Time Of War.
The air in the kingdom of Melromarc was certainly different than most other times whenever something important occurred.
''Death to the king! Death to the Princess! Death to the Heroes!'' the shouts of the citizens echoed throughout the arena that Naofumi and Motoyasu dueled in. Funnily enough, Queen Mirellia looked upon her subjects as they began to get riled up about the soon to be executed. The moment that she was able to produce an audience and show the kingdom the true nature of her corrupt family, as well as the so-called Legendary heroes, could not have come quickly enough. Her only regret during all this would be that Naofumi would be unable to be fully absolved of his accusations and see the looks on each of their faces as their life was taken from them with the least amount of effort.
It made her want to end their lives herself, but just a sliver of control stopped her. This had to be professional and be a display of power to her allies, and enemies.
''I know I was weak the last time this happened, I was. . .hesitant.'' Mirellia looked at the dagger that she nearly brandished when the first set of guillotines were cast up. Then, she did not fully understand the deeper meaning behind the cogs in motion at the time, but with Naofumi being dead did little; even with Bitch and Trash with their new names and the abolishment of the 3 Heroes Church failed to fully mend the pain that he, that she felt. In a way, she was happy that she was stopped at the time by Naofumi; her resolve would not be quite as strong as it is now if she laid down her life and begged for mercy for those who did not deserve even a passing glance. ''But I will do my best to ensure this will go smoothly, and that their suffering will echo as drums of war.'' a guard came to her, saluting and reporting to her.
''My Queen,'' the young solder took a knee and crossed his hand over his heart as he pointed his head to the fine lavender carpet that her feet delicately danced across. He would not dare look her in the eyes; not with the recent event surrounding the royal family. The Queen held a very strategic mind, though not to the same caliber as the former king, it was enough to make him think twice about doing anything that even resembled disrespect of lack of tradition. ''the platforms have been put in place, and we are eagerly awaiting your next set of orders, My Queen.''
The tone of his voice. . .it sounded familiar. Was this one that Naofumi confided in his quest for justice? Her Shadows reported everything to her, and more than once; a certain guard from her own ranks has been known to accompany Naofumi on a few of his quests and speak highly of him, even once throwing himself in the middle of a fight between Naofumi and Motoyasu with almost no hesitance. This soldier has a spark. ''You need not be so formal with me, soldier. Please-'' Mirellia touched his shoulder, causing him to tense. ''-please raise your head and look me in the eyes. I believe your name is. . .Ake, correct?''
''I-If that is what My Queen wants,'' Ake slowly stood and raised his head as he looked up at the queen. She wasn't terribly taller than him, but with those heels, it definitely made things a bit more intimidating the longer he stood there alone. ''Y-Yes, My Queen. Why do you ask?''
She was correct, well her Shadow was.
She gestured for Ake to take a seat for a moment, who only relented after furiously denying until a glare and firm now made him do otherwise. She merely wanted to get some information from the young soldier about what he was able to learn from traveling with Naofumi the few times that he had, and while she would not make this, in particular, a habit, she wanted to know his thought on today's agenda. A different opinion may just be one that she would need just to further sold what she planned. ''Tell me, please. What do you make of Naofumi's. . .passing?''
That was something that he was not ready to talk about, but his queen wanted to know, so he would oblige her. He couldn't still, even with the bit of time that has passed since being briefed about the death of The Shield Hero made him wanting to talk about it in any capacity all the more difficult. Naofumi was the model example of what a true Legendary Hero and just how a hero should be in general. A little rough around the edges, which he could understand but still good nonetheless. ''I. . .dodon't want to accept it. But I know that's the only option any of us who actually saw the good in him had; it's hard to think that he dealt with so much, and still resolved himself to be a hero of this world whether he wanted to or not and that I will never forget.''
