The shouted orders from the knight captain got his troops to marshal in the other courtyard, as he then forced the release of Reichnott, with me using a (Curse Break Arrow) on both him and Raphtalia to heal their curses from Rabier's attacks, and allowing us some breathing room, as we descended the stairs, back towards the courtyard once more, the moonlight seeming a bit brighter now that we had a moment to rest and relax.
"Captain, you have to know, even with Idol dealt with, your actions will need to be accounted for. Raphtalia's story of…what you and your men did to her village, let alone what happened with Lord Reichnott. They are not things that I, as a Princess of the Realm, can overlook," said Melty as we walked past the exit the knights had taken, towards a large staircase that led down into a foul smelling pit.
"I understand, your ladyship. I merely insist that the men were under my command, and it was my voice that led to what happened in all things. If this had gone another way…if your Sister had her way, I would have faced a far worse punishment for disobeying, but even so, I know what we did, regardless of orders, was beyond the pale," he looked down, sighing, showing at least he regretted what he did, even if Raphtalia's expression showed that regret was not going to sait her.
"If there is punishment to be had, let it fall on my head, and not theirs," he said at last, and Melty stared at him for a moment, as if considering it, but then turned away without answering, as we descended the stairs, and a stench that was familiar in the worst way possible hit my nose. The same smell of human suffering that had been all over the brother's village was coming up from the dungeons, and as we entered…
The words to describe what my eyes showed me were beyond my ken. People huddled in groups, trying to stay warm. Their bodies covered in the refuse of their existence, their frames gaunt and skeletal. Their eyes weren't quite as dead as those of the slaves, but it was close. Some were chained to a wall, wincing as we came down with a small torch, the bright light hurting their eyes that had only tiny windows out into the daytime, and those looked like they could be covered.
They moved well enough, and I could see the conditions on some of them would wear off with time and some food. Others…I was already starting to consider what of my own skills might work best. One, however, stirred something in Raphtalia, a boy she identified as Keel who looked to be a wolf Demi-Human…I think. Hard to tell in the light, but he brightened up as the two traded words, before finally, she helped him to his feet, and Lord Reichnott offered to carry the boy.
The other cells were emptied soon, as the knight captain opened them, and they came out, disbelieving of what was happening, but still moving with haste towards the exit, the captain taking them up towards the courtyard. We could hear him ordering his men to take care of them, and that any harm they suffered from this point on would be visited double on the ones who did it.
Still, we worked our way back, and as we got to the end of it all, a small group of cells that smelled putrid and rotting came into view. There we found the bodies of those that hadn't survived, most in various states of decay, having been shoved on top of each other. This includes one in a corner, a skeleton in rags, that Raphtalia ran to.
"Rifana!" she cried, and began to sob before it. Her friend, obviously. She'd been talking with Naofumi and Filo on her way here, giving her history with Idol Rabier. As she sat there crying, he briefly told us some of it, how her village had barely survived the First Wave, and then the knights had come. The captain turned away as he described how they clapped everyone in irons, and brought them here for Rabier to…play with.
"That he could die only once for this crime is the truest proof that justice is a hard thing to find in this world," I said at last.
"It's hard to believe that such things could happen, that such cruelty could come from the hearts of men when demons claw at the gates of civilization," whispered Melty, as she stood beside Van, who shook his head.
"Things like this are happening across this land. Lord Seaetto's death, you and your mother leaving. Without those limits, without anyone to oppose them, people like Idol and your sister felt free to act as they would. Old grudges like Idol's, or simply a belief that the world's end is nigh. Either way, you knuckle under and do as they will, or they destroy those around them to feel some measure of control," he explained, and I stiffened a bit.
It was probably true, the Queen's man in court might have prevented this…no would have prevented this. Thus, this was a crime on the head of the Pope for it was his hand that slew the Lord, and opened up this path. And yet…we lived because of that death. The Heroes. Heck, maybe even the whole world, as I still hadn't been able to find out about what the Waves were like in the other nations.
Faced with this cost, faced with a woman crying over the body of a friend, picked clean like this, I couldn't say I felt worthy of that sacrifice. If this were a game world, I'd search high and low for a feather of a phoenix, or a crystal of life to bring her back, to assuage what my conscience was screaming in my ear. I would look at those tears turning to happy ones, and I would feel good about myself.
This was no game world, though. These people existed before my coming, and would continue to exist after me. They had lives, and I was not a part of them all, yet my being here affected so many. I was…it was not something I had ever expected. To be the one others depended on…to be the one others lost their lives for, even indirectly. I looked towards the bones of a young woman, and I realized that somewhere in the north, because I failed to follow through on my own actions, this scene was probably happening every day.
