Volume II: Unforgiving Kingdom
Chapter V: Execution Dawn (Part I)
Location: 18th Floor; Castle Vallera, Goldenia
"Uuugh! This is so boring...!"
On the outskirts of the castle, many guards continued to patrol around the area as ordered, all of them keeping their eyes out as they walked around the castle grounds endlessly. With Feena however, the girl didn't seem to be too on board with this task. As of now, the newly appointed Lieutenant was currently laying on the ground right beside the castle, groaning out of boredom.
"All I've been doing is walking around doing absolutely nothing!" She continued to rant to herself. "What in the hell was the point of all this again? Nothing's happening! They make us come all the way out here to only stand around and waste space and time! You know, I ought to just get up, go to the lifts and walk on out of here!" Feena thought about what she said for a second, but ultimately sighed. "Nah, I'd better not. If I do that I'll probably just get myself into a shit ton of unnecessary trouble."
Feena sighed loudly.
"Oh goddammit!" She exclaimed as she slammed her hands onto the ground beside her. "There has gotta be something to do up here! I should've tried to say if I could switch jobs with Juri on the lower floors if that's the case! At least I would've been doing something other than nothing!"
Feena then proceeded to fling herself upward, and landed back on her feet. Stretching her arms as she got up, she started to walk around once again, much to her boredom.
"Well..." She started to say. "Beats sitting around her complaining I guess."
As she continued to restart her walk around the castle once more, Feena started looking around. As she did so, she noticed that in her area, there wasn't that many soldiers around, as well as that there was a lift nearby that wasn't being used.
"But, on the other hand..." She thought to herself. "No one else is around to see me if I leave... I guess it won't hurt if one of their soldiers were to say..." Feena starts sneaking over to the nearby lift. "Just take an early leave and head back to the lower floors. I mean we've got plenty of people to cover one's absence."
Taking small and quiet steps, Feena was slowly making her way towards the nearby lift, moving around in areas where she could not be seen. Soon, she was within a few feet from the lift to head back home.
"Where are you heading off to all of a sudden?"
Feena immediately froze in place as she slowly turned around upon hearing someone's voice behind her. When she turned around, she was only slightly relieved to see that the person behind her was none other than Katalina. Though that slight relief didn't stop her from eventually falling over. Quickly, Feena picked her back up and faced Katalina.
"O-Oh, hey Katalina!" She said quickly as she rubbed her head. "I-I thought you were supposed to be guarding the castle's interior, not the exterior."
"I thought you were supposed to be guarding the exterior of Castle Vallera." Katalina responded. "Not trying to sneak away and head back home before you were ordered to do so."
"Alright, I'm sorry. But can you blame me? There's nothing happening around here! What's the point in me staying this entire time if all I'm gonna do is walk over here, then over there, rinse and repeat?"
"That's why it's called 'patrolling'!"
"They should've named it 'boring activity' instead!"
Katalina puts a hand to her head.
"How did somebody like you get recruited into the Imperial Army of Goldenia, let alone be made a lieutenant of all things?" She asked Feena and herself in response.
"Hey I take offense to that, you know!" Feena exclaimed.
"I know. Now come on. Let's get back."
"Oh, alright..."
Very reluctantly, Feena sighed deeply as she started to follow after Katalina who walked back towards the castle.
"Seriously. What the hell were you thinking?" Katalina asked Feena as the two walked. "Why did you think that you'd be able to just sneak off like that?"
"Well I mean there wasn't anybody else around me at the time." Feena answered. "So I figured that with nobody in this area, I would be able to sneak out without any problems whatsoever. Well, that was the case until you showed up."
"Feena, even if you had made it into the lift, did you not bother to stop once and think about all of the complications that could've arose from that? Say you had made it and that I had not interfered like I just did. Once you activated the lift, with as many guards as there are here and with how loud those things can be, somebody would've heard you and came over to check out what's going on. Then once you've been caught, there's no telling what could've happened to you next!"
"Alright, I get it, Mom!"
Katalina rolled her eyes at the attempted insult and continued to walk. Feena merely sighed once again, seeing that she wasn't going to get any opening any time soon.
"Look, I'm sorry." Feena commented. "What else am I supposed to do or say other than apologizing with an 'I'm sorry'?"
"Honestly, I don't even know anymore." Katalina answered. "I'm not even sure why am I not just letting you get caught and return to my duties inside the castle."
"Oh yeah, I never asked."
"Never asked what?"
