- Like a shadow, fear will leave you never...
The instant Fate made his first step inside of Eurik Town, he was immediately transferred to a location. It was as if he was teleported.
There, Fate saw people with the same reaction as him, wondering why they were teleported. Eventually, the people realized they were teleported near the clock tower - where the public hearing will take place.
Suddenly, the bell from the clock tower rang. The sound of the bell reverberated three times. It is an indication that the public hearing will take its place any moment now.
The public hearing will almost start...
The ringing of the bell has finally halted. Echoes were heard a few seconds after the bell finished ringing. After that, there goes silence. The people around Fate were left in shock, they became speechless, unable to comprehend how and when everyone got transported near the clock tower.
A few moments later, everyone started talking as if everyone knew each other. The silence was instantly filled with words of wondering and curiosity.
"Glad to see you here, Fate," a mysterious woman said as she tapped Fate's shoulder. Fate felt a sense of familiarity when she heard the voice.
Fate looked to his right, where he heard the mysterious woman. To his surprise, he saw Lucien. She tapped his shoulder as if he was her friend. Fate's heartbeat spiked slightly, a small yet observable change for Fate.
"Your heartbeat spiked, I could feel it. Why?" Lucien asked Fate as she stood beside him.
"I-I'm just surprised... you acted as if you're my friend..." Fate replied nervously as he awkwardly stares away from the horizon. "A-also, how did you know?"
"I could sense a drastic change from your physical ability, and I could feel it's just one step away from my magical ability. Let's say your skills are on par to mine, well, almost. Could be better for you if you worked harder."
At last, someone saw Fate's hard work from the training he had with Caeruleus. First, it was Caeruleus who saw the results of what he had gone through, and now, Lucien - someone he likes - saw the same results as well.
"I doubt my skills are the same level as yours, let alone my physical strength," Fate replied. "I-I mean, you defeated a monster that could potentially wipe out everyone inside the Academy."
"Everyone overestimates me, sigh," Lucien reckons.
"B-but what I said is true! You could easily put me to rest if we sparred right here and right now."
"Tch, as if that would happen."
Suddenly, a blow of a horn was heard, silencing everyone around Fate and Lucien once again. The blowing of the horn lasted for about ten seconds before it halts.
Just in front of everyone is a stage. The stage is as high as half the height of the clock tower. Behind it is a staircase that extends near the edge of the said tower.
Before them, there appeared two heavily armored men on the stage. Judging from their appearances, they seem to be high-ranked officials, higher than Caeruleus'. Both of them held a shield, each would extend from their chins to their toes once held in a protecting stance. However, the heavily armored men held different weapons: one holding a broad longsword, just like what Caeruleus used when he and Fate fought each other, and one holding a War Hammer.
The two heavily armored men separated ways. Both of them went to the edge of the stage. The men then faced saluted before standing still and facing each other.
After that, a group of four men went in front of the stage. They carried a statue resembling a double-edged sword embedded in a pedestal - the same statue Fate and Lucien saw in the abandoned place just near the forest. The men then laid the said statue at the very front of the stage and left thereafter.
Eventually, a significant person went on the stage, and everyone kneeled before him. It was none other than the king himself: the very heart of the Teran kingdom.
Beside the king are his escorts. They held the arms of the King, supporting him as he went on the stage. One of the escorts wore a pair of gloves and carefully took the King's crown away from his head, while the other escort kept it in a glass container.
"Er-hermmm," the king cleared his throat. "All rise, my people."
The moment the king spoke, everyone stood up straight while keeping their head down as their respect for Him. Everyone respects the king at the bottom of their hearts. Everyone knew that without Him, there would be anarchy. Pure, unsolvable chaos.
The public hearing starts...
"Er-hermmm!" the king cleared his throat once again before sitting on his throne. "It has been a very long time since I have faced the citizens of my kingdom, and I never thought I would do it once again. It was... it was very unexpected."
The king himself exhaled deeply, showing his deepest regrets for the victims of the Abductor. "My people, please, let's have a moment to pay respects to the children who left this beautiful world too early..."
Then, a minute of silence followed. Soon after, some people shed tears in their eyes. Seeing their grief for their sons and daughters made also everyone at the hearing shed their tears too. The silence eventually was replaced by sobbing and crying.
The majority of them cried out loud and begged for the king to give them the righteous justice they deserve.
