Chapter 3 – Road to Imprisonment (1)
“Long live the great revolutionary army! Now, let’s kill the witch!”
“Judge her!”
“First, strip off all her clothes…”
The revolution, an absurdly improbable possibility with a high chance of failure—so much so that they had prepared blood oaths and wills to deliver to their fleeing families, bracing themselves for death—had unexpectedly succeeded.
The capital’s guard, incapable of proper combat, was either neutralized or surrendered. Even the Imperial Guard, considered the empire’s most elite military force, was outside the capital when their target, the Empress, was captured.
The blood spilled during this process was negligible compared to what they had anticipated.
Unable to contain their elation, the members of the Equitas organization, along with the masses who had joined the revolution, were caught in a fervent whirlwind of excitement and passion, on the verge of spiraling into chaos.
It seemed already too late, but even the slightest provocation would undoubtedly transform this fervent energy into an explosion of madness, erupting in all directions.
“E-everyone, calm down! Comrades, that is not what’s important right now!”
Kyle, the leader, had to break a sweat trying to pacify them.
Having instructed the organization’s elite forces, who obeyed his commands, to prevent anyone else from touching the captured Elena, Kyle calmly explained the situation to his excited comrades and the crowd.
‘Have I perhaps done something I cannot handle?’
At only forty years old, he had become a great revolutionary and general, successfully leading his comrades and organization to overturn the empire. Under the gaze of countless individuals who looked at him with sparkling eyes, Kyle unconsciously swallowed dryly.
While he, too, had resolved to stop the Empress’s tyranny, which involved black magic, and to change the stagnant structure and ecology of the empire, his initial, realistic goal was not so much to succeed in the revolution itself, but rather to inspire countless talented individuals within the empire.
His true objective was to clearly expose the Empress as a vile witch during the rebellion, thereby creating an opening for not only the oppressed but also those in the ruling class to join the revolutionary army with a legitimate cause.
That was precisely Kyle’s true aim.
‘Oh, better than I expected.’
Elena watched Kyle silently, a faint smile playing on her lips.
She had initially thought it might be amusing for a revolution that ‘shouldn’t succeed’ to actually succeed, only to immediately collapse without proper cleanup. However, it was clear that Equitas’s leader, Kyle, possessed considerable leadership and insight.
“Therefore, the most crucial task is to declare to all the world that this witch has mastered forbidden black magic. We must convince everyone that our revolution was just, and that this wicked Empress can no longer be entrusted with this nation.”
“But Kyle, no, Commander-in-Chief. Haven’t we already proven it? Haven’t we? We all witnessed it. Furthermore, this witch severed purification magic, enhanced by holy water, with her own magical power.”
In response to Kyle’s words, Rensha, a comrade in charge of the magic corps, suppressed their excitement and pointed a finger at Elena.
Indeed, Rensha and the magic corps had procured precious high-grade holy water and cast spells to subdue Elena, yet she had not even blinked, instead overturning them with ease.
“Isn’t that strange? Holy water is a potent counter to black magic users, something they can’t withstand.”
Kyle hit the nail on the head.
Holy water was undeniably antithetical to black magic. It was even commonly used in the execution of black magic users.
Holy water would be forcibly injected into the body of a bound black magic user, their body dissolving as a public spectacle, serving both as entertainment and a warning.
However, this was not a unilaterally absolute counter.
If the divine power was weak, it would be overwhelmed and neutralized by the dark magical energy.
“If this witch is a monster immune even to holy water, we must prove her identity by other means.”
“B-but Commander. If so, how did we manage to capture such a monster?”
Rensha’s eyes wavered at Kyle’s hushed words.
Momentarily speechless, Kyle glanced furtively at Elena, who was calmly bound and observing him.
Naturally, Kyle couldn’t answer that question. He didn’t know himself.
“And if holy water cannot serve as proof, how then do we reveal her as a black magic user to the entire world?”
“T-that is…”
That wasn’t the extent of Kyle’s challenge.
A black magic user impervious to holy water was an unprecedented anomaly.
Unless Elena deliberately confessed to being a black magic user in front of the public, or clear evidence was presented, there was no other way.
