The Demon Lord's Fall Saga, Chapter 7, Vol.2, 3rd Edition
Hero Magus and his party had just arrived at the village of Ardeil. A rural place where traders and envoys pass through and rest.
The villagers were of the common folk, joyful to have an abundant meal once a week, a roof over their heads, and fire to warm them.
The Hero, weary from travels and arduous battles, decided it would be best to recuperate in this small, yet warm place for a while.
Indeed, it was a warm place. Despite being between the Demonic realm and the human one, it was fairly peaceful. So warm, in fact, that our very Hero had made a new friend out of one of the villagers. A spirited youth, desperate to prove himself.
Hero Magus spotted the fearless youth protecting a fair lady of the village from several bandits, the eyes of the entire village on him. She stood behind the youth's broad back, to which was attached a longsword, one of the most favored weapons for the aspiring Knight.
Eager to prove himself and defend this fair lady's honor and safety, he drew the sword from his back, swung it high in the sky with practiced ease, and bravely pointed it at the bandit's throat before the entire village and Hero Magus and his party.
Yet, this is not a tale of triumph, but a tale of caution.
Oh, dear reader who has read this far, do not follow in the footsteps of the youth.
The youth who hadn't noticed the slight resistance placed on his blade as he unsheathed it.
The youth, who accidentally slayed the fair lady he had sworn to protect, nearly cleaving her in half from bottom to top as he recklessly drew the sword, miscalculating the distance between himself, her, and his blade's reach.
The youth, who heard not cheers that day, but the loud gasps from all over, and the even louder cackle of the bandits he stood up to.
The youth, who had thought it rained due to the fair lady's blood dripping on him from above as he swung his sword.
The youth who could not even live long enough to witness the fair lady's wake, as he was hung even sooner.
Yet, even then, Hero Magus, unable to watch their new friend's agony as he was hung, unleashed devastating flames, burning his asphyxiating body to ashes.
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"I... can't move it?!" Cerille thought as Van placed his fingers on her greatsword.
"Grh... so, you admit your evil intentions!?" Cerille's voice boomed.
"Curious, don't you think?" Van swiftly retorted with a glare. "You label me evil despite me not doing anything yet. As befitting of a daughter of that piece of shit."
"Not doing anything...!? You resist arrest, disrespect my honored father, and admit you're a threat as I suspected! ANY THREAT IN THIS PLACE NEEDS TO BE SUBDUED!" she replied, applying even more force to move her greatsword. Even using muscle enhancement magic, it would not budge an inch.
"A piece of shit is a piece of shit. Him being 'honored' doesn't change that," Van dismissed.
"HEY, YOU TRASH! DON'T YOU DARE BESMIRCH GREATKNIGHT NICKELSON'S NAME!" the crowd roared.
'He's pushing it too far...!' Anne thought, alarmed.
"Van, wait!" Anne called, running to his side and grabbing his shoulder. "Saying that is—" Anne started, but the riffraff's voices boomed over hers.
"HOW DARE THAT KID DISRESPECT GREATKNIGHT NICKELSON'S NAME AND DAUGHTER!? HE SHOULD BE EXECUTED!"
"HE IS DEFINITELY UP TO NO GOOD! AN EXECUTION IS TOO MUCH FOR HIM! HAVE HIM TORTURED PUBLICLY!" another person yelled.
Soon, the entire mob gathered around them, openly dissing Van.
"We're going to see Lady Cerille tear him apart! Let's go!" the teens at the side whispered, excitement evident in their eyes.
Anne was about to try and stop Van, but as she heard the whispers, her grip on his shoulder loosened.
"Saying things like that without getting to know the guy...!" Anne growled silently as she took a stance next to Van, facing Cerille.
"Anne...! Are you betraying the Royal Capital by siding with this wretch!?" Cerille called as she tensed her muscles even more. "FINAL WARNING, GET AWAY FROM HIM!" she warned.
"Always knew she was a traitorous whore."
