Tensions were high, from the hostile takeover of the inquisitors to the back-to-back explosions. In the clash between an invasive party and a party trying to survive. The very following morning, an expected development occurred but no one realized just how much it caused everyone to stir up.
At this moment, Gregor, a common resident of Green City was holding his big sister’s hands as he hugged her tight. His parents died during the first trial, brutally leaving this pair alone. They didn’t even have time to bury their parents before the inquisitors cleaned up the streets.
Gregor, a mere 13-year-old child, was now faced with an extremely terrifying choice. His father had blonde hair while his mother had red hair, the son inherited his father’s genes while his sister inherited her mother’s. Even more twisted was that the son had her mother’s red eyes while the sister had her father’s blue eyes.
He was now cowering in fear as other people were assaulting their house. Her 18-year-old sister was trembling in fear as she held out a kitchen knife in front of her. She knew how desperate the situation was but she at least had to put up a fight.
“Big sis, I’m scared…”
“Shush, it’s ok Greggy, it’s ok I’ll protect you.”
Audible words came out from their mouths. The Trial of Silence was finally over.
Roya’s hands were pointed towards the door, looking through a gap created by a machete. Her hands were trembling. The hand that held her brother tightened while the hand that held the knife seemed close to falling out of her hands.
The last door keeping them safe was their parents’ room. These pair of siblings were extremely close, they shared a lot of things but at the same time, they were also very lively, even to the point of managing to break down their parents’ bedroom door. Who knew that their dad was an extremely talented carpenter, managing to create such a sturdy door.
“Roya! Just let us cut off your hair! We won’t touch your brother!”
“Give me your hair! Your family owes us that much! Remember how much money you owe us?!”
“Everyone, stop it! You can’t trust those madmen!”
A voice that opposed the majority appeared, this young man had golden hair and a handsome appearance. He looked like a hero that would’ve come out of a fairy tale. The young man was Luke, he brought out a spear he got from Reinhold’s stash. He still vividly remembered how many weapons of war and supplies were left behind by him, it was as if he realized that there was going to be a resistance.
The commoners looked at Luke and didn’t pay much attention to him. They didn’t know him, and he looked just like an average man, not even a Gifted.
Although Reinhold told them to hide, his words seemed to have contrasted with his intentions. Who gives someone a weapon of war and then tells them to hide?
“This probably isn’t the time to bring out the news but it’s something every one of you should know! If you kill someone, when you sleep you die the same way!”
The cruel mob silenced a bit when they heard Luke scream away in front of the house. If this was true, then those with truly dark intentions would suffer greatly.
From the stash of supplies, there were a few notes that Reinhold left behind, it was everything he learned about the inquisitors and their dark rules. Luke understood that behind the scenes Reinhold was bringing upon massive changes in ways he didn’t even realize. At this point, other than the Fanged Lioness, Reinhold seemed to be the key to getting out of this mess.
Even Aya seemed to be caught up in the mess, she was going to explain everything to him later on after they calmed down the masses.
Sir Heinster tried to convince the guild to move out but they all seemed to ignore him. His pleas eventually turned to anger yet he could only hear the apologies from its members come out. The only thing he managed to get out of them was a map of the city with people in danger. With the guild’s information network, this kind of info was far too easy to get ahold of.
Sir Heinster asked Aya and Luke to help out, trying to calm as many people as possible. They barely made the plan when they heard the first victim cry out for help, as unknown as he was, he was still a person. Aya first rushed out taking the map from Sir Heinster, taking everyone who had either red eyes or red hair in front of the guild.
Although he knew that Reinhold had his plans, Luke was also helping out, spreading the word to try and limit people’s crimes. He brandished his spear and asked everyone to come out of the building. Of course, there were still those people who were extremely stubborn.
“Get out of my face!” a man holding a hatchet came out, he was the same person who slashed open a hole in the door towards the siblings.
Luke’s brain went on overtime, he really didn’t want to fight but it seemed that he had to. Unlike Aya who was a Gifted, he was just a normal person. But he had to stand up for what was right.
“I’ll stab you before you even reach me. You want to go?” Luke held down his ground, he had the range advantage and was much nimbler than his opponent.
“Tch! I just want her hair, what’s the big deal? She’ll grow it out in no time. Besides, we’re talking about getting out of this city. I’m sure you’re also tempted.”
“I’m not even slightly tempted! We’re talking about people’s lives here! This isn’t a joking matter!” Luke, who used to be quite a mischievous fellow, said aloud his pure beliefs.
The man holding the machete looked at how fiery Luke’s eyes were and clicked his tongue. He hated dealing with these self-righteous people. It was the same as being delusional.
“Fine…” the man left, trying to find another person who met the requirements. As much as he wanted to get out, he had to keep his life first. Fighting it out when there are so many other people he could take advantage of was a terrible move.
Luke entered the house and went upstairs, “You’re safe now.”
Roya still held her brother in her arms.
