Kneeling Demons (14)
"That bastard...! That demon's up to some trick!"
"Kill him!"
In that instant, the gathered flashes converged into a single mighty bolt of lightning that came crashing down.
The ground where it struck exploded in a shower of dirt and gravel, blasting away the clustered people. Those flung through the air and slammed into walls were the lucky ones. The dozen or so who took the lightning head-on turned to charred ash and crumbled to nothing.
With just one bolt, a third of the mob trying to kill me had evaporated.
The guard captain dropped his sword and collapsed on the spot. The guildmaster forgot the pain of his broken ankle, his mouth gaping open.
"Gaaahhh!!"
People scattered in blind panic, tossing their weapons and fleeing. At the same time, lightning bolts hammered down across the entire city in a simultaneous barrage.
Screams of agony mingled with blinding flashes and the acrid stench of burning flesh, transforming the city into a hellscape of pandemonium.
The lightning struck precisely at those who had opposed me. People fleeing were incinerated black in an instant, tumbling forward from momentum only to shatter on impact, billowing clouds of ash.
Some dove into buildings for cover. But the bolts pierced the roofs, and soon smoke and the smell of char wafted from the holes.
Lightning rained down on people hopping like grasshoppers in every direction, their blackened corpses spewing ash. Roofs shattered, debris rained from collapsing structures and cratered earth. Screams echoed. An eerie chill permeated the air from the bolts themselves, followed by bone-rattling thunder.
Apenzel lay utterly exposed to violence on a scale unlike anything it had ever seen.
This was the absolute, irrevocable judgment on those who had twice rejected the chances for survival I'd offered.
My promise—to kill any who didn't drop their weapons—was being faithfully kept.
And no one in this world could stop it.
Someone crawled on all fours through the chaos, prostrating himself at my feet and begging for mercy. I looked down at him.
"If it takes violence to change your mind, you'll revert right back once it's gone."
"N-no...! Please forgive—"
A bolt plummeted vertically onto the man. When I opened my eyes from the flash, a coal-black silhouette lay slumped before me. I kicked it, and it crumbled to dust with a dry rasp.
The guildmaster sprawled beside me hurriedly clamped his hands over his mouth and nose.
The lightning poured down like a monsoon, frying and popping countless people. The stench was so overpowering I half-worried trolls might come slobbering for a taste.
But no monster, no matter how savage, would dare enter Apenzel unless it wanted its head caved in. A blue dragon spewing lightning might try, but no creature would hurl itself into this localized storm.
The endless barrage of lightning and thunder finally ceased.
In that brief span, the city had suffered near-total devastation. Roofs were torn off buildings; weaker structures had collapsed entirely. Half-shattered corpses littered the streets, craters pockmarked the ground from the impacts.
The survivors threw themselves flat, trembling uncontrollably. Some had lost their minds entirely, drooling as they clutched their heads and muttered nonstop.
The worst damage was to the northern palisade, now completely breached. If trolls swarmed now, the city was done for.
That takes care of the first round, more or less.
Gather in the square, all of you. Those who hide will not be forgiven.
"Let's go, Guildmaster."
I grabbed the guildmaster by the scruff and dragged him toward the square. The guard captain was still slumped, soul seemingly fled from his body, so I hauled him along too.
The city square had a podium, probably for the guildmaster's rants. I hauled the two up there.
Pelle rode up behind me on her hell horse, with the old man in tow. Her face was drained of color, lips pale. Compared to the Demon King's castle, this was a tenth the intensity—but enough to dredge up those memories.
Still, Pelle steadfastly reined in her hell horse and took position behind the podium.
Citizens flooded the square, overwhelmed by the unbelievable slaughter and the booming edict. Terrified of lightning if they disobeyed, they barely dared to breathe. The only sound amid the packed crowd was a baby's wail.
I stood at the podium, surveying them. Mostly women, children, and elders heading for shelters; some men who'd survived the lightning shower—those who'd heeded my warning and peeled off, or never joined the mob.
I forced the guildmaster and guard captain to kneel before the podium and stood behind them.
"Listen up."
No wind stirred; my voice carried to every corner. Fearful eyes locked on my mouth.
"This is the king's land, a direct territory to be governed by an administrator he appoints. But until now, it's been privatized by the mining guildmaster, the guard captain, and their cronies. And you lot stood by—or even sympathized."
A chill wave of unease and terror rippled through the crowd at my words.
"I've come to end the abuses in this barren northern outpost and restore order to the direct territory."
In the heavy, frigid silence blanketing the square, I continued.