"What the heck are you doing outside here anyway? You're guarding the inside. Or at least you're supposed to. What happened?" Feena smirked and walked up closer to Katalina, playfully elbowing her. "Oh don't tell me. You got bored too and were gonna try to sneak out and head home yourself, right?"
Katalina pushes Feena back a few inches away from her.
"Don't be ridiculous." Katalina replied. "I'm not that type of person who doesn't understand when they've been given a task they need to fulfill it."
"Yeah, sure." Feena said sarcastically. "Whatever you say."
"But if you must know, I came out here to find you."
"Find me? Why would you be looking for me?"
"Oh it's not major really, I assure you that. Well, it depends on your definition of major. But to you, I wouldn't expect this to be anything you'd want to get mixed up in all of this."
"...Alright, I will say that I am intrigued. What's so important that you had to come out here and tell me?"
"We can talk about this once we're inside Castle Vallera. I think you may want to at least sit down for a moment, considering how long you must have been walking out here."
"Well, you do have a point." Feena puts a hand on her hat and smiles. "Alright then, Katalina. Lead the way."
Katalina nodded as the two started walking back for the castle's entrance like they had done before.
In Castle Vallera's Interior. . .
Several minutes had now passed by. As they reached the inside of Castle Vallera, Feena and Katalina found themselves sitting nearby an available set of chairs located just a few feet away from the entrance, in an area where visitors and other soldiers would often come to as an area to relax for a short break before going back to their daily lives. As they sat down, Katalina then began to explain to Feena what it was she wanted to discuss; The topic of a pending execution of two prisoners had spread throughout the guards quickly. Soon everyone that was within the interior had heard about it. Katalina had started to explain this to Feena while the two sat down. The more she heard Katalina speak to her, the more Feena began to realize that the two people being held for execution were Ragna and Monika. Soon, Feena stood up from where she was sitting.
"E-Execution!?" She exclaimed in shock. "They're being executed?!"
"From what I've heard going around, then yes." Katalina answered in response. "According to the soldiers I heard it from, Prime Minister Alexiel is the one who's going to be handling this execution. She recently just left Castle Vallera and down to the imperial dungeons to prepare the two of them for their coming execution."
". . . . I. . ." Feena remained quiet for a moment, but then spoke slightly. "I see. . . "
"Feena? Is something wrong?"
Feena immediately looked up, and managed to regain her composure.
"No, don't worry. I'm alright." She responded. "So. Why tell me all of this? What does it have to do with me?"
"I just simply thought that you would be at least somewhat interested to know what is about to happen to those two." Katalina said. "They were your friends and allies almost two weeks ago. You have to be the lest bit curious."
". . . . ."
"Feena?"
"No, not... not really. Why... Why should I care what happens to them, right?"
"Well, I suppose... Honestly Feena, I'm quite surprised at your attitude."
"Why's that?"
"I can understand that you don't want anything else to do with those two anymore. I understand that. But even after you worked with the two of them and then turned against them or Goldenia, you don't feel anything towards them at all."
"I'm a former mercenary Kats."
"Kats?" Katalina blinked confused for a moment at the nickname.
"I don't make a lot of attachments to people. To me, they're just allies. Or were. They... can be used. And... A-And they made their choice so I made my choice!"
"I know that much, but still Feena. Betrayal isn't something a lot of people can just do normally."
"It is for me. I don't have any problems with it."
"What?!"
"This definitely isn't the first time i've double-crossed someone. And I doubt it'll be the last. I get it Kats. But I'm not like other people. These types of things never bothered me. It doesn't matter who they are, how long I've known them, or even if I called them. . . . Even. . . if I called. . . . called them my friends. I'm prepared for betrayal and I am prepared to betray at all times."
"Feena. . . " Katalina sighed deeply. "That's not a good way to live. Mercenary or not. You could use a friend or two at times don't you think? Aren't we friends after all?"
"Yeah, right!"
Katalina jumped in shock on what Feena blatantly said.
"What good are friends?!" Feena suddenly asked in a serious tone. "All they do is say they'll be there for you, and then are only there when it's to their benefit! But then when things are all against you, they'll just betray you, stab you in the back. and then act like they never knew you! What good purpose could having a friend possibly be?"
"Feena that's not what a friend is at all!"
"That's-!"
1st Floor, Goldenia
"That sounds absurd!"
A few nights ago, following Feena's incident at a tavern on the fifth floor. She had returned to her first floor home in a drunken state, something with surprised not only her, but Goblin Mage as well. Because of this, the two had engaged in a conversation about what friendship truly is.