"Bitch..." the girls and guys whispered amongst themselves.
Van glanced at the sword, tightly held between his fingers.
"COME ON, LADY CERILLE! KICK THESE BASTARDS' ASS!" the crowd cheered.
Van took a moment to look around, his gaze landing back on Cerille.
Despite being the daughter of a figure he loathed, he felt she wasn't a carbon copy of Nickelson. He recalled how she leaped to Anne's aid when that spell was flung at her, and even now, giving Anne a chance to back off.
She was still young, the thought crossed his mind. Thus, she must be highly impressionable.
"W-...What are you...!?" Cerille muttered as Van shifted his fingers slightly.
Van then instantly let go of her greatsword when Cerille's pull was at its peak.
"WAI—" Cerille let out as she inevitably swung the sword backward, the air of the swing grazing Van and Anne's bodies.
With a gasp, Cerille could only glance back as her sword swung toward an unsuspecting passerby who had cheered for her.
'NO...!' Panic set in as she tried her hardest to stop the movement of her sword, yet the momentum's force was so strong, she could only helplessly brace for the inevitable impact.
Cerille closed her eyes, mustering all her strength to stop her movements... Yet she knew it would be in vain.
An inch before the sword's edge struck the passerby's head, Van grasped her wrists and pulled her back by her shirt collar.
Her face turned pale, and the crowd went silent.
The passerby, a few seconds later, lost all strength in their knees and fell to the ground.
Cerille's mouth hung open, her breathing shallow and rapid. Her eyes met Van's gaze.
"Tell me something, daughter of that bastard, Nickelson," Van began, his voice cold and piercing. "How do you label people as threats? By sensing their aura?" He stepped closer, eyes locked on hers. "Is that why I'm a threat? Is that why you would have felt guilt-free even if you'd accidentally killed someone, like you almost did just now?"
Cerille and the crowd had nothing to say the following seconds. Even the teens who had been laughing at Anne and Van went silent as Van guided Cerille's greatsword back down with her hands.
Cerille's words hung in her throat as her grip on the greatsword tightened.
"Lady Cerille," an old man from the crowd began, his voice steady and authoritative. "Let not this wretch infect your mind. The fault would still be his, as he was deemed a threat by you, an esteemed enforcer of our Goddess and a dignified Royal Guard. If this fair lady had died, it would have been his deed, not your own." He explained calmly, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Y-yeah...!" someone from the crowd reluctantly shouted.
"YEAH, LADY CERILLE, IGNORE THAT EVIL BASTARD! ARREST HIM!" The crowd started to cheer again.
Anne clenched her teeth tightly as she looked around.
'Even though he just saved that girl...!' Anne readied her stance once more.
"R-right...!!" Cerille shook her head, pushing herself out of Van's grasp. "You're the one at fault here, fiend. You're under arrest. Anne, back off, or this sword shall be swung in your direction as well! Whoever your mother may be!" Cerille resolved, raising her sword at Van once more.
'Haaah... Well, her father might have fed me shit for three years, but he fed her for sixteen. She isn't going to change in an instant, I suppose,' Van resigned.
"Anne," Van started calmly, still focused on Cerille, "this is on me. You don't have to take part. What if they really do see you as a traitor?"
"You just shut up," she let out. "Just like you, I'm gonna do what I want." She took a stance. "Because nobody deserves this kind of treatment..." she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper as she gritted her teeth.
Van took a moment to look around. Beside Cerille, he could see plenty of other combatants ready to step in the moment a fight began.
His gaze then circled around to Anne. Nickelson and Cerille faded from his mind, replaced by Anne.
'I promised I'd protect them,' he thought to himself as he scrutinized Anne. 'If it's just me, I can take it. But not with her around. I can't let her be a part of this.'
'I'm her uncle, after all.'
"I give up," Van let out, lowering his arm to his side, his face and muscles loosening.
'What...!?' Cerille thought, confused.
"Arrest me if you need to."