Sylvester interrupted the Inquisitor High Lord and stepped away from his seat.
"What happened, young bard?" Lord Inquisitor asked.
Sylvester slammed his foot on the ground and heard the sound. "Hmm… you have a cellar underneath this hall?"
The Baron appeared taken aback by Sylvester's direct gaze and cold tone. He sweated a little and nodded. "Y-Yes, great lord bard. We keep food and other items stored there."
"I wish to inspect it. Take me there." Sylvester ordered as he picked up his spear as well.
The Baron looked at Lord Inquisitor with a firm face. But it was clear that he was trying to push forward a strongman attitude to appear confident. "L-Lord Inquisitor, why am I being treated like this after I so graciously agreed to entertain your men and your visit?"
Thud!
Sylvester punched the wooden table near the Baron and made a few cracks appear. "Silence, heathen! You are a volunteer of the Crusade, and I, as the Grand Crusader, have the right to investigate you. Now do as I demand, or I will be forced to announce my judgement without looking."
"I.. Inquisitor High Lord, please tell Lord Bard to stand back." Baron Rockwood cried and pleaded.
But the Inquisitor High Lord stayed in his seat. "He is made Grand Crusader by the Holy Father. To hinder him, my rank does now allow. So I can not stop him from fulfilling his vow."
Sylvester appreciated the clarification and pressed onto the Baron a bit more. "Stand, Baron Rockwood. We don't have time to waste here. Take me to the cellar—quick!"
The fat, tall, modestly clothed baron stood up. His blue eyes appeared panicked, and his brown hair seemed drenched in sweat already.
As the two walked out, Lady Aurora and Inquisitor High Lord followed. Lady Aurora even gave a brief report to Inquisitor High Lord about what transpired in the Ender Village and the crimes of the Baron there.
Soon, they arrived at the cellar of the castle. It was large and seemed to have multiple floors. However, the baron tried to act smart and only showed them the first floor.
Sylvester pointed his spear at the man's neck. "You think we're fools? Take us to the deepest floor, or my spear shall meet your throat."
"N-No, my lord! I will take you."
Sylvester kept the spear touching the Baron's back as a reminder that one wrong move could result in death. Though he was knowingly stabbing it a little now and then to make the Baron suffer.
"Here, Lord Bard. This is the deepest floor." Baron stopped after opening a trap door that had some stairs going down.
"What are you looking for, my lord? Perhaps I can help you."
Sylvester patted the Baron's shoulder and moved in. "We're looking for your sins, Baron. Now stay silent, or I won't bother conducting a trial for heresy."
There was no natural light or a provision for a torch in the space, so he used his right hand to create light.
But, at a look, all there seemed to be was junk. There were sacks full of various materials and a lot of discarded furniture. But Sylvester's senses told him a different story. 'The smell of rotten flesh is so strong here—not just sorrowful, but someone is utterly mentally broken.'
"Hmm… why are there scratch marks on the floor… as if you just moved the furniture?" Sylvester asked and started to move things around in the same pattern.
The Baron tried to find excuses while visibly panicking. "Ah… W-we just cleaned the place."
Bam!
Lady Aurora slammed the hilt of her sheathed sword on the Baron's head. "If that was the case, then the dirt and those scratch marks won't be on the ground. You are done for, you mad heathen. Stop lying."
"Found it!" Sylvester suddenly exclaimed and slid in through the narrow space between the furniture.
Boom!
Lord Inquisitor was too big for the space, though. So the big man simply tapped his metal staff once and turned all the furniture to ashes in a split second. The fire only appeared like a short spark.
But, none noticed it as what was in front of their eyes was more shocking. There was a small metal cage made with solid bars, barely four feet wide and seven feet tall. Inside it was a humanoid figure—a tiger Beastkin—riddled with stab wounds all over the body.
Even though the man had the furry head of a tiger, the emotions appeared clear. He was broken in mind and body. Perhaps, the scars of the mind were more hurtful at the moment than those on the body.
He was tortured, and that was evident as the cage was just big enough for the seven-foot-tall muscular Beastkin. The man could not sit, turn around, or stretch his neck. Just looking at his condition was painful enough.
Sylvester went ahead and opened the cage by cutting it. The Beastkin didn't react much other than his eyes moving towards him.
"Mizar family. When I touch him, you better start speaking with him. Otherwise, he might enter a berserk state." He spoke to the ghosts. Of course, only he could see them, so Lord Inquisitor and the Baron were confused.
Bam!
Sylvester cut the last bar and pulled the entire side off. It was the front side so the Beastkin could walk out.
"Easy there, Elyon. I am Sylvester Maximilian, and I am here to bring the Baron to justice—so his head will soon be rolling, I promise." Sylvester called him and, at the same time, started singing a slow hymn to produce the halo behind his head.
Bam!
But the tall Beastkin fell forward. It was unknown how long the man was in that cage, so it was understandable that the legs had been affected.