"First step: behead the guildmaster, who wielded petty power for tyranny, and the guard captain, who enforced it with brute force."
The guildmaster spun toward me on his knees in horror.
"Pl-please, spare my life! If you just give me a chance..."
His head rolled across the floor. Blood spurted from the neck as the body toppled off the podium.
I swung the raised holy sword diagonally, severing the guard captain's head too. He'd been biting his lips bloody; now head and body parted, slumping sideways, thick blood pooling across the podium.
"Hic...!"
A woman in front, splattered by the gush, clamped her mouth shut without screaming.
On the blood-soaked podium, I declared firmly.
"With these two executed, the foundation for a proper city is set. Those who actively sided with them have been punished by lightning."
I swept the holy sword across the square.
"Of course... some here dodged by luck, or still harbor thoughts against me."
A few flinched, heads bowing low.
"But I won't bother. Your punishment is deferred—one year."
I pointed the holy sword behind me, north to the ruined palisade.
"I'll return in a year. If nothing's changed, this city vanishes from the maps."
As my words ended, a colossal bolt crashed above the breached palisade. The square's people hit the dirt. Screams and sobs turned it to chaos.
I turned from them, eyeing the palisade. An invisible barrier, unseen by mortal eyes, shimmered there—holding for a year, keeping trolls out.
The old man, still mounted behind the podium, stammered.
"M-may I... know your name...?"
"What for? Forget it."
As I stepped down, he pleaded piteously.
"Then... may I call you Hero...? The one who appeared on a black horse, commanding a demon, saving the city...!"
"You senile?"
Ignoring me, the old man bellowed with sudden vigor.
"Long live the Hero!"
His hollow cry echoed over the prostrated crowd.
"Long live the Hero!!"
At his second shout, a few joined in.
"Long live the Hero!"
"Long live!!"
Soon the square erupted in a chorus of cheers.
"Long live the Hero!!!!"
Some were swept up in the mood, others just avoiding lightning. Either way, what did it matter? I'd shown overwhelming, unreal violence and given a year—they'd change. Send word to the capital for new appointees, and it'd sort itself.
No need for me to return.
Mounting the hell horse, I said,
"Elder. Got any warm clothes at home? We're leaving right away."
"I'll share my son and daughter-in-law's. Let's go."
The hell horse bolted from the square, cheers still ringing behind.
More than them, I worried for Pelle sitting before me.
"Pelle, you okay?"
"Scary, but... fine now. But..."
"Yeah?"
"I thought you'd level the city... You went easy."
"Eh. No need."
Emotionally, I could've wiped it flat—left travelers years later whispering, "There used to be a city called Apenzel here." But I didn't.
Simple reason: didn't want to slaughter innocent kids, wives following husbands, or folks like the old man who might still hold justice deep down.
I'm no noble legendary hero, but I've got basic conscience and smarts. I know how to use my power.
Plus, even if I tried, the sword's giver might not allow massacring innocents. The Goddess rarely meddles, but she'd stop that.
We changed into fresh winter gear at the old man's house. He begged us to stay, but lingering after trashing the place felt wrong. Plus, with Asenaris caught, I wanted back to the inn ASAP.
We rode south under tearful farewells from him and his family. The daytime south gate hung open, unguarded.
We passed through and raced south to the inn.
Crossing the barren, snow-swept northern plains, I told Pelle about the ethnic cleansing thirty years prior—a calculated, merciless genocide by nations uniting to exterminate the giant Adat tribe. It ended with the last survivors drowned in the Garseji Sea; giants officially extinct.
Why tell her? Cold and boring ride. Luckily, she was hooked—even gasping at the finale.
"You told a fun story, so here's one for you. An ancient tale passed only among demons—about a labyrinth somewhere in the world."
Pelle pressed her back to my chest for better hearing and began.
Midway, urgent bladder hit; I halted the hell horse. Dashed behind a conifer, ungloved, relieved myself, and returned to find Pelle dismounted, waiting.
"What? You too?"
"Hand."
"Hand?"
She took my bare hand, brought it to her lips, and huffed warm breath to thaw my chilled fingers.
"Be quick."
She regloved me and headed to the trees.
We reached Lithelm around midnight. Our old inn was still open; we hurried in.
Warming by the hearth, the same gruff waitress asked about rooms. I checked my pouch, tallied the coin, calculated mentally.
Two singles would wipe us out. One more day's ride to the inn, but better some spare cash.
"Single for her. Dorm for me."
Pelle asked why dorm; I said short on funds.
She asked the waitress,
"Any doubles? Or a bigger single, at least."
The waitress eyed Pelle dully before speaking.