Mirellia smiled, folding her arms in her lap as she listened. Could not have said it any better than herself, really. ''Thank you for that. I apologize if me asking you that was out of the ordinary. I just figured with you being one of the few ones that Naofumi held some level of trust in, I would only wish to extend my personal thanks to you and who has followed the same path that you were on in helping Naofumi adjust to this world.'' Ake looked over at his queen and chuckled nervously. She definitely still held that aura of regalness about her when she spoke but also held some child-like tendencies. He froze as she stood up and laid her hand on the table in front of her as she looked him in the eyes with a look that seemed to drain her with each second.
''My Queen, are you ok? Are you ill?'' Ake wanted to reach over, but could not. It would be. . .unwise. She merely banished the look from her face as she perked up a tad, but what she said failed to give any indication that her words and the look on her face were the same.
''I miss Naofumi; not just as The Shield Hero, but also as a young man. He has been done wrong since stepping into this world by my bastard of an ex-husband, and cocksleeve of a daughter. Oh! I apologize! Slip of the tongue,'' Mirellia apologized as she bowed a bit to Ake, scolding herself for getting too invested in the past, and giving him a bad idea about her. She never intended for that to happen. ''And. . .Melty. My youngest. Roped into. . .this.''
Ake slowly approached her, the shoulder that she put her hand on stopping him instantly as he watched her movements and eyes slowly close. ''I am fine. Please report back to your Captain with my next set of orders that are to pass on right away; I want the prisoners in place at 12:00 sharp, not one moment more. Is that understood?''
Quickly stepping back and saluting, Ake cleared his throat and sounded off with pride. ''My Queen, it shall be done.'' Ake excused himself and slowly found his way out of Queen Mirellia's booth. Breathing a sigh of relief out and sitting back down in the chair, she carefully massaged her temples and expelled almost all the air in her lungs out through her nose in one sharp exhale. She only had a few minutes to compose herself before she would address her subjects about what would happen. She remembered an old saying that actually held more validity here than any other time it would be used; fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.
''Ma'am,'' a Shadow reported in, craning her head over so slightly as she lowered her head to not directly meet her master's gaze. ''Everything is set in place, and we have received word from our neighboring kingdom, Siltvelt.''
Siltvelt? This early?
''Go ahead.'' Mirellia only wondered to see what would be thrust upon her plate.
Her Shadow unveiled a parchment and passed it to her as she unfurled it after peeling the wax seal of the Legendary Shield off. The message was not short, but she knew that whenever a letter was long, trouble would follow.
[i]To whom it may concern, we of the nation of Siltvelt have reluctantly respected the majority of Melromarc's borders, and as thus we find this letter to be a small example of the steps we are willing to take to one day achieve lasting peace. The only issue that we find to take precedence before anything else. The recently minted Legendary Shield Hero, along with the other 3 Legendary Heroes have been summoned, without the consent of the other neighboring nations should be considered a breach of trust and out agreement. When it pertains to the matters of our kingdom, we only are looking for the interests of our own. As such, we demand the release of the current Shield Hero to our custody, as well as a call to the other countries to dispatch the Heroes to the respective countries that will undoubtedly reach out to you with their own declarations. If we are not given a response within the next three days, we will resort to force. [/i] -[b]Kingdom of Siltvelt.[/b]
''Ma'am, the situation seems different than we expected. Perhaps we should withdraw the execution?'' Mirellia studied the letter in its entirety; Siltvelt, as well as the other kingdoms obviously held the power to give Melromarc problems. The idea of war coming to the nation repeatedly came up, especially with Trash's less than desirable tactics being used in favor of the kingdom when she was away, and the notion that current 3 Heroes would be able to defend against an army from different nations at once. ''It would make sense, for the moment.''
Mirellia sat there and made a look of deep contemplation that came with the letter's wording. It came too little, too late in her opinion. Even with the subpar approach, it would fail to stop what was already fated to occur. The second stay of execution would actually do more harm than good for her; she, without saying anything too much about the particulars, told them that death would be in the air, and it would be an event for the centuries. She would have much work to do, and even more further down the road when it came to repairing the tensions with the other kingdoms.
Sigh. If only she possessed more of the tact and knowledge that the ex-king, it would definitely be something that she would need to work more on.