Sylvester caught him in a hug and helped him sit down. All the while, Elyon showed no reactions, as if he was a living corpse.
'How broken is he to be in a state like this?' Sylvester wondered and patted Elyon's back. This was the first time he had come this close to a Beastkin, but he didn't feel it was any different from an average human man.
"I ended the demon in Ender Village and freed the souls of your family. They are now here, Elyon. You can help them pass over to the other side, or else they will one day become creatures of the night—evil spirits." Sylvester advised him. "Why don't you greet Amy?"
Elyon seemed to react after hearing the name as he left Sylvester's arms and looked around. There, he noticed a small hovering figure of a cute little girl with fluffy tigress ears.
"Amy?" Elyon rose and jumped to hug her. But as soon as he left contact with Sylvester, the figure disappeared, and all he felt was nothingness in his arms—instantly making him feel emptier.
Before the tiger Beastkin could enter his rage, Sylvester put his hand on the latter's shoulder. "Only when you're in contact with me can you see them."
Instantly, not only Amy but the rest of the Mizar family also appeared there. They seemed to be worried for him and tried to say things to calm him down.
Elyon's furious eyes turned watery with that, and he silently wept, raising his hands to touch them but only seeing them pass through the translucent bodies.
Pat!
Sylvester looked behind and noticed Lady Aurora and Lord Inquisitor putting hands on his shoulders as well. That way, they all saw what Elyon was experiencing.
"Forgive me… Please forgive me." Elyon's heart-wrenching words echoed.
The woman tigress Beastkin came forward and shook her head. "Dear, it wasn't your fault for what happened. None of us knew our lives would end that day. No one could have predicted it—we're simple mortals. You wouldn't have been able to stop them if you were there either."
Elyon shook his head and held his face with the claws in frustration. "No… No… I could have. And I made you suffer even more by casting that vengeful magic without knowing it was a curse instead. Forgive me, Mila… I wasn't a good husband. I wasn't a good father."
Mila came closer and tried to place her hand on Elyon's shoulder. "Again, you didn't know. You wanted vengeance; you wanted justice. Don't cry anymore, my love. What the lord planned for us has already passed. No one could have altered the fate that was destined to happen since we were born.
"If anything, it's that heathen… that Baron who wronged us, not you."
Elyon silently looked down in defeat. His eyes bawled with tears of losing everything. His parents, his wife, his daughter, his siblings… everything. He felt empty and had no idea what to even do now.
"What am I to live for without you all? Please… let me join you."
"No!" Mila roared like the graceful tigress she was. "If I could, I would have slapped you for saying that. Never think of doing such a thing, Elyon. To kill oneself is a grave sin… you will never join us if you do so. No… you must live! You must live and see the world so when we meet again, we may see the world through your memories… Please."
Elyon fell silent in a mental conflict. But just then, he felt the hand on his shoulder tighten. He had not seen the face of the man behind him carefully, so he turned around.
"Elyon, you still have unfinished business. You have earned your vengeance, and the heathen has earned his punishment. Come, perform it so your family can be freed from this world's shackles."
Elyon noticed the strange halo behind the blonde man's head. He couldn't help but feel even more emotional after seeing it. Though his eyes soon darted towards Baron Rockwood, making the fat man shudder.
"Let's go out." Sylvester decided and left Elyon's shoulder. "Don't worry. They are still here. You can see them later."
After that, without saying anything, Sylvester walked over to the Baron and grabbed the hair. Then he started dragging him out. "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. You dared sin; now you must bear the fruit."
"Aaaa… No!" The baron tried to weakly fight Sylvester.
Sylvester dragged him all the way outside the cellar, then through the castle halls and eventually out of the castle to the large open courtyard.
Thud!
He threw the Baron forward and clapped his hands clean. "Inquisitors, place him in his spot."
"Nooo! Please! Not my sons and wife!" Baron cried aloud as he noticed the entire courtyard was full of men forcefully made to kneel with their hands and feet tied. There were a thousand of them exactly—all were the Crusaders who joined the Baron in his crime.
It was very noisy as they cried. But behind every five men was an inquisitor who would slam a stick on their heads to silence them.
At the front was the family of Baron. A wife, two sons and their wives—kneeling similarly.
"Where is my trial? You can not kill me without it! I know my rights!" Baron screamed, his eyes turning red as death appeared unavoidable. "Lord Inquisitor! This is injustice!"
Lord Inquisitor looked at Sylvester and asked. "What are the articles?"
"Article 66, as per the Crusader Charter of 5117." Sylvester instantly replied.
Inquisitor High Lord nodded and looked at the Baron. "Crusader Charter allows Article 66 against Crusaders caught committing heathenous acts. As I said, I am but a mere observer—So do not expect from me any favour."
"Nooo… Please…!" The Baron cried madly. His whole family and the crusader army as well.
But Sylvester, instead, walked over to Elyon. "Take this sword and realise your vengeance, for there is no room for repentance. Proceed as you wish, and punish them for heresy—for they all now sit here at your mercy."