"What do you mean that I don't know what a friend is?" She asked the goblin girl across from her. "I think my life for itself should speak volumes about friends."
"Feena, you can't really think that the timeline of a single person can compare to a whole bunch of other timelines!" Goblin Mage said in argument against Feena. "Just because you haven't had many reliable people in your life doesn't mean that the definition of a friend is somebody who is unreliable and deceitful!"
"How else am I supposed to see a friend as then, huh? Goblin Mage, I am a former mercenary. There's only one way for me to see a friend, you know. And you know why I'm like that!"
"I know I do! But you need to change Feena! You need to change how you view the world!"
"What do you mean?"
"Not every single person is alike. Look at the two of us. We don't have much of anything in common really. But yet we get along great. We care for each other! We take care of each other. We're friends. We're an example of what a friend is supposed to be. I'm what a friend is supposed to be. What you've been through with all of those bad people who turn against you were only lying. They never wanted to be your friend in the first place!"
"Well then... Then... Then how do I know that you aren't just like them? How do I truly know that you aren't just feeding me all of this so that I can stay on your side, and so that you can use me for whatever you might have planned in that little head of yours?"
"Because what could there possibly be waiting for me if I used you?"
"H-Huh?"
"Feena... You and I both know that there isn't a lot of things we can relate to with each other. But we can agree that our pasts are somewhere alike. Our similar paths caused the two of us to meet. And if our paths are similar then you know that there isn't anything else that's out there for me. I don't have anything but our friendship. I have nowhere else to go, I have nobody that's waiting for me. You're the only thing that I do have. A friend. Somebody who always listens to me no matter what I say. Somebody who's always there to comfort me when I'm sad. Somebody that cares for me. You're my friend Feena. That's what friendship is. That's what a friend is."
Feena looked like she wanted to say something in response to what Goblin Mage had said, however no matter how much she tried, she was unable to find the proper words to muster a sentence for a response.
"I know this is all new for you." Goblin Mage continued. "And I know that this must be a huge amount of things to take in, but I know that I'm telling you things that you need to hear, at least once in your life." Goblin Mage puts a hand on Feena's chest. "That's why you were acting differently. That's why you had guilt inside of your body. For a little while, you... saw them as how I see you. A true friend."
Feena looked down at the ground as Goblin Mage spoke once more. Finally, the newly appointed Lieutenant looked up, opened her mouth, and spoke.
"What does any of that crap even matter now?" Feena asked. "If I ever thought of them in the way that you told me or not? That's gone. That's something special isn't it Goblin Mage? To find true friends. To find good people. Even if you are right, there's really no point in me feeling any type of way about them. They hate me. I am fine with that. It doesn't bother me. Let them think what they want to think, and let me do what I want to do. .That's all there is to it."
"Stop...!" Goblin Mage pouted.
"Stop? Stop what?"
"Stop saying you're okay with all of this! There's a lot of people out there who don't like you! A lot of bad people who you turned against because of how you view friendship! A lot of dangerous people that want to get rid of you because of this! You can't be okay with any of this! Not with all the trouble that it causes you! Not if it makes you feel guilt like this!"
"Well, then let ME suffer from this guilt then! Let me suffer from it all by my damn self! I don't need to drag others down with me! I don't need you getting hurt because of this! Just. Let. Me. Suffer. Like I deserve!"
18th Floor; Castle Vallera, Goldenia
"-I-It doesn't matter, I. . . It doesn't matter to me what happens. End of story!"
Feena had been continuing her talk with Katalina as she was reliving her conversation with Goblin Mage inside of her head. Katalina put a hand on her head and sighed at what Feena said.
"What could've happened to you to make you think this way...?" She asked quietly.
". . . Come on Kats. We've sat down here long enough. We should go back to patrolling until told otherwise. I think I've kept you from your duties long enough."
Katalina wanted to offer a retort to all of this, but ultimately she just sighed and started walking off. Feena soon began to follow after the woman. As the two walked off deeper into the castle Feena had stopped for a moment as she looked down. The girl had clenched her fists and sighed deeply to herself.
"And. . ." She said to herself. "And I have my duties to attend to."
Location: Goldenian Imperial Dungeon, 17th Floor
With the aforementioned prisoners, the two had now resorted to just sitting around in their cell. With Monika, the girl had thrown aside her black overcoat aside and was merely laying down on the bed, her hat over her face as she continued to sleep. With Ragna, the man had remained awake, and was sitting up against a wall. Although he kept his eyes closed even though he was not asleep. As of now, he was still lost in thought of trying to regain his memories, but unfortunately for him, he would always draw up blanks.
