A heartless woman

Going back in time an hour, Mimoko, Iori, and Carol found themselves staring down Horner and a girl with a hideous haircut.

While Horner naturally caused Carol to tremble, the presence of the girl caused her to hyperventilate like crazy. "It's her... the one from my college days... Imelda Berrinche."

She quickly fell to the floor clutching her jaw as traumatic memories from her first encounter with Imelda came flooding back into her.

...

It was August of 2018, and Carol had just been enrolled at an elite college in Washington DC at the instance of her mother. She was required to hit it off big with the college's powerful political club, but her edgy and playful personality ended up singling her out for extensive reeducation. It all started at a mock debate, where Carol was asked an important question.

"Miss Broadstone, why should we elect you president of the United States of America over the heartless old fossil, Wiley Frisch?" Imelda smiled.

Carol grinned and happily took the mic. "Well duh. I get elected, I post my nudes. Oh, and everyone who voted for me gets to grope my breasts on inauguration day."

The next thing she knew, Carol was on the ground bleeding and quickly losing consciousness along with all her teeth, to Imelda's kicks.

"YOU HEARTLESS TRASH! HOW DARE YOU UTTER SUCH DEGENERACY FROM YOUR LIPS!" Imelda fumed as she kicked Carol's teeth in.

"IH UZ US A OKE [IT WAS JUST A JOKE]!"

"We don't joke like that! Heartless degenerate trash does!"

"I AN ACK OKES [I CAN CRACK JOKES]!"

"NO YOU CAN'T! In fact, it seems you are in dire need of reeducation in compassion."

"O [No] I-"

Imelda quickly shut Carol up with another kick to the jaw. At this point, Carol had no teeth left, and would require medical attention for her jaw, however, Imelda didn't care.

"Oi, could ya stop beating up that girl?" a voice rang up.

Everyone turned to notice a boy with squinty eyes and a bowlcut. The boy was Christian Barnes, the man who would eventually become Carol's boyfriend and die protecting her.

"Back off you heartless filth. This heartless wretch is being disciplined for breaking the law," Imelda glared.

"And what law did she break?"

"MULTIPLE!"

"All she did was make a funny joke, and unironically, I'd vote for her."

"FOUL DEGENERATE! HOW DARE YOU!"

"Right back at you. You're beating that girl to death."

"Absolute compassion has NO tolerance for heartlessness! Did you not hear Manny's latest speech!? If we are to be compassionate, we must be ABSOLUTELY compassionate. NO leeway will be tolerated for heartlessness!"

"You disgust me. You're beating a girl to death, and you rag on about being "compassionate"."

As Christian attempted to help Carol, a wall of students blocked him.

"This woman is Zinnia Broadstone, who hails from the Broadstone family. We will not allow you to taint her any more," a young Clifford Glassblower sneered.

"Yes, it was THIS man who tainted her, thus he must be expelled, EXPELLED!"

Some of the students began chanting "Expel, expel" while most stared in silence.

Imelda began to burst a blood vessel as she angrily popped two cigarettes into her mouth. "Why do I not hear cries against injustice!? Will you stay silent and let this heartless trash pollute our world!? Expel, expel, EVERYONE!"

Everyone meekly joined in the chanting, as Christian let out a sigh.

"Oi, you guys a cult or somethin?" a scantily clad girl asked as she walked up.

Carol's eyes widened as she recognized the girl; she was her favorite streamer, LinZay. A surge of motivation and awe began to overtake her, however, Imelda put a halt to it by knocking her out with a blow to the head.

"Cobbler, you are perhaps the most putrid heartless shit stain tainting this campus," Imelda snarled, venom oozing from her voice.

"Why? Cuz ya got jelly of my "grope a tit" hustle due to your ironin' board physique?"

"HOW COULD YOU DEGRADE YOURSELF TO THE POINT WHERE YOU'D LET DEGENERATES GROPE YOUR BREASTS FOR MONEY!?"

"Cuz it sells, and it felt good. In fact, let me run as that girl's VP."

"Why are you even at this sacred campus?"

"To liven up the place. Everyone's too pissed off and angry these days. We need some more ecchi fun in our lives."

"Excuse me? What word did you just utter?"

""Ecchi" means-"

"IS THAT NEET SPEAK!?"

