The trial begins

I was taken away by a weird guy. I look at him. He is nothing more than a scrawny old man. But his attire is telling me otherwise. And he has at least 50 soldiers surrounding us.

He is dragging me by the handcuffs. And I am in the center of a circle formed by his armored men. People are staring at me. Some are even giving me weird looks.

I don't mind the looks. I think I should talk.

"Uhhh….can I have your name?"

He ignores me. But he increases his walking speed. I do the same and ask the same question again.

"You should give yours first."

"I think you know my name. How did you arrest me without knowing my name?"

"Cheeky. I am Count Louis Vindolf, a general serving this kingdom." (Loius)

"I see. Nice to meet you, General Vindolf. I am Clive Belmont, a visitor from another world. You must know where I come from."

"Yes. I know. But it surprises me, you are nothing like your fellow people described you to be." (Louis)

"Looks can be deceiving, general. You should know better. They only know a side of me. Not the real me."

I am kinda having fun. He is dragging me like a criminal but he is at least communicating. Again, the soldiers around us are whispering amongst themselves. I can hear some of them.

But it's like how seedy I look or how weak I am compared to them, things like that.

I can see the castle and another big gathering at the drawbridge.

"General, is that your entire division?"

"No. That's just a small team. I lead a division of 7000 men." (Louis)

"That's a lot. I wasn't expecting it. For this world to have a division of that number is kinda amazing."

"Are you interested in the army?" (Louis)

"No. I just did my research. So let's go. I am sure you all have questions for me while I have too for your king."

They all merged and made a square around us. There are probably 200 men surrounding me. After entering the castle, everyone joined us and soon became too big to even walk in the wide corridor.

I was taken to the training ground where a stage was made with a gaudy chair on it. When I was in front of the chair, general asked me to kneel down.

I thought, why not go with it for once? I knelt down.

Soon, the king came. And with him came an entourage of 10 people. They are wearing pointlessly gaudy outfits and have a look of disgust.

I can hear the soldiers clicking their tongues. It seems that these people are not very well liked. And the last ones to come are my so called classmates. Well, they were at one point.

I see Trevor, I see Gwen and many others. Hmmm…I certainly am surrounded by people.

"You are the fool who dared to trespass into the castle and threaten a king, Clive Belmont, is that correct?"

A man reads that aloud. Is that a written script of sorts?

"Yes, I am. I did trespass and I certainly issued a warning. So, what is your answer?"

"SILENCE. You do not any right to speak. General, if you would kindly gag him."

The man asks general Louis to gag me. He brought a metal gag and put it in my mouth. They went up and beyond.

They put a rope around my neck and waist. They tightened it and hung me up on a wooden cross. I have been crucified. Man, those dreams did forshadow this.

"Your majesty, if you would pass the judgment."

"Death by burning."

I heard that you know. So, they are gonna burn me. What to do? I don't think I have to strengthen my body with either mana or <Spirit >. I wait for it. They poured some oil around the cross and showered me in oil.

Then a guy with a mage like outfit came in front of me.

"O heavenly lord, bestow upon me your blessings, so I shall purge evil and purify this world with your holy flames of judgment- supreme fire magic, Flames of eternal judgment."

He chanted and announced what spell he was using to tee and it materialized.

It's kinda bigger than what Fay showed me before. The firepower is kinda bigger. It's fast as well. In a flash, I was covered in flames.

I look at Gwen and Trevor. Trevor is somewhat nervous whereas Gwen is totally calm. She is smirking and looking at me.

I wink at her and she nods as if confirming something.

The heat is alright. Just enough to make you feel hot. But the cross and the rope is burning. I wait. I start counting. After reaching 100, the ropes were burned and my hands were freed.

The cross burned down at 150 and my gag fell down at 200. Everyone is stunned. I stood there, still on fire. But the heat is getting too annoying so I put out the fire.

"That was a nice surprise. Thanks. Been a while since I last had a warm welcome."

I dust myself off. Because some parts of my clothes were burned. But no one is saying anything. The king is looking at me like his eyes would fall out of the sockets.

The entourage has run away. General Louis is looking at me with plain disbelief. Trevor heaves a sigh of relief. And Gwen has that impish look. "I knew you would be alright."

That's the impression she is giving me. Oh, and the mage who lit me on fire, he fainted.

"So, can we begin the real discussion now?"

"Clive, give it a rest. They are clearly too shocked to even react." (Gwen)

"Did I scare them too much?"

"Maybe. Anyway, why did you go through this farce? You could have just killed them and be done with it." (Gwen)

"Hey, I am not murderer. I am a civilized human being. I want to talk if I can. Besides, I want to solve this problem as peacefully as possible. I don't want to have another casualty."

I turn towards general Louis and ask him.

"You must be wondering what in the heavens is happening? Anyway, do you remember Duke Martin Aves?"

I used my mana to stabilize his mental condition. He is normal again.

"Yes, the head of the Aves family but he has been missing for some time." (Louis)

"Well, he is the casualty I was talking about. I kinda killed him, with his entire division and a god. So, yeah, sorry about that."

General Louis has lost it again. It is going to take a while before I can have a real conversation with them. For now, let's do my best to examine the situation and then proceed. I hope nothing will happen. Hmm…I jinxed it.