“If what you’ve told me is the truth, then this is very concerning,” said Otto once I had finished with my story. “Two Demon Kings came, and neither were noticed until hours after they had left. You’re lucky they didn’t want you dead.”
“Yeah, better security would be nice,” I said. “People keep saying I’m not gonna be executed, but keeping me locked up and unable to defend myself in a place where I could easily be assassinated isn’t a whole lot better.”
“I will work on increasing the number of guards,” said Otto. “Our wards are already the best in existence. I don’t think we will be able to stop Lust from entering if he wishes, but we can station guards in your cell with you. Once your trial is done, you may also be moved to new accommodations, depending on the verdict, so we may have more options then.”
“Speaking of, is there any news on the trial date?” I asked.
“No. Saintess Evelyn is refusing to condone a public trial, and Humility is refusing to participate if it’s not public. The rest of the church can’t make a move with those two at odds, so it’s still stuck in a stalemate. I don’t expect any change for at least a month.”
“You know what? Fuck it. Let’s just do it. I don’t care anymore. Let’s just get it over with.”
“You want to do the public trial?” he asked, confused.
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s going to happen one way or the other, so there’s no point in putting it off. And it’s probably better for it to be public. My biggest secret is already out, and I haven’t done anything else worth hiding.”
“So you are admitting that you are a Demon King?”
“No,” I said. “I am admitting nothing. I was just talking to myself.”
“...I see,” he said. “I will inform the Saintess. Someone will be back here soon with the final date and time of the trial.”
“If it’s possible, can we wait a couple days? I need some time to finish these books.”
“It will take a few days to prepare, so I do not think that will be a problem,” he said.
“Great,” I said. “Thanks for everything.”
Otto nodded, and walked out of my cell without another word. A moment later, a guard entered.
“I will be standing guard in here for now,” he said.
“Yeah, fine,” I said, reaching for a book. “Just don’t bother me while I’m reading.”
Two hours after Otto left, a priest whose name I forgot almost as soon as he said it, arrived to inform me that the trial would be held in the square in front of the cathedral three days later. I spent most of those days reading, only interrupted by the occasional guard change. On the morning of the day of the trial, I finished the last of the books, and in my boredom, I had begun to reread The Dragon and the Phoenix when the cell door opened, and Anatoly entered.
“Lucy,” he said as the guard slipped out behind him. “Did you finish the books I gave you?”
“Yes,” I said, closing the one in my hands. “They were excellent. Thank you.”
“And which one do you think I wrote?” he asked.
At that, I scowled. “Actually, you may have heard, but I got a visit from your grandson a few nights ago. He told me which one it was. It was Ekaterina.”
“Ha,” he said jovially. “Well, a deal’s a deal. I never said anything about not receiving outside help. Here.”
He held out his hand and a small glass vial full of a dark red liquid appeared in it.
“Is this… blood?” I asked as I reached out for it.
“Yes. Mine.”
I nearly dropped the vial. “What? Yours?”
“Yes,” he said, chuckling.
“...Do you want to be my thrall or something?”
“Creating thralls requires fresh blood. I have had that vial in my inventory since before the vampires went extinct.”
“This is thousand year old blood?” I asked, looking warily at the vial.
“As far as your skill is concerned, yes. Far too old to be used to make a thrall. However, time does not pass in extradimensional space, so by all other metrics, it is as fresh as the day I extracted it.”
“Ok… but why?” I asked. I’d never heard of something like this before, but I was fairly certain that a guy giving a girl a vial of his own blood was a red flag of some kind. Especially when the guy had previously told the girl that she reminded him of his dead wife.
“Elf blood is a high-class delicacy to vampires,” he explained. “Back when they were still around, it wasn’t uncommon for an elf in need of money to sell their own blood to a wealthy vampire for an exorbitant price. I always kept a few handy, just in case, and when the vampires disappeared, I just never removed them.
“You’ve been subsisting entirely on blood from monsters and animals until now, so your taste buds may have gone numb from lack of use, but I believe you will still enjoy this.”
“Oh,” I said. “Well, then thanks, I guess.”
