In the end, the spectating crowd had no choice but to return to their homes or wherefrom they came. The only people remaining were those who were, one way or another, involved in the incident.
Eustice and his men listened to the testimonies of a handful of people, during which Viram exerted no low amount of effort to twist the narrative to their favor. Meanwhile, Volan had returned to their fold, an expert examining his wounds.
Riaz, after glaring at Volan, tucked the scabbard around his waist. He used his freed up hand to apply pressure to the wound under his ribcage.
There was no way to close the open wound. His blood flowed unabatedly, painting the pavement black, as that was how it looked under exposure of both the light of torches and the moon.
He understood that the authorities had arrived, so he was planning on making a case out of Salara's grievances, only then could he finally worry about his injuries.
On that notion, he sought out the girl and reached for her arm. "Come, we must address the matter from before, otherwise those trash will twist the facts against us."
Salara winced from his touch, since a bloody handprint had formed around the spot where Riaz was putting his hand on. The latter realised it too late and hurriedly removed his hand.
"Sorry." He muttered, then urged her once more.
Salara exchanged looks with her father, who shook his head. His face, though with pain-filled eyes, held even deeper traces of fear and reluctance.
Riaz understood what was going through their heads. When Salara opened her mouth, he wasn't at all surprised by her saying, "I... I think it's better to forget what happened."
He understood, of course, but could he accept it? Of course not!
"Remaining quiet won't solve anything!" yelled Riaz in frustration. "Do you think they will stop here? How do you know they won't keep doing what they did before, or worse?"
He dragged his body over to stand in front of her father, then looked him deeply into his eyes. The light of distant torches reflected in Riaz's eyes and his expression showed traces of madness.
At that moment Riaz was in a truly bad shape. The innkeeper knew that the boy had stood up for them, but they were up against the very family in charge of Gridan here. It would be a simple matter for the Hobbs to make them disappear over night.
Deep down, the innkeeper regretted ever allowing this young man to cause trouble on their behalf. He was truly afraid of the repercussions.
"Are you that spineless? It's your damn daughter!" Riaz firmly grasped the man's shirt by the collar. Salara rushed up and peeled him away from her father.
"Stop it! It's none of your business, o-okay? Why do you men always insert yourself into situations as you please?" blurted the girl out but quickly folded her hands over her mouth, realising her mistake.
She was talking to someone who had put aside his own safety to protect her. He had no cause to stand up for her, at risk of his well-being to boot, but he did, because it was the righteous thing to do.
It spoke volumes of his character and was something Salara really admired about him for what it was worth.
Salara hesitated with her eyes lowered, but Riaz scoffed and retorted, "My mistake. It would seem you were all too willing to let yourself be sold out like a dish, ready to be eaten."
Very promptly, a delicate hand whipped through the air and Riaz felt a sting on his cheek. Salara had slapped him with tears pooling together at the corners of her eyes.
Riaz wordlessly took the slap with his head hung low and the two remained still for a while.
"Uhm..." Salara eventually broke the silence and changed the subject, "You have done so much for our sake, but I still don't know your name."
"Riaz." He snapped back with cold eyes.
Salara lowered her arms and intertwined her fingers. "You should come back inside with us and get those wounds treated."
Her father joined in and added, "Mhm, let us put all of this behind us for now. Until you've fully recovered, you are free to stay at our inn, at no cost of course. I'll even call a doctor for you, kid, what do you say?"
There was no point in arguing anymore, that much became clear to Riaz. It seemed he wasn't going to get through to them, so he chose to at least take them up on the offer and leave with them.
"Actually, I didn't come here alone..." Riaz followed after the father-daughter pair, but winced after taking just a few steps.
His body lurched forward with his outstretched arm seeking support. He ended up ramming his sword into the cracks of the paved road and leaned on it.
To the side, Aldean felt something in him stir. He was resolved to let his disciple have a taste of the consequences, but now he wasn't sure if he could stand aside much longer. It pained him to see his disciple in such a state.
"Oh no, Riaz! You are so pale! Pa, we need to find him a doctor!" Salara quickly supported Riaz by allowing him to lean on her.
Though it was only an act out of concern, the scene could not escape Volan's notice. His pride was hurt already, but, to make things worse, this mongrel dared to flirt with his woman in front of his eyes?
"Vice-Commander! That commoner is trying to flee. Apprehend him this instance!" Volan barked orders at Eustice and the latter felt a head-ache coming, after all, he had already learned of what had transpired earlier.
Clearly, the young lord was in the wrong this time, but what could he do about it?
Riaz was startled. 'What does this fucker want now? Didn't he eat enough losses already?'