"And now after all of that, I'm resorted back down to nothing..." He thought silently to himself. "Everything ends the moment she stabs me. What the hell happens next? Who even is she? Is that why I'm here?"
Ragna groaned in frustration, eventually laying down on the ground.
"Why the hell is it so hard to remember shit?!" He said out loud. "If all I need are my memories to understand what the hell is going on with my life, then if I focus on that I should be able to remember at least something that's helpful easily!" Ragna punched the ground beside him, leaving a small hole. "Dammit, this is doing absolutely nothing except frustrating me even further."
Ragna folded his arms as he stood up and walked over to the cell door. There he stood there, staring out into the dark void that was the rest of the imperial dungeon.
"Whatever I got myself into... I hate it." He said. "And the fact that I'm stuck in this shit hole makes it even more shittier than it should be."
"You won't be stuck in there for much longer."
"Huh?"
Ragna looked out of the cell again and could see somebody walking over towards them.
"Hey! Who the hell's out there?"
The person on the other end didn't respond. Ragna took a step away from the cell door as that individual came into viewing range. Upon seeing who that person was, he was a bit surprised, as Prime Minister Alexiel of all people was the one standing in front of the cell door.
"You?" Ragna said in response. He then slightly shook the sleeping Monika to wake her. "Hey, get up."
Monika started to stir in her sleep as she slowly sat up.
"Wh-What's going on...?" She asked as she started to put her hat on her head.
"We've got company."
Monika was confused for a moment until Ragna pointed towards the cell door. The girl quickly straightened up after seeing Alexiel standing outside of their cell. As Monika threw on her coat, Alexiel opened the cell door, and beckoned at the two of them to follow her as she walked off back the way she came. Not sure what was going on, Ragna and Monika complied with her and followed after Alexiel. The three had walked through the corridor for several seconds until Alexiel stopped in the middle. Ragna and Monika stopped as well, all of them standing there for a moment until Monika spoke up.
"Um, Prime Minister...?" She started asking Alexiel. "Wh-What's all of this-"
Before Monika could finish her question, she and Ragna suddenly felt something wrap around the hands and arms, binding them together. Looking down, the two could see that they had been tied up in Alexiel's mirror-blade shards, which have taken the form of chains.
"H-Huh?!"
"What the hell?!"
"You're still prisoners, are you not?" Alexiel responded to the two as she turned around to face them. "Therefore, I will treat you as such. Neither of you are even close to being let go free, but I have a few questions that I need to ask the two of you."
"What are they?" Monika asked.
"Are either of you aware of the recent events that have taken place recently within the kingdom? As in I'm referring to his late Highness' assassination about a week ago."
"H-His Highness has... has been killed...? I... w-wow, I'm... I'm sorry to hear that. I can't believe someone would be willing to do such a thing to him..."
Alexiel raised a brow. "So, I take it that this has nothing to do with the two of you?"
"You're trying to tie the two of us into a murder that we didn't even know anything about?" Ragna asked.
"Shut it, Demon! I wasn't talking to you!"
"Prime Minister, I assure you that we have nothing to do with this horrible act. Even though I'm a prisoner and labelled a traitor." Monika stated. "Hell, I still feel sorrow about hearing this."
"Let it not be said, you aren't a loyal Goldenian to the core. Fine. I'll believe that. For now at least." Alexiel then turned towards Ragna. "However, that doesn't excuse your little boyfriend over here."
Monika waves her hands frantically. "He's not my-Why would you assume that?!"
"What are you implying at?" Ragna however, simply ignored Alexiel's statement. "Are you trying to say you think this is my doing?"
Both Alexiel and Ragna butt heads.
"That wouldn't be a surprise." Alexiel responded.
"Well, news flash. Why would I even care to do something like that?" Ragna questioned.
"Knowing your kind, you may have been for all I know."
"You know, I'd wish you'd stop comparing me to something I don't even know what the hell you're referring to! I don't know a damn thing about this world! You can't just go around hating my guts just because of some stupid orb!"
Alexiel grabbed Ragna up by the collar of his shirt and coat and lifted him up.
"Ragna!" Monika exclaimed.
"The hell do you think you're doing, you bitch?!" Ragna growled at the redheaded Prime Minister.
