Thud.

Lydia threw the bodies of around twenty men near my feet. All unconscious, sprawled out like broken dolls.

"That was fast..." I said, being brought back from my daydreaming.

"He's the captain of this station," Lydia said, kicking one of those twenty with her boot. He rolled forward, separating from the pile.

"His name is Amir Saytan."

Saytans, huh? They held many positions in important branches of SBV. He'd probably been posted here as captain through their recommendation. These animals would do anything for money, even if it meant looting an orphanage and destroying innocent lives.

"According to what they told me before passing out," Lydia continued, her voice taking on the tone of a soldier reporting to their commander, "he's the one who ordered Vol killed in the name of 'attacking an officer on duty.' And he took part in Seraphina's... death as well."

Her jaw clenched slightly on that last part.

"I understand," I said simply.

I looked around. The buzzing crowd was coming to a halt now. All eyes were turning toward the twenty bodies before me. People were starting to recognize the men from their torn uniforms or their faces.

"Good," I muttered under my breath.

I stood up and walked to the center of the village square's circular stage. I drew Blood Raven and stabbed it into the marble ground with force, making a clean hole. Then I planted the flag firmly into it.

The flag contained a drawing of a raven... if you could call it that. I mean, it was my first time drawing a raven using paints and a brush.

[Dude, who drew that shit? They should never touch paint again.]

'I know you saw the replay, so don't act,' I shot back telepathically.

People stood frozen in their places. Some looked curious. Some seemed to understand what was happening. Others looked anxious, afraid of what was coming.

"Listen up, folks!" I said.

[Nah... it lacked power.]

"Ahem." I cleared my throat. "People of Larkshade!" I called out, imitating the formal announcement format used in the square.

[What are you? Some herald?]

'Leave me alone, damn it!' I waved off the blue window floating in front of my face.

"My name is Rune," I said, holding the flag firmly. "What you are about to witness is the execution of some corrupt guards."

Their eyes looked curious and doubtful at the same time. They must be thinking things like 'Are they really the SBV guards...?' or 'What does he mean by execution?'

"Lydia, wake them up," I muttered.

She nodded and immediately kicked the nearest guard hard in the gut.

"Ack!" He coughed violently, jolting back to consciousness.

She moved down the line, kicking them all like they were pigs wallowing on the ground. They all coughed and gasped before looking around frantically to find themselves in the center of the village, under the gaze of dozens of villagers.

Amir's eyes wandered until they met Lydia's.

"It's you," he said, his hand instinctively reaching for the weapon that would usually be at his waist.

But his hand found nothing.

The other guards took their stances around Lydia, clutching their aching guts. They understood quickly that their weapons were missing, so instead they just glared at her, as if that would make their enemy bleed.

"As I was saying," I continued simply.

The guards snapped their attention to me.

Silence fell over the square as everyone watching finally understood, these really were guards, and what was happening now was not some prop show or performance.

"They have committed the crimes of murder and rape of innocents," I announced, pretending to be some righteous angel as if I wasn't doing all this for my personal revenge. "And for that, they will be brought to justice today."

"Justice? You?" Amir said, snorting with derision.

I liked his confidence. Despite the pain in his gut, which I assumed was no small amount since it was Lydia who'd kicked him, he still continued to be the arrogant asshole he was.

"We are the ones who bring criminals like you to justice," he declared, adjusting his black hair in that flashy, self-important way as he looked around at the crowd like he owned them all.

"Oh?" I said calmly. "Then can I know what kind of crime Guard Vol and Sister Seraphina committed?"

The village folks turned their eyes to Amir. They wanted to know too. After all, Vol had always helped them to the best of his ability, fixing roofs, carrying heavy supplies for the elderly, protecting people when bandits came through.

And Sister Seraphina was famous among the old folks who often visited the cathedral. She was the only one there who truly knew the verses in the holy book and could preach them to those in need with genuine warmth and understanding.

Then Amir smiled.

His lips curled into something ugly and vicious, a smile that belonged on something far less than human.

"Seraphina?" He laughed, a grating sound that made people flinch. "That bitch was acting all sweet and righteous with you people, pretending to care." He spat on the ground. "She was stealing the orphanage funds for herself and that bastard Vol. Partners in crime, fucking each other right in front of those kids."

