At an undisclosed location, Hannah was debriefing Reinhold on everything that happened.
“They’re finally making their move,” Reinhold leaned back, after one night’s rest he finally managed to ease up some of the burden.
“It was about time, Hannah go tell the Fanged Lioness to start the hunt. Even changing your requirements, so predictable. You want blood? I’ll show you blood.”
Hannah wasn’t happy about what was about to happen but knowing the plan, this truly was the best course of action.
Luke was sitting just in front of Reinhold, he wasn’t tied up nor was he detained in any way. The only problem was that Brun was standing by the door, not letting Luke pass by.
“So… you’re making Aya go through all of this. What do you want from her?” Luke couldn’t hold in his curiosity anymore.
“I’m leaving. Who else’s going to protect you?” Reinhold straightforwardly said.
“Leave? You’re going to leave? Since when?”
Reinhold combed his hair with his fingers, revealing his forehead, “Since years ago, I saved up a lot of noux these past few years. I was going to leave in a few more months but this just had to happen. The money that was supposed to pay the fare was all used up for this predicament. Life really is cruel.”
Luke finally understood, Reinhold was saving up to leave but the inquisitors ruined his plans. When Reinhold saw how dangerous the world really was, he began to slowly convert Aya into a protector of sorts. He was making her face reality, to show her what she should do, to make her submit to his whims.
“Reinhold, you don’t need to make Aya go through this. I can-“
“We both know we’re weak. We aren’t even Gifted. Meanwhile, Aya’s talented, the sheer amount of laws that lay dormant in her body is enough to leave everyone in the dust,” Reinhold continued to sip his cup of coffee.
Luke looked down, understanding his own powerlessness. Why was he so weak that everyone around him kept dying but he couldn’t do a single thing about it?
He knew that he couldn’t do anything that could affect the situation, but he just couldn’t sit still. He tried to take Aya’s place but was completely seen through by Reinhold, causing him to be captured instead.
“You want to help? Just stay still. You aren’t a hero, nobody is.”
“Then what about Aya?”
“She’s not in any danger. I have Houston looking after her. So far, she’s been trying to figure out how to use her powers.”
Both of them kept silent for a while. Reinhold just took his time to relax for now and waited for the news to come by.
Luke was starting to feel bored, Reinhold suddenly had so many secrets that he couldn’t even count how many surprises he showed ever since he came back.
“Why’s Brun following you?”
A giant mass of muscle spoke from the door, “I owe his father a favor. After one more I’m leaving.”
A sudden reply made him even more confused, there were so many moving parts but somehow, for some reason, everything revolved around Reinhold.
“Then what about Hannah and Houston? I heard they came from the guild, why are they following you so intently?”
“Hannah was easily convinced. I just told her my plans, her noble heart wanted the best outcome so that’s what I just gave her. Houston, on the other hand, was a little wilder than I anticipated. He has a pretty carefree attitude, I’m sure you’ve already seen that.”
“Yeah… I remember,” Luke remembered back when Houston was making a joke out of Aya. It showed the difference in skill between them.
“I gave him ‘fun’ tasks. I haven’t found out why he’s like that, but he at least respects me.”
They talked about a few more unrelated topics, some small talk while waiting for the results.
Eventually, Hannah came back. She was stoic, expressing how severe the order she just gave out was. Reinhold noticed this and came to prepare for what she was about to say.
“They’re moving out.”
Reinhold nodded and proceeded to relax. Everything was going according to plan.
By the Fanged Lioness’ side, the mercenaries were finally setting out ever since the trials have started. The mercenaries’ suppressed bloodlust and anger were finally about to be let loose. Swords were unsheathed, spears were erected tall by their user’s side, and multiple daggers were being prepared into compartments hidden within their bodies.
“Reinhold’s finally letting us move.”
Argen had his sword out, his eyes were bloodshot as he said, “Who are we killing?”
“Hahahaha! All the inquisitors! Make their blood run as heavy as the blood of our people!” a shrill cry came from the Fanged Lioness’ mouth. Madness began to fill her eyes.
“Kill! Kill! Kill!” everyone inside was screaming out their lungs. Everyone’s repressed emotions were finally showing to their fullest. Blood was once again going to rain down, but this time it was finally going to be their enemies.
Reinhold had been waiting for an opportunity, ever since he heard about this new trial. At first, Reinhold was going to use the guild to handle the inquisitors during the final battle. Now, however, things suddenly started turning out well for him, extremely so.
The biggest variables for Reinhold were the inquisitors and the mercenaries. Not Yio nor Higher Deacon Raxer, not the Fanged Lioness nor Houston. The biggest problem Reinhold had were the high amount of people that could influence his plans. He couldn’t possibly take into account how each and every single person would act in the heat of the moment.
He knows every key person’s personality so he could prepare contingencies upon contingencies based on how they acted. Their powers were noted the limits, and their habits on how they used it. So far, Higher Deacon Raxer was the only problem in terms of their battle strength but based on Houston’s valuable info, Higher Deacon Raxer without getting buffed by the God’s Domain was equal with him in strength.
