aponia in her nun habit brings about an uncomfortable chill due to her unfathomable eyes. Yuki then smiles a devious one.

"I will break you, destroy you, stripping you down to your core to get what I want. I need not knowing your name, your rank, your affiliation, for the moment you resist you will die a nameless death! Forgotten into the annal of time!"

Yuki then gestures to the leftmost Crusader. "Now then, my dear, will you kindly sing for me?" If one is to pay attention, Yuki does not need to ask them anything in the first place.

The whole thing is just a ruse.

And the Crusaders fall for it. "Don't give them anything, the Lord will protect us!" The leader snapped out of her fear momentarily to advise her subordinates.

Yuki smirks at that, removing her eyepatch and saying. "I was waiting for this."

The Crusaders are shocked when Yuki bears her clockwork eye for all to see. Gifted to her by Yggdra, it's time for this world to bear witness to one of the most potent primal forces of all: Time.

"Die for me please?" Yuki tilted her head cutely with a sickening giggle. Her left eye now shone a merciless gold as the clock hands in it started spinning counter-clockwise. The moment that happens, the Crusader to the far left starts screaming in pain and despair as her body, her clothes, her bondings, and even the bomb in her heart... Start reducing down to fine ash, to atoms. That Crusader is literally torn apart, first is her physical body then goes the energies that make up of her very beings. From her feet to her head, the Crusader disappears completely amidst maddening screams, this happens in just one, agonizing minute. Bombarding the remaining Crusaders with hopelessness and utter horror.

Finally, the collective particles that are broken down then fly next to Yuki. Much to the Crusaders' shock, the particles begin to form into a shape, a visage of a living person. Eventually, much to their distress, another Marshal, another Yuki, is born from the death of one of them. Turning to scan the other version of herself, the first Yuki smiles, raising a hand to caress the cheek of the other one. "Hello there, me."

Her other self returns a devious smirk, leaning into the palm. "Hi there, me."

"How's the efficiency of the conversion?" Yuki asked herself.

"A mere 10%. The extracted life force is barely enough to cover half of the portion that was lost from your wounds years ago."

Yuki nods, commenting. "Less than expected but still within the margin of error. You're free to go."

Waving at Yuki, her other self bids goodbye. "You know where to find me. Ciao~!"

Then, in a burst of black and red, a portal swallows the other Yuki, leaving behind the original whose grin promises a fate worse than death to the Crusaders.

"Well then, there goes one of you." Yuki lightly spoke as if she had not just supplanted the entire world on its head. "I have an entire week to spare. This means that each day, I will be coming to convert one of you into, well, me~! Your bodies, your souls, will be my nourishment."

Understandably, her words cause the Crusaders to feel a pit in their stomachs. A couple of them even pass out, horrified by what they have just witnessed. While others, the leader included, pray to their Lord above to save their souls.

Yuki carries on as if nothing happened, clapping her hands together. "Now, I will leave you to stew in your own miseries. Perhaps you will give me all the answers I need tomorrow. But truthfully, I hope you will continue your fruitless resistance. One way or another, we will extract everything from you. Bye-bye ~!"

With a smile mirroring that of her mama Lu, Yuki turns away and walks out of the containment cell. Aponia and her guards follow soon after before while a few move to put the gags and blindfolds back on the captives. Finally, with everybody out, the bulkhead seals itself, placing the Crusaders under a spell of darkness without a shred of warmth, waiting for their next encounter with the Daughter of The Devil.

Truly, a fate worse than Death.