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n“Nephew! Riots! Riots have broken out! Go hid-”

nEvery head turned to look at the man who had just entered. He looked the opposite of Viscount Tempus. This man was fat but still had fine armour on his body. The only similarities were the blonde hair and grey eyes, the commonality among all of the Gracia family.

n“Riots?” King Gracia muttered from on top of his throne. ｂ𝚍ｎｏｖ𝚕．ｃｏｍ

n“I just received the news. The people are going into a frenzy. Someone has spread rumours that the Inquisitors are here to burn the city for your crimes. The entire population is trying to run out of the city now, and a minority of them are trying to enter the castle and kill you for causing this.”

nThud!

nKing Harold Gracia fell to his seat. “W-What? But who would spread such rumours? I have been such a good king to them. I… they all love me… everyone said that.”

n“They did love you, my king.” Viscount Tempus spoke. “You gave food to the poor and removed corruption from the government machinery.”

n“Rightly said, my lord.” King’s Prima, Count Harvard Zeelif, agreed.

nInquisitor High Lord looked unfazed at the same time. “Perhaps they loved you too much, King Harold. A good king is not only loved. But a good king is one who is equally feared. Now, they attack you for they see you as weak—so now it’s your head they seek.”

n“But what should we do now?” Prima Zeelif asked. “Neither the Inquisitors nor the city guards can hold on to so many people from escaping.”

n“We can not let them escape either. Who knows who sits among them.” Sylvester added. “What if Sir Kenworth is playing the smart game and thinks the only place we won’t look for him will be here? What if these rumours were not random?”

n“We can not harm them either, for they are not the sinners we look for.” Inquisitor High Lord said, deep in contemplation.

nBam!

n“Did you know there is a riot brewing outside?” Just then, Lady Aurora also arrived, likely having been alerted by the situation in the city. “I just saved one gate from falling to the rioters.”

nSylvester noticed a knight behind Lady Aurora. This was a short man with a fully covered helmet with a visor. His eyes narrowed as he looked at him, for the latter smelled of anxiety. It didn’t make sense as he expected the man to be strong if he was with Lady Aurora.

n“The riots need to be quenched. Send the entire garrison out.” King Harold ordered from his throne. “They must not be allowed to enter here.”

nSylvester shook his head at the King’s reasoning skills. He now felt pitiful for the church as it was they who likely got rid of the previous queen and had this new King take her place.

n“That will only make them bloodthirsty, your majesty. Be at ease; I shall go out and stop the riots. Meanwhile, have the guards spread the word that the Inquisitors are not here to burn anything. Tell them you invited us to take the Lord Inquisitor’s blessing for something.”

nFelix got closer to Sylvester and asked in whispers. “What’s the plan, Max? You can’t possibly be planning on fighting thousands of people simultaneously.”

n“That’s exactly what I plan to do, my friend. But this will be a fight of words. And… it would help if you don’t come with me, they might feel threatened seeing your tall form. Gabriel is better for this.” Sylvester answered and called the other man up.

nSylvester then bowed his head towards Inquisitor High Lord. “My lord, I shall go and quench this riot without a single swing of the blade. Permit me to proceed.”

n“Take Aurora with you.” Lord Inquisitor suggested.

nSylvester glanced at the brown-haired, tall, and mighty woman with an ever-radiant confident smile. “She must rid her armour for it and wear the dress of a Bright Mother. I can’t have her appear hostile.”

nLady Aurora sighed and agreed. “Fine. Let’s go now.”

nSo they all quickly made their way out. Sylvester, Gabriel, Lady Aurora and the new knight that had come with her.

nFirst, Lady Aurora changed her robes in the small monastery inside the castle complex. But, as she was doing so, she looked at the knight as well. “You do it too, girl.”

n“Oh… okay.”

nClank!

nSlowly, the knight, who turned out to be a woman, put away her helmet, then chest plate and other parts, revealing her full form.

nSylvester took a long breath and rubbed his face. “You cut your hair, Princess Isabella?”

nThe woman embarrassingly looked down. “I did.”

n“You ran away from my home?”

n“I did.”

n“Lady Aurora helped you?”

n“Yes.”

nSylvester shook his head tiredly. “You do know that you don’t look masculine at all. Not at all, no matter how short you cut your hair.”

n“Oh, come on, Archpriest. Let her live her life as she wants to.” Lady Aurora patted his shoulder. “She was crying and kneeling to me, asking to be allowed to come. So I helped her a little, that’s it. Not to mention, she’s been a great help to me. She helped me pass through the houses and reach the castle by bypassing the rioting crowds.”

