Metello woke up. He opened his eyes slowly to an unknown ceiling. He sat upon the cold paved floor while massaging the side of his head.

“Welcome back with us, Metello.”

He turned his head, and his gloomy-looking squad-mates greeted him with half a smile. He noticed that they were all three locked up in a small room, a sole barred windows to let the sunshine in, and a sturdy door. He could hear a crowd in an uproar not far from them. A little confused at first, Metello finally remembered why they were there. His throat tightened as he thought about all that he knew going bad and all that he imagined went bad too. Slowly, he took a heavy breath and asked with a defeated calmness.

“Have we been here for a long time ?”

Roger replied.

“Around two hours.”

“Any news about was they'll do with us ?”

“The male voice said in our heads that the public trial will take place the next cycle, at the 8th bell.”

“Good. And... what about you two ?”

“Accomplices.”

Metello wailed. Tears came to his eyes once again.

“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”

“That's OK, mate. It's not your fault, and you know it. Besides, every hunter knows the risks of dying early are high. It's just that I hadn't imagined that the kind of monster who would have my life would be a human one.

Metello turned his gaze to the now sobbing [Priestess].

“Sorry, Ianina. We won't be able to... Do you know that I see your hair as black?

She chuckled while wiping her tears.

“What a nice change of subject. Yes, I got black hair, the same as you.”

“But... How? And why ?”

“It was a side effect of the Prayer of Resilience that I maintained on my hair to change its color. And the reason was, on the one hand, to be less recognizable by Livia, and on the other hand, to avoid the problems you had with yours.”

“Ah. Smart.”

“Thanks.”

Then, the [Acolyte] noticed a strange metal thing on the [Priestess]'s arm.

“What is that bracelet you have ?”

“I could ask you the same. Look at your arm.”

He looked down to see the same kind of silver-colored bracelet as Ianina. He examined it a bit, looking over its square section, and noticed a tiny keyhole on its back while Ianina explained.

“As we can't use any divine energy and our stats seems to be back to the base ones, we think that they are magic bracelet used to hinder our access to the system. We don't know if passive abilities are still usable, but we doubt it.”

Indeed, Metello felt weak, but he had put that on his circumstances, not a magic bracelet.

“You know, this is the first magic item I have ever seen."

"Perhaps you can ask if you can keep it.”

A quiet laugh started in the group to Ianina's words. But it died out quickly. Metello listened to the crowd for a few minutes, feeling lethargic, before asking again.

“Any idea about what happened to Jeffrey and the orphanage ?”

“None.”

Only a few seconds of noisy silence followed as Roger asked.

“Did I tell you about my father ?”

Ianina replied with a faint smile in an exaggerated manner.

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“Oh, yes! We heard about him. The silver-ranked [High swordsman] who roamed the plains and the forest of the Yellowind Kingdom.”

“Does that mean I never talked about what he did in the Saint John desert ?”

“Oh, no. You got me.”

Metello smiled a bit at their antics and half-listened to Roger's tale about his father.

----------------------------------------

As the 6th bell resounded, Metello, Roger, and Ianina sat up slowly, still very tired from trying to sleep for hours on the cold floor. The street outside was silent as the crowd dispersed itself a few hours ago.

“After that sleep, I doubt more and more being able to camp in the wild. Not that I will be able to try.”

Nobody replied to the [Priestess].

Half an hour later, they were given a light breakfast composed of hard molded bread and some water, and during the next hour, they noticed that the angry crowd noise was coming back gradually. A few tens of minutes before the fated time, six [Guards] came for them. They tied their hands and gagged them. It reminded Metello of another similar experience a bit more than a month earlier. They were led to a cart in a small inner court of the Guardhouse, still wearing their combat gear aside from their weapons. Then, the two horses pulled the cart slowly forward through the opening door and into the crowded streets.

Metello was used to seeing hatred in the strangers' eyes, but not up to this level. The people had waited for the allegedly three Nox agents only to insult, spit or throw things onto them. Nevertheless, he was thankful to the crowd for not targeting Roger and Ianina too much. At least, it was a somewhat positive point to him.

The coming trial and its conclusion, which was without a doubt already written, made him stand up in the cart to face them. For once, he didn't need to fear anybody or anything as he had nothing to lose left, including his life. In the last hours, he had resolved himself to it. He directed his gaze onto the crowd, examining the people one after the other. Each time his gaze was directed toward someone, Metello noticed that its excitement went down. He mumbled to himself in disbelief.

“Do they fear me? A young orphan, almost alone, soon dead, surrounded first by eight armed [Guards] and then by a hostile crowd? They were the same ones I feared ?”

On the way from the Guardhouse to Gods' Square, they quickly arrived near the House. There, he recognized some people he knew: a few young monster hunters, Mr Morton, the [Librarian]. Even the head of the House he got a glimpse of once or twice was there. Mr Morton and Lisbeth had sad faces as the cart passed them.

The rest of the way, Metello tried to no avail to catch sight of Jeffrey, Mrs Richardson, Maria, or other orphans. He only managed to have a bit of sad fun by inducing fear in the crowd with the power of his gaze.

They arrived at the place of judgment in a few minutes despite the low speed of the cart. A crowd had filled most of it despite the number of people already following them. As they went forward, Metello noticed the wooden platform that had been installed between the Petrus and the Aqua temples and facing the sun. The show would take place about one and a half meters high. Everybody present would be able to see the black-haired orphan's demise.

