Author's Notes

After the slaver's report...

Seto starts...

Atemu decides...

Akhenaden decides...

Chapter 27 - The Fury of Atemu and Seto

So he ends the story at the same time Atemu makes a discreet gesture to Seto who consents, showing a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes at his cousin's silent message, which he reciprocates with a slight shake of his head.

The Hem-netjr (high priest and head of a temple) kicks the slaver, breaking his arm, then lifts him up, displaying the purest fury in his countenance, with the man cringing while displaying confusion in his countenance.

"I trained them well and they are still pure."

Without saying anything else because the monarch had not spoken, Seto continues to beat him while Kisara watched from the corner of her eye and although her eyes were still opaque, there was a kind of spark while her mind, which was, numbed by training, she tried to understand why her owner was doing this.

As for Yuugi, he looks to the side with the opaque orbs, not understanding why the one who sold and trained them was getting beaten because in his fragile mind and broken in many places, the blows that the other was taking didn't make sense. Regarding Yukiko, she was stunned by their gesture at the same time she was stunned by what she witnessed until that moment because she couldn't believe that they felt pity and hatred for what happened to their friends.

After all, this explanation that popped into her mind was far too unusual, aside from the fact that she was still angry that a dragon's fury couldn't be placated so easily.

The beating continues as it is cut off by the screams of pain from the slaver who found himself immersed in the purest despair and lacerating pain as he was beaten to the point of having several broken bones and bruises while seeing the purest fury in the eyes of the Holy Guardian.

Atemu makes another gesture and Seto took one last violent step, breaking a part of the man's leg that was not yet broken as he went back to where he was before, noticing that Kisara's eyes weren't as opaque as before. It was a tiny thing, but it was better than nothing and when looking at the young man with tricolor hair, he can see the confusion that afflicted him although his eyes seemed less opaque. It was a tiny thing, but it was better than nothing to think about how much his cousin must be suffering from the young man's condition.

"Know that it wasn't just Hem-netjr Seto that you infuriated. You infuriated the Netjer (God) of all Kemet and I will grant the divine fury you so sought after." His deep baritone tone of voice was unyielding, furious and defiant.

Looking at his ruler, the man is more terrified as he shed new tears of fear that joined the tears of pain he shed while being beaten. The fury on the monarch's countenance was visible and indeed, it was the fury of the Gods themselves.

The slaver began to cry even more intensely as he found himself immersed in despair although he still felt confused because he had believed that his sovereign was satisfied with the discipline he carried out on the slaves.

"Why Per'a'ah?"

"They no longer belonged to you and Holy Guardian Seto did not request any training or any other modality similar to that. You inflicted damage on other people's property" Atemu hated to refer to slaves in that way, but it was what was expected of him while he kept the same tone while concealing the intense satisfaction he felt at being able to punish slavers. "Besides, you dared to speak without my permission and looked into my face without receiving permission. You will be healed and we will use heika (magic) to withstand the rest of the punishment You will receive seventy lashes for a week, uninterrupted. Don't worry, the heika will make sure you withstand the rest of the punishment and don't go crazy from the pain. After this week of daily punishment, he will become a slave and will work himself to death in the mines."

Recovering from the sentence that shocked him, muttering incomprehensible words, the monarch gestures to Seto who steps on the other leg, breaking the other bone and pulling out a new lacerating scream while the slaver's throat was wounded by the previous screams, to then kick him in the abdomen, making him lose his breath. He only stops when he sees a gesture from his cousin.

Then, the Tjaty (Vizier) and Royal Councilor Shimon repeat the punishment and which should be executed immediately, as well as communicating to the slave's scribe to list everything his ex-boss owns while the royal scribe, seated at a table in the corner accompanied by his servants, he wrote down everything that happened in the hall using hieratic writing (sacred writing) that appeared in the temples and that later came to be used in documents because it was a faster writing than the

medu-netjer (mdw.w-nṯr - words of the God - hierogryphs), taught to men by Netjer Djehuty (Thoth) and which demanded more from the Scribe for being more complex, ending up reducing the speed of writing.

"You are deprived of your name and all rights to your lands and any other property you own. You are now a prisoner of the kingdom as a result of your crimes under the holy laws of Maʽat, the Netjer (Gods) and the Netjer alive from all over Kemet. You will be healed and we will use magic to resist the rest of the punishment. You will receive seventy lashes. Thirty-five will be from Per'a'ah and thirty-five from Hem-netjr Seto. After being healed, it will be whipped the same amount again. This will continue for an uninterrupted week. Heika (magic) will be used to ensure that you don't go mad from the pain and to withstand the rest of the punishment. After this week of daily punishment, you will become a slave and will work until the end of his days in the mines. This is the verdict on Netjer Maʽat's assent through the divine judgment of the son of the God Re (Ra), Per'a'ah Atemu. Therefore, there is no appeal. Let it be written and let it be done."

The royal scribe noted everything exemplarily and after finishing, he delivered the papyrus to his personal slave who handed it to the servant responsible for taking the scrolls for consideration by the monarch who stamped the royal seal in his office after approval.

The monarch makes a discreet hand signal and the guards approach, facing the throne, then kneel down to their sovereign.

"Get this rubbish out of my sight. Take him to the healers. Then take him to the dungeon and lock him up to avoid any attempt to escape or attempt to take his own life. I want him alive to serve his sentence. "

They consent and as he was grabbed by two soldiers and dragged along anyway, also screaming for the pain of his wounds, the man begins to beg for mercy among his screams until another guard hits him sideways in the head, making him faint, receiving a King's satisfied smile.

