Naenia!
Get away from her, now!
Naenia?
Oh my, is that your name?
That's simply what they call me.
Is it now?
Never mind that. Sit.
The food is here, Noé.
What is this?
She...
No, that thing...
It took Louis from me!
Mademoiselle Chloé.
Are you the Beast of Gévaudan?
Rumor has it, the Beast is a curse-bearing vampire.
If so, then that thing, Naenia, has robbed you of your true name.
How can you sit right next to her with a smile?
Because it is what I wanted.
What?
It was the price for my wish.
I became a curse-bearer of my own free will.
For a wish?
That's right.
There are some names I'm just dying to have.
But with vampires as powerful as Chloé,
I can't simply take their names by force.
So I politely ask,
"Would you give me your true name if I grant you a wish?"
The same is true for you, Noé.
I've tried so many times but have failed to obtain your true name.
You're quite the challenge.
That is why I must ask you, too.
Tell me, Noé.
What wish is worth the price of giving me your true name?
Did you...?
Did you say the same to Louis, too?
Louis, is there something I can do?
What can I do to help you?!
Noé...
I... am...
What the hell are you?!
What do you want?!
Why are you doing this?!
Why steal true names?!
Stop this!
Stop stealing them!
Give him back. Now!
Give Louis back to Domi and me!
Listen to me.
I don't care for children who waste food.
"The Case Study of Vanitas"
Why'd you have to do that?
Forgive me.
Chloé gets scary when she's mad.
Remember that.
Where is Mademoiselle Chloé now?
She's with that black shadow.
You should stay away for now.
I know, but...
We cannot allow her to remain with that dangerous--
You dump food on the floor, yet your stomach growls?
I truly am sorry.
This was left over.
You can help clean up.
Did you make this?
I did.
And you mended my clothes, too?!
That's right.
How extraordinary!
You're extraordinary, Jean-Jacques!
Is there nothing you can't do?
This is so delicious! It truly is!
R-Really?!
There's nothing extraordinary about it.
I've simply been tending to Chloé's needs all this time.
I can't cook or sew to save my life.
Hat's off to you!
Listen, I wish to thank you, Jean-Jacques.
You saved Murr and me, but I never expressed my gratitude till now.
I must beg your forgiveness once more.
I'd like to make a proper introduction.
My name is Noé.
What's the hand for?
Huh?
If you want more soup, get it yourself.
I wanted to shake your hand.
No one's ever asked to shake my hand.
How much do you know about the House of d'Apchier?
Only what was in the dossier you gave me.
Their family line died out in the aftermath of the Beast's rampage.
Yeah, but there's more.
The d'Apchiers were conducting research on the World Formula,
even though the Church forbade it.
Their work produced the Alteration Engine, a device for altering the World Formula.
That is what gave rise to the Beast of Gévaudan.
So the question is what should or can be done?
Is that why both vampires and humans are so interested in this?
Most likely.
So, where did you hear all this?
Whose orders are you acting under?
Sir Francis Varney,
aka the Clockwork Fiend Marquis Machina.
I see.
Marquis Machina tasked me with getting you involved in this,
no doubt because you are a member of the Blue Moon Clan.
He also wants to know whether the Alteration Engine really exists.
And if possible, I'm to find it and bring it to him.
Herman d'Apchier, the last head of the family,
his wife, their children, and his siblings...
They are all dead.
The only remaining member of the d'Apchiers is Chloé.
Jean-Jacques, how long has Mademoiselle Chloé been here?
She was always here.
Long before the Beast of Gévaudan reared its head,
Chloé was here watching over each generation of the d'Apchier family.
Why are you and your people here?
Are you here to do Chloé harm?
My enemy is Naenia, not Chloé.
Yet you seek to take that black shadow away from her.
Naturally!
Who knows what might happen to Mademoiselle Chloé if nothing is done?
Van-- I mean, my traveling companion may have the power
to restore Chloé's true name.
I will bring him here and--
To do what?
Are you sure it's a good idea to leave Noé and that boy together?
Yes, it is a rare opportunity.
Jean-Jacques should have a friend or two.
Chloé said it was her choice to have her true name taken.
She had been crying every day until that shadow appeared.
There was nothing I could do.
I absolutely can't stand when someone touches what's mine without asking.
You're very mature, aren't you?
Not at all.
If that is what Chloé wishes,
and it keeps her from weeping, I'll make peace with it.
I shall be with Chloé till the very end, even if it means oblivion.
You may not see it, but I am a terribly jealous woman.
The scars left by Babel finally began to fade
in the latter half of the 16th century.
Listen to me, Chloé.
No one outside these walls must ever learn that you are a vampire.
Yes, Father.
I awoke one day to find that I was a vampire.
I believe once Babel rendered the World Formula unstable,
it began having an effect on this world, too.
Don't worry. Everything will be fine.
I will make you human again.
Yes, Father.
My body stopped aging after I turned 11.
People were told that Chloé d'Apchier had fallen ill and died.
