Queen's Blade Rebellion Illustrated Stories: Upheaval, chapter 4

So, next chapter, originally posted here. Since that's Annelotte's dark side right there, you know things are going to get messy.
Let me know if you spot any mistake, and enjoy!



Upheaval, chapter 4: Demon Blood Again

"Big bro, stop! It has to be a trap!"
"I understand. Still..."
According to the information they got on the early morning of that day, a supply convoy had met with an ambush from the Queen's Army and had become isolated.
Although their misunderstanding had been settled and Tarnyang and Sainyang held back and became their comrades once again, if they simply stood and watched, it was evident they'd be crushed before the overwhelming enemy.
However, against Yuit's complaint that they shouldn't go to fight, Annelotte shook her head and replied.
"Still, I can't abandon our comrades.... if we do, I feel that the meaning of the fight will be lost."
"...Okay, if big bro says so... but, make me a promise."
"A promise?"
"Yes, take me with you. Then, when the soldiers move, everybody will come forth. Even with our halved military power, we'll launch ourselves and turn the tables on them."
"Thank you... Yuit"
Annelotte extended her hand and patted Yuit's head.
Yuit smiled from ear to ear, but still had a somewhat proud look.
"Then... come, Ambrosius, and let's go!"
In response to her call, the spirit horse Ambrosius materialized into the empty space, braying loudly.
"Let's go, we'll use our full strength and rescue our comrades!"

---

Annelotte’s party arrived in time to achieve said goal.
The place where the supply unit was ambushed was a straight road, surrounded by a cliff on one side and a canyon on the other.
Because of the surprise attack from above the cliff proposed by Yuit, confusion arose among the Queen's Army which was surrounding Tarnyang’s party, and they successfully used the chance to rejoin them.
Choosing a wedge formation to cross through the siege, it seemed like their strategy to escape had been a success.
However, the plan was still too optimistic, to say the least.
Their enemy, the Queen’s Army, had sent out the strongest warrior amongst them, in order to crush Annelotte’s party.
"Vante! Stop that girl, the "Hyper Vibration Valkyrie" Mirim!"
"Gaoonn!"
"Hyaa… D, don’t come, please don’t comee!"
Turning towards Mirim, who easily cut down Tarnyang and Sainyang, Vante charged.
"No matter if her body is strengthened, this should be effective! Vante, Sonic Blast!"
"Ga, ga, ga, a, a, aaaaaaaaa!"
The shout released out of Vante’s mouth acted as a shock wave, and hit Mirim full on!
"Hyaa! S, Shuut uuup!"
Mirim grabbed both her ears and crouched down.
Seeing their chance then, Annelotte shouted.
"Now! We’re retreating now! Those who can move, go and help the injured!"
The soldiers from the Rebel Army started running, aiming for the breaktrough.
But, screams and blood splashes rose from the battle, and the soldiers fell noisily.
"Hey, you know this just can’t be, fufu, since we were told by Sister Claudette to crush the Rebel Army."
Laughing before them, gazing at the fallen soldiers, was the "Leader of the Fang" Elina.
"What…! Just Mirim was difficult enough...!"
Yuit turned pale, and seeing her chance in that moment of hesitation:
"Teyaaaah!"
"Gaoon!"
Mirim regained the freedom of her body, and cut Vante down.
"Vante! B, Big bro…!"
Annelotte caught the look on Yuit’s eyes, and gnashed her teeth.
Because of her imprudence, was she to lose comrades again?
Abandoning her comrades, would she shut herself up in the castle?
If she had more… more power!
A person heard the murmurs in Annelotte’s mind.
It was someone in the inner depths of Annelotte’s heart, who could barely suppress a chuckle while it whispered.
"I assume, I can take your place?"
"Who… who are you?"
"I am you. "Possessed Knight Annelotte." In spite of being bloodthirsty and starving for a fight, you can’t find a reason to swing your blade and kill your opponent, so I’ll kill them on your behalf… I’m your other self!"
"No, no! I just… so I can… protect… my comrades…"

---

As a black tornado occurred in the middle of the battlefield, the "Inquisitor" Sigui observed the situation from a distance.
"That’s.... what a sinister-looking energy...."
Clutching the mace with the holy mark tightly in her hands, she muttered a prayer to God.
Wasting no time, she clearly understood what was happening among the confusion in the battlefield.
Before anyone noticed, the beautiful silver hair of the "Princess Knight" Annelotte had changed into a jet black color, and she was attacking her enemies with a strength that surely seemed beyond a human’s.
...No, it wasn’t just her enemies.
Anybody standing in her way, not caring if it was friend or foe.
That’s how she was fighting.