"Young lord, you must get your injuries treated. Why not call it a day and let matters rest here. The other is clearly in no better state, so isn't that enough?" Eustice spoke respectfully.
Viram sneered, "You've heard my nephew, haven't you? That boy raised a hand against a noble and, since he slandered my nephew and I, he clearly doesn't put my lord brother into his eyes whatsoever. I dare say that it's an open act of rebellion!"
Feeling indignant, Riaz shouted, "That is not how things went down! It is you who's taken advantage of your position to torment the weak. Then it was your piece of shit nephew who looked for a pretext to fight me over nothing."
Though his words were poorly chosen, the events told were much in line with what Eustice's own investigation had brought forth. He was a veteran among the town's militia and naturally knew what someone like Viram was capable of.
Viram yelled back, "Shut your mouth, boy! You have no right to speak when the adults are talking."
Eustice sighed and turned towards Viram, "Must you really insist on doing this? I can assure you that the Commander will read about everything in my report, including your not so little part in all this. You know she won't be so readily placated."
Shaking his head, Viram downplayed the events, "We've merely had some fun on my nephew's birthday."
Eustice's unmarred half of the face contorted, clearly displeased at this man's stubbornness.
He spoke, "There are rules, M'lord. There is only so much I can overlook."
"I am the rules!" yelled Viram. "And I say that boy is an insurgent that endangers the city!"
He took on a serious tone and reproached Eustice, "What do we employ you for if you can't even guarantee the safety of the city, huh? Do we pay you to scare away the crows with your hideous face or to stomp the seeds of insurrection?"
His nephew, Volan, fell into the conversation, "Vice-Commander, I want you to catch this animal. That is an order! Catch him now or I will ensure that my lord father hears of this matter. I will tell him clearly that you don't care for the name of Hobb."
Eustice clicked his tongue, thinking 'This little bastard, there is no man, woman or child in this town that doesn't know that you're just a trash of the Hobb family. How dare you throw your weight around?'
Still, technically this moronic young man was his superior. There was no way to refuse a direct order like that. Since it had come to this, he would simply catch the commoner boy now, question him and let him go once things have blown over.
He was just too eager to wash his hands of this matter. Unlike the Commander, he was not too eager to antagonize the Hobbs.
"As you say then." Eustice rolled back his sleeves and stepped forward.
Riaz put up his guard, realizing that this matter was far from over. He had lost a lot of blood already, his qi was greatly spent and he was beginning to lose feeling in parts of his body. As of that moment, he knew not what to do.
Eustice uttered a quick, "Sorry, kid. You'll have to come with us for now. It's best if you don't resist and come quietly."
Riaz raised his sword with a shaking arm. "You... have you even fully investigated? Why are you arresting me, but not him?"
"That's just how it is, don't make this harder on yourself than you already have." Eustice warned him calmly.
As tonight's incident had reached an unexpected high, even Salara couldn't control herself anymore and came forward.
"Sire, there is a mistake. The young lord Volan had taken advantage of me and wronged the guests of our humble inn. Why do you take this out on Riaz? He has done nothing wrong, unless being chivalrous is a crime."
Riaz was surprised to see her stand up for him, after everything that was said and done. Did she put aside her fears just for his sake?
'Guess I was mistaken about her,' he thought.
Volan stepped forward and pointed at her with his left arm. "Shut up, you whore! Haven't you been siding with him from the start? Is he your secret lover? You knew all along how I've felt about you. Why do you think I'd constantly come to your shabby, remote tavern? Why would I send you all those carefully selected gifts?"
Riaz casually threw a glance at Salara. 'There was such a thing?'
Volan began recounting the many ways he had tried to win her heart with, but all it did was make him look worse. Clearly, the girl never held any inclination to reciprocate his feelings.
Eustice rubbed his neck. "Look here, missy. There is not much you can do. If you don't want to get dragged into this, then you'd do well to stand aside. The boy is coming with us."
"But—" Salara was about to say more, but Riaz stretched out his arm and shook his head at her.
"Then, if I don't agree, what are you planning to do?" asked Riaz with cold fury bubbling in his chest.
The one to reply first was Volan, "What use is there in talking? Just take him by force! Do it! Do it now!"
Eustice lamented the position he was in, but he still obliged.
"Since you insist, then have it your way, boy." His lips formed a murmur of mysterious words, accompanied by hand motions that birthed strange signs.
Before long his hand glowed in a green light and a handful of flagstones tore from the pavement and taking to the air, as though come alive.
Together, the pieces formed shackles and shot towards Riaz from multiple angles.
Riaz swung his sword in an effort to fight back, but no matter how many of these rock chains he struck down, there was no way to cover every blind spot.
