"There was a time when, if a tragedy like this were to happen before me, I would preach tolerance, forgiveness, and peace. I would try to change you, to educate you, to make you a better man who would never again make such a mistake. In all of my long years, I've learned the value of patience and mercy, of taking the time to help people get on the right path. I've also learned to spot those who are simply a lost cause, wastes of effort who don't deserve such kindness."
As he spoke, the man fought for breath, desperately trying to loosen Noah's fingers while his veins swelled and his eyes threatened to pop out of his skull. No one dared look as they listened to his pained gasps and struggle, fearing that if they so much as moved, they would feel the grip of the end around their throats.
"That said, killing you is hardly any less pointless. No matter how much trash like you I clear away, there is always more, and I'm so sick and tired of dealing with you people and the conflicts you stir up. I'm sick of cursing in condemnation, sighing in resignation, turning away in exhaustion, and fighting in obligation. But no matter what I do, no matter what world I'm on, people like you force me to react and get involved." The man, moments from death, fell back as Noah released him, coughing and struggling to get air back in his lungs. "Soiling this holiday with more death and bloodshed won't accomplish anything, and you don't deserve the privilege of being a martyr for your hatred. Your death will come to you in the darkness of the dungeon, unseen and forgotten."
Knights and soldiers arrived, drawn by the commotion. "What's going on?" Frigga asked, leading them.
"Take this man away. He is under arrest for the crime of murder. As for the rest of you..." He turned and looked at the rioters still prostrating before him. "Get out of my sight, and don't you ever set foot near the Knight's Sheath again. The next time you decide to take matters into your own hands and let hatred and ignorance push you into violence, I want you to remember how this went, and how much worse it could have been if I were less merciful."
They hurried to get away from Noah, lest he change his mind, and the killer was locked in iron. Daniel and the stabbed courtesan were both healed thanks to Sophia, and Melinda's body was brought inside. The merriment was halted, and all the patrons were asked to leave so she could be honored in peace. As tears were shed over her cold body by everyone at the Knight's Sheath, Noah sat at the bar, nursing his bottle of ambrosia. It wasn't long before Berholm arrived. A simple murder wouldn't usually pull the Royal Adjudicator from the palace, especially on a day like today, but considering that it happened at the Knight's Sheath, he was rightfully fearful when he arrived.
"What's going on? What happened?" he asked, seeing Melinda's wrapped body on one of the tables, surrounded by her friends.
"An angry mob attacked my establishment, and Melinda was killed," said Cyrilo bitterly. "They were drunk on liquor and bile, chanting for my girls to be strung up, accusing us of orchestrating last night's attack. I want to know what you plan to do to make sure this doesn't happen again."
Berholm was about to answer, but stopped, as Noah, walking by, paused and grasped his shoulder. To Berholm, Noah's hand felt like a weight, and he got the same sensation from their silent argument during the tournament.
"You were warned."
Three simple words, but they thundered through Berholm's mind like the trumpets heralding an army. When Noah removed his hand from his shoulder, Berholm felt his dread skyrocket. "Noah, wait!" he exclaimed, spinning around, but Noah was already gone, as if vanishing into thin air.
Soaked in a cold sweat, Berholm rushed outside but saw no sign of him, yet he knew where he was going. Berholm pulled out a whistle and began projecting a series of loud chimes, echoing across the city and reaching the ears of the knights. They all understood the code and hurried back to the palace, but did so as subtly and quietly as they could, not wanting to give the public cause for alarm. Bad enough that Noah was going for the king, but today of all days, after everything that had happened. The city couldn't endure yet another tragedy.
Galvin was escorted down a palace corridor by his guards, with Seraph brought along by Tarnas. "What's going on?" he asked.
"We believe the Wandering Spirit is after you, Your Majesty. We need to get you both to a secure location," said Tarnas, causing both Seraph and Galvin's hearts to sink and terror grip them.
Throughout the palace, every door was locked, every window shuttered and barricaded, and knights and soldiers stood guard at every corner and passage. The king and prince were brought to a small room at the end of a corridor filled with heavy doors of thick wood and steel, all constructed following Bella's murder of the previous king to prevent history from repeating itself. There was one small window for air, and through it came the frightened voice of a knight outside.