After his screams grew quieter, with the blood remaining near the steps, Atemu orders, "Clean the place up."

The slaves who were positioned close to the throne and hidden by the pilasters appear armed with cloth at the place where the seller was beaten.

When they finish cleaning the place, they prostrate themselves to the monarch, then withdraw in front of a specific gesture from the sovereign.

"Hem-netjr Mahaado."

The superintendent of the mages' court stands in front of his monarch and bows while awaiting his orders.

"Perform the necessary spells to ensure that he fully serves his sentence."

"As you wish, Heru. I will personally apply the heika to him."

The sovereign nods and makes a discreet nod, with Mahaado bowing again before returning to his place among the Holy Guardians.

Then, the sovereign speaks, looking at the young man who was prostrate, "Yuugi, you can get up."

The boy stands up, with Atemu realizing that the look had changed almost imperceptibly, making him worried because he expected a little more change and despite the intense worry and sadness that afflicted him, cutting his heart and engulfing him in despair when he saw the state of the one he loved and who had been looking for him for years, he showed nothing in his countenance.

Seto catches Kisara's wrist while holding her because she was flat on the ground and makes her stand up, noticing a slight confusion on her face.

"As for that collar on them..." Shimon comments, looking intently at the object.

"According to the slaver, they have magic and to prevent them from attacking their master, the collar acts as an inhibitor. You can control when and where you want or block. According to that bastard, it's blocked." The wielder of Sennen Shakujou responds, looking at Tjaty (Vizier).

"Is it true that they have magic in their bodies? Having magic is rare."

"I'm not sure Per'a'ah." Seto speaks respectfully.

Then, the monarch looks at Yuugi and asks, "Do you have heika (magic)?"

Due to the brutal training he had had, he couldn't help but respond to his master.

"I don't know if it's heika, master. I use my Kiei to manipulate the elements, plants and animals."

"Kiei? Explain this power in detail to me."

"It's a kind of energy that some chosen ones have in their bodies. It's usually passed on by the ancestors. We thought we needed to pray to our Gods, in addition to concentrating Kiei. However, after moving away from the village, I found that even without prayer I could run this control and if I use it constantly, I might get burned out."

"What kind of ancestors does Kiei have?"

"Those who belong to the lineage of priests from my native village. My father was the High Priest and my grandfather was also and so on. I had finished my training to assume as Priest and would become High Priest with the death of my father. Priests remain in office until his death and only move away for reasons of force majeure, such as dementia due to old age."

"And who ran your village?"

"The High Priest. There was the Village Leader to take care of other matters because the High Priest took care of spiritual matters. Therefore, he could question the Village Leader's orders and modify them if necessary."

Everyone noticed that the boy spoke in a voice without showing any emotion while he remained crestfallen and his eyes lifeless.

"Where is your village?"

The question makes Yuugi's blood run cold because there was a small part inside him that had withdrawn and was afraid to leave.

So he is relieved to see that he didn't know exactly where it was and this makes him answer the question without hesitation.

"I don't know. We lived isolated on a towering, impassable mountain. We could see the snowy peaks. We were self-sufficient and completely isolated from the outside world. Our exact location was lost over the millennia of isolation."

"What happened to your village? After all, if they lived isolated, there would be no reason to be here." The monarch asks while internally, he felt happy that Yuugi had left his home village because thanks to that, he could find him while fiercely suppressing the guilt that arose in him at this thought for being fully aware that he was too selfish.

"We thought we lived isolated and that no one would attack us. But the attack came. My people managed to flee and I stayed behind because in terms of Kiei, I had the greatest concentration and needed to delay the attack. So I started using the trees to stop them, in addition to manipulating other elements. I managed to slow them down for my people to flee and then, I managed to flee."

Even though he was broken, the part that had been spared by Yukiko, was still conscious and tried to filter as much as possible what he said.

In fact, he hadn't told any lies. He had just hidden a few things and that isn't necessarily lying. That remaining part decided to act that way to keep them from finding out about his friend inside him.

Many of those who heard were astonished by the young man's act of sacrificing himself to save his people by stopping enemies so that others could escape. It was too selfless an act and Atemu couldn't help but feel intense admiration for Yuugi's act of love because he believed that the young man's heart was as crystalline and bright as the beautiful amethyst gems in his orbs. A noble and gentle heart was something rare, making the monarch happy to know he was as precious as the most precious jewel.

This only made him feel angrier at the one who hurt this preciousness, since the tricolor-haired teenager was the master of his heart and predestined to be his alone, with the king being fully aware of the sense of possessiveness he felt for the one he loved.

In the meantime, Akhenaden found himself thoughtful as he recalled the distrust of the other Holy Guardians because they might derail his plan.

Therefore, to try to deceive them, he decided that he would pretend to be exemplary and for that, he needed to act as expected.

Smiling inwardly, he stands in front of the king and prostrates himself while the monarch wonders at his uncle's attitude.

After all, nearly two years ago, he had been absent from any demonstration as a member of the Holy Guardians.

Furthermore, as the bearer of the Sennengan never demonstrated any act or thought that was against the interests of the empire or his authority as sovereign, Atemu saw no need to expel him from his court and have the Sennen Aitemu removed.

Furthermore, if he did, it would be necessary to find a successor and the monarch was fully aware that the use of the item was brutal due to the sacrifice of an eye, making it extremely painful for the item's successor.

Arching his brow, he asks in his deep baritone voice, "What do you want to talk about, Hem-netjr Akhenaden?"