"'Neet speak'? Uh, it's Japanese-"

"NEET NATION! I hate that country! They're a degenerate NEET nation trying to make NEETs feel good about themselves, and WHAT DO THEY DO!? Spread their heartless degenerate NEET filth worldwide! Their delusional fanboy degenerate, heartless..."

At this point, Imelda had descended into pure nonsensical racist ranting and was immaturely stuffing her mouth full of cigarettes. The crowd had begun to grow uneasy, with some members taking the chance to get out. Even some of the Misericordia die-hards began to get uncomfortable. It was natural to wonder why Imelda felt this way, yet the answer to that, was even more outlandish.

"Huh? 'Why I believe that place is a degenerate NEET nation'!? Because Manny said it's the case!"

Upon hearing that revelation, many of the diehard Misericordia supporters in the crowd immediately began echoing Imelda's rants with renewed vigor. Inspired, or perhaps more so intimidated, by the renewed vigor, others began joining in as well.

Christian shook his head in disappointment and headed off, while Linzay shot Imelda one final glare before heading off as well.

...

Carol awoke to find herself strapped to a chair in a dimly lit room.

"So you're awake. I just finished talking with your mother. She was disappointed to say the least, but sadly not surprised. You were in a degenerate mindset on your way here, which explains why it carried over. Looks like you truly will be tough to reform, but it's a duty I must perform," Imelda glared.

Carol attempted to speak, however her mouth hurt too much to move.

"Oh, and you won't be allowed to get implants until you've been deemed compassionate enough. In the meantime, you'll be given a diet of mashed food. Now, let's fist reacquaint you with our party's core tenements."

As a video featuring Pewler began to play, life vanished from Carol's eyes. "College my ass, this is just a brainwashing facility, and I'm in the hell of it," she somberly thought.

As her consciousness began to fade, she managed to hear Imelda talking on the phone with her mother in the adjacent room.

"I see. You've done a big favor for me, Miss Berrinche."

"Oh it was nothing. I know those heartless ingrates would raise a heartless fuss if you tried to discipline Zinnia the way I've been."

"Yes, clearly a law and precedent that needs to be reformed, though I suppose child protection laws do have some merits as they do help us save children oppressed by heartless trash. Though I guess it's fine leaving the issue of discipline to peers as well. After all, peers can be closer than parents."

"So pleased you're in approval of this."

"No worries, I spoke with Mother Salem, she has given the approval to go as far as need be. Death is even on the table should she be beyond reforming, though if such an option should be required, you'll be required to martyr her in a way to best take down our foes."

"Yes ma'am!"

Upon hearing those words from her own mother, Carol quickly shut down and subsequently submitted to the brainwashing. It was only years later after her encounter with Pewler and subsequent reunion with Christian that she truly freed herself from it.

...

Back in the present, Imelda furiously stuffed a pack of cigarettes in her mouth as she charged for Carol.

Iori quickly blocked her path and blocked her kick, however, it completely shattered her arm, causing her to scream in pain as she fell to the floor.

"YOU FUCKING DEGENERATE NEET TRASH! DIE, DIE, DIE!" Imelda shouted as she began kicking at Iori's head.

Mimoko quickly pulled out the DESPER key Iori had given her and aimed it at Imelda, however, Imelda swatted it away and slugged Mimoko in the face.

"STOP HURTING MY FRIENDS!" Carol cried as she mustered the courage to charge at Imelda.

However, all it took to down her was a kick to the mouth, shattering her jaw and implants instantly.

"It hurt more than I remember. Did she modify her body to become stronger?" Carol thought as she fell to the ground, barely remaining conscious.

Horner meanwhile malevolently smiled at the spectacle. "Imelda truly is a useful pawn. Perhaps she can even kill that Iori girl and Zinnia. That would save us some time, but I need to be careful so that my DESPER doesn't get in range of that DESPER key. I know the one in her hand went flying, but the report Manuel received from Sir Grobhand indicated she likely has a full case of them."

Sheila also watched, but trembled as she struggled to keep a scowl plastered across her face. In the presence of bigwigs like Horner and Imelda, no slip ups would be permitted. No other bystanders were present within the cafe meaning there was no fear of repercussion either.