"I never took it at face value, but it seems the"Princess Knight" Annelotte being a demon is not a lie after all…"
"Miss Sigui."
Awaiting behind Sigui, the priest fighters called out to her as they watched the situation.
Sigui nodded towards them in agreement, and said.
"Let’s go. To those who fail to see the light of god, it’s our duty as the terrestrial representatives of God to hand down divine punishment."

---

""Holy Pose", "Worship"!"
Sigui entered the battlefield with a loud proclamation, raising her nun garbs slowly and praying to God, and settled in an instant the confusion which was governing the battlefield up till then.
Everybody there, no matter if they were friend or foe, postrated themselves before Sigui, who stood up exposing her underwear.
That was the "Holy Power", a manifestation of the miracles of God.
"Gaoon!"
Being a mechanical woman made from alchemy, known as the "Alchemy Miracle" Vante, she wasn’t affected by the effect of Sigui’s Holy Pose.
But, Yuit couldn’t help but to kneel before Sigui against her will, and couldn’t give her a command.
Therefore, Vante had to stay upright, waiting for an order.
"Wa, wait, why can’t we help kneeling? This isn’t logical!"
"Fuwawa… I, I can’t move…!"
Even Elina, along with the Queen’s Army she commanded, and Mirim were kneeling just like the Rebel Army.
"Before the majesty of God, there are no friends or foes."
Sigui spoke to those admiring the effects she herself had brought about.
"Besides… Mirim, you’re an evil warrior who uses alchemy. Just the same as those wild heretics. It wouldn’t be strange for me to put you on "trial"!"
"Hiuu! I, I’m not… But I’ve prayed a lot, and back in my hometown, I even went to church together with my siblings!"
"Then, I’ll have to "educate" you carefully so that you don’t stray from the path again."
Sigui smiled gently. But, feeling something ominous from her smile, Mirim shivered.
"I heard the Rebel Army was a wicked army, being led by a demon ringleader, with a heretic strategist who used alchemy, and who had won over savage tribesmen as comrades… clearly, all the rumors were true."
"Hey! Who’s a savage tribesman from the country! "
"Tarnyang, this is no time to interfere…"
"Uneducated savages… still… It seems I have to be her opponent now."
Sigui turned around, and faced the knight princess, the only person who would be able to escape the restraint from the "Holy Pose".
"U…gh, gu… uh."
Gritting her teeth, eyes sparkling, Annelotte slowly rose up.
"As expected from a demon… wouldn’t you say? Shaking free from God’s restraints enough to move, that’s not something an ordinary person can do."
Sigui slowly prepared her mace.
"S, stop! Big bro isn’t evil! Because, it was the Queen’s Army who attacked us!"
"In that case… Assuming a bear attacked a human village, would you leave it at large just because it came looking for food?"
Sigui ignored Yuit’s scream.
"Besides… if the opponent is a demon, as an "Inquisitor", leaving them at large would be equivalent to sin."
Muttering in order to persuade herself, Sigui then turned toward Annelotte, and proclaimed loudly.
""Possessed Knight" Annelotte, veredict, guilty. As is appropriate, my humble self will burn you at the stake!"
"Oooooh!... Kill, kill, kill!"
Annelotte, with disheveled, jet black hair after she transformed due to the manifestation of her demonic blood, closed her distance with Sigui.
Chink! Sigui’s mace parried away Annelotte’s sword, the "Grim Venus".
"Eat this!"
Throwing off sparks, the "Grim Venus" changed its form from a sword into a spear, altered its trajectory, and tried to land a thrust on Sigui.
"As expected from a demon’s weapon, I can’t be careless… But, I’m the strongest!"
Sigui shouted while twisting her body, and the chain coiled around her waist extended, twined around Annelotte’s spear and took it.
"Guuh!"
As her wrist was twisted, Annelotte let out a groan of pain. After the chain coiled around her hands and took the spear, it was hurled away.
Swoosh!
"Hyaa!"
The spear flew through the air and landed blade first into the ground close to Yuit, who let out a scream.
"W, what are you doing, that’s dangerous!"
"If it hit you, it’d save me the time to burn you at the stake."
Sigui replied with an unconcerned look. Before her eyes, Annelotte was standing the pain well, but her prey wouldn’t be snatched away.
"So, prepare yourself."
Step by step, Sigui approached Annelotte.
As long as she could get closer, with the power of her Holy Mace she could sentence Annelotte to burn at the stake.
"Gu, gu, gu…!"
Resigning to her impending death, Annelotte kneeled on the ground.
"Big bro…!"
Yuit shouted with a grim voice.
"But…! You can’t die, big bro, big broo!"
Was it that her voice reached her ears, or was it the survival instinct of a demon?
"U…o, o, oooooooh!"
Howling as loudly as she could, Annelotte grasped her fist tightly and hit the ground under her feet!
Thuuump!
"A vain struggle, isn’t it… eh, w, what!"
Sigui dropped her mace, and raised her voice in amazement.
Rrrumble… Resounding from behind the cliff, a sound like a rumble could be heard from the ground.
"It, it can’t be… the power of a demon, is this strong…!"
The cliff collapsed, as the ground broke and fell into the canyon.
Sigui muttered while her face became pale due to the current situation.
"You realized you were going to die, so you tried to take me down as well… but that won’t happen. How fitting is it that only you and your renegade comrades will die here!"
"W, what a disaster! As we are now, everybody will fall into the bottom of the valley, we must run away!"
"Hauuu, I, I can’t move my body!"
"…That girl from before, she hasn’t freed herself yet."
"Sainyang! I’ll explain later!"
"Vante! Help the others!"
"Gaoo!"
Among the chaos, Yuit freed her body and wrote commands on her device to control Vante without delay, but it was a moment too late.
"Kyaaaaaa!"
Except for Sigui’s subordinate soldiers that escaped quickly, the soldiers of both the Queen’s Army and the Rebel Army still remained.
All of them fell into the canyon, along with the collapsing rubble…

