Hello Scrolls and Followers of Justice, Mr.Bones bringing the end of Sebas' arc with chapter 17 of my fanfic.
In this part we will see the arrival of the Queen's protector, but who protects her from her protector?
Please comment and share, thank you.
With you
The One Who Came Back
Chapter 17: Punishment
Everyone stopped immediately. Cerabrate was the kingdom's foremost adventurer and greatest defense against the beastmen. He had a bad reputation, but nobody would raise their voice to say something. Nobody wanted to die.
"I just got back, I was on my way to the palace when I saw the flames."
"I'm glad you showed up, now you can let go of me", the Queen said as she removed the arm that was around her shoulders.
"Of course, Your Majesty", replied the adventurer with a smirk.
"Lord Sebas, what happened here?", questioned the Queen to the ambassador who had just arrived.
"Something very unpleasant, Your Majesty. I think you should listen to what they have to say", said Sebas pointing at the children who were clinging to Tuare's skirts.
Everyone was shocked when they saw them, some were wearing children's clothes but too short, some were dressed like adults, but minimally. The uprising among the people started again, the opportunity the minor nobility needed, so a new turmoil seemed about to break out. Cerabrate turned to the Queen and said.
"Your Majesty needs to get out of here, they're going to burn everything down."
"No! If I flee now, the kingdom will fall before the end of the night."
"Don't worry Your Majesty, I'll take care of it! After all, I'm your hero."
It was then that Sebas smelled ammonia in the air. He turned and noticed one of the children shaking in panic, she hadn't shown that kind of reaction all night, despite the things she'd seen.
"What's the matter, child? What happened?"
"The h-hero, the hero is here!, 'I-I'm your h-hero', that's what h-he always s-said when he came to m-my room…" replied the child through her tears.
For the second time this night, Sebas raged.
The queen was being pushed towards the chariot by Cerabrate when she looked at Sebas and saw the rage that consumed him. This was perhaps her only chance to get rid of this monster, so she made eye contact with the butler and whispered without speaking – "Please".
At that moment, a scream of terror silenced the crowd. It was Cerabrate, his hand once on the Queen's shoulder now held by the Iron Butler.
"What are you doing!?", shouted the adventurer
"Get your filthy hands off her."
Cerabrate struggled to free his crushed hand, but it was like trying to pull it out from under a giant anvil. Finally, he managed to free it, thanks to all the blood gushing from his fingers.
"Heal me, HEAL ME, FUCK!" he raged to one of his Crystal Tears teammates. Though they feared Cerabrate, no one moved. Everyone hated him.
He grabbed one of the potions from his belt as soon as he remembered them and drank it. His hand grew back and healed.
"You bastard, I don't know who you are, but you're going to pay for this!"
Sebas was ready to kill Cerabrate right there in front of the crowd and the Queen, an act of war that would surely be paid for with his life.
Then the Queen's voice was clear, calm but strong.
"Lord Sebas, I, the Queen of the Draconic Realm, Draudillon Oriculus, request the Sorcerer Kingdom's assistance in detaining and punishing for crimes against humanity the Adamantite adventurer known as Cerabrate of the Crystal Tears. Will the Sorcerer Kingdom help us?"
"Yes, it will", said Sebas, now taking a calmer fighting stance, before charging towards Cerabrate.
"What are you doing you bitch-…", Cerabrate's voice cracked when he was hit.
Sebas' movements were precise, and with each strike made with his fingertips, there was an echoing sound similar to that of branches breaking. Even with full armor, you could hear the adventurer's bones crunching. If before in the mansion Sebas was a hurricane, now he was the lightning.
The human body has around 206 bones. Sebas had already struck over three hundred times before Tuare touched his shoulder. On this night, the maid again showed more resilience than was expected of her.
"Sebas Tian, you are here to detain him, not to execute him. You are not the executioner, you are the Butler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Let your people punish him".
The butler stopped swinging and assumed his usual posture.
"Yes, once again you are right. Thank you Tuare for reminding me who I am", said Sebas as he backed away.
But Tuare didn't move, she approached the dying adventurer. His bones were broken, exposed in places, his limbs bent at odd angles, blood spurting from his wounds. He would die soon.
Tuare took a potion from her bag and poured a single drop over Cerabrate's face. Even with his jaw broken and open, he tried to smile at the gesture, that's when a cry of agony came, the pain arrived.
After being beaten so badly, Cerabrate was beyond pain, in shock. With the healing potion, his body began to mend itself, but Tuare had shed so little that the result was only closing the wounds and solidifying the fractures, not putting them back together, not easing the pain.
The human body wasn't made to have so many folds, nor to have every joint bent at impossible angles, the agony should be excruciating. The only way to end this would be death or breaking all the bones again, then using a larger healing potion. Nobody would bother.