“I don’t trust you! You just want to take us for yourself!” Roya roared out, she refused to believe there was a single kind soul still alive in this city.
It’s everyone for themselves at this point. With how defenseless she was, it was only a matter of time before something terrible happens to the siblings.
Luke fully understood just how hard it was to trust someone, especially in this situation. He also had trouble trusting Reinhold, they weren’t that close to begin with, only starting to get closer when Aya barged into their lives.
“Right now, I can promise you that you’ll be at least safe if you follow me. It’s better than the mob outside.”
Roya had doubts in her eyes, she knew that it was only a matter of time before they broke down the door.
“Big sis, I think we should follow him,” after all this time, Gregor spoke up, unexpectedly pleading with his sister.
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There wasn’t a better alternative at this point, begrudgingly she followed Luke. The angry mob earlier seemed to give them space. They were all unarmed, expecting Roya to eventually give in. Unhindered, they made their way back to the front of the guild where Heinster was holding a gigantic broadsword in his hands. His figure was completely different now since he had his armor equipped, he now seemed like a giant muscle of meat ready to go to war.
“Sir Heinster! I’ve got them!”
“Good one, lad! You’re safe here for now.” Heinster’s following words comforted the siblings.
Although the mercenaries in the guild won’t act, it at least served as a deterrent against those with malicious intent.
“Did Aya come back yet?”
“She has, see those people? She already brought them here. Who knew she was such a monster? If only she had a bit of training, she would’ve gone past the limit. Unfortunately, there’s not enough time.” Heinster seemed to be extremely regretful that he didn’t find out about her talents sooner.
“Rei… you definitely knew. What are you planning?” Heinster thought to himself.
"Sir Heinster! She's still a maiden! It's not proper for you to call her a monster!"
"Ah, I meant it in a good way!"
After a while of bantering, Luke glanced at the crowd and roughly counted twenty people with red hair and red eyes. That was almost half the people in the vicinity. He then further understood the gap between them.
Roya and Gregor blended in into the crowd, taking random weapons from the stockpile in front of them. They then took some food bags from the side of the weapon stockpile. These piles seemed to be haphazardly placed as if someone was in a rush to put them out.
“Sir Heinster, do you know why the guild won’t act? If they move, then more people could be saved!”
“This, I don’t know. They won’t tell me anything. They just gave me a map and nothing else.”
At this point, a ruckus could be heard from inside.
“Let me go! I can’t let civilians stay like this! We should save those we can!”
“Argen! You heard his plan, right?! This is worthless, we should save up our forces before…” the voice quietened down as if he realized that he was shouting.
“Still! Let me go! If you don’t want to help, fine! But don’t stop me from doing what’s right!” Argen was being held back by two other Gifted. An odd detail was that in contrast to everyone else, he seemed to be full of vitality.
This man looked rough around the edges, his unkempt hair and fiery gaze were unmistakably pure. With his strength, he was considered one of the upper tier in strength in the guild. There was another key detail, if Reinhold were to see this man, he would be able to recall that the man was the same person who tried to stop the father-daughter duo back when.
After Argen saw Luke, a completely normal person, bring back a pair of siblings. He couldn’t control it anymore, if even a powerless and weak person was doing more than him, what was he living for?
He broke through and tossed aside the two Gifted that were restraining him. Wooden tables and stools were broken apart by this force. His aura seemed to solidify as everyone felt pressured by him.
“Let him go, there’s no point. Just remember the plan, Argen,” an old woman came out from one of the doors in the guild building, the Fanged Lioness.
Argen simply nodded and ran out and stood in front of Luke, “You’re brave. You’ll make it far.”
Argen went out on his own and ran towards a direction south. He already knew where the people who were getting targeted were.
In another part of the city, the slums, a timid girl was shifting through the darkness to deliver a certain man with red eyes a message. She remembered how brutally he dealt with the entire guild, causing everyone to unconsciously follow him.
The man was drinking coffee alone in a dilapidated building. A place that was too worn down where it couldn’t even provide protection from the elements. There was a makeshift fire in front of the man, boiling water.
Even at this point, she didn’t know why Reinhold’s words held so much weight. He could barely walk yet he somehow caused everyone to have a shred of hope in this desperate situation.
“Sir Reinhold, Argen moved out as you expected. He’s trying to round up the targets with Heinster and Luke.”
“Good, everything’s going well so far. How’s the situation with the inquisitors?”
“Their numbers were severely hit by the explosion last night. There are roughly 5000 inquisitors left.”
“5000… a little more than I expected. Nothing too troublesome. How about Yio and Raxor?”
“I apologize but they seemed to cover up the plaza with more guards. I can’t even see their shadows anymore,” the timid girl seemed to bow her head down even further, she knew that the entire situation was currently revolving around his palm.
“As they should, otherwise if they didn’t cover up that would mean they aren’t afraid. If they weren’t afraid then it would’ve meant that there was nothing that could threaten them. Good news.”
