Chapter 39 - A Mastermind
>> Flashback <<
Timeline: 8 Years Ago. After Sylvia's death when Arthur (Kiyo) was killing the bandits that kidnapped Tess.
Location: Elshire Forest.
"I will ask again, who ordered you to kidnap elves?" Arthur asked, the dagger looking like a short sword in his small infantile hands.
"Begone, you demon-"
"Wrong answer. There goes another nail." Arthur said and stabbed the tip of his knife into one of the slave trader's fingertips. The number of pain receptors inside a human's fingertip were enough to make a grown man cry, evident from the streams of tears from the man's eyes.
"Let me ask this again. Who ordered you to procure or supply slaves?" Arthur asked again, receding his dagger that came out of the bandit's skin with a squelch.
"I'd never..."
"Wrong."
Piercing the dagger into the Hyponychium which is thick skin under the nail. Moving his dagger upwards he uprooted his nail completely as it fell to the ground, followed by drops of blood that stained the lush green foliage with a deep shade of crimson.
"Who is your employer?" Arthur asked again, no sign of exhaustion or hurriedness on his face, whatsoever.
The slave trader remained silent as Arthur gripped him by the only patch of hair he had on his bald head, "You're not going to die, not while I'm still in control... So, you are not getting out unless you tell me who your employer is."
"Don't touch my hair!" The slave trader squirmed, his body lacking the energy or courage to stand up to Arthur.
"Hair...? oh... so this is what you're worried about?" Arthur said and tightened his grip over his hair, "Tell me or I will pluck it off."
"I...I-I won't."
"Fine," Arthur replied, his azure eyes shining in the ominous dark of the forest and pulling the whole patch of his hair up.
"Y-You demon. You will pay for everything."
"You still think you are in a position to say this, huh?" Arthur asked and the slave trader flinched underneath the gaze of a 4-year-old looking down at him, his eyes screaming that he wouldn't hesitate a second to take his life if he deemed it necessary.
"There are many ways to interrogate and extract information out of individuals." Arthur said and sat close to him, "Like this." Arthur said and stomped on his foot, breaking all bones in it, "Or this." Another loud crunch resounded in the forest as he broke the bones in his shoulder.
"Creativity plays a major role, such as this," Arthur said and gripped his face, making him pout. Gripping one of his molars, he pulled it out, a fountain of blood sprouting from his gums. The man winced in pain, cried, pleaded, but Arthur didn't ask the question again.
All he did was lecture him on different ways of torture with a practical demonstration.
"Please, make it stop... I will tell... it was the..."
"The Wykes, I know." Arthur replied as he looked him in the eyes.
The slave trader's eyes widened as he looked at Arthur, "W-Why did you want to ask if you already knew?"
"I didn't know before. However, the parchment that fell from your pocket a while ago was enough to tell me who your employer was." Arthur replied and backed away from him.
"S-So, can I go? I swear on my parent's grave, I will never tell anyone."
"Sure, you can go."
A smirk formed on the slave trader's face as he grinned inwardly, 'Foolish brat. I will come back and you will have to pay later.'
"Was that what you were expecting me to say?" Arthur asked as he looked back over his shoulder.
"H-Huh, wh-"
A maw, resembling that of a dragon made out of orange flames appeared above his head and chomped on it, burning and severing his head in less than a second.
"You knew too much about me. That was your fault. Blame yourself for that." Arthur said, looking at his ashes as he made his way to the carriage. Opening the letter that had fallen from the slave trader's pocket, he opened it.
An official letter of recruitment, agreement on the payment amount and the official seal of the Wykes family.
This was enough proof for him to be used later on. If he were to ever fall into an altercation with the Wykes.
>> Flashback end <<
(Arthur Leywin)
Standing in front of the giant castle-like manor of the Wykes, I looked around the perimeter. The manor itself stood like a huge beast, looming over the onlookers. It was based on gothic architecture, developed into a graceful, light style with ribbed vaults and pointed arches as opposed to the blunt Romanesque style. Large windows, thin clustered columns, and ornate decorations became the defining elements of the Gothic-styled Wykes manor featuring aesthetically ornate characteristics in its design.
The double doors opened, and a tall figure emerged from the other side.
He was wearing a typical butler's uniform as he bowed and motioned for me to come inside.
Following closely behind him, I was led to a moderately sized room. In the corner of the room was an oak-wood table, behind which sat a man.
Blond hair just like the lance, Bairon Wykes, he had a sharply chiselled face with a scar near his lips and another one across his face.
He was sitting with his hands crossed, his eyes scanning my every moment.
"So you are-"
"Let's not waste time on idle chatter. You and I both don't want that. And if you think Bairon who is about to arrive here with your half-alive son will make some difference," I paused and let my intent fall on him, "You are heavily mistaken."
He adjusted his breathing as he leaned forward, "What do you want from me?"
"Listen closely."
(3rd Person)
The resounding clamour of Bairon's hurried footfalls reverberated through the long corridor as he made his way towards the deepest confines of the Council's Floating Castle, where the inmates were held captive.
"Justice will soon be delivered to you. You will know a world of pain for leaving my brother in a state worse than death." Bairon hissed, his voice carrying an alchemy of unfiltered rage and hatred.