‘For a typical black magic suspect, there would be ways. But… but…!’
Various cruel tortures, capable of extracting even false confessions, flashed through Kyle’s mind.
Could even the most haughty Empress maintain her arrogant demeanor while her fingernails were torn out, large nails driven in, and her flesh seared with fire?
The problem was that he had declared, himself, that the Empress’s downfall could only be achieved by proving her black magic.
Considering the nobles, generals, and even foreign dignitaries who were still wide-eyed and watching at this very moment, the answer was obvious: none of them would readily accept evidence obtained through the torture of an Empress.
“Kyle, I will do it.”
Just as Kyle found himself unable to speak, someone stepped forward with a solemn expression.
‘So, a priest from the Holy Church is willing to sacrifice themselves. I don’t know who they are, but they have considerable courage.’
Activating her superhuman senses, enhanced by the demonic power she could wield thanks to her transplanted heart, Elena amplified her hearing, eavesdropping on the urgent meeting of the Equitas leadership, and let out a faint laugh.
“Are you truly certain, Millian?”
“If the Empress is indeed a wicked, high-ranking black magic user, then it is my duty to stop her. The sin of a priest involving themselves in such matters… I shall atone for it with this.”
The person who stepped forward to help a troubled Kyle was a priest named Millian, who had defied the church’s doctrines to join the revolution.
Millian declared that he would personally purify Elena’s body.
If Elena were truly a black magic user, then, due to their opposing natures, Millian’s body would, in turn, be corrupted by demonic energy and perish.
This was his resolve to unveil Elena’s true identity, even if it required such an extreme method.
“Please prepare a formal trial. I will prove it there.”
“…Very well.”
‘He’s quite clever, isn’t he? Perhaps I’ll play along this time.’
Ultimately, Kyle and the Equitas leadership, paying their respects to Millian, who had resolved to sacrifice himself, decided to immediately prepare a formal trial for the captured Elena and make it public to all the assembled crowds.
Yet, even after hearing their plan, Elena took no action.
‘Whatever happens, happens.’
At this moment, she was a person utterly exhausted, no longer able to endure thinking or working, having given up on everything.
She would never again take the initiative, so she would simply watch, letting things unfold as they wished, as they flowed.
This would likely be her unchanging mindset from then on.
****
“This assembly is not for bloody vengeance! This assembly is not for unleashing arrows of wrath! Today, we stand here to rectify truth and justice!”
As the capital remained blockaded by the revolutionary army and its sympathizers, and the assembled imperial forces prepared for a decisive battle just outside the city gates, Kyle, having prepared for two full days, arranged the trial in the central plaza, where a grand founding day festival had just concluded.
Elena, bound to a stake, was placed prominently for all to see.
Even Count Grant, the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, who had been captured while attempting to flee, was brought in and bound as a witness.
“This woman was called Empress, and we were called her people, yet from that day forward, we were, in truth, engaged in a nameless war between humans and non-humans! The throne was seized by blood, by a witch who mastered black magic!”
His words were recorded by numerous magical communication orbs and amplified by sound-magnifying magic, allowing every gathered citizen to hear.
The recorded footage was then projected onto the gloomy sky, using it as a screen, making the spectacle visible even from outside the capital through telescopes.
Consequently, even those who had not joined the revolution, and those who still had no idea what was happening, were able to hear.
“High Priest Millian of the Holy Church risks his very life to reveal the truth. And today, we pledge everything, including our lives, to declare justice! All who refuse to bow before the truth, I implore you, open your eyes wide and bear witness. For we shall prove justice, not vengeance.”
As Kyle concluded his speech and fell silent, a profound stillness descended upon the plaza.
It was a silence as precarious as a sheet of ice, preventing anyone from daring to utter a sound.
“…So you are that audacious priest.”
“Empress, if by some chance you are innocent, I shall repay this insolence with my life.”
In such circumstances, Elena, who was hung on a stake, clad only in thin cloth, and made into a spectacle, smiled at the determined young priest who appeared before her.
Millian did not smile. After offering a brief bow, he immediately raised his hand, formed a seal, and began to draw forth divine power.
