Caw—Caw—
Two crows flapped their wings, skimming low across the sky, leaving a trail of harsh, grating cries behind them.
Before the grand Schicksal Cathedral in Kolosten, the same place where Nikolas had spoken with Luka Kaslana and Otto separately just two nights prior, lay a wide square. It was said that millennia ago, when the Castle Council's system was still imperfect, Schicksal would often summon all the citizens of Kolosten to this square to vote on major decisions. But evolving to the present day, it had long become the customary execution ground.
Of course, not just anyone was qualified to be executed here. Generally, only the most vicious criminals, witches who misled the populace with heresy, and the like were worthy of dying at this 'gate of heaven'.
Ironic, wasn't it? Less than a hundred meters behind the execution ground lay the so-called earthly heaven, the place where God resided and moved among mortals. The Lord was supposed to shower blessings and holy light upon the world from here, rain down milk and honey, make trees bear fruit like bread...
But now, people erected enormous gallows here. Knights stood shoulder-to-shoulder, forming a human wall, the tips of their spears reflecting the scorching sunlight. A circle of large, nameless trees lined the edge of the square, but perhaps due to the wrong season, they stood bare, without a single leaf.
The gallows still needed some time to be fully completed. It had rained just last night, and the air still carried a damp, unpleasant, earthy smell. Laborers carrying wooden posts walked back and forth across the square. The hollow stone tiles beneath their feet sporadically spurted out accumulated water, dotting the square with filthy, foul-smelling puddles.
"Move aside! Why won't you let us in!"
When Eleanor, dressed in casual clothes and empty-handed, arrived at the square with two Valkyries, she was immediately stopped by the vigilant knights.
"Captain Eleanor, please don't make things difficult for us. By order of Lord Bishop, aside from a few Valkyries on external missions, all other Valkyries have the day off today. You should be resting at home right now!"
"Tsk!"
Eleanor clicked her tongue, her chest heaving rapidly. She let out several breaths, paced back and forth in front of the knight twice, then finally asked through gritted teeth:
"Who says you have to stay home on a day off? Of course, I know about the leave order, which is why I'm not carrying any weapons or armor. I'm not here as Valkyrie Eleanor, but as the ordinary citizen Eleanor Schariac, or as the current head of the Schariac family. What? Does the head of the Schariac family, one of Schicksal's Three Great Families, not even qualify to be a spectator at this execution?"
The knight captain touched the mask covering his face and replied in a muffled voice:
"Captain Eleanor... Alright, alright, Miss Eleanor, please don't join in this commotion, okay? Let me be honest, do you really not know why Lord Bishop gave the Valkyrie Squad the day off?"
The answer was obvious. Although the Valkyrie Squad had proven through their actions that they wouldn't necessarily side with Kallen against Schicksal, as the unit Kallen once led, Schicksal ultimately couldn't fully trust them—neither Bishop Nikolas nor the Castle Council could.
Kallen's refusal to yield even in death had caught Bishop Nikolas somewhat off guard, but it didn't matter. All he needed was control over the Kaslana family. Since Luka had already represented the Kaslanas in offering submission, whether Kallen was willing to fulfill the marriage contract and become his pawn to control the Kaslanas was now optional.
As for the Castle Council? As Nikolas said, they only wanted the power held by the Kaslanas. Kallen and the Kaslana family itself were actually obstacles to them; better to eliminate them entirely.
Kallen Kaslana had to die. Since this was the only common desire amidst their conflicting interests, this matter absolutely could not tolerate any mistakes.
Therefore, the Valkyries were nominally on leave for a day, but if they were self-aware enough, they should obediently stay home under self-imposed house arrest.
Eleanor wasn't an idiot. She had knocked on the doors of all the Valkyries early this morning, but only these two, who had some minor Schariac blood, were willing to come stir up trouble with her.
And unsurprisingly, they couldn't even get into the venue.
The knight captain sighed. As an ordinary person, he wasn't keen on offending Valkyries, but Schicksal's orders had to be obeyed. He was caught in the middle, unable to advance or retreat.
"Miss Eleanor, I'm begging you, please don't make things difficult for us! Besides, what difference does it make whether you go in or not? Surely you aren't thinking of rescuing her from the execution?"
Eleanor's thin lips pressed into a straight line. She quickly shook her head. "I just... want to see my friend off."
"Uh..."
Even through the mask, Eleanor sensed the knight's mouth twitching.
"Miss Eleanor, please don't joke. Everyone knows you and Kallen are like fire and water..."
After saying this, the knight couldn't help but slap his own cheek—right, everyone knew Eleanor and Kallen didn't get along. So why would Lord Bishop do this? Heh, women's friendships were just that complicated.
When he looked up again, Eleanor had already turned around and left with the two Valkyries, leaving behind only a short sentence:
"Boring!"
The knight captain scratched his head through his helmet. Only then did he realize—had he just offended a Valkyrie?
There was really no choice. If he let them in, he would be offending Schicksal. He had no other option.
But this ultimately soured his mood, so much so that when a tall, white-haired man walked up to him, he merely glanced casually, saw the newcomer wasn't carrying any weapons, and stepped aside to let him pass.
