* * *
"Who are you???" Old Tigo demanded, his voice trembling with fear.
The insect vanished after crawling onto the top of Mayor Lucca's head, creating a noticeable bump hidden beneath his neatly slicked-back black hair. The mayor shook his head from side to side.
Gradually, his expression returned to its usual coldness. An air of distant detachment lingering around him.
One of the guards, who had accidentally caught a fleeting glimpse of the earlier scene, shivered uncontrollably, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down nervously.
Mayor Lucca glanced at him, and the guard stood even straighter, his muscles tensing with anxiety and fear. His throat felt dry as he struggled to swallow. Sweat soaked his back.
Fortunately for the guard, Mayor Lucca's gaze shifted back to Old Tigo, whose mouth hung open in trepidation. The mayor asked, "I hate to repeat myself, Tigo. So, where is it?"
His voice, now hoarse, carried an echo of another voice that lingered closely beside his own—a voice that Tigo recognized as belonging to a woman.
"You… you're a witch, aren't you? What are you? I never heard of a witch who managed to control someone's mind… Arrrrrrggggghhhhh…"
A bloodcurdling shriek suddenly pierced the air, echoing the horrifying pain that Old Tigo was enduring. Even the nobles, some of whom had been lazily leaning back in their chairs, half-asleep and bored, flinched at the unexpected yet alarming scream of agony.
The source of that pain was Mayor Lucca's fingers. It dug mercilessly into Old Tigo's stomach, twisting with brutal force.
"Tell me, tell me, Tigo! Where is it???"
His voice returned to its normal tone as he withdrew his hand, splattering blood in his wake.
Breathless from the earlier pain, Tigo formed words without sound. Though Mayor Lucca couldn't hear him, he discerned from Tigo's lips and expression that he was basically conveying: "Die, you little b*stard!"
"You are as stubborn as ever, comrade…"
The mayor replied with a cold smile, a tear unwittingly escaping from the corner of his left eye, tracing a path down his cheek to his chin. Old Tigo widened his eyes in incredulity at the sight.
Struggling to articulate the tangled words within him, Old Tigo finally spoke. "… Y-you… you're still there, aren't you, Lucca… Eh…"
*Jleb*
A small knife was thrust into Old Tigo's chest, piercing directly into his heart. Blood splattered onto Mayor Lucca's cold, aloof face as he released Tigo's collar, allowing his body to crumple to the ground.
The knife was peculiar. Its handle was made from thin, twisted roots resembling fingers, shrouded in a black mist.
"You're still as foolish as ever, Tigo," the mayor said, devoid of emotion.
Old Tigo slowly closed his eyes as life slipped away from him, his body twitching erratically on the floor as blood pooled beneath him. Ran, witnessing the scene, covered her mouth in shock, tears streaming down her cheeks once more.
"Grandpa Tigo…"
"Not yet. It isn't over yet. It must not fall into their hands." In the last moment of his life, Tigo murmured to himself.
From Old Tigo's body, a black mist suddenly erupted, spreading outward. It poured forth from his eyes, mouth, and ears. The five guards nearby, who had stood silently on the platform, clutched their throats, their faces turning a shade of purple after inhaling even a small wisp of that mist.
…
On the other side…
Once the device began to emit nothing but white noise, those at the top of the building could only gaze from their vantage point, unable to hear the conversation any longer.
"Sir Giles, can you… hic. Can you do something about them?" Ran asked, eyes glistened in sadness.
"I'm sorry, little Ran, but I can't… There are people from the Central protecting those nobles. If I go down there to stop the execution, they will order them to intervene. Not even a hundred guards could handle that many from Central. I can fight them and run away, sure, but our position here would likely be revealed. It would be dangerous for you and the others," he replied, casting a glance at El and the boy next to Ran, whose name was Gill.
"So, even someone like you can't fight them, teacher?" Gill asked, blinking his swollen eyes repeatedly from earlier tears. He and El had quickly wiped away their tears before facing the others.
"If I put my life on the line, maybe I could manage to take on four or five. More than that? Hmmm, I probably wouldn't even be able to escape. Remember, I'm a former knight, but injured," Sir Giles said with a shrug.
"Then don't. Let's just stay here," Gill frowning.
"Yes, we stay. But you kids need to leave, now…"
Just as he finished speaking, his words were cut off by Ran and Gill, who shouted in unison, their faces displaying childish stubbornness.
"Noooooooo…"
"Nooooo…"
El, who stood on the side, smiled awkwardly as he noticed the attention of the others, including Sir Giles, had turned to him, expecting him, being around the same age as Ran and Gill, to join in their protest.
'What the heck… Why are you all looking at me? I didn't even know those people who were shot dead. They're not even acquaintances. All of your feelings are what made me cry. I'm just here because I'm curious. Yes, it's just curiosity…'
That was what he wanted to shout in objection, but the shy version of himself could only lower his gaze.
Turning back to witness the events unfolding below, Ran covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face once more, just as she had begun to calm down. Her lips trembled as she weakly uttered, "Grandpa Tigo…"
At that moment, a black mist began to seep from Old Tigo's body, swiftly engulfing the entire platform.
It spread further, creeping toward the citizens by the gates and the nobility who had been leisurely enjoying the spectacle in the shade, taken aback by this sudden and ominous display.
"What is that?"
* * *