"Hey, Fate," Lucien whispered as she kept her head down. "Something's off to our Majesty."
"W-what do you mean?" Fate asked while also keeping his head down. He made sure he could communicate with Lucien as silently as possible.
"I do not usually feel this," Lucien replied, "but when I do, it's very serious."
"Wh-what is it, then?"
"His Majesty... he gathered us here, but not because he wants to address the problems of his citizens."
"What exactly do you mean, Lucien?"
"I-I don't know, but I could feel that he only gathered us here to make everyone assured that His Majesty will address each and every single problem but in fact, he will just ignore it."
"H-how can you so sure of such assumption, Lucien?"
"I already told you. I don't usually feel this, but when I do, it is indeed a big deal."
"..."
Their communication has been halted when the king tried to capture everyone's attention. Once again, the king cleared his throat. Perhaps it is his habit to clear his throat when trying to catch someone's attention.
"I have come here in front of you, my people, to address the crisis," the king announced. "Half of the participants of The Juvenile's Pledge went missing until now, as the reports say. This is not something I wouldn't address. You see, the children of Tera are our future - they are the ones who could make a change better than what the older generations did. Without them, our kingdom cannot and will not transition to a better phase. I, myself, do not want that. And it is I, at the bottom of my heart, want to find out who, when, how, and why did The Abductor do this!"
"Huh, I wonder how long until you will finally address this," Lucien retorted under her breath.
Suddenly, one of the king's escorts spoke to him. "Your Majesty, if you wouldn't mind, I-I think we should find out first who is the main suspect here," he said nervously. "W-we still have no idea who and where he resides, what are his motifs, and why?"
"B-but that wouldn't help, would it?" another escort contradicted. "How can we address the crisis if we would not let our beloved citizens speak first? S-surely, some of them have any idea who is the main suspect here! A-am I right, citizens of Tera?"
"No! T-that's not how you address a crisis! Y-you have to identify the roots of this catastrophe before addressing it!"
"Imbecile! If we let our citizens vent their grief and despair, w-we'd surely identify the root of this crisis, as you were saying. S-sure, it'd be slow, but it's better than no progression, a-am I right, citizens of Tera?"
"Alright, enough of your arguments, both of you!!" the king shouted, interrupting his escorts from their child-like argument. "Both of you are a huge embarrassment to my people!! How dare you two fight with your children-like attitude in front of my citizens who just wants to have their justice?! Both of you... I want you out of here. You are just wasting everyone's precious time!"
"B-but... w-we were just trying to help you..." both of the escorts told the king.
"You imbecile have no idea what catastrophe we are facing right now. You cannot do any least to help me, nor you can do any most of help," the king angrily told his escorts. "Both of you are such nuisance to this hearing. Begone of everyone's sights!"
As the king's escorts leave, everyone looked at them. Everyone was ashamed of what ruckus the escorts brought in the public hearing. Eventually, everyone started to speak words containing hate to the escorts, making the escorts run away. Lucien, however, observed something strange.
"Hey, Fate," Lucien told as she bumped Fate's elbow, trying to get his attention.
"Y-yeah?" Fate then turned his head to Lucien, responding to her.
"Those escorts," she then pointed her index finger to the running escorts, "They purposely made an argument in front of the king - to drive everyone's attention away from the real problem."
"What makes you so assured of such random assumptions, Lucien??"
"Your intellectual intelligence will never change. If you're such a critical thinker, you'd realize it alone. Sigh, what a bunch of clowns."
"O-okay! Okay, calm down! Well, d-don't blame me if I cannot comprehend your personal assumptions."
After that, Lucien completely ignored Fate. The crowd also seems to have driven the escorts away. They are now nowhere to be found.
"I am so sorry for the commotion my escorts did in front of everyone," the king apologizes. His voice pleads for his citizen's forgiveness. "Now that they are nowhere to be seen, I want to turn my valuable attention to my beloved people's dilemmas."
A citizen rose his hand. It suddenly got the king's attention. "My eye is laid upon you, my loyal citizen," the king told.
"U-uhh," the man who rose his hand said. He was stuttering and nervous, about to cry and beg for the king. "Y-you see... I-I am one of the parents o-of the victims."
"I am all ears for you. Please, let everything out..."