However, a masked hooded figure suddenly emerged from the back room and approached Imelda. "That's enough. Settle the matter in chess."

Imelda briefly stopped her assault on Iori and turned to face the figure. Mimoko, Iori, and Carol also tried their best to turn towards the figure, and to their surprise, it appeared to be none other than Phantom.

"Oi, you've got some gall showing up here. I heard you dragged one of Manuel's closest allies into a DESPER match and killed her. The hell are you playing at!?" Horner scowled as he stormed over.

"I care not. She was simply a conduit to be used for passage to Okinawa. Now, allow me to settle the matter with chess. Redfield will be arriving soon. We must make haste to leave."

Horner and Imelda scowled but agreed with the reasoning. Phantom then ordered them to drag everyone over to the corner where Iori had played Katie. Once everyone was over there, Phantom activated his DESPER.

The girls quickly found themselves on a train platform in the middle of nowhere. A large angry mob of Pewler supporters were also present. Standing stationary, but hurling insults at the first sign of Mimoko and Carol.

"TRAITOR! HEARTLESS WHORE!"

Horner chuckled as he motioned for the crowd to simmer down. "I echo your sentiment, my comrades, but fear not. Imelda shall vanquish all, starting with the degenerate murderer herself, Iori Ishikiridokoro!"

Everyone turned their attention to the chessboard where Imelda and Iori were seated.

"So I get some payback for my arm. And Mimo-chan and Carol-chan are spectators, yes?" Iori asked as she glanced over at Phantom.

"Correct, as is Jacque Horner. All have consented to the match and being spectators, though wagers are a different story," Phantom stated.

"In that case, I win, my injuries get healed and so do Mimo-chan's and Carol-chans. Oh, and they get warped back home to Kawaguchi, Saitama in Japan."

"Oh if they're part of the wager, then Zinnia Broadstone DIES when you lose, along- No, actually you both get turned into my sheepblossom and join my flock!" Imelda sneered.

Both Carol and Iori immediately declared they'd rather die, causing Imelda to bust a vein as the DESPER accepted their reasoning. However, she calmed down as she smiled evilly and popped two cigarettes in her mouth.

"In that case, you'll both die when you lose, but by being turned into sheepblossom and skinned and cooked alive and have your meat force-fed to Mimoko Inoue."

Carol trembled at the proposal, but Iori grinned and agreed, naturally adding that Imelda would be subject to a similar fate when she lost, but instead of Mimoko being forced to eat her meat, Horner would be. Horner accepted as win or lose, he could spin the tale to his desired narrative.

Imelda let out a puff of smoke and opened the game by moving her pawn to e4.

"Oi, ya mind not smoking in my face?" Iori snarled as she moved her pawn to e5.

"Deal with it!" Imelda sneered as she lit another cigarette and moved her queen to g4.

"How the hell can you smoke so much?," Iori growled as she moved her pawn to g6.

"I got a tobacco immune body thanks to winning a DESPER match, against some trash," Imelda sneered as she moved her bishop to c4.

"What do you mean by that?" Iori asked as she moved her knight to c6.

"Heartless Desperados make for some nice sandbags. Especially when they use their DESPERS, then I get a prize in addition to the elo," Imelda sneered as she moved her knight to c3.

"Then why are you supporting Pewler? He's a Desperado," Iori asked as she moved her pawn to d5.

"That's just flat out lies. Manny's compassion in human form. He's got the biggest heart around and wants to make the world more welcoming and nicer for all," Imelda glared as she moved her queen to f3.

"If you care so much about compassion, why were you beating us to death back in New York city?" Iori glared as she moved her knight to d4.

Imelda began to scowl and popped another cigarette in her mouth. "Traitorous, heartless degenerate trash like her deserves to be burned in a landfill! And degenerate trash like you should join her when I'm done trashing you!" she shouted as she moved her queen to d1.

"Oh, so no compassion for thy enemy. Alright then, you reap what you sow," Iori snarled as she moved her pawn to c6.

The move caused Mimoko to groan while Horner began smirking. "We do show compassion when the heartless see the error of their ways and pledge to reform, just like a cartoon villain does when the hero beats them."

"Yeah, and heroes like Manny always win. So do the good folk like us that support him," Imelda sneered as she moved her knight to f3.

