The Beginnings of Change (2)
The Beginnings of Change (2)
There is a tradition that when you join the Special Task Force and make your first arrest, you get to sit in on the trial.
Bam!
Making his way down to the second floor of the basement.
At the starting point, there is a place where the trial is held.
“Shall we go in?”
Riena opened the black door.
Then he realized that the courtroom looked like something you'd see in a drama, but on a smaller scale.
On the front wall hung the flags of the six kingdoms and a flag depicting Cerberus, symbolizing Burning Hell.
Beneath it was a white altar, a single chair, and six communication beads.
"Follow me." Reina directed to Redin.
Redin followed Riena inside.
They stood in a line against the wall facing the door and gazed straight ahead. A moment later, the door on the right swung open, exposing Tervis.
Clang!
With an ominous iron mask on his face and cold manacles chained to his limbs, he stepped to the center and knelt.
*Ugh!* Huuuu!
As Tervis was about to struggle, the guard holding his chains pressed a button in his hand.
Bzzztt!
"Arrrrgh!"
Tervis thrashed about, then shook his head and fell silent.
And then out stepped the Judge.
He had a calm face and even his movements were stiff.
He sat down on the chair in the center and stretched out his hand, and the six beads glowed.
Hummmm!
- Signal to the Holy Empire is good.
- Adrian Kingdom is also good
- The Resha Kingdom signal is good.
- Carvin kingdom signals good.
- Good signal from the Ravino Kingdom.
- Crane Kingdom signal is good.
Different voices came out of them.
After hearing all their voices, the judge lowered his gaze and looked at Tervis.
"The trial of Tervis Zerbin, a First Class Wanted Criminal, is hereby commenced."
The judge listed the crimes Tervis had committed.
"He has killed the entirety of House Mor, He also captured a Kingdom Knight and performed experiments on him alive, and created a Death Knight at the Free City Colloum."
"The total number of people he has killed is over a thousand. We believe there are many more. He also obtained funding through a member of the Volta family's nobility by selling drugs, and then murdered the nobleman in order to...."
"So, we'll set the sentence for Tervis now."
No sooner had the judge finished speaking when, as if on cue, the verdict flowed out of the communications beads.
-Life incarceration.
-Life sentence.
-Life Imprisonment.
-A life without possibility of parole.
-Why don't we actually execute him this time?
-The maximum sentence is life in prison. You're hardly a human and always calling for the death penalty. Tsk tsk.
bang!, Bang!, BANG!
Having heard it all, the judge struck his gavel three times and said.
"I sentence Tervis Zerbin to life in prison. This concludes the trial in the case of Tervis."
The communication bead went off in a flash.
The Judge strode past Tervis with the same stern face he'd had the first time, and disappeared through the door on the right.
The guards around him grabbed both of his arms and led him to the door on the left.
A red door with Cerberus etched on it.
It's the only way down to the second floor. A place where normal prison guards can't be seen.
Even the presiding judge was allowed to watch because he was part of a Special Delegation.
Screech!
The door opened and a stream of black smoke flowed out. The figure beyond the door was obscured. The guards walked toward the chasm of darkness, carrying Tervis with them.
Looking at them, Riena opened her mouth.
"Do you know what they call that place?"
"The Infinite Labyrinth."
Riena's eyes widened slightly at the response.
"Yes, because if you go in without any specialized gear, you'll get stuck in the labyrinth and can never get out."
"Is the Labyrinth a sort of prison for them?"
Rebecca's question was answered with a smirk.¹
"If you go through the labyrinth and go down to the bottom, you will find the prison. A place where you will be given minimal food and sleep, and where you will writhing in agony for the rest of your life."
“Infinite hell.” voiced out Redin.
"Yeah. That's what they call it around here, but how do you know?" Reina questioned.
He gave a name he vaguely remembered.
"I heard about it from Vergo, who I got to know when I was a trainee." Redin sold Vergo's name to Reina as an excuse.
"He's the guy who got beat up by the former Head of the Operations Department?" asked by Reina.
"Yes"
Riena nodded.
"Well, the tour is over and we should get back to the base. You guys have a lot to prepare for now that you're officially on the team."
* * *
When you are playing the Bern Chronicle game, you will occasionally see a message like this.
[The region is inaccessible].
Forbidden areas that users cannot enter.
There were forbidden zones all over the continent of Bern, and the western part of the port city in front of him was one of them.
The alias for this place is Ghost Alley.
It lived up to its name with partially collapsed buildings, devastated and ruined areas, and no signs of people living in it.
Riena paused and looked thoughtfully away.
"Isn't the street a bit gloomy?"
Rebecca, next to him, nodded.
"Yes."
"This is the home of the rebels who once waged war against the Six Kingdoms."
A place that was the heart of the Rebellion.
There is only one reason this city was left as it is. A warning to those who might be hiding somewhere, or dreaming of rebellion.
It's a statement that if you ever dream of rebelling, this is what will happen.
"Burning Hell is kind of symbolic for us, since it's where we started executing rebels. Now, here's the question: what's the purpose of the Special Task Force?"
Rebecca responded immediately.
"Isn't it about catching violent criminals?"
"Nothing wrong with that, but."
Riena's gaze shifted to him.
"So, Redin, what do you think?"
If he had to hide his power, he'd play dumb, but that's not the case, so it's best to look competent.
"It's about keeping the peace by monitoring the remnants of the insurgency and stopping them from committing crimes."
It's something heard all through the course of the game.