I uncorked the vial and was instantly drawn in by the smell. In the past, I had never been drawn to the smell of blood. Perhaps if I had let my Life Force dip low enough, my hunger would have changed that, but I had never let it get that low, so the scent of blood was always just a scent. The aroma emanating from the vial, though… It was unlike anything I had ever felt. It took all my willpower not to empty it into my mouth immediately.
“Go ahead,” he said. “Don’t let it dry out.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, forcing my attention away from the heaven-scent. “It’s feels kind of weird, drinking your blood right in front of you.”
“It’s alright,” he said. “I gave it to you after all. And you are a vampire. Having to hide your race may have made you wary, but drinking blood is natural for you. It is nothing to hide.”
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After another moment of hesitation, I gave in.
“Bottom’s up,” I said, emptying the vial’s contents directly into my mouth.
While the smell had been incredible, it had done little to prepare me for the taste. As the flavor filled my mouth and mind, I lost all sense of the present, and was thrust into a world of euphoria and reminiscence. The taste reminded me of all the best food I had ever eaten back on Earth, while somehow tasting like none of them. It was more savory than an A5 Wagyu, richer than a chocolate fondue, and more complex than a fine wine. All the food and drink I had ever consumed could not compare to the flavor found in that tiny bottle. The nectar of the gods was real, and it was elf blood.
A few seconds later when I awoke from my reverie, I found Anatoly smiling softly at me. I don’t know what kind of face I had been making, but I quickly forced my face back to its normal position and refocused my mind.
“That was delicious,” I said as calmly as I could. “I can see why the other vampires paid well for it.”
“I’ve never actually gotten to see a vampire drink it before,” he said, grinning. “They would always do it in private. Now I see why. I should be thanking you for finally satisfying my curiosity.”
“You-!” I started. “No, nevermind. It doesn’t matter.”
“Would you mind telling me what it tasted like?” he asked. “I’ve never tasted anything that made me react the way you did.”
“Like drugs,” I said. “It was like eating raw dopamine.”
“What’s dopamine?” he asked, frowning.
“The chemical in the human brain that makes them experience happiness,” I said. “It doesn’t surprise me that you’ve never heard about it. I doubt anyone other than the Chronomancer ever has.”
He frowned more. “Why? How do you know this?”
“I can’t say yet. You’ll probably find out at the trial later though. I assume you’re going?”
“I am,” he said. “But if I’m going to find out later, why not tell me now? I’d love to hear more about this dopamine and how and why you and the Chronomancer are aware of it while no one else is.”
“Sorry, I’m not saying anything unless I have to,” I said. “And I still don’t fully trust you yet. Everyone’s saying that I’m going to be tried, but for all I know, I’m going to be led to my execution instead. I don’t think it’s at all likely, but on the very slight chance that it does happen, I’d rather not share too much.”
“Then why share anything at all?” he asked.
“Because,” I said, smiling. “I drank your blood and made a weird face for you to see, so I wanted to see you make a weird face too. I’ve only ever seen you smiling and frowning. I thought it would be fun to see you confused.”
“Fine,” he said, still frowning. “But I expect a full explanation afterward.”
“Maybe,” I said. “So, any news from the outside?”
“A bit,” he said. “Alexander managed to repel Wrath’s initial assault on the Maradona capital, but Wrath is gearing up for another one. That might even happen today during the trial. Ophelia still hasn’t been found, and neither have Envy or Sloth…”
From there, the conversation moved onto the books I had read. I steered the conversation away from discussion of Ekaterina, because the mood was already a little awkward, and I didn’t want to make it any worse, but our discussions of the other stories were as lively as ever until the guard returned and told the elf it was time to leave.
Two hours later, I was being led out of my cell by a dozen heavily armed paladins surround me on all sides with their hands on their swords.
“This all seems a bit excessive,” I said. “Do you not have any faith in these restraints?”
None of them responded.
“I mean, really? A full dozen?” I continued. “Even with my magic I would struggle with this many. I wouldn’t even be able to beat a mid-ranked adventurer like this.”
“Silence, Demon,” said the one in the lead.
“Maybe if you undid my handcuffs, your caution would be more justified.”