The cart stopped in a most secured area. The three young people were led up the stairs onto the platform. Three chairs had been prepared for them at the edge of it. They were each sat and tied on their chair by a [Guard] who, once done, stood behind them, ready to act. Metello was at the front of the group. He could only see Roger and Ianina if he turned his head a bit behind. Of course, the Lux follower was the featured guest of the show. And then came the host.

From his viewpoint, Metello could see a vehicle going through the crowd coming from Market street as they had done. But instead of goods delivering cart, the mayor and his witnesses arrived in a white roofed coach. Metello couldn't see much from afar, but he was sure the carving in its sides were as beautiful as the ones of Mr Moore's carriage from a year ago. Little golden metal things were dangling and reflecting the sunlight at each vehicle's corner. The high silver wheels were rolling on the paved square with a loud noise while the carriage split the crowd like a hot knife through butter.

Metello couldn't see the mayor getting out of the luxury vehicle to walk onto the Gods' Square, but he heard the enthusiastic cheers of the people indicating when he did. A few seconds later, the man walked up the stairs. For the first time in his life, he could see [Duke] Cavendish, his mayor. He appeared with a bright satisfied smile up to his well-trimmed beard, wearing his regal outfit made of white colored silk embroiled with a golden sun before a tower shield, his family emblem.

Behind the mayor, Metello saw a man wearing a purple [High Priest] robe. He deduced it would be the [Menta High Priest] Neville, the mayor's right-hand man. After them came another bright smile bearer, Mr Moore, and a tensed Francis. The look the [Merchant] threw to Metello was so full of delight he thought he could start dancing in front of the crowd. Finally, two men in the traditional white [Nihil Priest]'s robes brought up the rear.

Neither the mayor nor anybody else came to speak to the three defendants. The [Duke] preferred to address the crowd.

“My beloved people, I welcome you to this public trial to determine the guilt of these three young people accused of treason. The first is Metello Black-haired, the group leader. He is an orphan who lived on the generosity of our fellow citizens for fourteen years. The second one is also a foreigner, Ianina, who is confirmed to have usurped a [Saint] name to spread the malicious rumor. Finally, there is Roger Farmer, their bodyguard.

To carry out this trial, I will personally ask questions to the two witnesses to confirm what [High Priest] Neville already told you before. Once done, we will determine the lawful sentence for this kind of treason.

Francis Stone, come to me, please.”

Then came the interrogation of Francis and Mr Moore. Metello didn't even listen to it. For half an hour, he kept searching the crowd to try and find a sign of Mrs Richardson or Maria, to no avail. When the mayor spoke after Mr Moore's testimony, he listened to it again.

“It is now clearly established that these three are guilty. We will then ask [High Priest] Bradford and [High Priest] Pernalf of Nihil what sentence is required for treason.”

A commotion in the crowd caught the eye of the mayor as much as that of Metello. Both identified the cause easily as a big ball of flames progressed toward the platform at walking speed from Nihil's temple. Once the fire reached the middle of the crowd, it vanished. Metello managed to glimpse at Mrs Richardson's form with a small group of people that had been inside of it. Relief tears came up to the orphan, and a bright smile bloomed on his dirty face. Then, a male voice resounded strongly through the square.

“Who are these [High Priest] wearing white robes? I, head [High Priest] Marcus of the Nihil's temple, have never heard of them. Where are the witnesses of the defendants? Why haven't we heard the defendants? It is true that a [Duke] is allowed to conduct a trial, but there are limits to incompetence and disorder when doing justice!”

The mayor had a strained smile when he replied.

“Esteemed head [High Priest] Marcus, look at these people around you. Look at these poor men, women, and children who fear the acts of these Nox agents. If we don't sentence them here and now, what will happen? These three are the source of their fear, and we all know what fear can do. We only have to take them out of the kingdom to assure order. Isn't it simple ?”

“It is not simple. Justice without order is not justice. If you want to do it, someone would have to assign a defender who will have at least a cycle to ask for witnesses in the city, and we would have to hear if the defendants have something to say too. I offer to be personally at your side to determine the sentence. For now, the people have no reason to fear anything as you can lock them up in a prison cell for the time needed.”

“But, where could we find witnesses we are sure are not part of their conspiracy? And how could we believe a word of what these three Nox agents have to say ?”

“You could ask head [Miracle Maker] Spencer of Lux, for example. Or do you presume she is part of the conspiracy too ?”

The argument continued for a few minutes. Metello didn't understand half of what they said. He didn't even try to listen after some time. His eyes were on Mrs Richardson. She seemed even more tired than himself, which was not an easy feat. At least, she was neither wounded nor dead. He wanted so much to ask her about Maria and the other kids. He could only think that since she was fine, the children were too. His soul was a bit relieved. Whatever the trial outcome, the worst seemed to have been avoided. He looked around her and recognized three aged monster hunters by the ten people group. The others appeared to be old monster hunters too, apart from the three white-robed figures of Nihil followers.

Finally, the [Nihil High Priest] won the argument, and the mayor had to concede.

“Right, I'm sorry, beloved citizen, but as you can see, I made an honest mistake while willing to protect you. We will hold another trial next cycle at the 9th bell so that it can be done in an orderly fashion and to please the great god Nihil. We will put these three under strict guard, so you don't have to worry about it. Thank you for being here, and see you next cycle.”

Metello, Ianina, and Roger were untied and led to the cart. Quickly, they were once more loaded in it to head toward the Guardhouse. He could no longer see the small figure of Mrs Richardson behind the crowd, but he knew she was there. Hope came to the Lux follower, but it was a double-edged sword.