The old man was named Gilles de Rais. He had once been the bodyguard and close companion of Joan during her journey as the warrior maiden, but he had lost his life to the French council just before Joan was sentenced to die. He was summoned into this game to serve as Joan's master.
Gilles knew that the gods could not be trusted. Was it not the gods that promised them victory with one hand and then led Joan to the pyre to be burned with the other? No, Gilles refuses to trust the gods for anything ever again. Instead, Gilles would perform a ritual for Joan to live again in this world. He would give her a second chance at life, away from the machinations of the gods.
For the ritual to be successful, Gilles needed to kill a thousand humans and use their blood as a catalyst to allow Joan to regain her former strength. Once the ritual was over, she would have enough strength to destroy all their enemies.
Gilles walked out into the pool of blood and scooped out a bowl of blood, carrying it over to one of the walls of the museum. That wall was covered from top to bottom in various shapes and circles drawn using blood.
"We shall bring the fight to the gods and erase them. They will pay for what they have put us through."
Gilles whispered with a small smile on his face as he continued drawing on the wall. The museum was slowly filled with the morning sunlight, illuminating him and showing the truly grotesque scene all around the art museum. His body was bony and malnourished because he hadn't eaten in the last four days, but that was of little matter to him.
The bodies hanging from the ceiling filled the room with a deep, pungent scent of blood that would make any normal person heave in disgust. The priceless paintings and sculptures in the museum had all been dyed red with blood, and there wasn't a single part of the room that hadn't been covered in red.
"Gilles. Gilles, water."
"Oh, my mistress! At once!"
Gilles heard Joan speak up quietly and he quickly turned around and threw the bowl to the ground! He ran up to her and took a bottle of water from the side. Gilles did not understand much of this world, but he had to admit that it was much easier to get food and water here than it was in his time.
Gilles brought the water to Joan's mouth and made her drink, ensuring that she was satisfied before bringing the water down slowly. Joan coughed once and Gilles quickly brought up a cloth and cleaned her mouth. Once he was done, Joan spoke quietly.
"Thank you, Gilles. You are truly my most loyal retainer."
"There is someone here. It is him, Mark Vanitas."
Gilles felt fury surge through his body as he heard that! Mark Vanitas was here! It was time for them to end this! He had to finish him off once and for all! Gilles felt his entire body vibrate in anticipation as he planned to go out there and kill Mark!
"Stay here, my lady! I shall go and bring you his head!"
"No, Gilles, wait! Do not be foolish, you don't stand a chance against him. Bring him to me, I wish to talk to him."
Gilles was already halfway out the door by the time he heard what Joan said, and he forced himself to calm down as he turned to her.
"My lady?"
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Joan was obviously struggling to speak, but she tried her best to explain after catching her breath.
"Maybe he will understand and we can come to an agreement. He is strong, the gods would not want him otherwise. He will be a good ally to have in our war against the gods. Bring him to me."
It was obvious that Gilles did not agree with this. He looked a little offended by the fact that Joan would want to speak to Mark at all. It was as though Joan was saying that he was not enough support for her and she needed someone new. But Gilles did not dare to speak up against Joan.
Gilles bowed in reluctant agreement and went off to meet Mark.
Outside the museum, Mark was standing on top of a tall pillar east of the building as he surveyed the region. There were a lot of people around the building, but Mark could already tell that these people were not normal. None of them were moving; they all stood perfectly still like statues guarding the entrance to the building.