"Hey! Old Coot, your ability might be weird, but it's really useful! From so far away, whatever I think in my head, I can just say it to you... Are there any other uses? Like making someone who originally hates you instantly fall in love... Wait! Old Coot, you better tell me honestly! Have you already done that before!"
"Miss Eleanor, you promised me you wouldn't use the derogatory term 'Old Coot'."
"Did I promise?"
"You did."
"But you never told me your name, did you? If I don't call you Old Coot, what can I call you?"
"Didn't I tell you my name?"
"Why are you asking me? I don't know!"
"...Miss Eleanor, we're face to face now, we can just speak normally..."
"Ha? What, are you afraid your comrade will laugh at you?"
Listening to the noisy chatter in the mental communication network Su had set up, Kevin first snorted coldly, but then an unusual feeling spread through his heart.
He savored it for a moment. It turned out to be genuine joy.
Relationships between people weren't simple, nor were they complex. He and Su had once been best friends, and they still were. As for some unavoidable disagreements, they were just disagreements. After calming down, they wouldn't necessarily affect their relationship.
So, if there really was a girl who could pester Su day in and day out, calling him Old Coot...
Kevin's lips quirked upwards slightly, just for an instant, before pressing down even lower.
Because that was impossible. Compared to the parting by death decades later, letting everything stop before it even began was perhaps the wiser choice. He believed Su understood this too.
However, that wasn't the main goal today, and Su didn't need his input.
Kevin squeezed forward bit by bit. Even though he was much taller than the people of this era, the square was packed. He felt like he was trapped in a swamp; no matter how much he struggled, he only moved forward a tiny distance.
It wasn't impossible to push further in. He only needed to stop restraining himself, let out a sliver of the cold energy within him, and it would be enough to make the people around him quickly move away. But there was no need to do that. Blending in here was Eleanor's suggestion in the first place. For him, being further away, even in Vienna, or somewhere even more distant, wouldn't matter. He could make it in time, just like another person, she...
Kevin turned his head, his gaze shooting out like an arrow, landing on an utterly ordinary rooftop over a thousand meters away. Eight figures stood loosely on the roof.
Logically, since this matter involved both Schicksal and Kaslana, it could somewhat be considered Kevin's family affair and shouldn't involve outsiders. But for some reason, he had a bad feeling, as if things weren't that simple...
To be safe, he had still called Hua. Coincidentally, after being persuaded by him and dealing with the Judgment-class Honkai Beast in Australia, she had come along to Europe.
"Heheh..."
Kevin suddenly let out two cold laughs, stopping in his tracks. The surrounding citizens' words flowed into his ears unfiltered:
"Man! Why are there so many people today? There weren't this many people the last few times they executed witches, right? Looks like half the city is here."
"Shh! Can witches compare to this? This is the daughter of the Kaslana family! Tell me, in our half-lived lives, when have we ever had the chance to see a noble executed? And a Kaslana, and a girl! And the former captain of the Valkyrie Squad!"
"Tsk tsk tsk! True, true, a chance like this comes once a century... But what did she do again? A noble sentenced to hanging? Normally, aren't nobles just put under house arrest or something? Even if they're executed, isn't it done secretly with a cup of poisoned wine?"
A group of people gathered, gossiping. They seemed unaware of the previous events. Suddenly, an old man in front turned around and interjected:
"That's different! Don't you know what happened a few days ago?"
"What happened? I really don't know."
"Quick, tell us, tell us! Don't keep us in suspense!"
"Ah! That day in the west district square, this girl suddenly borrowed someone's stage for acting, said she wanted to talk to everyone. Originally, nobody wanted to pay attention to her, but then they looked, holy cow! She had a burlap sack over her shoulders, a mask on her head, but underneath she was wearing a Valkyrie uniform, with the Kaslana emblem on the collar. It totally confused me, didn't know what she was up to."
"Hey, old man, can you hurry up! Stop with the useless details!"
"Hey! I know you're eager, but don't be so hasty! You have to explain the cause and effect properly when telling a story, right?"
"Then tell it faster! The gallows are already set up! The nun will be out soon to read the charges, who's gonna listen to you then!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
"Tsk! Anyway, that girl was quite innocent, said a lot of things, all cursing the indulgences..."
"Good cursing! So what did she say?"
Just as he wanted to simplify it, he was questioned right after starting. The old man was quite helpless:
"Forgot. It's been so many days, who remembers! Anyway... at the time, I thought what she said made sense, but frankly, wasn't she just trying to rally everyone to boycott the indulgences?"
Perhaps hearing the argument here, more people joined the discussion:
"Just listen to that kind of talk and forget it. If you don't buy indulgences, the knights won't come knocking on the Kaslana family's door! But this girl is crazy enough, she actually robbed an indulgence salesman and then threw the money around everywhere. Pity, the Knight Order arrived too quickly, I ran before I could pick any up. Really let those knights get lucky."
"Then this girl is quite pitiful."