"Let me set something straight with you, Ragna." Alexiel started to say. "Whether or not you know jack shit about Riverbrandt doesn't mean a damn thing to me whatsoever! I've lived for many years now I am telling you, I don't care what the hell you have to say or argue about with me. I'm not the person that you want to try and pull one over. I willing to cut you down to piece right now if you're intend on-"
Alexiel was suddenly silenced as Ragna managed to break free from the mirror-blade chains that were around his hands and arms. Upon doing so, he transformed his right hand into a dark claw, and slapped Alexiel straight on her jaw, causing her to stumble back and let go of Ragna, who landed on his feet like nothing had happened.
"God, do you ever shut up?!" He said to Alexiel.
Alexiel had only stood there in silence for a moment in response to Ragna striking her so easily. Placing a hand on her face, she could feel a wound that was left on her cheek due to Ragna's claw, as well as blood leaking out from the wound. She clenched her fist as she turned around to look at Ragna.
"What? Are you gonna try and fight me again?" Ragna asked, taking Alexiel by surprised. "I'm unarmed, sure. But if I could mess your face up without even trying, then I'll probably do a hell of a lot more when I put effort behind it." Ragna taunted Alexiel, slowly angering the woman. "Look, if you wanna throw down here and now, by all means. Make the first move. I dare you."
Alexiel was prepared to take a shot at Ragna, but ultimately just growled and straightened her composure.
"You know, Demon..." She started to respond. "Between the two of you, I'm going to enjoy hanging you from the gallows the most. I hope you know that."
"H-Hanged?!" Monika stuttered to say. "What do you mean hanged?!"
"I know, Weisswind. My original plan was to allow you to serve your sentence here until released, then let you rejoin the Imperial Army from scratch. However, Prime Mi- Her new Highness, Von Bismarck, has requested that I have both of you executed swiftly in order to not have to worry about dealing with you anymore. She's ordered me to have you hanged from the gallows at dawn. As of now, I already have several soldiers preparing the gallows for your execution. I've just been given the rest of the night to see if either of you had any information related to this killing."
"Prime Minister, wait! There has to be another way!"
"Her Highness has already given me the order. There's no changing it Weisswind. I'm afraid your life ends at dawn."
"Please, reconsider! Isn't there anything we can do?!"
"Yeah, there is." Ragna spoke up. "It's just one of you and two of us." Ragna turned his left hand into a claw, and shattered the mirror-blade chains around Monika's hands and arms. "We make a run for it, you can't stop us. And we'll be out of the city and out of your hair."
"Yeah, right." Alexiel replied. "You make it seem like I'm alone. There's also guards waiting outside of the dungeon at all exits. They're ready to apprehend you or raise an alarm if you try to escape. And I hope you didn't forget but I don't roll over and die so easily."
Ragna slowly took a step back, remembering how even after having a hole blown straight through her chest, Alexiel recovered and managed to take him down like he never hit her. Soon, another set of mirror-blade chains wrapped around the two, this time their entire bodies instead. With them chained once again, the mirror-blade chains extend out a leftover chain that wrapped onto Alexiel's hand, binding the two prisoners to her.
"Speaking of dawn, the sun is coming up soon." She said. "It's better this way. I can at least grant you a swift death, Weisswind. Although it may not be the same as dying for glory on the battlefield, this is the least I can do.
Monika merely stood there speechless as Alexiel began pulling her and Ragna along. Ragna growled in protest, but came to realize that with brute force he wasn't getting out of this yet. He sighed and went along with Alexiel. Monika proceeded to do the same.
"Damn this woman...!" Ragna thought to himself. "Alright, there has to be someway I can get us out of this before she kills us. Hanging from a noose is definitely not the way I wanna go."
"This can't be it, can it...?" Monika asked herself as she and Ragna were led outside by Alexiel. "I-I can't die here. Not yet. I can't afford to let myself die just yet!"
"The gallows have been set up and prepped, Prime Minister." One of the guards said to Alexiel as she walked out, having Ragna and Monika in tow. "Everyone else is ready and awaiting your instructions."
"Good. Then we can make this quick." Alexiel responded.
Alexiel continued to walk forward, dragging the two prisoners along with her. Monika and Ragna both did their best to protest and slow her down, but with two more soldiers standing behind them, they didn't have much room to resist as they were forced to keep walking. Soon, they all arrived in a large lot about the size of a small arena. In there, there were several more guards on standby. The area was filled with several execution methods. Guillotines, gallows, many different types of execution methods were located inside of this small arena sized lot. While Monika was merely shaking quietly at the sight of all these, Ragna however didn't seem bothered whatsoever. The man remained quiet as he looked for any opening he could get to escape. However, with all the guards around, him not having a weapon, and Alexiel to deal with, he eventually sighed and growled, unable to see any opening. Soon, Alexiel stopped walking as the three now stood in front of the gallows. The mirror-blade chains around the two of them disappeared. Though they thought they could make a run for it, they knew that they wouldn't get far.
