007 (2/2)

“Rigel”, I said in a pained voice, my muscles screaming from the intense shaking, “an unfortunate adventurer”

The man laughed loudly. His hearty voice spreading into the forest. “A lie, boy. Adventurers do not carry those”, he pointed towards the executioner sword, now propped up against the side of my carriage, “particularly not the ones in service to the King”.

Why was everyone in this world so smart…where are the stupid muscleheads from the Light Novels…

“Secret mission for Kingdom. Attacked by bandits. Left for dead in forest” I delivered, punctuating my words due to the shaking.

“That’s alright. I didn’t want to  question our saviour anyways. We men in this line of work do not question”, He said with a somber voice, “But boy, how long have you been in there? Your sword is all banged up”.

“Longer than I would have liked, uncle” I said.

“The name’s  Old Krag. Behind you is Dead Raf, the one that looks like he ate a frog is Drunk Bale, the one that is scowling is dead-eyed Drast, and the one lying there is Frothe”, the man introduced everyone.

Everyone put up a hand as a sign of acknowledgement while leaning against the carriage.

“Well. You saved us boy, and fainted immediately afterwards. We dressed your wounds and stuff. Want something to eat?” Krag asked.

Well….I was hungry… I replied, “yes, something quick but first answer me something. Which way is Shrafings.h.i.+re?”

“We would go to Vessar village so Sharafings.h.i.+re is on the way.  It would take like 4 days to reach”, he said while giving me some bread and dry meat.

“What! Why so long?” I asked, impatience colouring my voice.

“Because it is 500 cress far”,  Krag was surprised, “Didn’t you know?”

I sat listening to old man Krag’s stories by the campfire while sharpening my blade with a whetstone. Oil dripped down the cold steel, obscuring the mark of the Kingdom, a winged dragon.

It has been 3 days since I started traveling with the mercenary group. I traded the leftover Cores I had for new clothes and equipment. As a thanks for helping them, One-eyed Drast had fixed my banged up sword. I thought of stealing a Serrad and run, but I won’t reach Shrafings.h.i.+re without proper directions or food for the beast. Just be okay, Arin, just be okay. I looked up at the sky, the moon hung overhead. The ring glowed at the edges. The same sky, but Arin and I were worlds apart. She might not even want me back. Still, just be okay. I am coming.

“Oi Executioner! Come here, listen to this!”, called out Krag. They had started calling me executioner on account of my sword. It was irritating, but that’s just how mercs call each other.

“Remember the Mounted Royal Army guards we had come across today? They told a funny tale. Come and listen. It came from Shrafings.h.i.+re.” He hailed loudly.

My hurt lurched. I went forwards with unsteady steps. “They said a demon was caught in that village. A huge demon with black skin and fiery eyes! Fiery Eyes they said haha! It killed a hundred people, ate their heads right with his mouth!” He shouted , half-drunk, “Moreover, there was also a witch with him! The witch f.u.c.ked him and called him to kill everyone. At the end, the Lord’s son caught him and subdued him with brilliant swordplay! Hah! As if people can win against a demon…specially that brat…hahha!”

“What happened then? Tell me old man!” I shouted, unable to keep composure.

“The witch sent the demon away with her power…after that they caught her and are interrogating her under the Church. They say the witch will be put on trial a month from now…but why are you so excited boy?” he asked, sobering up, “Perhaps…your mission was regarding the demon?”

I couldn’t talk…in fact, I could barely hear the old merc. A storm raged inside my heart. I couldn’t hear anything as blood rushed through my ears. Breath fell in ragged gasps as I shook the old man by his collar, “Take me there right now! f.u.c.king take me there!”

“Uruvath’s spear…boy. Calm down! We can’t, it’s too far…” he said in a panic.

“Take me there no..”, I staggered as my words lost its coherence.

“Sorry, bro. Even if your family was killed by a demon, you can’t go rus.h.i.+ng there. Rest for now”, I could see Drast holding his poison blowpipe behind me. That’s not it. Drast

Then, everything turned black.

I was back in Shrafings.h.i.+re. People milled about in the hundreds at the outskirts of the village. It was a festive atmosphere as food was being sold, toys being peddled. People wore their most colourful clothes and walked boisterously towards the same direction. I saw several people I knew, as I called to them, they didn’t respond. They didn’t even seem to hear me. I ran towards Illya and tried to turn him around but my hands just pa.s.sed through his body. I looked at myself; I was translucent and incorporeal. I tried to touch everyone and everything, but my hands just pa.s.sed through everything. No once could see me, or hear me. I was alone in a throng of humanity.