"Pitiful? What's pitiful about her? Their Kaslana family has enjoyed thousands of years of glory and wealth. Where did that money come from? Wake up! Everyone's here for the spectacle. Sympathizing with nobles? Ptui! Isn't that like the leek sympathizing with the scythe?"
"Although I feel something isn't quite right, you seem to be right."
"Shh! It's starting, it's starting!"
A nun clad in black robes stood on the execution platform. The upper half of her face was covered by an eye mask resembling crow wings, making one wonder if she could see anything at all.
"Next, announcing the crimes of the former Valkyrie Squad Captain, Kallen..."
"Hmph..."
Kevin crossed his arms and snorted softly, not listening further.
He already knew the course of events from Eleanor and Su. That's why he couldn't understand. Perhaps Kallen Kaslana's actions seemed incredibly naive to him, but whether it was fighting Honkai Beasts day and night as a Valkyrie, or resolutely denouncing Schicksal in public recently, wasn't the essence of it all for the sake of these people before him being able to live better lives?
Why then did these people speak ill of her, and come here with the mentality of watching a show?
Yes, he had initially thought the sea of people here was gathered to bid her farewell. But he hadn't expected that people simply found executing a noble interesting, so they came just for the spectacle.
It was hard not to find this baffling, hard not to feel disheartened. But at the same time, Kevin didn't feel surprised.
What was there to be surprised about? He truly didn't understand, but it wasn't like he hadn't experienced it before.
And precisely because he had experienced it, he didn't want to understand, nor would he expect the masses to understand him, understand them.
Anyway, people always had to take responsibility for their choices. Fifty thousand years ago, humanity used their lives as the price to make the choice they deemed correct.
And now, these people could certainly do the same. Just like this, silently be bystanders, mocking Kallen's naivety, mocking her frailty. What would the price be? Whatever it was, it resulted from their own decisions.
And precisely because of this, precisely because humanity was like this, Kevin believed even more strongly in Project Stigma...
"Reading of the charges concluded. Next, bring forth the..."
Caw—Caw—Caw—
Sudden crow cries interrupted the nun's reading. The two crows from earlier had returned, and following closely behind them was a flock of crows vast enough to nearly blot out the entire sky. The harsh cawing hurt people's ears. The surrounding light and shadow dimmed with the arrival of the sky-obscuring flock. People had never seen such a sight before; they held their breath, looking around nervously, tension written all over their faces.
Kevin also consciously looked up. Hundreds of crows circled repeatedly in the air. After about ten minutes of this, the crows seemed to have reached an agreement, splitting from their seemingly chaotic formation into countless groups. Some landed on the surrounding rooftops, observing the terrified crowd below with cold, dark, chaotic eyes. More landed on the bare branches of the trees surrounding the square, packed so tightly that the slender branches sagged under the weight.
Under the near-night light, the crows covering the branches looked like clusters of leaves, making the scene even more oppressive and heavy.
Near-night?
Only then did people react, looking up again. The sun, originally high in the sky, was reduced to a thin golden ring, while its very center had strangely fallen into darkness.
"Eclipse!"
"The Star Demon devours the sun!"
The crowd stirred, surging back and forth like waves under a storm. But whether moving forward or backward, the Knight Order formed human walls to maintain order. The commotion didn't last long; Schicksal quickly supplied the knights with torches.
Flames re-illuminated the surroundings. The nun responsible for reading Kallen's charges stood motionless on the execution platform from beginning to end, like a clay statue.
Now, she finally spoke again:
"Handmaidens of God, bring forth the wicked criminal to face the Lord's judgment!"
Clank—
Accompanied by the sound of sliding chains, from the direction of the cathedral, Kallen, dressed in a plain white Valkyrie uniform, was escorted forward, flanked by two nuns clad entirely in black.
Kallen had just been forced to drink a bowl of herbal soup, its effects stronger than what she had taken days before. Now, not only could she not use Honkai energy, but her limbs also felt limp, weaker even than an ordinary person's.
She walked forward step by step, the wooden cangue on her shoulders and the shackles dragging from her feet incredibly heavy. Each step forward exhausted all her strength.
Sandwiched between the two nuns, her path was straight and unwavering, drawing ever closer to the gallows.
Splash—
Unavoidably, she stepped into a puddle, the splashing dirty water staining her snow-white boots and skirt hem black.
Finally, she reached the execution platform. She lifted her head slightly, meeting the gaze of the silent crowd.
The torches in the knights' hands flickered gently in the breeze. By their light, her gaze quickly swept across the heads packed together like overlapping mountains. Then, for some reason, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
"Pity..."
Pity she didn't see any familiar faces in the crowd. But perhaps, this was better. Otto always saw her as a hero. Although she knew very well she wasn't, she didn't want to display such a humiliating death before Otto.
The nun removed the shackles from her feet. This wasn't to allow her a dignified death, merely fear that the heavy shackles might snap the hanging rope.
Then, one nun pulled her while the other accurately slipped the noose over her head, adjusting the size.
"Prepare for execution!"
Several nuns stood aside, one reaching out to grasp the mechanism on the side of the gallows.