“Purify!”
And as soon as his preparations were complete, Millian unleashed the divine power he had gathered in his hand toward Elena.
“Gah!?”
The outcome was inevitable.
Elena scoffed at the divine power tickling her body and, even while bound by magic restraints, overwhelmed it.
Consequently, the reversed magical energy literally tore Millian’s body apart.
“C-cough, g-gasp… ugh…”
The luminous and brilliant light that had illuminated the priest’s body instantly extinguished, and Millian gasped, his eyes rolling back into his head.
Finally, Millian’s body, tainted by a murky aura, collapsed like a rotten log with a thud.
Millian, who died spewing black blood from every orifice, starkly displayed the gruesome end of a priest overcome by demonic power.
“This is insane.”
It had all happened in a mere three seconds.
As everyone froze, bewildered by what had just transpired, someone inadvertently let out a gasp.
“A witch…!”
“A witch! The Empress was a witch!”
“Everything was true. The Empress was a demon who devoured children’s hearts and bathed in virgins’ blood!”
Millian’s sacrifice, at least, was certainly not in vain.
It had been revealed that Elena Dren Barbatos, Empress of the Valtira Empire, was a black magic user capable of instantly killing a priest of the Holy Church.
Witnessing that unbelievable spectacle, the citizens of the empire were shocked by Elena’s identity as a witch, and the rumors, quickly exaggerated, spread beyond the empire and across the entire continent.
The revolutionary army did not bother to correct the inflated and false rumors.
After all, Elena’s image plummeting to rock bottom only served their interests.
“Captain of the Guard. At this rate, advancing will be…”
“The morale within the army is already in tatters. It’s becoming difficult even to keep them silent.”
The Imperial Army’s operation to retake the capital was halted just before it could begin.
They risked being branded as an army defending a witch.
“I knew it! Ignore all requests for aid! And tighten discipline within the territories even more!”
Seizing the opportunity, the provincial lords abandoned their movements.
Among Elena’s original plans was to pressure or dismantle the great nobles and provincial lords to truly make the vast Valtira Empire her own.
This was a natural decision for those who had felt their survival threatened by her actions.
“This should suffice. Let us proceed with the execution quickly before more words are spoken. After all, without the Empress as a central figure, the opposing forces will lack a cause.”
Kyle, receiving reports of these developments, let out a sigh of relief and clasped his chest.
All that remained was to swiftly eliminate Elena and stabilize the system.
Many ambitious individuals had been suppressed by Elena’s aura, and Kyle wished to put a definitive end to the imperial family’s reign in this land with her public execution.
“Execute the witch!”
Consequently, just three days after the trial, Elena’s execution ceremony was held.
Once again in the central plaza, before a crowd numbering in the tens of thousands, the Empress, who had once reigned at the pinnacle of the empire, was dragged barefoot, her arms and legs bound, to stand before the gallows.
In truth, hanging was an unsuitable execution method for a black magic user.
It was Kyle’s very last consideration for her, a victor’s indulgence.
“Huh…?”
“Ha! Ahahahah!”
However, when the trapdoor was released, and the rope around her neck tightened as she dangled in the air, everyone gasped in horror.
The Empress, her neck caught in the noose, hanging precariously, erupted into a fit of wild laughter, as if she could no longer contain herself.
“How absurd. You babble on about me being a demon of the ages or a witch, yet you truly believed a mere rope could kill me? You may have captured me, but I have no intention of dying gracefully.”
She was a person who had felt a considerable sense of responsibility for her role as the final boss, wielding immense influence over the world and its inhabitants.
Having finally laid down the heavy burden she had carried with all her might since possessing this body for the sake of the original story’s flow of destiny, the Empress had now become a complete troublemaker, acting entirely as she pleased.
Her appearance, hanging by her neck on the tall gallows erected in the middle of the plaza for all to see, swaying like a pendulum, yet neither dying nor suffocating, her expression utterly unchanged as she spoke her mind and laughed, was grotesque beyond measure.
Several members of the crowd fainted on the spot, and even Kyle, watching from afar, forgot to breathe.