''Ma'am?'' Mirellia's Shadow asked, hoping she did not talk out of turn. She could tell her queen was deeply contemplating the entire incident. It wasn't something to suddenly decide on the fly, much less one that affected the stability of an entire nation and its best interests. She rushed to deliver this before the demi-human messenger could without being heckled on the way to the kingdom.
The choice was already made to her as she closed her eyes and rolled the letter back up. She stood up and straightened out her dress and cleared her mind as she prepared for the show to come. And she would do everything in her power to make sure that this would not be interrupted. ''We shall cross that bridge when we come it,'' Mirellia peered at the guards walking them out. The crowd only got louder and louder with each step that each of them took against their will. The assortment of the guillotines that she had the guards positioned to resemble the rough outline of a star.
''As you wish, Ma'am. I shall continue to be vigilant and update you as things develop.'' the sound of her vanishing into the shadows sounded as she tilted her head down a bit and waited.
FWOOSH! FWOOSH!
''I see the time is nearly upon us.'' Fitoria landed in the booth as she ruffled her wings and walked over to Mirellia, her gaze picking up instantly at the sight of the Filolial Queen. ''Are you prepared? We will have to act quickly afterward if we are to save this world. Just know I will do everything in my power to assist you.''
It was good to have an ally and one that held regard for Naofumi in a bit of a higher position than those who wished the worst upon him. She would get over her fascination with Filolials for just long enough until things stabilized. It would be difficult, but everyone had to make sacrifices now and then. She would make sure not to waste this opportunity, or to go against her own word.
''Yes, I know. I am. . .ready. It's just a small part of me hoped that this would not have to happen; if only their minds were not clouded by judgment or pretenses,'' Fitoria looked at Mirellia as she wiped a small tear that trailed down her left cheek. It would be hard for her to recover from this. The clocktower in the distance sounded off at 12:00 on the dot, the sound slowly quieting the roars of the crowd. On the fifth ring, everyone was quiet. The time finally came. As if on cue, the clouds surrounding the kingdom finished their move into position, covering most of the sun's rays and welcoming the darkness.
Clearing her throat and extending her fan to the center of the arena, every citizen of Melromarc, whether in the area or watching from magical projection had her absolute attention.
''Citizens! I stand before you, Queen Mirellia Q Melromarc on this day most momentous. We are here to witness the punishment being carried out by possibly the worst criminals this land has seen since the beginning of our kingdom's founding. And to make matters worse-'' Fitoria walked over to her chair and sat in wait at the matriarch pausing to gesture to the criminals that were strapped in the specially made death machines, the drab and second rate cloth put together to resemble peasant clothing giving them rashes. By touching bases with the other kingdoms and their own methods for torture only made what she had the local blacksmith construct for each of the prisoners all the more sinister. ''-it comes from those who were sworn, expected, and given the privilege to guard and keep the interests of this fair nation in their best interests. But, as you see; power can indeed corrupt.''
That sparked a feeling of affirmation within Fitoria. She knew firsthand from the Shield Hero of previous times and to a degree Naofumi. Whether by choice or not; too much power will often have a bad effect on the individual's ability to control said power or to make conscious decisions and that was always was a recipe for usurping or death.
Whichever suited her at the moment.
The crowd only grew even more enraged, as a harsh barrage of whispers echoed out.
''We have the most despicable, ungrateful, and disgusting examples of royal power, as well as heroes gifted with extraordinary power,'' Mirellia said with spite in her voice, literally spitting down into the courtyard, hoping even the smaller bit of saliva would touch them. She wanted to yell; more than anything. But she would have to keep herself composed. This would not take too much time out of everyone's day, just enough to leave a lasting enough impression for the days to come and the future. She collapsed her fan and tapped the metal against the balcony with a sharp ting. ''Guards. Remove blindfolds.''
And that was just what each of the guards did at the moment, Ake being the one to undo the blindfold of the Spear Hero as he looked to be a bit crestfallen at what he had to do, but he knew in his heart that this was the right thing to do; to a degree. The light stung each of their eyes since they were blindfolded and escorted out from the dungeons all the way to the courtyards, their protests, and threats of what would happen if they were not released doing little to those she ordered to ignore any and every word that would come out of their filthy mouths.