"That's pretty good, huh?"
He wonders if that was a satisfactory answer.
Riena nodded with a satisfied smile and spoke again.
"Okay. As Redin said, our role is to deal with the rebels, and the Seven Criminal Organizations were created by the rebels who fled here and survived."
“Then shouldn’t each kingdom join forces? Then it won't be difficult to catch them..”
"There's no way they're going to catch it, is there?"
When Redin answered for her, Rebecca looked like she didn't understand.
We're not quite there yet.
"An all-out war would hurt some kingdoms, but would all six really want to get rid of them?"
At that moment, Rebecca's eyes wavered.
Sometimes good sentiments get the best of us, but she's smart enough to realize that a hint like this will get her thinking.
Rebecca will know this even better since she has already experienced the battle for succession.
A moment of weakness.
To be preyed on by those who are stronger.
After the war, a long period of peace was maintained, and each kingdom succeeded in consolidating its stability and increasing its power.
Some people are getting ambitious.
The moment the balance is thrown off in any one of these places, it will show its hidden fangs and sink its teeth in.
This is how it was in the game.
With the fall of the Holy Empire, the Second Kingdom War began, and the demonic cult was in full swing.
Chaos will reign in the world.
'Of course, this time around, I intend to prevent that from happening.'
"That's an interesting idea, isn't it?"
A voice that sounds slightly cold.
Redin turned his gaze away.
The usual softness was gone, and Riena's cold eyes were fixed on him.
"Then I'd also like to hear what you think the Special Task Forces are like?"
"Isn't it the Hound of the Six Kingdoms?"
They use task forces to monitor and sometimes suppress rebel groups.
Even if you die in the process, the six kingdoms suffer no loss at all. The position of the Burning Hell Special Task Force will be filled somehow.
"Then why do you want to be such a hound?"
The only way for him to live.
That's because the position of Burning Hell is the same for the six kingdoms, or rather, it's above them, preparing for its destruction.
"It's to break the leash."
"... ..."
“And I want to make Burning Hell a place where I can fully fulfill my duties.”
The cold mask has melted away.
The corner of Riena's mouth lifted slightly.
"Wow... Daylon must be really good with people. Where did he pick this one out?"
Riena chuckled to herself, then stepped between me and Rebecca, crossed her arms, and opened her mouth.
"Let's head home."
* * *
At the end of the alleyway, there was a path that led into the woods, and before long, there was a red brick house.
creak!
Riena opened the door.
"First, I'll show you the rooms you'll be staying in. You won't be coming here much once you're out on a mission in the field, but it's a different feeling to be here than not."
When he got to the second floor, he saw a long hallway. To the right was a room with someone's name on it.
Daylon.
Riena.
Krisvan.
.
.
.
"The unnamed room is empty, so pick one. The showers are over there. The dining room is on the first floor. We'll be eating in a little while, so rest up."
"Got it."
Redin picked up his pace and moved to the end of the hall.
There were two empty rooms, so he snuck a look at Rebecca and asked.
"Which one?"
"Right."
"Okay."
He opened the left door and entered the room.
A bed with blue walls and a gray blanket. The sunlight coming through the window heightened the mood.
"Good."
That's a lot better than being bland and barren.
Redin put his luggage on the desk next to his bed, and organized his clothes and other things in a simple closet.
Knock!
He turned his head at the knock on the door and saw Rebecca, who had changed into a light outfit.
"Hmmmmm. Busy?"
"Not much."
Then Rebecca raised the sword in her hand.
"How about a little duel before you wash up?"
A light duel.
Always welcome from his end.
Redin was already curious to see how much it would have changed as he reached the pinnacle this time.
"Okay."
"There's an arena out back. I'll wait for you there."
Redin watched Rebecca disappear and grabbed his sword.
The famous sword Cairo.
Before entering Burning Hell, Redin had a blacksmith remove the rust from the exterior of the scabbard and clean it up, but he was unsuccessful in removing the sword from the scabbard.
There seems to be a hidden condition.
He's not yet sure what it is.
"Well. Time will take care of that."
He wasn't one to ponder things that didn't have answers, so he grabbed his sword and headed outside.
One side of the house's yard.
An arena with a flat floor.
Rebecca stood there with her eyes closed. She steadied her breathing and slowly opened her eyes as he approached.
A steely gaze.
Redin wonder if Rebecca's feelings about not wanting to lose to someone are mirrored.
He moved lightly, warming himself up.
Seeing a dueling sword off to one side, he set Cairo down, grabbed it, and turned to face Rebecca.
"Want to get started right aw-"
"Alright."
clash
Before he could finish, Rebecca rushed at him. Raising his sword, he blocked the attack. With a crack, Rebecca's body turned into a blur.
Her senses awakened.
Rebecca is a fast swordswoman. Her body is light and her sword is unusual. A style that he has never faced before.
“Ha!”
As he fended off the ensuing barrage, Redin focused on getting a feel for Rebecca's breathing.
Ding!
Ding!
Ding!
Having already got attuned to Rebecca's pace.
'Okay, so let's move it over here.'
The moment he stomps his feet.
'Goooo!'
The world turned red from the power of Arrakis's eyes as he felt an enormous energy crushing his entire body.
At the same time, an eerie voice rang out.
"Die."
** ** **
TL/N:
1. Even though Rebecca wasn't involved in defeating Tervis because she was a part of the Kingdom Mission to Find Heatherlock, she also got the chance to experience what happens in a criminal trial.