Chapter 982: The Execution I
Chapter 982: The Execution I
Arad approached the guild master, "Sorry about the mess back there. I was just looking to talk, but they seemed quite rattled."
"Don't worry about it." The guild master giggled, "I should've warned them. But honestly, I also wanted to see how well you'll fare against hunters." Balon's squad was B-rank but the members' ranks varied, Balon himself was an A-rank, the same with the wizard woman, the rogue that got his butt clapped to oblivion, and the ranger who sat quiet and watched.
In terms of raw stat, Arad wasn't any stronger than a normal human his size, and probably won't even classify as a C or a D ranker. But, the skills, the martial arts, the quick wit, and the battle experience he learned from everyone around him were now paying off.
When Alcott was gravely weakened by his contradicting curses, he could still humiliate A- rankers with his sheer skill and mastery of the martial arts. Arad now is in the same situation, his superhuman powers nowhere to be found, but his skills are still sharper than any blade.
"I'll have you registered as a special hunter so you can sell monster parts or take quests, and I'll make sure no one asks for your identity, is that okay with you?" He combed his long beard. "Yeah, knowing who I am might cause me more trouble than benefits." Arad is well aware that if people knew who he was, their attitudes and actions around him would change drastically. Without his draconic senses, he would have no way of confirming if people are genuine or just acting around him, which would make decisions extremely hard.
At that moment, a man walked into the guild, weirded by the disassembled door, "What did happen?" He looked at the door, "Probably just repairs, anyway." He looked at everyone in the guild, "It's almost time! Let's go watch."
All the hunters' faces changed into a smile as they stood, rushing out. If they wanted to get a decent view, they had to rush.
"What's up with them?" Arad looked at the guild master.
"It's an execution, they are going to watch it." He replied and turned toward Mary. "An accursed witch that spent decades cursing the lands and people, we finally caught and are going to cut her head off."
The fairy flew before Arad's face, sparks of magic floating around her body. "She's an evil witch, many died to her curses." She started dramatically acting, putting herself in a fake ethereal guitar made of magic. "Her head would go CHOP! CHOP! And her body will go BRRRRRRR!" She engulfed herself in flame.
With a puff of smoke, the fairy's theatrical magic disappeared and she looked at Arad with an exhausted face. "Bitch getting what she deserved, if it was for me, I'll work her in the whore hole for the rest of her life." The fairy's face twisted into a cynical grin. "Death is going easy on her."
"We aren't allowed to go that far." Mary glared at her, "It's up to the goddess to punish her, our job is merely sending the witch to her."
To the people of this world, great sins that couldn't be possibly attuned to in life aren't that big of a problem. Their Goddess Yog would take on the job of punishing the sinners, all the people need to do is execute the sinner in a specific way.
[I was going to test some chemical weapons on her. But you can have her if you want.] Yog giggled inside Arad's head, [Well, you'll have a massive problem at your hand, she's vile.]
^What if they sent you an innocent one?^ Arad asked and got an unexpected answer. [Do you think I care? Humans experiment on rats, they never think about innocent and guilty rats. I'm the same, any human I get is the same. All rats on my lab table, ready to be cut apart.] Arad looked around, "Hmmm...got holy and size magic...I wouldn't mind having access to curses." He started walking, waving his hand to Mary, "Let's go...we have an execution to catch up to."
[Wait...what?] Yog gasped inside Arad's head.
"You'll watch?" Mary took a few quick steps and started walking beside him, finding it hard to keep up with Arad's large strides.
As they walked into the street they heard a man shout, "The official carriage had stopped! They are bout to cut her head, hurry!" He was running and pushing among the racing crowd. The official inquisitor and his knights were in a hurry to kill the witch before she could regain her curse magic, they were bringing her into the middle of a village after all, it'll be a disaster if she was to go on a rampage.
"No time..." Arad mumbled as he burst running, leaving Mary in the dust. He tried to push between the people filling the streets but he couldn't, his large size working against him. He looked around, both men and women were shouting and screaming, cursing each other as they wanted to get into the plaza to watch the execution.
He looked left and saw a small crack between the building and a back alley that he could use. The place was filled with trash, stinking to high heavens so no one used it, but he was in a hurry. As Arad rushed toward the back alley, the fairy on his shoulder cried.
"Wait! That place stinks worse than a pig's ass!" She rushed to hide inside Arad's cloak as he pushed the trash, sharp planks of wood, and wild cats with his large shoulder, digging his way through like a bull.
As he came out on the other side, the street he walked into was just as filled as the one before, but now he's closer to the plaza.
While pushing people out of his way, his eyes raced around. It was extremely annoying and inconvenient to lack his draconic senses, but he must learn to live without them. His eyes landed on an open window. A civilian house, but Arad had no choice.
He ran across the street, almost getting run over by a horse as he approached the window and jumped inside, landing in the middle of a room. The woman who was cleaning around the bed screamed. "A thief!"
Arad ignored her and looked around, immediately finding the door and rushing through it into their hallway. After reaching the other end of the hallway, he found their bath. And it was
in use.
Locked, Arad could care less. He pushed only a bit and the door was forced open. Inside was the woman's husband taking a shower, and he glared at Arad, immediately picking his
wooden chair to strike.
Arad tripped the poor man and jumped out of the house through the bath's tiny window, almost ripping it off. He could still hear the man cursing and shouting behind him, but Arad had other matters to worry about. He was now faced with a large wall, he's stuck between buildings with no other way to escape than the house he came through.
"What did you expect? A fucking miracle? You don't even know the village's layout, do you?" The fairy was pulling on his ear, screaming directly inside.
He looked at the jagged wall, since it was out of sight it was never finished, and he could see the wooden beams and window frames. It was a golden chance, he rushed forward and started climbing, from one window to another, and from one crack and beam to another, he raced up. "Are you half a spider or something?" The fairy cried, but Arad wasn't listening, he had finally climbed to the roof and could see several houses before him.
Arad didn't stop for a second and kept running on the rooftops, jumping from one house to another until he reached the last house overlooking the plaza.
Hundreds if not thousands of people were gathered in there around the execution stage, shouting, cheering, and clapping. Men, women, children, everyone had their eyes fixed on a single armored carriage that was parked beside the stage.
The carriage's door opened up, and four armed knights in full plate armor walked out, dragging a woman behind them with a chair. The woman was chained from both of her hands and legs, wearing a pale white robe, and walked barefoot. The moment her steps slowed down, the knights would yank on the chair to drag her forward.
The guillotine's blade was getting raised, and Arad could spot a woman in silver armor standing beside it. Unlike the other knights her armor, large sword, and frills decorating her armor, she was their leader, no doubt.
"The inquisitor; she tracks and hunts criminals. To the people, she's their hero." The fairy looked at Arad, "Don't you dare start a fight with her, you'll end up under the blade inn/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
seconds."
The knights had already started pushing the people away from the stage with barriers, getting ready to chop the woman's head. For a second, Arad noticed it, the inquisitor had seen him standing on the roof and their eyes met.
The inquisitor looked at two of her knights, "Suspicious individual on the roof, I see now ranged weapons, but stay alert." She could've ordered them to shoot him, but she didn't know if he was a threat or just a random person watching from the rooftops since he didn't get here
in time.
Suspicious means she isn't sure whether he's guilty or not, and so she won't attack first. She only kills the guilty.
She started walking before the guillotine, watching her guards and the people with her hands behind her back. She's finally putting a deadly criminal beneath the blade, and no one shall
get in her way.