"Nah, I'm gonna kick your ass," Iori glared as she captured the pawn at e4 with her d-pawn.

"No you're not. But don't worry, you'll experience a state of compassion when you turn into a sheepblossom," Imelda sneered as she captured the pawn at d4 with her knight.

"Yeah, no thanks. Hope the DESPER lets me die human instead of as a sheep freak," Iori snarled as she captured the knight at d4 with her e-pawn.

Rage immediately bubbled up in Imelda as she angrily slammed her knight down on b5. "DON'T DISCRIMINATE AGAINST SHEEPBLOSSOM!"

The mob and Horner began berating Iori over her comment. However, Iori paid them no heed and immediately put her pawn down on g7.

"Seems you're beginning to realize you were wrong, now apologize properly," Imelda glared as she captured the pawn at d4 with her knight.

"Uh, why? If you read Glasstone you'd-"

"THAT BOOK WAS MADE TO SLANDER SHEEPBLOSSOM!"

"How exactly?"

"Sheepblossom are able to photosynthesize, and are capable of living greener and healthier lifestyles than humans. Not to mention, they are creatures of compassion. My sister used to work for the peace corps, but then she started berating me for my compassion and slandering Manny. When I told Manny about her, he handled everything perfectly, and the next time I saw my sister, she was a compassionate sheepblossom, and I was given the responsibility to guide her as a shepherd. But a few weeks later, heartless trash murdered her. They were vile degenerates polluting the air with their degeneracy, so I sought to eliminate them, ordering my sister to kill them where they stood! But then, one of those degenerates pulled a gun out and murdered my sister just before she could finish off his buddy. She was so close to ridding the world of him too! The only happy ending about it is that Manny spoke with them and convinced them to embrace the lives of sheepblossom as punishment. Manny told me the two are happily bleating and fighting against heartless trash, just like my sister did."

Iori shot Imelda a glare of pure disgust as she captured the knight at d4 with her bishop. "Guess you're too far brainwashed for reasoning."

"Enlightened is the proper term. Manny's a messiah that will make us all compassionate sheep!" Imelda declared as she popped another cigarette in her mouth before moving her pawn to c3.

"Well if you're a "compassionate" sheep, I'm a heartless wolf," Iori glared as she moved her bishop to b6.

"Villains never win in the end!" Imelda shouted as she moved her pawn to d4.

"My thoughts exactly. En passant!"

Imelda's eye twitched as Iori performed en passant and captured the pawn on d4 with her e-pawn. She immediately descended into rage and began violently popping the rest of the cigarette pack in her mouth.

"Oi, you trying to suffocate us all!?" Iori growled.

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" Imelda shouted as she slammed her bishop down on e3.

Iori accepted the trade and captured said bishop with her bishop, while Imelda captured said bishop with her f-pawn.

"Just as planned," Iori thought as she initiated another bishop trade by moving her bishop to e6.

Imelda accepted and violently captured said bishop with her bishop, sending the piece flying towards Iori, who dodged and captured the bishop on e6 with her f-pawn.

"YOU FUCKING HEARTLESS PIECE OF SHIT! YOU SAY YOU'RE A WOLF, HUH? WELL MANNY'S THE SHEPHERD AND HE'LL TURN YOU INTO A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING, YOU FUCKING TRASH!" Imelda shouted as she slammed her pawn down on b4 and began opening up a new pack of cigarettes.

"Wow, this is perhaps some of the most hysterical brainwashing I've seen yet. Though I'll bite. You said that ponytailed fuck's a shepherd? Well guess you didn't hear him cry wolf three times in a row," Iori snickered as she moved her queen to g5.

"HEARTLESS FILTH LIKE YOU WILL NEVER TRIUMPH OVER GOOD! APOLOGIZE NOW FOR INSULTING MANNY, YOU DEGENERATE NEET NATION WHORE BITCH!" Imelda shouted as she moved her queen to b3.

"Whoa, that's just flat out racism. Think you need a reality CHECK!" Iori snickered as she captured the pawn at e3 with her queen.

"NO! YOU'RE HEARTLESS, HEARTLESS! YOU'RE A MURDERING, NO GOOD, PIECE OF SHIT, DEGENERATE, WHORE, BITCH, FUCK, EVIL, HEARTLESS PIECE OF SHIT!" Imelda shouted as she shoved a third pack of cigarettes into her mouth before moving her king to f1.