The words dripped from his mouth like poison.

People around him physically recoiled in disgust and fear.

But Amir wasn't done. His eyes gleamed with something twisted, enjoyment, maybe. Like he was savoring every horrible word.

"She came crying and begging when we dragged her away from Vol's corpse," he continued, his grin widening. "Screaming his name like some pathetic whore. It was annoying." He tilted his head, mock-thoughtful. "Had to shut her up eventually, you know? And my men... they were very thorough about it."

He licked his lips slightly, that sick smile never leaving his face.

"Best part?" He leaned forward slightly, addressing the crowd like he was sharing some wonderful secret. "She still tried to go back to those brats afterward. Stumbling through the streets in her torn dress, crying, covered in—"

He laughed again, crueler this time.

"And you people worshipped her. Called her 'Sister.' What a joke."

The crowd was silent now, not the silence of doubt, but the silence of pure horror and rage.

Some of the women were crying. Some of the men had their fists clenched so tight their knuckles were white.

Amir looked around at them all with utter contempt in his eyes.

"What? You want to blame us?" He sneered. "We're SBV. We are the law here. That bitch and her boyfriend attacked an officer. They got what traitors deserve."

He straightened up, chest puffed out arrogantly.

"And there's nothing any of you peasants can do about it."

Crunch!

The sound echoed in the silence that followed.

"Huh?" Amir's voice escaped his lips, confused and shocked.

His knees deformed beneath him with a sickening crack, and he fell forward onto them.

"AAAhhhhh..." he screamed, his nose running with liquids as he clutched desperately at his shattered knees.

It was Lydia. She'd moved before any of them could even sense her presence.

Amir rolled on the ground, screaming in agony. His voice was raw, desperate.

The people around us gasped, immediately moving back and creating space. Fear rippled through the crowd like a wave.

Lydia had a perfectly neutral expression on her face, calm, almost bored. But as someone who knew her well enough, and had a knack for reading people's expressions... I could tell she was holding back from killing him. For my sake.

I'd thank her later.

[You're strangely calm. That's a bit frightening,] Nexar wrote beside me in his blue window.

'Well... I'm not exactly calm,' I replied telepathically. 'I'm already buzzing with happiness from what's about to come next.'

[Are you sure? This could lead to you becoming an enemy of Cass.]

Nexar had a point. He wasn't wrong.

Although SBV was Empire-funded and had nothing to do with the Duchess directly, SBV was still running under her authorization here. In other words, they were one of the Duchess's law-enforcing bodies in this region.

Doing the stunt I was about to do, in public, no less, would surely put my name in a bad light on her table.

'It's up to her what she decides,' I said. 'It's not reason enough for me to stop this.'

I paused.

'Besides, it's not like I'm announcing a war on SBV or anything...'

[I'm not so sure... because last time that flag flew... territories disappeared.]

A smirk widened on my lips as I looked down at Amir writhing on the ground.

Good thing he wasn't smart like the other Saytans. That figured, why else would he be posted here in a Blackwater village? He was making my work easier by portraying himself as the villain.

Of course, I was going to thin out the line between who the real villain was, him or me, soon anyway.

"So, people," I said loudly, addressing the crowd that had gathered around us. "As witnesses, please tell me. What kind of punishment should these devil worshippers face?"

Silence fell over the square like a heavy blanket.

They all looked at the screaming Amir, then back at me. Uncertainty flickered across their faces.

That guy was still screaming from just that? From broken knees?

[Pfft.]

Damn, this is embarrassing.

Then came a voice, a woman in her fifties. She was carrying a small child in her arms as she stepped forward from the crowd. The kid was sleeping peacefully against her shoulder, completely unaware of what was happening.

"The most painful way to die is death from burns," she said clearly, her voice steady and strong.

I looked at her carefully.

"So I suggest we burn them alive."

A flicker of fire suddenly danced around her fingertips as her eyes locked with mine. The flames were small but controlled, deliberate.

Wait... isn't she... I'd seen her somewhere before....

Where had I seen her?

[Virgin potato.]

Yeah! that's it!

'Wait.. there are many other ways you can remind me, you bastard.'

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.