Like a switch had been flipped, my interface popped up in my eyes, the green text flashing in a few colors for a moment, distracting me from what was going on before me, as I leaned back against a wall, staring at it. The text distorted, and for just a moment, I saw words that were not part of the interface, most with question marks beside them, or glitched text that hurt to look at, before everything slammed down hard, like someone had shut something down that was in mid process.
I was disoriented as the others moved, leaning against the wall, blinking, trying to make sense of what had just happened. I was barely aware as Naofumi and the rest began to walk towards the stairs, back outside. Slowly, as we came out into the moonlight, my focus returned to the world, as I heard the sound of raised voices from the next courtyard over where the captain had taken the Demi-Humans, and the smell of smoke entered the air.
"What is that?" asked Van, and Naofumi shook his head.
"The Demi-Humans, the ones from your land, resisted your being 'taken in for questions', and are at the gate down the road, demanding you be released. I think we should probably go show them everything's alright, an-" he started, but then the world suddenly shook, like an explosion had gone off, and we all nearly toppled over Naofumi who was at the head of the formation, forcing us to take a knee, before we rushed up the rest of the stairs, and we turned to find a most unexpected sight.
The statue, really an obelisk carved with symbols, that I had noticed on entering the courtyard, was alight with dark magics. Crackles of black lightning moved up and down its height, and it was exuding a blue-black glow and mist from itself, as standing before it was Idol Rabier, his body looking beaten and bloody, one of his arms dangling uselessly at his side, as he muttered something we couldn't hear.
"What is this guy's class, cockroach?!" shouted Naofumi, as the ground shook again, and he let the boy slip off his back, as he pulled his Shield into a defensive position, and the rest of us got ready to fight. Idol, either ignoring the dig, or just not hearing it, raised his good hand up, holding up the symbol of the Three Heroes Church, and making motions similar to the ones he had been, the icon glowing with magical power, as the glow from the obelisk spread, symbols of golden light appearing on the ground.
"That…he can't!" shouted Van, as he stumbled forward, pointing.
"That stone was used by the Heroes of the past to seal away a monster forever," he said, and as he spoke, the lines of runes on the ground began to literally wash away from the center.
"He's undoing the seal!" he cried out, as the lines along the ground vanished completely, and Naofumi threw up an (Air Strike Shield) protecting us as the ground began to crack around the monument, Idol rushing away from it, but then turning, a mad smile on his face as he watched the world start to break open, the light, black and blue, flooding out of the ground, as bits of brick and earth were tossed around by the seal's breaking.
I would have shot him if I had a good bead on him, but the ground's rumbling kept me from aiming well, and so I watched in horror as the blue light turned solid, coalescing into the form of a…my (Insight) skill called it 'Tyrant Dragon Rex', and to be fair, it shown with an awesome and terrible power, as it rose up on its two large legs, its clawed, stubby hands grasping at the air as it roared in freedom.
"There's dinosaurs in this campaign setting?!" I shouted incredulously, and Naofumi, despite himself, barked out a laugh, as Idol turned, and faced us, his eyes shining with terrible glee, as his smile was a match for the feral grin I'd seen on Marie's lips when she'd killed the queen that had enslaved her people for months.
"Yes! With this weapon, I shall kill the Devil of the Shield, and ensure that I will be blessed eternally by God! Go forth my divine creature, and work my will!" he shouted, pointing towards us. The 'dragon' ignored his words, looking around in the open air, stretching itself out, letting the armored bits of its hide shimmer in the moonlight. The metallic 'bones' actually glinted wickedly.
He was still laughing, still pointing towards us as the beast finally started to move. He had no way of seeing as the 'dragon' raised its foot up, and then brought it down with enough force to cause a shudder in the earth once again. My (Void Gaze) showed me that Idol Rabier was very much dead this time, but it also showed me how horrific the thing facing us was, both in terms of its stats and abilities, but also its history.
This thing was a nation ender. It had come from a Wave, born of their fell magics, mixed with a more naturally born dragon. That power twisted it into this abomination. Armies had fallen to it, adventurers, not quite as many as the hydra, but then, it had been free for less than a year beforehand, and the seal was apparently one of the most complex spells ever cast, designed to keep it locked away, because the Heroes of its era couldn't kill it.
"Well now…this is a problem," I said, as the thing roared again, issuing us a challenge, and causing Reichnott to set down Keel, as he joined Naofumi, Raphtalia, Melty, and Filo in the line in front of myself and the Demi-Human boy.