Chapter 29 – The Scene of the Execution by Fire
After leaving the commercial street together with Gladys, Erika had nearly finished eating the meat skewer in her hand. On the central street in the northern part of the city, the place was bustling with noise and excitement. Countless people were cheering for something beneath the elevated platform in the center of the square.
There were too many people here. Erika, being small in stature, curiously lifted her head and tried to stand on tiptoe, but her view was blocked by a tall man in front of her.
“Gladys, what’s happening here?”
“Nothing.” Gladys didn’t want to answer. Her expression was calm, and she prepared to pull Erika away.
“Hey, hey, let me see.”
Erika’s small hands started tugging at the hem of Gladys’s skirt.
“You really want to see?”
“Mm, carry me.”
Upon hearing this, Gladys didn’t say much more. Her jade-like hand skillfully lifted Erika up. Only then did the latter clearly see what was happening.
This was a small square in the northern part of the Imperial Capital. In the center stood a small raised platform.
Atop the platform stood a middle-aged man. His face had sharp contours, with some stubble on his chin, giving him an exceptionally stern and grim look.
He held a torch in his hand and wore armor bearing the emblem of a Four-leaf Clover, seemingly an adjudicator from the Imperial Capital.
Beneath him was a cross-shaped execution stake, to which a young woman who appeared to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven was bound.
In this densely packed square, the woman wore tattered gray cloth garments. Her long, disheveled hair covered her cheeks, making it hard to see her face, but one could faintly make out a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.
“Burn her!”
“Burn this disaster-bringing non-human!”
“Wicked souls cannot escape divine judgment! Let her repent in hell!”
Roars erupted from the crowd below. Countless people waved their arms, venting their dissatisfaction with the woman. The atmosphere engulfed the entire square.
Seeing this, Erika was somewhat confused.
“Gladys, what are non-human species?”
“Look at her ears.”
Upon hearing this, Erika’s red eyes scanned the woman’s ear area.
What surprised her was that the woman’s ears were very long—unusually long. Although her messy hair covered most of them, they were still quite visible.
“She’s...”
“An elf.”
Gladys’s expression remained calm. “The king of this country hates non-human species. If they discover non-humans entering the Imperial Capital, they will subject them to execution by fire.”
“I see...”
Erika’s expression also darkened. “Then Gladys, do we count? If they find out...”
But halfway through her words, she suddenly noticed the change in Gladys’s expression and immediately covered her mouth with her small hands.
Erika’s expression became even worse. She now somewhat regretted coming to this country.
Wasn’t this just like the famous ‘witch hunts’ of the Middle Ages, except the witches had been replaced by non-human species...?
If dragonkind also counted as non-human, what would happen to her if she were discovered by these people? Would she also be pushed onto the execution stake?
Feeling extremely troubled inside, Erika turned her gaze back to the platform.
The adjudicator-like man on the platform began to shout loudly:
“Thieves only bring about loss of property, and bandits only cause plunder and slaughter. But non-human species bring evil—these violators of peace spark wars! They will destroy our homes, tear apart our families! We could lose our land and become homeless!
Now we shall use this great and sacred flame to burn these bringers of calamity! Let the calamity be driven away from the Aarlan Empire! Let the great fire purify all!”
“Let the great fire purify all!”
“Burn her! Burn her!”
As the adjudicator preached, the crowd below followed along with the chanting.
The next second, the adjudicator unhesitatingly threw the torch onto the execution stake.
“Boom!”
As the hay touched the flames, the execution stake instantly caught fire. The crimson flames of punishment danced wildly atop the platform, just like the hatred in everyone’s hearts—unrelenting.
“Ah—!”
A tragic scream came from the woman’s mouth. The flames engulfed her body, yet the surrounding crowd continued clapping and cheering, as if a disaster had been resolved in their eyes.
“This is too cruel...”
Witnessing this, Erika couldn’t bear it. Although she didn’t know whether dragonkind counted as non-human, seeing someone being burned alive like this was definitely hard to accept.
“Erika, don’t look.” Gladys instructed.
But Erika didn’t obey. She continued to ask: “Gladys, if it’s just being non-human, without doing anything bad, would they still use fire to execute them?”
“They would.”
Gladys answered with certainty. “Although I don’t know how humans define non-human species, Erika, if you reveal your identity as dragonkind in front of humans, you’ll be in trouble.”
As she spoke, Gladys gently stroked Erika’s fine silver hair, comforting her: “But don’t be afraid. As long as you behave and don’t transform into your dragon form, no one will know our identity.”
Upon hearing this, Erika bit her lip and nodded.
She felt somewhat moved inside...
But then something occurred to her.
Hadn’t Gladys said before that Jocelyn, the one who stole her Dragon Core Crystal, was also non-human? And now the Dragon Core Crystal was in the Imperial Capital—could it be that she was also hiding her identity and living here?
***
On the execution stake, the flames continued to scorch the woman’s skin. Her face began to be consumed by the fire, and only a shadowy black figure could be vaguely seen within the flames.
“Ah!!!”
The woman’s scream continued. In the next second, her scream carried a trace of magical power, as if it were her final strength, and she roared up to the sky:
“Foolish kingdom! Foolish leaders!
The calamity has nothing to do with non-human species! The only calamity in this country is your incompetent royalty!
You are ignorant! Unaware!
Just wait! One day, you will face judgment from our monarch!
I’ll be waiting for you in hell!”
Because it was laced with magical power, the woman’s voice was so loud that it echoed through the nearby streets and alleys.
After her voice fell, the woman lost her life and vanished forever from this world.
The scene was silent for a moment.
After the execution, the adjudicator immediately waved his hand to begin clearing the site. The surrounding people also began to disperse.
Gladys carried Erika away.
The latter buried her head into Gladys’s chest, her mind deep in thought.
“Gladys... do humans really hate non-human species?”
“Not all of them.”
She reached out and rubbed Erika’s silver-gray hair. “The ones who hate non-humans are only this country’s king, but he forces this ideology upon the people.
Didn’t I tell you before, I have a friend here who doesn’t hate non-human species.
But Erika, just to be safe, don’t transform into a dragon in front of her either, got it?”
“Okay.”
Erika nodded. “What’s her name?”
“People call her Phantom Shadow—Vanessa Elmero.”
“Vanessa?”
Upon hearing the name, Erika felt it sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite recall.
“A human Saint-rank powerhouse, currently serving as a teacher at the academy,” Gladys explained.
Saint-rank powerhouse...
If Erika remembered correctly, there were only six Saint-rank human powerhouses in total, the top combat strength on the continent.
What Erika didn’t expect was that Gladys actually knew someone like that among humans.