It wasn't long before he became ensnared and lost the movement of his arms.
The rocks tightly clung around his upper body, like a ring, pressing his arms against his body. The pressure of the constraints further increased the severity of his wounds, worsening his bleeding.
The color drained from his face and his condition reached the point where he could barely stand anymore.
"Take him away!" commanded Eustice and prepared to take his leave.
His men acted swiftly and approached Riaz, but before they could take him away, Volan just had to make another move.
His authoritative voice rang out.
"Stop! Hold him in place just like that, I am not quite done with him yet." He ran up to Riaz with his limp arm dangling beside him.
He could barely contain his excitement. The tables had turned and he came out on top. This was the the difference between their standings. A mere scoundrel like Riaz could little more but submit to his status.
"Did you see this coming? You should have! It doesn't matter how much you struggle, you'll meet a miserable end tonight." Volan got uncomfortably close to Riaz. His eyes looked red and the schadenfreude was written all over his face. "Huh? Why don't you say anything, you bastard? Didn't you foresee this outcome?"
He kicked Riaz in the gut, but the latter stubbornly refused to fall to his knees.
"Do you think you're hot stuff? You think I'd have lost earlier if I wasn't so drunk? You were just lucky. How did a commoner like you learn to swing a sword anyway?" He grabbed Riaz's ashen hair and forcefully pulled his head back so he'd get a good look at his face.
There was little left of the timid young noble that Riaz had seen back when he first walked into the tavern.
At first, he thought the uncle was the biggest piece of shit, but turned out this young lord was actually the one truly rotten to the core. He couldn't imagine what kind of upbringing could have possibly produced a despicable spawn like him.
"Fuck, I'm in a bad mood just from looking at your face." Volan let go of the hair and walked to the militia officer on the right, then reached for the dagger in one of his holsters.
His clumsy handling of the knife was not the people's focus, but what happened thereafter was. Volan sadistically stabbed the knife into Riaz's shoulder, watching him writhe in pain.
"Riaz!" cried Salara. She tried to approach, but it was futile with the two men surrounding him.
Even Eustice felt uncomfortable watching. All of this was truly unnecessary and reflected badly on him. He knew that people were still watching. Had this young lord finally lost his mind completely, to torture the young man in public like so?
He fully intended to put a stop to it, but Viram had something else in mind and grabbed Eustice by the wrist.
"Why the hurry? It's natural for my nephew to be a little vengeful after his shoulder was busted. Isn't it natural to want some payback before he's taken away?" His grip felt tight with qi strengthening his hold, as if to paint a clear message.
Volan didn't stop and slowly sliced apart the fabric of Riaz's shirt, or at least what part he could with the restraints in place. He was filled with surprise to find that some strange web of veins pulsed visibly on the young man's chest.
The veins, like tendrils, eerily glowed in the rhythm of a heartbeat, quite like a living organism beyond their understanding.
It was a sickening sight to behold and prompted Volan bring the back of his hand up to his mouth.
"Ugh... what is this filth?" he asked under muffled gagging. "You truly are the devil's spawn are you not?"
"Y-your fragile ego must be so large, unlike the thing in your pants." Riaz spat in Volan's face.
The latter immediately became enraged, but the moment their eyes met, he had a fright that made his heart plunge to the bottom of his stomach.
Among Riaz's pair of eyes, one had changed to look completely different from other. A grotesque evil seeped from that eye, its pupils shaped like a vertical slit, the color of the eyes itself black, except for the deep crimson glow around the center.
Volan drew a sharp breath, then hissed, "Devil..."
This entire time, Riaz could hardly control the anger pulsing in his chest. They were no different from back then in the village, those chest-pains that seemed to come and go without a cause.
Why had things come to this? Didn't he act with the best intentions, standing up for justice?
It seemed so obvious now. The answers were never so clear before. Yes, it was a mistake all along; he never should have bothered talking to this filth. He should have killed him on the first chance he got, cut him down limb by limb, leaving that ugly thing between his legs for last.
'No... that's not it.' Riaz closed his eyes and fought back against the torrent of sinister thoughts. There was no such thing until now, so where did this dark influence suddenly come from?
'I don't know what's going on, but I can't let them take me away. There's no telling what they'd discover.' he thought with growing agitation.
Gradually, his eye returned to its original state all on its own. There were too many questions, but Volan certainly wasn't going to wait around to ask.
"I knew it, you have seduced my Salara, have you not? You have used nefarious magic to bind her to your spell. I should kill you, devil." Volan uttered those words with a sense of self-righteousness to back him.
Riaz felt helpless but most of all he felt wronged. Was he not merciful? Was he not righteous? How come even the law sided with the villains?