"He's here! The Wandering Spirit is here!"
Outside, in the main yard in front of the palace, Noah stood, facing an army of knights, all keeping their distance, with countless swords and arrows pointed at him from all directions. The portcullis had already been locked and sealed, and how he got past it undetected, nobody knew. Among the knights was Aithorn, trying to hide his inner conflict. It went without saying that he did not want to fight a comrade and Sylphtorian lord, but it was also the uneasiness he felt about the situation.
Noah wasn't even trying to sneak in. He had let himself be spotted on purpose, standing out in the open for everyone to see. There was no cover around him, nothing he could use to help him in a fight. To put himself at such a disadvantage meant that this was merely a distraction, or he was certain that they could not kill him. Perhaps he knew something they didn't, had some means of leverage he was about to reveal, or, and most frightening, he didn't regard them as strong enough to kill him. The knights around Aithorn had heard of his fight against the Wandering Spirit, how he and almost a dozen silver-ranked knights were single-handedly bested, and wondered what chance they had. Aithorn remembered the fight well, and could only imagine how much more powerful Noah had become since then.
"Lord Noah, I ask you to reconsider this. After everything that has happened, everything that awaits us, are you once more going to make yourself an enemy of the kingdom?"
Noah spoke, projecting mana to extend his voice to everyone. "I'm only an enemy if you decide I am one. I'm not here to spill blood, leave scars, or take lives; I promise you that. However, an innocent woman at the Knight's Sheath was killed, and one of my friends was injured because of Galvin's vitriol and manipulations, after I specifically warned him that there would be retaliation if his madness inconvenienced me. He didn't listen, instead continuing to rile up the foolish and scared and turn them on the beastmen, all to keep their anger focused anywhere but on him. After everything I've done, he's still foolish enough to ignore my threats. It seems I must teach him yet another lesson.
However, this goes beyond my simple irritation from an old feud. This anti-beastman sentiment that Galvin is stirring is turning into a ferocious monster, one that will continue to devour innocent lives, all to maintain his power and keep the people fearful and dependent. You're no fool, Aithorn. You know this as well. I've seen where this road leads again and again, and this is how it starts. It starts with pain; then pain leads to fear, fear to anger, anger to hatred, hatred to bloodshed, and bloodshed to infinitely more bloodshed. One woman has already been killed by fearmongering and violence, and she won't be the last.
Do any of you know what genocide is? It's the organized and systematic destruction of a group of people--their lives, their culture, everything. I don't mean like slaying a rival clan, I mean like eradicating hundreds of clans. I've seen it happen in countless worlds; people being rounded up and exterminated simply for the circumstances of their births, millions dead for crimes they never committed, their bones forming mountains and filling mass graves. And I don't mean warriors left dead on a battlefield. I'm talking men, women, and children, sobbing in terror as they're executed one by one or massacred in droves.
Are you all going to let that happen? Are you ready to slaughter innocent beastmen for the sin of being born? Are you ready to rape their women as a weapon of war and burn their temples to the ground? Are you ready to impale their newborns on your spears and carry them like trophies? Are you ready for all that blood on your hands? Are you ready for the screams? You'd better be, because if you're not, you should think long and hard about where you're standing.
You wage war for resources, fight and kill for land, pillage and plunder for fortune, but this is a different kind of violence you're about to embark on, and you will all be held responsible for what comes to pass. I have lived for thousands of years, and believe me when I say that if you let this go on, then history will condemn you all, and your descendants will lament their relation to you. They will curse you for being fools who were deceived into hatred, who collaborated in the advent of mass slaughter. They will wallow in shame for the atrocities of their ancestors, and you will be regarded as no better than the Profane.
I can't change human nature; I've learned that painful lesson over and over, but I can change history, and I stand before you now to prevent a horrible chapter in your history from being written. Inactivity is how atrocities are allowed to happen, and I say that as a victim, bystander, collaborator, perpetrator, and orchestrator. Considering the future that is at stake, I can't afford to pull my punches with you people and put trust in passive half measures. For your sake, the sake of your souls, heed my warning and do as I command. It will be less painful for everyone involved if you simply step aside and let me do what I need to. I'll leave your king alive and unharmed, same with all of you. All you have to do is stand aside."