“I said silence,” said the paladin.
“Oh were you talking to me?” I asked in mock surprise. “You said ‘Demon’ so I thought you must have been talking to someone else. I’m not a Demon.”
“We shall see,” he said.
I continued my provocations as we made our way down a dim stone hallway and up a long flight of stairs, but they did not respond any more. I’m not sure why I even tried. I knew that nothing would come of it, and that there was no point. I guess I was just bored.
At the top of the stairs, there was a large set of double doors that opened up into a more ordinary looking hallway. Or at least, ordinary for the cathedral. I had emerged from the dreary stone to the world of red silk carpets and crystal chandeliers.
The trial was set to take place just outside the front of the cathedral, in the same place that I had unfortunately chosen to rescue Sylvia half a decade before. They had set up a shaded canopy at the base of the stairs with a black metal chair that had rings in it where I assumed they would be chaining me to. In front of the chair was a small stone table with a blue orb on a small pedestal in the center.
There were also five chairs set up on the stairs looking down, where I assumed that whoever would be handing me my verdict would preside. The chairs were empty when I was brought out though, so I wasn’t sure who those people would be.
Around my canopy, there was a ring of paladins facing outwards holding a crowd at bay. As soon as I emerged from the cathedral, the crowd started shouting, and surging forward, forcing the paladins to imbue their aura into their shields to keep from being forced back.
“The accused, Archmage Lucille!” shouted a herald from nearby.
The sound of the spectators rose as they hurled vitriol and whatever they had in their hands at the moment in my direction. My escorts blocked all but the vitriol, which was fortunate. I had managed to keep my clothes relatively clean in the cell, and I didn’t want them to be covered in rotten fruit while I was being judged for my crimes.
I was led down to the black chair and like with the cell, once my handcuffs were connected, the pull on my mana doubled. For a few minutes, nothing else happened. Then, the sound of the crowd died out as the doors to the cathedral opened again to reveal another group of people. I only recognized about half of them, so when the herald started announcing them, I paid close attention.
“The judges who will preside over the trial today are Saintess Evelyn, High Priest Donovan, High Priestess Elaina, Orderbound Blade Tobias Svenson, and the Godly Emissary of Diligence, Antonio Verdi.”
The five of them slowly made their way to their seats, with Evelyn in the center on the highest step, the two priests on either side, and Antonio and the paladin on the outsides. The two priests were elderly, but not debilitatingly so. They walked with confidence and unbent backs, and their robes reflected the sunlight so well that they were difficult to look at.
The paladin was a dwarf and aside from the length of his beard, he had almost nothing in common with Ingrid. His beard was bright orange and his eyes narrow and cruel as he glared down at me from his chair while stroking his thumb over the blade of his ax.
Evelyn and Antonio looked the same as always, Evelyn in a plain white dress, and Antonio in a simple gray suit. I made eye contact with each of them in turn, but neither made any discernible expressions.
“And the one who will be handling the questioning, the Godly Emissary of Humility, Lady Sylvia!” said the herald.
I scowled and the crowd cheered as she walked out. She was still wearing the baggy, indistinct cloak from when I traveled with her, but she had done away with the mask, letting her disturbingly wide smile shine for everyone to see. She slowly descended and made her way to me until she stood across the small table from me, staring into my eyes with excitement.
“Before we begin,” came Evelyn’s voice, immediately silencing the spectators. “I ask that everyone maintain respect for the church of Order and refrain from behaving in any manner unpleasant to Themis.”
A wave of murmurs passed through the people, but that too quickly died out, leaving behind an eerie silence that should not have been possible for a crowd of this size.
“Thank you,” continued Evelyn. “We shall now begin. Does the accused have any opening statements to make?”
[Pride] is being nullified
Sylvia smiled at me and nodded as I read my System notification. I shot her a quick, angry glance before clearing my throat.
“I am not a Demon King,” I said as loudly as I could without shouting. “I have never killed anyone. I have no desire to kill anyone. I have no desire to conquer or destroy the world. I do not pose any more threat to the people here than any other archmage.”
The orb remained blue.