From that day, the d'Apchiers' Vampire was hidden away.
At our castle deep in the mountains,
my father gathered renowned mages and alchemists to study the World Formula.
Don't worry. It will be all right, Chloé.
I will make you human again.
Make Chloé d'Apchier human again...
My father's last wish gradually transformed with the passage of time.
Unlocking the mysteries of the World Formula
and laying hands upon that which had only been within God's power
became the House of d'Apchier's ardent wish.
I was witness to it all.
I watched over them.
I lived among generations of d'Apchiers.
So you're the legendary Chloé d'Apchier?
You're a vampire, aren't you?
In this day and age,
you should not let that word so readily pass your lips, young lady.
Forgive me.
You are no longer of the age where "mademoiselle" is fitting... madame.
He introduced himself as August.
I had never met another vampire before.
A key element in researching the World Formula
is what to use as the medium for tampering with it.
The d'Apchier family chose sound as their medium.
I see.
You came without even knowing that?
Does your ignorance know no bounds, boy?
Forgive me. Was it rude not to address you as monsieur?
Bravo, Chloé!
I believe we shall be fine friends!
Friends?
If an Alteration Engine that rewrites the World Formula is truly possible,
we could turn this world toward a brighter future!
The world?
This castle and the mountains of Gévaudan surrounding it had been my world.
I knew nothing of the world beyond that and had not given it any thought.
Outside these walls,
vampires are locked in a violent struggle with humans, or should I say, the Church.
Throughout the land, Vampires are being hunted down.
Even humans are being tortured to death over mere suspicions.
In the eyes of the Church, vampires are an abomination worthy only of death.
Whose side are you on, the vampires or humans?
I'm on neither side.
Listen to me, Chloé.
I am just as fond of vampires as I am of humans.
That is why I seek to end the struggle between them at all costs.
That is all I wish.
He spoke his mind in his own words.
I envied him for that.
In time, my friend went away,
and I found myself eagerly awaiting his return.
My name is Jeanne! It's nice to meet you!
There is an assembly I wish to attend with this child's parents.
I'd like to place her in your care for now.
Stop that, Jeanne!
Come back. We mustn't be outside.
I spotted a most wonderful place from my window.
Let's go together, Chloé!
No, wait.
Jeanne?! Where are you?!
Got you!
It was the first time I ignored my father's bidding
and was embraced by the scents of earth, wind, and flowers.
It was the first time I saw the sky so big, blue, and beautiful.
Everything about that day was so extraordinarily new.
I'll look forward to the day when I can see how you've grown, Jeanne.
Mm-hmm.
So it was that August took Jeanne back to her parents.
I haven't heard from her since.
I worried that something had happened to her,
but I could not go see her.
I cannot abandon my family.
Even though humankind may very well abandon you?
Chloé.
August!
Chloé, how fares your research?
What?
Is the Alteration Engine complete?
I was wrong.
I thought they could be reasoned with.
But they cannot. I was wrong from the start.
As such, I must set things right.
But to do that, Chloé, I shall need the d'Apchiers' research!
No.
You can't have it, August.
N-No, stop!
Don't do this, August!
Swear to me.
Swear you will use that power of yours, the knowledge of d'Apchiers, as I command!
Begone from here, August!
Each head of the d'Apchier family pinned his hope upon this research.
It is the whole reason I remain here!
Chloé, I...
That was when I lost my very first friend forever.
I would later receive a letter from one who claimed to be August's friend.
That was when I learned the war between human and vampire kind was over.
The letter said the main architect of the peace was August.
He had done all he could to ascend all the way to the Senate.
It seems you achieved your dearest wish, August.
So it was that I continued my research alone, decade after decade.
I wonder if Jeanne is doing well.
This won't do. I mustn't lay about here.
I must complete the Alteration Engine soon.
Then again, to what end?
Why do I do this?
You're lonely, aren't you?
You're so lonely, you can't help it.
You'd do anything to escape that.
It would have been better if you had never known the outside world
or the beautiful blue sky.
That way, you would have never known how alone you truly are.
You must've realized by now.
Gévaudan is a cage that locks you away.
You must destroy it if you wish to end your solitude.
Stop.
--Bare your fangs, not your wings.
--Stop this. --Bare your fangs, not your wings.
--Stop this. --Don't be a little bird.
Become a beast.
Enough!
Jeanne?
Yes, that's right. Near Les Hubacs.
I heard a young maiden was killed.
They say her name was Jeanne.
Her entrails had been devoured, perhaps by a wolf or some other beast.
No, that was just a nightmare.
Which one is the nightmare?
Me or the world in which you live?
Poor little Chloé, what is it you wish?
Lonely little Chloé, what would you like to do?
--Enough.
--Tell me. --Enough.
Enough.
What do you truly wish?
Enough!
At last, the time has come.
My wish will finally be granted.
So, you really will go through with this, Chloé?
What the hell's that light?!
Now I have you, Chloé d'Apchier.
"The d'Apchiers' Vampire"
"The Beast"