Suddenly, the same man kneeled and cried out loud. The silence was filled with his cries and sobs. "I-I don't want any justice...! I-I... I just want my d-daughter back!!"
Over time, everyone also laid their eyes upon him, pitying him as he continuously begs for the king to make a soon action for his missing daughter. It was truly a heartbreaking scene for everyone, including the king himself.
"I do not want everyone to suffer like him, I truly do," the king said to everyone. "I am the king of this kingdom, and I would - and should do everything to resolve this crisis."
"P-please..." the man who rose his hand begged, "I-I... I wanna hug my daughter so tight again... p-please, do everything to find him..."
The dramatic scene was suddenly broken when a gunshot was heard not far away from the clock tower. The gunshots came behind the people of Tera. There, it revealed a man panting heavily. His sweat made him soaking wet. It got the attention of the king and the heavily armored men at the edge of the stage.
"Y-your Majesty!!" the man who shot his gun shouted. "I... I have come to tell everyone some bad news!!"
The king suddenly stood up straight and pointed his finger at the man. "You have a lion's badge on your left shoulder, that must mean you are a Level S prison warden," the king said.
"I do apologize for my manners, b-but this is something we cannot ignore!"
A few moments later, the heavily armored men from the stage suddenly vanished and appeared in front of the Level S prison warden. There, they slowly approached him as they put the shield in front of them.
"Get him away from here, I command you," the king told the heavily armored men. The men then nodded their heads and proceeded to approach the warden.
"N-no! Y-your Majesty, you do not understand!!"
A few moments later, the warden was pushed by one of the heavily armored men, making him fall on his back. He was then held by another heavily armored man and dragged the warden away from the public hearing. The warden tried to fight back, but it was futile as the heavily armored man did not even flinch.
Before he was completely dragged away, he shouted, "Inzary! Inzary Azumaora!! H-he broke out of his cell! The Abductor of Night and Inzary are the same!! Inzary is the enemy inside this Kingdom! P-please, Your Majesty, listen to me!!"
It was only when the heavily armored men stopped dragging the warden away. Everyone was shocked by what they have heard. As a matter of fact, the king himself became speechless after he heard what the warden shouted.
"I see that..." the king said under his breath. "Kindly escort him in front of us, my loyal guards," he shouted afterward.
The man who dragged the warden carried the warden as he went to the stage the instant the king told him to.
The warden then stood up straight as he coughed from the shoutings he did. "I am sorry for the manners, Your Majesty, bu-"
"It doesn't matter now," the king interrupted. "It is I who needs to apologize for my manners..."
"I-Inzary, h-he killed every guard inside the prison. H-he cold-bloodedly murdered every Level S prison guard... I-I couldn't do anything about it. H-he's too powerful to be stopped."
The warden kneeled and grabbed the king's clothes. "P-please... do something about this...!" the warden begged as he looked deep into the king's eyes. "He's taking revenge! He will murder everyone! N-not just the children. H-he... he will end the life of innocent infants - h-he will proceed to strangle every grown-up kid!! After he successfully eradicates the youth... h-he... he will proceed to kill the adults!"
Suddenly, everyone started to sob again. Everyone cried from their knees after what the warden has told the king. They never thought that someone inside the government will be their biggest monster. It was unexpected for everyone, including the king himself.
"Shit," Lucien exclaimed. "I knew it! Something's off with that maniac guy!"
"So you have been thinking of this for a long time?" Fate asked her. "And it happened to be right?"
"Yes, Fate! Yes! Most of my assumptions are almost precisely correct, yet here you are underestimating me. Just how fucking brainless you are."
"I never thought he'd be our enemy... he was supposed to be our ally..."
"Not anymore, Fate. Not anymore. Now that I knew my assumption is true, my family's in danger now, and I am afraid it will keep me up every night. I should leave now, Fate. Until we meet again."
"B-but, Lucien, wai-"
Lucien vanished instantly before Fate had the chance to stop her. Knowing the fact that someone inside the government of their kingdom has been committing this murderous insanity overwhelmed Fate. Not just him, but everyone around him is also overwhelmed by that fact. They cannot do anything about it, either. All they can do is hope for their safety.
"Er-hermm," the king cleared his throat. "So, it has been said. Inzary Azumaora is our enemy. I think I know where he is...
"I want you to call Caeruleus. He and Caeruleus had a deep past. He should know about this..."