The restraints they were currently bound to offered little to no room to move. When the five of them could see properly, their shouts/protests were laughable.
''Mother! Why are we like this?! What is this, surely you're kidding? R-Right?'' Bitch looked to see a long piece of reinforced wood take up her vision. Craning her eyes up as far as they would go, she nearly fainted at the sight of the guillotine's blade. It was painted blood red and looked wickedly sharp. She wasn't sure, but this one looked higher than the last one, which would only give the blade more power to carve off their heads like butter.
''I kid you not, Bitch.'' Mirella responded flatly, narrowing her eyes. She knew having them to face their own death literally would also spike up the fear factor, but to also ensure an even and clean-cut, she opted to have the bases reinforced even more and the height raised to compensate. Nothing at all would stop this from going astray like it did the last time. ''This is the punishment for the life that each of you has decided to live, and there was plenty of time before leading up to this that you could have used to correct your mistakes, but you did not. Thus, I could think of no better way to tie off loose ends, and to make a true example of those I thought I could trust.''
''Myne! Are you ok? Where are you?'' Motoyasu fought to get free, only resulting in him getting tired and giving his neck a much-needed chafing. His arms and legs were also bound, extended out at his sides as if he was going to swan dive, but failed to move past the inch of wiggle room that was provided. ''Why is this happening?''
''Come on, stop playing dumb,'' Ren said, his breaths coming out in harsh exhales as he fought to calm himself from the feeling of entrapment. His eyes began to dart back and forth, possibly looking for a way out. When there was none, he sighed and attempted to level with the Spear Hero, who had less than stellar intelligence and common sense, possibly even before coming to this world. ''We. . .did this to ourselves.''
''Indeed you did, Ren,'' Mirellia responded as she was able to hear him clear as the day. The sound amplification spell made it so that no word, no matter at what volume uttered would escape her ears. If they were going to die today, it would be with the utmost set of rules to promote honesty. ''And I would also mention that in your small lapse in time before coming here, I instructed my mages to give each of you, except for Bitch as she already has one; a Slave Crest. Call it. . .extra insurance.'' Fitoria watched with a very critical eye. She would not miss an entire moment of this.
''What gives you the right to do this?'' Itsuki asked, daring to tempt fate by speaking. He knew this would only be a misunderstanding that-
''-I am the true power of this country, contrary to what my ex-husband may think,'' Mirellia stated with venom, causing Itsuki to swallow his words for the moment. So fiercely. She sounded like she didn't even want to hear anything that he had to say about the matter. That ticked him off a bit, causing him to grit his teeth. ''I will decide what rights are to be given if there is evidence of misuse of trust and power within these walls. And you three are certainly no exception.'' Itsuki could feel her piercing gaze on her as she effectively shut him up. ''We will now begin.''
''B-Begin what?'' Trash asked, his long hair blocking some of his view from the little that he was able to see. Everything just seemed to be going downhill, and all because of that damn Shield.
Fitoria then spoke, throwing some of the citizens who were glued to the scene for a loop when a completely different voice sounded in the midst of the conversation. ''Your trial. The verdict has already been decided, but your queen wanted to afford the chance to at least admit what you did before you are all put to death.''
That didn't make any sense. What were they being put on trial for? This had to be some kind of propaganda constructed against them to help bolster the aid of the sham of a Shield Hero. Yes, yes. That was the issue. Possibly one of the cursed spells that Naofumi, no doubt cast on the crowd to make them think that they indeed were the wrongdoers in this situation.
It only made the most sense.
''I will only ask three questions, and worry not; it will not be for each of you,'' Mirellia chuckled. It would not take much for them to crack, especially her daughter. ''Answer correctly, nothing happens. However, answer wrong and you will wish for me to personally come down and end your suffering myself.''
''W-What's worse. . .than just killing us?'' Motoyasu asked, actually seemingly the slightest fearful. Something began to slowly dawn on him, but he could not quite piece it together at the moment; the sight of a blade of death only held up by a rope somewhat took precedence.