n“I thought you had never come out of the castle.” Sylvester narrowed his gaze at her.

nIsabella meekly answered. “I have many friends, lord bard. Servants, handmaidens that I know. I know people. That’s what I did for so many years.”

nSylvester rubbed his face tiredly and walked away. “Do whatever you want. Gabriel, follow me. When I start chanting a hymn, your job will be to stand beside me like a sage and send out light magic. Meanwhile, these two pretty Bright Mothers will repeat my words and pray.”

n“What?!” Lady Aurora exclaimed. “I don’t know how to sing.”

n“Isabella does. Follow her lead. But, before we start, we need to do something.”

n…

nThe entire city had turned into a lawless zone almost instantly. The criminal gangs that operated from a few places now openly ransacked homes. This was not how the plan was to go.

nBut rumours kept spreading. Some blamed the King. Some said the Inquisitors were there to burn, kill or something else. Despite the best efforts of the Inquisitors, none believed them.

nBam!

n“From here!” Isabella showed them the way to move around.

n“You remember the map of the city?” Sylvester asked her, amazed at how she knew the streets.

nNodding, the woman proudly replied. “Maps were my only escape. They allowed me to imagine the world outside, so I memorised them in the hopes that when I go out, I’d know where to go.”

n‘She’s smarter than I expected.’

n“Where do you think you’re going?” Then, all of a sudden, a small group of five men appeared with torches in their hands, blocking their way.

nWoosh!

nSylvester’s right hand created a small arrow made of hard light. He sent it flying right into the thighs of all five men. “Sit here, burdens on earth, or the next time I move, it’ll be your head.”

nThey didn’t stop at any moment and proceeded to the South Gate first as the most crowd was gathered there. It was the widest and the most used gate.

n“There are too many people. How do we get to their front?” Gabriel asked.

n“Follow me.” Sylvester started making light steps—tiles made of hard light. He made them a few feet above the heads of the crowd and slowly walked towards the front. There were at least two hundred thousand people, from what Sylvester could estimate.

n‘This is going to be hard. Not all of them will be able to see me, but they should be able to hear me.’ Sylvester planned. He also looked at the sky and thanked Solis for the sun setting slowly. The darker it was, the better his plan would work.

nThud!

nHe landed near the gates of the city. The Inquisitors were standing there in five rows, stopping the people from leaving the city. Sort of a skirmish was going on at the moment, as the strongest of the Inquisitors used all their strength to block the way.

n“Gabriel, stand beside me, a step behind. Lady Aurora and Isabella, you both stand on Gabriel’s side each.” He ordered quickly.

nAfter that, he used magic, a simple Earth rune, to make a little stage so he could stand at least a metre in height for those in the back to see.

n“Repeat after me. Try to make the crowd chant with me.” He ordered the three.

nThen, he took another glance at the Inquisitors. “All of you, sing the hymn with me! As loud as possible!”

nAfter getting head nods, Sylvester put one palm beside his chest, facing the front. Then, he closed his eyes and started chanting.

nWoosh!

nAn intense ray of light shot off his palm and illuminated the surroundings. Each head looked up, slowly noticing the single man with a bright halo in the distance. Some knew who it was, for they had heard of the legends.

n‘Here goes nothing.’

nHear me as I sing, for I am the lord’s bard.

nI stand here, with your life in the highest regard.

nI know you are scared, and also scarred.

nI beg, look beside you, at the children left marred.?

nDue to his words and loud repetitions of Inquisitors, the people started to look around and indeed, in that packed crowd, there were also kids being squashed left and right, as some lost the grip of their parent’s hands.

nSome words you may hear, that induce fear.

nThey may have you unable to think clear.

nBut look around. Do you see a fire?

nLook around you. Do you see a pyre?

nNone! For hurting you isn’t why we’re here.?

nThe people looked around, and indeed, the city behind them was silent. If the Inquisitors were here to hurt them, it would have been burning, but that was not the case.

nO’ children of the lord, this chaos is of devil’s design.

nFor you to determine, I leave the fate of mine.

nTo night or light, to which side do you incline?

nShall you thrust the city into darkness, or let it shine??

nThe people silently stared at Sylvester’s harmless, defenceless body. He was telling them to push forward if they still wished to.

nEmbrace this warmth, for this you deserve.

nDon’t destroy the city, for it’s a home you preserve.

nI stand here, harmless—for all of you to observe.

nIf you still feel anger, hit me with your stones. I won’t swerve.?

nHis hymn ended but stayed under his breath. The silence ensued, and the halo still shined. Finally, he let his arms rise on his side—spread wide.

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