---

"Annelotte, 0 points."
As her consciousness faded, she recalled the words of the teacher who had once taught Annelotte well.
It was certainly a rare morning for it to be snowing on the teacher’s forest.
The teacher had thrown a snowball at Annelotte, and as Annelotte had tried to parry it with her sword, her face had gotten covered with snow.
Seeing that, her teacher had said so.
"My pupil. As you know, your sword is made for cutting. But, even if you wanted to cut the snowball, it split into two and hit your face. Do you understand?"
"So, what am I supposed to do?"
Annelotte had asked defiantly, and when her teacher had said to throw a snowball at her, she had done just that.
"Eii!"
And then, she had stared in wonder.
Her teacher had swung the sword lightly, diverting the snowball’s trajectory without splitting it, and it had fell by her teacher’s side.
"If you cut everything that you hit, the sword won’t accomplish half of its role. Cut whatever you should cut, and don’t cut whatever you shouldn’t cut. Any person able to do that is a swordsman worthy of 100 points."
"How can I do that?"
"Become strong."
Her teacher had answered carelessly.
"If you’re weak, you can’t cut what should be cut. If you’re halfway strong, you’ll cut what shouldn’t be cut, and you’ll probably be tortured by regret."
After saying that, her teacher had added with a whiff of a smile.
"It’s on this year that I've understood that as well. Because of that, you mustn't stop even though hardships may appear, just do your best now."
And finally, her teacher had said.
"Don’t get drunk on "power", Annelotte. Whatever your sword cuts, it absolutely must be under your own control."
Teacher… I am, useless…
My sword… I couldn’t suppress the impulse of destruction…
My inner self… rather, my other self…
The demon blood… that, I won’t forgive…

-To be continued-



It's the first time Alleyne appears directly in these stories, in a scene that wouldn't show up in the OVA, but since she remains unnamed, I guess she really is doomed not to appear in Rebellion.
About the Holy Pose Sigui uses, it was previously translated as "Holy Pose: Service", but given its actual effect, "Worship" is more fitting.
And on the fall, if I understood it right, it's just Annelotte and random soldiers from both sides who end up falling.

If you want to know if Annelotte makes it out of this, don't miss the next chapter!