"Did you want me to finish him entirely? You seem mad about why I rendered him unable to use something that wasn't of any worth anyways." Arisu replied, stood up from the creaking bed and walked over to the bars of her cell.
"Quit playing tough. Nothing and no one will save you. Your parents will suffer the same fate as you," Bairon paused and smirked, "And your sister, she will have it much worse."
"Fufufu. An amoeba would have more intelligence and better perception than you," Arisu mused as she got even closer to the cell, her eyes looking up at Bairon, "Do you think you can actually do something once these mana restriction artefacts are removed? Do you seriously believe that, Thunderlord?"
Bairon's eyes widened as he looked at Arisu, "You have been doing a bad job keeping things secret."
"You-"
"Bairon," A voice said as both he and Arisu looked in its direction.
It was Lance Varay, the human Ice mage.
"She is to be escorted immediately to the council meeting room." She said and Bairon gritted his teeth as he paved the way for Varay. Varay came forward and unlocked the cell, pulling Arisu by her chains.
"Someone's obedient, fufu~" Arisu whispered, her mockery hitting Bairon's nerves, but he stayed silent, swallowing the raging tempest that brewed inside him.
(***)
"Arisu Watsken," proclaimed the human King, Blaine Glayder, his voice echoing through the hallowed chambers of the court. "You stand accused of exploiting the heinous terrorist assault on our esteemed educational institution, and brazenly leveraging it as a cloak for your cowardly assault on the son of the Wykes family - all motivated by your own selfish, personal agenda. Do you possess any defence to proffer in your favour?"
"There is no need for a trial. Imprison and execute this girl. For all we know she is from another continent trying to kill the young talents in Dicathen." The Dwarven king, Dawsid Greysunder spoke.
"The court is not yours to run, Dawsid." This time it was the elven king, Alduin Eralith who spoke.
"The council works by the majority vote. And we have already decided what will happen. Keep your nose out of it, Alduin." Dawsid roared as he stood up, his small frame looking even smaller in front of Alduin who had recently started training again. "She will be detained and killed."
"Stay within the confines of your limits, Dawsid. Aya!" Alduin exclaimed and a figure emerged from the shadows.
Raven-black hair that draped down on her shoulders and a set of sparkling grey eyes. Her presence was commanding, and her energy was suffused with an imposing aura of power.
"Let me remind you, Alduin. You have already lost one of the most important military assets when the war is looming over our heads. You automatically have no say in any of this." Dawsid said while smacking the table in front of them.
"Fufufu. What a joke. Is this supposed to be THE Council? All I see is a bunch of kids trying to fight over who decides what to play." Arisu said with a smirk as an oppressive veil of mana filled the room, directed solely at Arisu.
Arisu stood straight, closing one eye as she bore the brunt without any magic power.
"Relax both of you. The rules demand that the trial be carried out formally. However, child, I cannot forego the vile language you just used for the Kings and Queens of this continent."
"There seems to be a misunderstanding. A few months ago, all of you had renounced your titles as kings and queens and are now leading this continent as a democracy. So, why the double standards? Do you have a habit of lying to your people?"
The council went silent before the Dwarven Queen burst out, "HOW DARE THIS PEASANT GIRL TALK TO US LIKE THAT. OLFRED, CAPTURE HER IMMEDIATELY." She ordered her lance as Olfred came forward.
Blaine nodded towards Varay as she stood in front of Olfred, mana coiling around her hands. All of them knew this... They couldn't beat Varay.
The atmosphere was thick with tension, suffused with an intangible static energy that seemed to cling to everything and everyone in the room. The weight of this pressure was palpable, bearing down on the air like a heavy, oppressive mist that seemed to constrict the very breath in one's chest.
Just as when the tension reached its climax, a certain communication scroll buzzed.
Blaine opened the scroll as he saw Otis on the other side.
"Ah, Otis. We are conducting the trial for the girl who harmed your son. We will see to it that she is properly punished."
The Wykes were an influential figure, owing favours to the royal family due to which Blaine wanted to have Otis on his good side.
"That won't be necessary. The one that should be punished is my son. He will be disowned and sent to the prison of your liking. The girl did the right thing." Otis said as a hushed silence enveloped the room.
"YOU THINK THIS IS SOME KIND OF JO-"
"Silence, lesser." A voice suddenly said as everyone's head shifted towards the door that burst open.
Two men walked inside. One of them had blond hair and galaxy-like eyes while the other was an old man, his white hair tied in a thin ponytail. His eyes that were closed put more emphasis on the third eye on his forehead as he walked forward with his hands tucked behind his back.
A tactile veil of mana crushed every individual except Arisu to the ground. Windsom walked forward and crushed the mana restriction artefact on Arisu.
"W-Who are you, bastards." Dawsid said as the one with three eyes stepped forward.
"We are asuras, what you lesser have deemed as deities. It is time this little conglomerate that you lessers call "The Council" is cleaned off from its traitors." He said as a silver-coloured weapon conjured from thin air into his hands.
(*****)
Author's Note.
Day 5 of daily uploads? Let's go, lol. Hope you enjoyed it.
Editor's Note
Author has too many mood swings, don't get addicted y'all.