"Are the gallows all set and ready?" Alexiel called out to the guards at the gallows.
"Yes Prime Minister!" A male soldier replied. "Everything is set and ready!"
"These ropes have been itching to take some lives today!" A female soldier said enthusiastically. "Come on! We're ready for you Prime Minister! Who's gonna be the first victim for today?"
Alexiel looked over towards Monika and gestured her forward. Monika merely stood there, slightly shaking.
"Prime Minister, please. . ." She asked once more. "Please, there must be something else that we can do! I can't-"
"I tried Weisswind, I did." Alexiel interrupted her. "But Her Highness would not change her mind on this. This is out of my power."
"But-"
Monika was cut off as one of the guards grabbed her and started taking her up to the gallows. The woman did her best to thrash about, but it was all simply in vain. Alexiel simply sighed and look down.
"You're making a big mistake, redhead."
However, she looked up suddenly as Ragna spoke to her.
"What was that?" She asked him.
"I said this is all just big damn mistake." Ragna replied.
"And how so?"
"Your new ruler. That's the same girl that was with you about two weeks ago, right?"
"von Bismarck? Yes."
"I wouldn't trust her if I were you." Alexiel blinked as Ragna said that. "There's something up with that woman. And I get the feeling that you know it too, don't you?"
"What the hell would make you say that?"
"I trust my guts on this one. I can tell."
". . . You really ARE a Demon."
"You'll thank me for telling you about this. I know you will."
"Even if I do, you won't be around to hear it."
Monika continued to struggle relentlessly to avoid going up to the gallows and being hanged. The more she struggled, the more she came out to the same result of being taken down and pushed up even further to the gallows.
"Come on! Don't resist it!" the female soldier said. "You're getting over here one way or another!"
"Her Highness is being kind by giving you a death at the hands of a gallows." the male soldier said. "There are other worse ways to go than via the gallows."
Monika struggled and did not stop with what might she had. However as she came up to the gallows after a good minute, she saw that there wasn't any way for her to escape. She slowly looked up to the noose that was lowering down around her neck. She clenched her fist and held down her head as the noose reached her. The female soldier then grabbed hold of the noose and placed it around Monika's neck. The former lieutenant did nothing else but just stood there, having accepted her defeat.
"By imperial decree of Her Highness, Freesia Von Bismarck," Alexiel began to say, as the soldiers tied more rope around Monika's hands and feet. "The two prisoners that were taken into custody within a period of two weeks ago from today have been sentenced to execution from the gallows, with former Lieutenant Monika Weisswind being the first to be hanged." Alexiel then looked up at the tied down Monika. "If you have any last words or statements, this is the only time you will have to say them. Speak now."
Monika held her tongue and didn't utter anything else.
". . . Very well then." Alexiel signals at the two guards. "Quickly now."
"Yes, Prime Minister!" The male soldier responded.
"I'm on it, Prime Minister!" The female soldier replied. "Down goes another prisoner in the name of Goldenia!"
The female soldier pulled down on a lever attached to the gallows. Immediately a trap door opened underneath Monika's feet. The girl feel straight downward the moment it opened, on her way straight to her imminent death. Alexiel looked away while Ragna simpy sighed. The soldiers all stood by as the watched the girl fall. However, the moment the rope stopped and left Monika hanging there, the girl was still alive as she could be heard suffocating slowly. No one move from their position as this happened. However, suddenly a large clanking noise had been heard not too far off, as if someone fired a large weapon. Ragna immediately noticed the sound, and looked up and around.
"The hell?" He asked himself. "What was-"
Before Ragna could finish, a large crash was heard. Everyone was immediately taken back by the sound and sight before them. A large, metal arrow had crashed into the gallows, destroying it on impact and breaking the top of the rope Monika was hanging from, stopping her suffocation and allowing her to breathe a little as the noose around her neck was loosened. The girl remained on the ground as she fell, coughing as she looked down unaware of what just happened. Everyone else stood there stunned while the guards were all on guard, several of them surrounding Alexiel. Just about everyone exclaimed the exact same phrase.
"What the hell?!"
To be continued. . .