"CITIZENS OF THE DRACONIAN KINGDOM! TODAY WE RECEIVED THE HELP OF THE SORCERER KINGDOM TO END AN EVIL THAT PLAGGED OUR CITY, NOT THE DANGER OF THE BEASTMEN THAT DEVOUR US OUTSIDE THESE WALLS, BUT FROM A BEAST THAT DEVOURED OUR SOUL INSIDE THIS CITY. TODAY WE WILL BE ABLE TO SLEEP SAFE, THE BEAST HAS BEEN BROKEN, TRAPPED AND WILL BE PUNISHED THANKS TO THIS HELP AND FOR THAT WE FROM THE DRAGON KINGDOM AND IN THE NAME OF HER MAJESTY DRAUDILLON ORICULUS CAN ONLY THANK LORD SEBAS TIAN, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!", shouted the Prime Minister in a fiery speech.
People applauded, waved, many came to congratulate Sebas, and then, finally, they started to disperse.
"We need to talk", the Queen informed Sebas, who nodded.
The next day was a tumultuous one for the Queen. Several nobles were gone, others fled, and those who stayed either supported the Queen or simply blamed her.
The employees' testimonies showed that they were threatened or drugged to work in that place. The owner was missing, but Draudellion suspected who had already taken him.
The office doors opened and Sebas was announced to enter, followed by Tuare.
"Good evening, Mr. Ambassador."
"Good evening, Your Majesty. I hope my actions have not harmed you."
"Nothing that can't be controlled. In fact, you've helped us immensely, without you we wouldn't have been able to stop Cerabrate.
"You know, I've heard stories of knights saving princesses from a dragon's fangs, but never one about a dragon knight saving a dragon queen from a human monster!", laughed the Queen softly.
"Your Majesty underestimates yourself. You would be more than capable of handling someone like him.
"Physically? Yes. But that bastard kept the kingdom under threat, if he got away he could start a revolt before we could silence him."
"We knew, I KNEW about Cerabrate's 'preferences'. I thought if I could keep him interested, maybe other children wouldn't suffer from this affliction. I… I didn't know about that place", said the Queen tearfully.
"I know that. The Sorcerer King doesn't blame you for what happened, he has received my reports and sees how your people love you and that you have done your best to protect them."
"And now?"
"I will now return to the Sorcerer Kingdom, issue my final report, and personally request an urgent dispatch of aid to the Dragon Kingdom. I will leave the investigation into last night in your realm's care, if you will allow me. I would like to send the children to the orphanage in E-Rantel, we'll try to find out where they came from and give them the assistance they need. Perhaps, in time, they'll even be able to forget what they've been through."
"Yes, we still don't have conditions to treat them. I don't think they will ever be interested in returning. And what about you, Ambassador? Will you return here to establish the Sorcerer Kingdom embassy?", the Queen smirked.
"I think my service here is done, Your Majesty, I'm very sorry."
"But you could come back, I could ask specifically for you, I could ask you to stay, here, with me", smiled the Queen as her body changed and her voice became more mature. Now she was a young woman in her prime, but with many years of life in her eyes.
Tuare wasn't even scared, she had noticed the looks the Queen was throwing at Sebas. She knew that if the Sorcerer King ordered it, Sebas would stay here, even marry the Queen to unite the two kingdoms, after all, he loved Nazarick, and who was she compared to a queen?
"If I was ordered to stay, I would. But my heart wouldn't be here, it already loves… someone else" replied Sebas looking lightly at Tuare.
The queen looked over Sebas' shoulder and saw the maid blushing deeply. She understood.
"You are a lucky woman", said the Queen, "and sir, you are the most honorable person I have ever met. You know, I am 1/8 dragon, you are more than half, no, 99% dragon, I can feel it, but that 1% is what makes you more human than the rest of us. I hope you come back someday."
"I hope so too, Your Majesty. If you'll excuse me, I need to finish preparations for departure. Farewell, Queen Draudillon Oriculus."
"Goodbye, Lord Sebas Tian, see you soon."
After Sebas left the queen thought.
"I can wait… I can wait another fifty years if I have to. She is only human, how many years can she live? Someday maybe he'll be alone, and then we could start something", the queen went to bed with this thought. "Someday maybe he'll come back to me".
The next morning, the carriage left the Dragon Kingdom's capital, following the path they had taken before, this time escorted by an honor guard.
"Perhaps we can enjoy the return more, isn't it right, Lord Sebas?"
"Absolutely. As soon as we leave the realm lands, we'll take a portal to Nazarick."
Tuare pouted after discovering the tour was ending.
"But tonight, maybe I can… visit you and maybe… *ahem*… we can celebrate the success of the mission", blushed Sebas, something unimaginable for him.
"Yes, tonight we will celebrate!", the maid replied with a sexy smile.