Unbeknownst to Imelda, she had actually been a bit accurate in her insult, however, there was no weight behind her words, just petty rage. Her stuffing her mouth full of cigarettes also added to her immaturity.

"Tell me one thing, what do you mean by that insult?" Iori glared as she moved her knight to h6.

"HUH!? Exactly what it means! You're heartless!" Imelda scoffed as she slammed her rook down on e1.

"And WHY am I heartless?"

"Stop trying to use heartless logic to excuse your heartlessness!"

"Oh, so you're putting no weight behind it. In that case, I'm the most heartless woman you'll ever meet in your life. Now watch closely, I'm about to perform a magic trick and make the king mate you by moving two spaces."

"By WHAT!? The king can't move two spaces except by castling. And once the king moves or castles, it can't castle-"

"And have I moved my king or rooks this whole game?" Iori sneered as her tone got a bit more unnerving.

A chill went down Imelda's spine as she stared at the board. Not once had Iori's king or rooks moved, and worst of all, a castling checkmate was possible.

"Checkmate!" Iori snickered as she castled on the king's side, winning the game before Imelda even had time to process what just happened.

Imelda quickly began to go pale with horror as tears began pouring out of her eyes and all the cigarettes fell out of her mouth.

"Wow, you just lost to a 1 in 95,000 game checkmate. Fitting for a low braincelled idiot like you," Iori snickered in a cold, malicious tone.

Imelda merely cried harder as color began to vanish from her face. Everyone else had gone silent with shock while Mimoko and Carol were all grins and approached Iori.

"T- Thanks for that," Carol tearfully smiled.

However, the smiles didn't last as Imelda suddenly began to transform into a sheepblossom, bleating in agony all the way. Once the transformation was complete, her wool was sheered and she was then skinned alive before being both boiled and hacked up.

Mimoko shielded her eyes in horror, as did many members of the mob. Horner also appeared to be recoiling in horror, but it was all an act. Deep down, he was actually finding amusement in Imelda's execution, much like Iori was. The only one not smirking maniacally or gasping in horror was Carol.

A somber look plastered her face as she watched Imelda get reduced to a meal. While she felt Imelda deserved every bit of suffering for what she put her and others through, she was unable to gleefully smile and laugh at such a gruesome execution.

Iori took notice of Carol's expression and warmly smiled. "Heh, you're right in the middle between me and Mimo-chan on the morality scale. I'm messed up beyond repair, but you? Guess you found ways to keep your sadism in check. Can't wait to collab with you once this is over," she thought as Mimoko and Carol were warped back to Japan.

Phantom, who had remained silent through all of this, quickly warped away, while Horner meanwhile struggled to hide his delight at how good the sheepblossom meat tasted. It truly was gourmet as stated in the book. But now that the punishment was over, he was unable to hide his maniacal grin as he stared Iori down.

"What a heartless fool. You sent your friends away, yet stayed behind? Are you trying to be a Duos Calceamenta?" he sneered as the mob attempted to storm onto the platform.

"Yeah, not gonna happen, cuz I'm no goody two shoes," Iori maliciously smiled as she whipped out her DESPER key.

Horner's eyes widened as he found himself seated at a chessboard across from Iori, yet to his delight, they were both still at the platform, with the mob still present and angrily banging on the invisible barrier surrounding him and Iori.

"What a fool. Just like Duos, if you win, my comrades will descend upon you. For you aren't simply facing me, you're facing us all. For we are all one in support of Manuel's compassion," he maliciously thought.

The full game:

White: Imelda Berrinche (1304) Black: Iori Ishikiridokoro (1344)

1. e4 e5

2. Qg4 g6

3. Bc4 Nc6

4. Nc3 d5

5. Qf3 Nd4

6. Qd1 c6

7. Nf3 dxe4

8. Nxd4 exd4

9. Nb5 Bg7

10. Nxd4 Bxd4

11. c3 Bb6

12. d4 exd3

13. Be3 Bxe3

14. fxe3 Be6

15. Bxe6 fxe6

16. b4 Qg5

17. Qb3 Qxe3+

18. Kf1 Nh6

19. Re1 O-O#