A loud cheer echoed and I looked towards the commotion. A large metal X had been erected and a  person strapped to it. For some reason, my heart fell through my stomach when I saw the figure. I ran through people to reach it. It was…Arin. She was barely recognizable. Her limbs jutted out in strange angles, bones and joints out of alignment. White bones poked through her torn skin, red muscles hanging from her naked body. There were holes dripping with blood on her, with severe burn marks on her white skin. The b.a.s.t.a.r.ds had branded her with holy symbols.

Her beautiful hair had been torn and vandalized. Claw marks gouged across her body, with deep incisions on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, It was as if someone has tried to chop off her body parts and dropped her into a grinder. Long, savage whiplashes had cut open her body, splitting the girl open side to side. Her limbs had been nailed to the metal X.

A….Arin! AAAAAAAAAAH! I wailed like a mutilated beast. My legs folded under me, as my hands clawed towards her. I couldn’t breathe, I gulped for air like a beached whale as I sobbed and cried. I crawled towards her, unable to stand. My voice, which had been shouting all the while in an anguished cry had turned hoa.r.s.e, choked up. Unceasing tears had entered my throat, making me unable to breathe. I looked around, for help.

People circled her from a distance and jeered at her, laughed at her. They made fun of her tortured body, her nakedness. Men and women who had known her since birth; people who had laughed and cried with her till few days ago spat at her with manic glee. They picked up stones and threw at her vulnerable broken body. Rocks flew through the air, hitting the poor girl. Stones ravaged her already mangled body, cutting open new wounds on her. I ran towards the people, to stop them from throwing. I pleaded, I cried, I threatened but they didn’t listen. My arms went through them, my futile attempts did nothing to stop the hail of stones. I clambered up the X, to s.h.i.+eld her from the stones. The projectiles flew straight through my body, hitting her.

I tried to talk to Arin, but she didn’t respond. She was already half-dead. Each time  stone hit her, she would groan and writhe, yet no one stopped. The place was drowning with voices pouring searing contempt at her.

“Die, you witch! You dare call upon a demon!”

“Die like the wh.o.r.e you are, opening your legs for a demon!”

“Witches will die! All hail Great G.o.d Talaviel!”

“just like her parents…”

“You liked a demon c.o.c.k? Should have asked us if you were so h.o.r.n.y you wh.o.r.e!”

“Praise be Talaviel! With your death we will be cleansed!”

“Die, demon’s f.u.c.ktoy!”

“Finally, you show your true colours, daughter of the betrayers!”

I was aghast at how people who called her their daughter once were hurting her, injuring her with their hate. The people had started chanting the grace of G.o.ds while they mercilessly killed a defenseless girl. I roared with anguish, with pain but what came out was a whimper. No one listened. No one wanted to.

The Bishop Andalus strode forward, upholding a huge piece of gla.s.s. He proclaimed with a regal voice, “Now, let the great sun G.o.d, Azrakh cleanse this girl’s filth. May she be born anew in fire and join with the father of all. Praise be to Azulai!” With a violent start, I realized what the gla.s.s was. It was a piece of convex gla.s.s. He held up the gla.s.s to the sunlight and focused it on the huge pile of wood and bramble piled under the X. In a few moments, the wood began to smoke and burn.

In the same bonfire the girl had danced a few nights ago, she burned.

When the flames licked her feet, Arin screamed. I screamed with her too…or maybe the people screamed in glee. The girl pleaded people to  save her, the G.o.ds to release her from her agony. No one listened. When the flames had reached her torso, she had lost all energy to shout. Smell of burning flesh and hair singed my nose. There were armed guards, all around the pyre, condemning the girl, p.i.s.sing on the flames, wagging their manhoods at her. No one saved her.

My tears had stopped falling . The heat from the blazes evaporated my tears before they could form…or I had no more. Suddenly, Arin looked up, straight at me as if she could see me. Her lips moved, and though no sound came out, I could read what she said, “I love you, Rigel”.

I woke up, screaming. I was still inside the carriage but I knew that what I had seen was real, it had happened already. I couldn’t understand what I was seeing around me, barely recognizing the mercenaries I had been traveling with look at me with panic. Tears stained my face, while my heart still thumped like a drum.

“Which way is Shrafings.h.i.+re?”, I was surprised at how hysterical my voice sounded.

“S…straight forward along the road we are taking, a day and a half far” someone replied haltingly.

I picked up the executioner sword and jumped from the front of the carriage straight onto the back of a Serrad pulling it.

“Wha…what are you doing?”, Krag spoke in panic.

“Something I would regret not doing till I die”,  I replied in a hoa.r.s.e voice as I cut the reins of the Serrad and kicking it mercilessly to run forward, towards the village of Sharafings.h.i.+re

Author note: Guys please support me on royalroad too! please post reviews on the fiction page so that I know what you people think about the work.  Honestly, this story needs reviews and ratings so that even more people can read it. Please help me! thanks in advance!

Link to RR- HTSAS1o1 on Royalroad

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