V5.C14 Emotionless doll, Fanatic war
Leo gazed at the young blonde girl accompanied by two soldiers and a man with his hands tied behind him. She appeared to be around 9 or 10 years old with a cute face and dolled up in a frilly dress.
His glare narrowed at the look in the blue eyes of the girl. They held no emotions and will to live just like an emotionless doll. He tried to analyze the peoples with no results.
"Illusions?"
His guess proved right when the guards walked past him with the prisoner. He and Irene watched as the soldiers forced the prison to kneel right behind them.
The young girl stood before the cliff and declared in an apathetic tone, "You have been charged with colluding with one of the demons to plot a rebellion."
The short haired man cried, "No, You're wrong! I just gave them healing medicine! They all don't want to go to war with us!"
The girl seemingly unfazed by the despair in man's eyes, continued with an apathetic tone, "For committing an act of treason against our great and powerful God. I hereby sentence you to death."
"Noooo!!!"
The girl without any change in expression, raised her hand wrapped with sky blue colored mana. With her hand movements, the man floated and fell off the cliff.
He hugged Irene to stop her from charging. She was ready to charge even though her mind knew this was all just an illusion. She really hated the look in the girl's eyes.
His eyes staring at the girl had only pity, not a single shred of hatred. He knew the suffering the girl herself was going through from the brainwashing her family or parents might be doing to her.
"Irene, calm down. They're just illusions."
"...I know. They don't have any soul or aura. Look, she is here again..."
The girl appeared once again and executed another man by throwing him off the cliff. The couple could only watch as the wolves in the pit ate the man alive. His crime was having tails and ears of a beast. Then the next day a woman got executed for hiding her gifted child from Holy Church. The same thing happened the day after, this process repeated over and over until something changed.
The duo stared at the young man lying face first on the ground. His whole body was covered in bruises. The two guards stood with their spears pointed at the man.
The blonde girl declared the death sentence in her usual emotionless voice.
The young man on the ground released a cynical laugh. "So they think I'll answer if a child does the questioning?"
The girl glanced at the guards. "You two are dismissed, I'll handle the rest."
"But why?" "Lady Miledi?"
Irene resting her head on his chest, raised her voice. "What!? She is Miledi? The one we met in Reisen Gorge Labyrinth?"
He nodded his head. "My guess was right, the gravity magic of hers felt very familiar."
Miledi stood in front of the prisoner with both hands clasped on her lap. "Excuse me. Can I ask you something?"
The man moved his head and stared at the girl. "What?"
"Why did you attack the priest? Surely you knew the consequences. Then why?"
The man moved his broken body and kneeled on both his knees. "You wanna know the reason? What good is a world where children can't smile? Sorry missy, I won't answer any questions. But I believe a day will come." He stood up and smiled brightly free of all negative emotions. "Where children like you could live based on their own free will."
Leo watched Miledi's hands shivering, her eyes stretched to the limits when she saw the man falling from the cliff.
"Is that a sin? Is love a sin? Or a wish to live freely is a sin?" a female's voice asked in Leo's head.
He shook his head. "No, it's not…"
Irene kept comparing herself to Miledi, she herself acted cold to everyone. It was just a way to not expose any vulnerabilities to anyone. But the girl in front of her wasn't even acting on her own free will, she couldn't believe the overly energetic Miledi used to be an emotionless girl.
Their surroundings changed once again, the couple found themselves watching a fast forward scene of the attendant of Miledi, Belle. She was the kind of woman who teased Miledi when they were alone but a strict teacher and servant in front of everyone.
The emotionless Miledi under the constant teasing of Belle, slowly learned to smile and enjoy her life. But her happiness didn't last long when she found herself once again at the cliff of the execution ground facing another man yelling the same question.
"Is love a sin!?"
Leo and Irene stared at her, waiting for her decision this time. The past few days had changed Miledi a lot.
"I'll try to put in a retrial. Just deny your relationship even if it's just a lie… For your and hers sake."
Next moment, everything vanished and the couple reappeared in a dark cave. They both watched as Miledi desperately tried to cast healing magic on Belle. But the mana dispersed because of the inherent nature of Reisen Gorge. But all went silent when Belle stopped breathing.
"This was the spark of the Rebellion against the gods. The hopeless leader and a half broken ten year old girl... In the end we all failed miserably."
Together with the voice their surroundings changed into some sort of underground cave. Fire torches allowed them to see in the darkness.
Leo scanned the area with Irene then proceeded deeper into the dimly lit passage. After walking for nearly ten minutes, the path opened into a massive hall. He held Irene's hands and pulled her in his embrace.
"L-Leo, what…"
"I'm sorry, but this is something I won't ever let you see…"
He whispered after knocking her out. The scene inside would break someone like Irene who cherished children. He sighed and moved her to his back and entered the well illuminated hall. Rather than hall it was better to call it an old aged laboratory with all sorts of tool packed in different sections.
His eyes fall on the back of hundreds of children standing in front of an old man with long white hair, dressed in elegant white robes. Just as he entered, all heads snapped in his direction. The whites of their eyes were pitch-black with white pupils.
The old man with a twisted smile finally opened his mouth, "In the name of Lord Ehit, slay the heretic!"
"Slay the heretic." "Slay the heretic." "Slay the heretic…" All children repeated it in a dead voice and charged at Leo with daggers and swords in their hands.
Leo shook his head and aimed his hand at the illusions of children. "I have seen much worse on earth."
A wave of white flames flowed from his palm and erased the illusions created from mana.
"This scene was witnessed by our comrade. He, who lived all his life believing in good of Holy Church, but the truth of Holy Church and Ehit overturned his life."
"Can you stop this test already? This is getting a bit tiring."
Despite his complaint, the hall around him vanished and an open field replaced it. He found himself in the dead center of two armies. Mainly Demons and humans.
He pinched Irene's hands around his neck. "Irene, wake up!"
"Wha!?"
Irene woke up to see the intimidating glares of thousands of human soldiers. But before she could freak out.
"They are not real like the Miledi we met."
She hugged him tighter and placed her chin on his shoulder. "Okay... I feel so comfortable here and what happened after I lost my consciousness?"
He ignored her completely relaxed tone and leaped in the air to dodge the rain of spells from both directions. He stopped in the air and floated using gravity magic.
"Bastards, fight each other. Why are you trying to kill us?"
Irene couldn't stop herself and burst into laughter.
"These human trash dare to insult our Demon God!"
"Death to all humans! Kill!"
"They slaughtered our villages, Kill the filthy demons!"
"For Lord Ehit!"
The soldiers on both sides had bloodshot eyes as they screamed like fanatics. But their attacks never hit the other side, the only heretic in their eyes appeared to be Leo and Irene.
Leo, annoyed by their fanaticism raised his hand in the air. "Enough… Heavensfall."
A small black hole formed above every soldier's head. He lowered his hand and the black holes followed the gesture and crashed on the head of soldiers.
Boom! Boom! Boom!...
Each black hole produced a massive shockwave and smashed the area four meters around it. The entire battlefield was leveled by the craters caused by the black holes…
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That's how Eri looks without her glasses
