A week after the Clown's death, the kingdom of Velan was in a festive mood. The streets were filled with people dressed in all kinds of clothes. Their faces were painted with colors and bright smiles. Many fathers let their sons and daughters ride on their shoulders to see the decorated streets. Stall vendors called out for people, giving samples of their devious food. Various groups danced and performed feats to entertain the people. The festive mood put the Veland people in a cheery mood. Not a single one remained without a smile on their face. The hungry citizens were following the scent of delicious food in the air.
At that time, many news reporters riddled the streets to interview people and cover the festivities. Even prominent celebrity news reporters like Palmela arrived at Grayford to interview people. Her cameraman Rick focused on her oval face. Quickly, Palmela approached a man who painted his face with blue paint. His daughter sat atop his shoulder, tasting a pink lollipop.
"Sir, can I have a moment of your time?"
"Oh," the man was stunned to see Palmela. But realizing his face was getting telecasted to the entire kingdom, the man stopped drooling.
"It's you,"
"Sir, first things first. What's your name and how do you feel?" Palmela questioned quickly to keep the man from blabbering.
"My name is Anderson, my lady. It feels great. Finally, I feel me and my family are safe in Velan again," said the man. Anyone could tell the man was genuinely happy and telling the truth by looking at his wide grin.
"The Clown, Scarface, and the fifty-six thieves died within a month. They were murdered. Don't you think we are celebrating murders?" asked Palmela.
The smile on the man's face froze for a moment.
"I think justice was served. I am glad someone is out there doing what those so-called heroes couldn't," said the man. He quickly walked away from Palmela before she could ask any more questions. Following the man's departure, Palmela found a blue-haired teenage girl. The girl seemed to be in her late teens. Judging by the large mug in her hand, she was more than happy.
"Hey maam, what's up?" the girl grinned from ear to ear. Looking at the girl's state, Rick chuckled.
"Miss, How old are you?" Palmela creased her brows.
"Old enough to marry the hero of Velan," The girl laughed, raising her empty mug in the air. Some girls who heard her cheered.
"By hero of Velan, do you mean the one who slaughtered people and terrorized your kingdom for weeks?" asked Palmela. Unlike the man Palmela interviewed a moment ago, the girl didn't lose her smile.
"He brought criminals to justice and cleaned up our kingdom. Here, I fixed it for you," the surrounding people roared. Their thunderous cheers erupted. Many began to show their respect for the girl by clapping as loud as they could.
Following the girl, Palmela didn't pick one at random. Instead, she searched for someone who didn't seem like celebrating with the rest. To her surprise, she found an ashen-haired old man, looking at the festivities with a deep furrow. Judging by his silk robes, shoes and the diamond ring in his ginger, she could tell he was a noble. She quickly squeezed through the crowd to reach the old man.
"My lord, can I take a moment of your time?"
The old man obviously recognized Palmela. Otherwise, his muscles wouldn't have tensed when he saw Palmela and Rick.
"My lord, may we know your name please?"
"Its Adelan, Adelan Roverson,"
Rick heard about the Roverson family. They were one of the influential families in Velan. He was surprised to see a member of the Roverson family hanging out in public without any bodyguards around him.
"Lord Adelan, what do you think of all this?" asked Palmela.
"Pure bullshit. Waste of money. I feel sick hearing these people call a murderer a hero," The old man didn't hide his hatred toward Draven. After Draven killed the Clown and the thieves, the soldiers of King Richard rounded up many criminals. Without someone to lead, the criminals were like dumb sheep waiting to be apprehended.
Although it directly resulted in a huge drop in criminal activity in Velan, noble families who provided private security suffered losses as business owners didn't feel like they needed protection anymore. It put a dent in the income of the nobles' families such as Roverson. Furthermore, many merchants started to visit Velan again. They felt the kingdom was safe to do business once again.
So of course, Adelan hated Draven for putting a dent in their profit.
"Lord Adelan, the crime rate in Velan has dropped by almost eighty percent. and almost everyone I interviewed was saying they feel safe again,"
Adelan rolled his eyes.
"They were perfectly safe when the Black Knight protected the kingdom. Don't get me wrong, I don't support the Black Knight either. He is a vigilante. But compared to that murderer in black, the Black Knight is a saint. Killing a criminal and calling it a day is not justice, not what we should encourage," said Adelan.
"The Black Knight sucks!"
Suddenly someone from the crowd screamed. His scream caused a ruckus among the crowd. Surprisingly, they all seemed to agree with the thought that the Black Knight sucks.
"Long Live The Reaper!"
The crowd erupted into thunderous cheers. Palmela turned around to see the crowd raising a giant cut-out resembling Draven. Once she turned back to Adelan, the old man was gone. She signaled Rick to cut the feed to take a break.
"The rich hate him, the poor love him," said Rick.
"That sums it up pretty much," nodded Palmela.
"What's your take Palmela? You defended him with Adelan and tried to make the others talk shit about him," asked Rick.
"Didn't you hear them? It's not him anymore. It's the Reaper," Palmela chuckled. But deep down, she was afraid. Why? Because for the first time in her life, she didn't have a concrete thought about someone. Based on everything she had seen and heard, it was hard for her to judge the Reaper. Although she didn't approve of his methods, they worked. Velan was always a gloomy city stripped of any joy due to the high crime rate and a number of criminals. But now, the city was almost unrecognizable. All because of the Reaper. The city was alive for the first time in decades.
"What about the Black Knight? Did you hear anything from your source?" asked Rick.
"Nada," Palmela shook her head.
"It seemed like he vanished. I don't blame the guy. He spend most of his life fighting for the kingdom and everyone kick his sacrifices to the dumpster for a guy who appeared out of nowhere,"
Palmela and Rick roamed through the streets, searching for another suitable candidate to interview. This time, Palmela wanted to interview an elder. Just as she wanted, she found an old woman with a hunchback. There was not a single black hair on the old woman's head. Judging by her look, one could say she was probably eight or ninety years old. Despite her age, the woman was shaking her hips, cheering and laughing with a group of youngsters.
"Grandma, do you have a moment?!" Palmela raised her voice,
"I am old, not deaf kid," the old woman surprised Palmela with her quick answer. Rick chuckled.
"What do you think of all this grandma?"
"What does it look like? We are happy after a long long time,"
The youngsters around the grandma cheered loudly.
"Old age comes with wisdom. Tell us your opinions on the reaper. Do you think he's better than the Black Knight, the guardian of Velan?"
"Gods bless both their souls. The Black Knight protected us. My granddaughter is alive because of him. But these old bones think some people don't deserve a second chance. The Black Knight gave so many chances to vile creatures like The Clown who terrorized my beautiful kingdom," The old woman's eyes welled up.
"It's the gods who sent the reaper to claim their evil souls. Now my kingdom is free and pure again. I can finally rest my eyes, thinking my kin will live safe and sound. All thanks to the reaper,"
Palmela had no more questions to ask the old woman. To put it more accurately, she didn't want to ruin the old woman's joy.
"There you go, viewers. The Velan is celebrating the deaths of the criminals who terrorized the kingdom for years. Just like you, I am happy for the citizens of Velan. But the question remains, where is the reaper? What's his next move? And more importantly, who is going to end up in his crosshairs?"