Seeing Yio’s personal strength with his eyes from the second explosion, Reinhold knew that he was a non-issue in terms of danger.
Adding on the fact that the Fanged Lioness was supposedly stronger than Houston if Reinhold manages to find a way to take care of the God’s Domain, the conclusion should be set already.
Everything was going according to plan.
In the afternoon, it was finally time. The hounds were let loose.
“The skies look pretty red tonight.”
“We’ll kill their men, and we get to leave too? Hahaha!”
“Finally, my axe has been waiting for a feast like this.”
Countless mercenaries were finally let out, the only thing in their minds, was blood. A wandering inquisitor was wandering the streets as he usually was when a Gifted mercenary showed up in front of him. The inquisitor was a bit puzzled at why the mercenaries showed up but before he could speak a word, his head was already disconnected from his body.
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“First blood’s mine! Hahaha! Everyone owes me now!” the mercenary that just killed
The inquisitors were nothing but normal people. There were a few Gifted among them but they usually huddled around Yio as his personal bodyguards. These normal inquisitors were once the people who defended the city, now as if it was a twist of fate, they were now paying the price for their betrayal.
Now, mercenaries on the other hand were full of Gifted. It was simply how the world worked, there was more money and fame in being a mercenary while there are only rules and regulations with poor pay as a city guard.
Those with skills joined the guild while those who were lacking were simply left with no choice but to join the city guards.
Some mercenaries aren’t Gifted but where they lacked in strength they made up for skill and experience. Some mercenaries could even grasp a wisp of a law to strengthen their bodies to be considered weaker Gifted.
Scenes like these were prevalent in the city. Countless inquisitors were dying left and right, the execution happened so swiftly that by the time Yio managed to find out, there were only 1000 inquisitors left.
A vein popped out from his forehead, he was absolutely livid, “The guild! How dare they blaspheme the God of Trial’s symbols! Such impudence! I’ll rip all of you-“
“But you can’t, can you?” Higher Deacon Raxer casually chided by his side.
It was true. Yio couldn’t do anything to them. They were all following the trials as per his instructions. The only ones who were free from this hunt were Yio and Higher Deacon Raxer, the only people who were truly under the God of Trials.
Yio tried to gather everyone together to fight back against the mercenaries but it was all in vain. These mercenaries were still fighting against them even at the foot of their base camp. These Gifted mercenaries were clashing against the inquisitors with their full strength, completely ignoring the fact of backlash that they’ll face if they sleep.
The normal inquisitors were lambs to the slaughter while the Gifted inquisitors were holding back their power for fear that they might kill a mercenary, signifying their own deaths.
Blood ran down the streets, and corpses upon corpses once again littered the city.
The Fanged Lioness shouted out, “Gather all the corpses! Give the hearts to those citizens that are going to suffer the backlash!”
All the mercenaries quickly followed her commands. They managed to gather the hearts from these corpses to be used as their ticket on their way out.
The people who previously killed the inquisitors were given the hearts first, trying to limit the amount of deaths. Even though they were only a paltry sum compared to how many people there were only a month ago, they were still lives they could save.
In the end, Raxor’s plan killed more of his men than the citizens.
Higher Deacon Raxer’s entire plan to stir up trouble was swiftly put out as soon as it was ignited. He didn’t expect the silent mercenaries who valued their own selves more than anyone else to suddenly launch a devastating attack.
“If they were going to move, they should’ve moved immediately, why now?” Higher Deacon Raxer brainstormed possible conclusions.
Yio came up from behind him, “It must be that red-eyed man.”
“Who?”
“The same person who blew up the wall a second time.”
“Why am I hearing about him just now?”
“I thought he would’ve stopped after seeing that explosion do nothing to me,” Yio covered his eyes with his hand, using his fingers to massage his temple.
“There’s a mastermind that managed to control the entire guild and you were unable to stop them. Why didn’t you-”
“I did try! Those heretics haven’t left a single mark ever since they blew up the wall! Damned wretches!” Yio was completely livid, everything was suddenly falling apart. He already lost a lot of men during the explosion and even more during this slaughter.
“You can’t do anything but watch. I guess it’s finally my turn,” Higher Deacon Raxor smiled slightly, his gemstone teeth were visible to everyone around him.
As Higher Deacon Raxor was about to set forth to settle the mercenary guild, a sudden influx of people came out. They all had bags in their hands. Their bags were filled with countless hearts of the inquisitors.
As much as both Yio and Higher Deacon Raxor wanted to settle the problem with the mercenaries, those who finished their trials should be rewarded, a core ideology of their church.
Yio was blessing them using his ceremonial sword while Higher Deacon Raxor was reaching out his hand to touch their foreheads. Regardless of their methods, the same golden-red color sprouted within the people who committed their trials.
Eventually, Yio noticed one particular person, he was buff and scarred, and he had a sword in his hand still dripping with blood. This was one of the mercenaries he desperately wanted to kill yet couldn’t.
“Ey! How’s youse doing?” the mercenary talked in his own thick accent.