'Teacher...' Riaz recognized the voice in his ear. His teacher hadn't abandoned him, had he?
"I am not wrong! The only reason these people have to suffer is because nobody will step up. What good is a justice that cowers before the strong but punishes the weak?" Riaz spoke aloud, since there was no other way for him to reach out to his teacher.
"Have you been taken by madness? There really is no end to your sins, you ugly devil." Volan remarked snidely.
Riaz lowered his face.
"Young lord, it is late and I think we would all like to move along with our business. That is quite enough now." Eustice finally lost his patience. Since news of this public torture would reach the Viscount sooner or later anyway, it would fall back on him if things were not promptly contained before they escalated further.
Viram, too, seemed to notice the increase in public attention and thus had to reluctantly accept that they had to back down for now. "Nephew, I think its best we left the proper authorities to deal with this matter."
Volan looked over his shoulder, listening to their words. When he turned back to face Riaz, he did his best to compose himself. He had to admit that he had momentarily lost himself in his anger.
He straightened his back and displayed what little semblance of a noble's loftiness he could and spoke up once more.
"Rejoice, ashen devil. Everyone will soon know you are a devil in disguise. When my lord father hears of this, I wonder, will he invite the royal physicians to cut you open or perhaps will he just have you executed on the spot? After all, it would be wiser to prevent curses or diseases from spreading, just in case."
Volan let out a sinister chuckle. "Either way, you are finished once I let them know. Oh right..." His gaze slowly swept towards Salara's small face.
"I'll treat her nicely in your absence. I give you my word." He provocatively licked across his lips, paying particularly close attention to Riaz's expression. He'd be damned not to squeeze out one last bit of sadistic pleasure while he could. He pondered whether he should find a way to visit Riaz in jail?
*crck*
The corners of his eyes crinkled from glee as he thought of the ways in which he could torture Riaz into submission. Maybe, if he broke his will and turned him into a slave, wouldn't that allow him to boast of owning a devil? He would become a hot topic in the aristocratic circles, for sure.
*crck* *crck*
Volan's ears perked up and he took a step back. "What?" he exclaimed.
He found that grains of rock inconspicuously crumbled from the chain that was holding Riaz.
He shouted, "Why is his shackle falling apart? Quick, you dimwitted men, hold him!"
The two on Riaz's left and right were made aware of an abnormality and reacted without thinking, but it was too late.
With a bang, the rocks blew apart and, under great focus, Riaz rammed his left elbow into one of the officers and drew the man's sword from its sheath.
The other tried to subdue Riaz, but the latter had already swung his sword towards him, leaving him with no choice but to back out of the sword's reach.
Volan didn't have a weapon and hesitated on whether he should flee or not. There was no way for him to subdue Riaz with one arm only. What was he to do?
Eventually, he ran out of time when Riaz locked eyes with him. Volan reflexively stabbed out with the dagger in his left hand, but Riaz stuck the arm with the pommel of the sword and snatched the former's throat.
The dagger fell to the ground with a sharp clang.
"Ack... unhand me, devil." Raising his functioning arm, he grabbed Riaz by the wrist and squeezed down with all the strength he could muster.
Riaz's cold stare drilled into his skull, giving him a fright. It was the first time he felt killing intent directed towards him from so up close.
Volan howled bitterly, "Uncle, help me!"
"Stay your hand, little bastard!" warned Viram. Beside him, Eustice sprung into action as well.
Riaz's left hand trembled from the grip and his qi worked hard to maintain the strength in his arm. The other hand, holding the sword, lifted the tip and placed it against Volan's chest.
Volan felt cold sweat gathering on his back and stammered, "N-no... please."
His plea found its target and touched Riaz deeply, rousing the hesitation within him.
It was a crucial moment with precious little time to decide. Riaz felt his strength leave him. If he didn't kill him now, he wouldn't find another chance. He knew deep in his gut that he was finished either way.
Since his fate was sealed, shouldn't he at least rid the world of this bastard? Reasoning like so, he made up his mind.
Wordlessly, Riaz pierced the blade through Volan's heart, driving it all the way through until half of the steel peeked out from the noble's back.
The crimson droplets, sliding down from the tip, crashed onto pavement with a splatter. The sound of it resounded clearly in his ears. It seemed as though all other sounds had left, except for that one.
At the same time, Riaz could feel a rhythmic sensation that got transmitted through the sword. He only understood what it was when it ended.
The fingers, gripping the sword, slowly unfurled and let go of it.
Riaz distanced himself slowly from the body as it slumped to the ground. He felt nauseous and infirm, his vision blurring. It wasn't clear whether the cause of it were his injuries or the shock from taking a life.
At that point nothing really mattered.