Fitoria and Mirella both answered, only adding to the severity of the situation. ''Answer wrong, and you'll find out.''
''B-B-But, why?! Why?! WHY?!'' Bitch thrashed back and forth, shaking the guillotine a tad, the slight give of the blade moving back and forth doing little to calm her nerves as she wanted the truth. This was unfair! This was not the way things were handled, and this!
. . .Was. . .
Her fault?
''I am done speaking. The time for asking is now. If I pick you to answer the question, you will answer it, or you [b]will [/b]just die, right then and there; it is of no consequence to me. But, since I am in a mood for fairness, I will ask the one out of all of you who probably has the best chance. Ren. I ask. . .no. Order you to tell what why you lot thought it would be in the best interest of the kingdom to but your own selfish interest ahead of ours? Why you caused so much destruction wherever any of you went? Why you killed.'' Mirellia's words would have carved a hole into him if they could. It left no room for error, and even if the tone of his answer was wrong; it would not be good.
''I-'' Ren was cut off by something else that occurred to the queen.
''-And know that if you lie, not only will the Slave Crest react and violently shock you, that will be instant death for you and I will have your remains fed to the pigs and maggots to make fertilizer for. I just wanted to make sure that you know that.''
''What the?!/How is any of that-OOF!'' Itsuki and Bitch was struck in the face with the butt of the nearest solder's swords as they hollered in their face about remaining silent unless the queen asked them a question or if they were the former Sword Hero, which not even Ren was anymore, barely in name.
Ren felt the sweat run through his hair and droop off into the basket that would, no doubt hold their heads. He was between a rock and a hard place, or more literally a blade and wood. Where did things all go so wrong for them? This wasn't what being a Hero was. He fought himself as he felt the gaze of everyone on him as he was made the star of the show for the moment.
It was funny, really. Never had he thought he would go out like this, but something, be it his own conscience attempting to save him or some form of god telling him on what to do and say not have something like this happen.
In a twisted sense of the word, he listened; but only to what he wanted to be known.
It took more out of him at the moment than he would care to admit, but he knew in his heart that he was right in saying this. ''We. . .treated it like a game. A game we thought if we worked hard enough at, that we would come out on top. . .'' Ren's head would have sunk more if it was allowed. He was caught.
Fitoria and Mirellia quirked a brow. The very notion of it being a game was something that neither of them had ever heard. The lives of the people that they were sworn to protect being used as some sort of game to gain experience and fame? Was that how far the depths of their own depravity went in defining their own character?
Naofumi told both of them that once they were truly given the choice to speak freely, that it would shock them to hear what they knew to be true about the situation that they were in. It failed to give him any surprise.
''Well,'' Mirellia said, standing up and looking at Ren, who had closed his eyes in defeat. The Slave Crest did not react. ''It seems you did know all along; from the very beginning of what atrocities you were committing and the part that each of you played in Naofumi's slander. I expected more out of you, Ren. I truly did.''
''How is any of that-'' Trash attempted to speak only to be silenced by a blast of Wind magic that hit him like a glove. Fitoria's hand lowered and she glared at him with the purest look of anger that most turned to look away from.
''-I remember her saying that she would ask the questions and unless you wanted to have a guard strike you in the face,'' Fitoria gestured to the queen who looked a bit happy at how quickly she shut him up. ''Continue, please.''
The crowd, from her account, began to get restless, they would not be able to contain themselves for long. The last time this happened, the air was a bit more civil, and while she did not want to take chances, she wanted this last question to be known.
And known by all.
''This will be the final question as I have grown tired of being cut off and undermined like you all do not seem to understand that I am the one who literally has all of your lives in my hand,'' Mirellia's voice began to pick up from a gentle speaking voice all the way to a shout that was very much unlike her. But it fit the situation. And any who had even the slightest of problems would answer to her. If they failed to even get something like this wrong. . .
She would not be surprised.
''Answer me this,'' Mirellia long cared to get this over with, but with this question; it would make what would happen afterward all the more wonderful for her and Melromarc or worse for the five of them. ''With everything that has happened; do you regret anything that you have done when it comes to Naofumi? Do any of you feel any amount of guilt? Do you even care?''