Yio didn’t speak, he verified the contents and blessed the mercenary. The entire time, Yio had bloodshot eyes. He held, on one hand, the hearts of his fallen brethren while on the other, the ceremonial sword that was blessing the very murderer of his companions. What shame, what disgusting turn of fate was this?
The mercenary only cackled in front of Yio’s face, testing his limits. Seeing that there was no issue, he promptly threw a small item toward Yio and ran away.
Yio’s hands were full so he immediately the bag in his hands and grabbed the item thrown at him. He examined it when he saw a thread get ignited by a spark in his hands. It was an explosive.
Yio’s eyes widened when he realized this, he threw it up in the air, “Higher Deacon Raxor! A bomb!”
“On it,” a mystical golden red seven-fingered hand appeared from non-existence to cover the bomb. An extremely dense vibration rang out from this illusionary hand, everyone in the vicinity felt the impact even though they were quite far away.
Due to the hand’s transparent-like figure, everyone saw the fiery red gunpowder contained inside an extremely small point, creating an unnecessarily strong vibrational force.
Higher Deacon Raxor wasn’t affected nor was Yio but this tense situation was something neither of them wanted to deal with. They wouldn’t be hurt but it would cause massive damage to their camp, everyone’s morale was already low, and if their base camp which everyone believed to be safe were to be damaged, it just might make his entire force fall apart.
The mercenary that threw the bomb was long gone, he already passed through the barrier. He laughed out loud and immediately tried to find a vantage point for the show that was about to come.
This situation did not deter the following citizens from claiming their freedom, they continued to line up against these two, a bit fearful but still determined.
Hannah was looking from a distance, noting down all she could observe. She was Reinhold’s eyes and ears, what she sees is what he sees, and what she hears is what he hears. Right now, everything was on track, it was time to drain their enemies.
Soon enough, another mercenary showed up, Yio was absolutely angry, he knew what was about to happen but there was nothing he could do. The mercenary weakly threw an item inside the base camp, Higher Deacon Raxor reacted as fast as he could to cover it up. Seeing these two react immediately, he laughed at both of them and ran away.
The item the mercenary threw wasn’t a bomb, it was a bottle of tar. This sticky substance was now being held directly by Higher Deacon Raxor. He narrowed his eyes and after realizing that there was no danger it actually didn’t make him happy, on the contrary, he realized this was going to be a very long night.
If every mercenary threw a bomb, it would be predictable. Even though it would consume his law, it was still manageable. The problem was that it wouldn’t all be bombs. He would have to waste his own strength and mental capability to react to something non-threatening. In the end, they were making fun of him.
Higher Deacon Raxor’s face dimmed, both he and Yio were being played around. Ever since the Trial of Silence, the mercenaries didn’t make a single move, making them careless, thinking that they had everything under control. The following explosion heavily reduced the number of inquisitors from his force, forcing him to move along the trials. It seemed as if the second trial caused their own downfall. Yio thought that with the red-eyed man’s physical attributes, he would be targeted by his own allies, unfortunately, he underestimated Reinhold.
Reinhold already knew how the general trend of how trials went. He knew the church’s philosophy and used that very point to shift the knife’s edge away from his neck and back into his captors.
Every single path, every single decision, and every single outcome led him here. It felt suffocating to Yio that this once easy way to improve his own authority and power is slowly becoming the reason for his demise.
The army he brought was becoming nothing but corpses, the very thought of this further enraged him.
“They were supposed to fight in the Holy War! They weren’t supposed to die here! Heretics, once I get my hands on you!” Yio was screaming out his lungs, trying to express as much anger as he could.
Not all was as bad for Yio though, for every person who successfully finished a trial, the laws within him started to grow, this was the case as well for Higher Deacon Raxor. The people under them were suffering but they were growing stronger by the second.
Reinhold knew that they were getting stronger but it was completely negligible. So what if they were ten times, twenty times, or even a hundred times stronger? Can they still fight back if they’re asleep?
It was now a battle of attrition. Will these two have enough stamina to last with mercenaries coming up imposing problems upon problems at their doorsteps?
Every single citizen that has been killed has already left, making a temporary camp alongside the other mercenaries just outside the city walls. Although there could only be a limited amount of people who could be saved with the amount of hearts they had, it would be enough to settle for the final fight.
At this point, Hannah managed to come back to relay to Reinhold the current situation.
By Reinhold’s calculations, they would have enough hearts to last 39 people, with 58 hearts left over. The last person would’ve needed 225 hearts to complete the set. It was an extremely absurd concept, 225 inquisitors were slain so that one mercenary could come out.
“Well then, the curtain’s coming to a close. Let’s see what else you have,” Reinhold casually said.
Brun wasn’t there, Luke wasn’t either. Only Houston, Hannah, and Aya. There were also two mercenaries tied up in front of him. These two mercenaries already killed many people but unfortunately, the sudden movement from the guild forced these two to stop in their tracks.
Aya was about to question Reinhold when an extremely earth-shattering sound came outside. Everyone stood up except for Reinhold. A majestic light from outside the golden red barrier lit up the night sky. Countless sparkles and colors filled the dreadful night sky into something more colorful.
“So that’s what it does.”