“The next part is to test their limits. This Trial of Temptation is really cruel. I wonder how long till people realize the hidden meaning in his words.”
“Hidden meaning?” The timid girl unconsciously muttered.
“Oh? Do you want to hear about it? I thought it was pretty obvious.”
“I do.”
“Give them either red hair, red eyes, red lips, red tongues, or red hearts. Do that and they’ll let you leave freely. They aren’t even punishing anyone who doesn’t contribute. It’s very ambiguous, isn’t it?”
“I guess so?”
“They didn’t specify the amount.”
“So does that mean…”
“Yeah… no one’s getting out. Be led by the temptation of the devil and you’ll suffer.
Reinhold continued, “After people realize they need more hair, they’ll start poking people’s eyes out. After they realize it still wasn’t enough, they’ll start ripping the lips and tongue out. Eventually, it’ll be a bloodbath. Hah… who doesn’t have a red heart?”
At this point, the timid girl finally understood. This Trial of Temptation was to test how many people were able to resist such luxurious rewards.
She finally caught on, ”… and the people who killed someone else would’ve also died. The God of Trial’s domain will kill them in their sleep.”
“Of course, at that point, they’ll probably let people out. Do you understand why you’re here now?”
“You can’t trust the three of them anymore. Just me and Houston. I understand. So that’s why…”
She recalled when they split up last night, she thought that the only reason was to prevent that gold-armored inquisitor from catching up to all of them. It turned out that Reinhold had contingencies planned out to prevent anything from going wrong. His efforts paid off.
“So why me and Houston? Aren’t you worried we’ll take your eyes?” The timid girl finally grew a backbone, she was too curious as to why Reinhold was so trusting of them.
“Hannah, I don’t need to worry about you. You’re too pure and too soft to do anything to me. Houston though, he’s more resolute. That’s why you’re my only contact.”
Reinhold finally heard the kettle boil and poured pre-prepared coffee beans. All he had to do was delicately and skillfully pour the water over the beans. He offered Hannah a cup, but she winced and declined. The memory of last night was still too vivid in her mind.
This psychopath drugged the entire guild using an extremely illegal poison in the form of a mist. He managed to somehow find a way to turn a thick viscous slow-acting poison into undetectable mist. No one knew at the time that they were poisoned but Reinhold’s weird act of giving everyone a cup was too odd.
Someone tried to ask Reinhold, but he only wrote down, “Drink if you trust me.”
There was a sudden commotion as everyone slowly looked at the cup in front of them and warily looked at it. A standstill occurred, leaving the once-hot coffee lukewarm. The pressuring situation was extremely daunting, do they drink or not?
So far everyone heard the explosion, so they all woke up and gathered in the guild. They knew that Reinhold was the one behind it, but this sudden odd turn of events didn’t sit right with them.
Hannah saw how weird everything was, he didn’t see Reinhold tamper with the drinks at all, yet she couldn’t muster the courage to be the first one to drink.
She saw Houston, the second fastest person in the guild, casually swirled the cup in his hands and drank from it. Immediately, everyone’s eyes darted at him, expecting some kind of change to occur. Houston touched his chest where his heart lay. Other than increasing his heartbeat, there was no other change.
“That’s a really good cup,” Houston thought to himself as he gulped the rest of it down.
Seeing that it was safe, Hannah also drank the next cup. She felt the mellow and soothing taste warm her stomach. She seemed to be surprised as it wasn’t as bitter as she expected.
Countless others followed suit and drank their cup, except for one person. He glared at Reinhold, with bloodshot eyes, he connected the dots and realized that everything happening seemed to have been his fault. Especially those that family who were blatantly sacrificed for nothing.
He was out and about when Reinhold met up with the Fanged Lioness. Leaving him curious about the man who barged into the guild.
He refused to drink the cup he was given. He couldn't trust someone who could casually sacrifice innocents.
Reinhold merely took another sip in response.
The Fanged Lioness could feel the situation tense up, she went out and took his cup, trying to shove it down his throat. Argen, refused, he tried to explain what he saw yet the old woman didn’t even bother reading what he wrote down.
She brought out a note of her own, only visible to Argen’s eyes, “He poisoned everyone, the coffee has the antidote. I only noticed cause the air seemed a tiny bit stuffier. I don’t blame you for not noticing.”
Argen’s eyes widened, what kind of psychopath poisons the greatest resistance against the inquisitors. Regardless, he finally gave in and drank his cup.
She also put up another note, “He’s crazy and ruthless but he’s the best chance we have at stopping the inquisitors. Don’t worry, after this, he’ll pay for his crimes in full.”
Reinhold then explained his plan in vivid detail, with the momentum he had from the scene earlier, every bit of resistance the mercenaries put up was immediately snuffed out.
Hannah only managed to learn that everything was poisoned when Reinhold privately told her and Houston after it was all over.