She didn't need to hear their words. The sounds of their pained screams in the air told her all that she needed.
''. . .Citizens of Melromarc,'' Mirellia raised her hand and everyone turned their eyes towards her. ''You heard it from their mouth, and as such, this will come to a close. Guards, attention!'' the soldiers snapped to the position, their backs perfectly erect and hands by their sides as they stood unmoving, waiting to hear their next command. ''Ready swords!''
SHING! A wave of metal unsheathing rung through the air like needles on a chalkboard. Each sword lay down by their sides, the tip an inch from touching the ground as they held firm. The weight of the blade seemed to call out to Ake a bit, as his arm began to tremble some. He would perform his duty. Even if he didn't like it.
''Aim!'' with a quick upward lift, each blade reached to heavens, the gleam of the silver being the only thing that held any true color that remained pure, even in darkness. Each guard took their position by their assigned prisoner, the rope that would release the blade being presented to them as an irresistible flame.
And they were the moth.
"Please! Don't! NO! MAMA! MAMA! PLEASE SAVE MEEEEEEE!~'' Bitch cried out, her face stained with tears as her body shook with fear, the look of the blade being raised nearly made her faint as she pissed herself out of fear.
''MYNE!'' Motoyasu called out.
''YOU CAN'T DO THIS!'' Itsuki yelled out.
''I AM THE KING OF MELROMARC! YOU DARE ATTEMPT TO TAKE MY LIFE?!'' Trash yelled out more than the lot of them, prompting to the crowd to continue their previous yelling.
Ren was the only one who resigned to his fate.
''DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!''
''Strike!" Mirellia yelled out, her voice resembling that of an animal. They would receive their just due. The guards swung with all their might, thwacking against the wooden barrier as they severed the rope. Each blade seemed to fall in slow motion, every beating of anyone's heartbeat almost following along with the descent of the blade.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Release from this life would be sweet.
Except it did not come.
. . .The crowd went silent. The blade made contact with something, but it was not a cutting of the flesh sound. Had it failed only partly severed their heads? The citizens had looked to their queen to see her. . .laughing? Mirellia was shaking with the vigor of a child on a sugar rush, clutching her head with a free hand as her laughter overshadowed everything and everyone.
The confusion on everyone's faces but the guards and Fitoria was questionable. Had this been-
''HAHAHAHAHA! You really didn't think I would not have a little bit of fun for the last few seconds of your pathetic lives?'' Mirellia listened to the sound of Motoyasu, Bitch, and Trash having a mental breakdown, be it from almost choking on their own spit from the shock, babbling incoherently, or have a borderline seizure from the way that Bitch's guillotine was shaking more than the others. Upon closer investigation, the first blade was stopped on purpose by a brace, harmless sitting above the neck by a good four inches.
On top of the contraption stood a secondary blade.
''Second strike! May you rot in the deepest parts of Hell for your sin!'' Fitoria watched as the crowd began to go ballistic, cheering even more at the guards who took up their position again, striking a second rope that let the true blade travel unabated. The screams soon died out as each blade made quick work of their victim, cutting the head from the body within a second and dropping into a basket with a dull thump.
And then, there was silence.
[hr]
Yak-Yakistan, Silver Fur Tavern.
Naofumi stopped as he and Valiant were about to walk into their 3rd tavern for the day. They hadn't found many leads. They hoped this one would be a good push in the right direction. Valiant saw him pause for a moment and his body begin to shake and shiver some before settling. ''You ok over there?''
Clutching his hand that calmed down from shaking, he answered the guard. ''Yea,'' Naofumi smiled, feeling a bit more invigorated for a moment. He wasn't sure why, but he liked this feeling. ''Just got a feeling about something.''
''Anything bad?'' Valiant turned to face him as he walked over closer to the otaku.
''No, I think for once. . .this is a good feeling. I think it's a very good feeling,'' Naofumi walked ahead as Valiant shrugged his shoulders and headed inside with him.
[hr]