Minor infractions

After a few moments.

Lorde Kaloch, with the market now in a calmer state, turned his gaze to the young man who had been captured. The boy, appearing to be no more than 20 winters old, had a remarkable countenance. His hair was dark and unkempt, framing a face with angular features and eyes that radiated a mix of cleverness and suspicion. His skin was lightly bronzed by the sun and the rigors of the streets.

The most striking feature was the tattoo on his neck. It was a mysterious and intricate mark with symbols that appeared to have been intricately carved. The tattoo was the same as that worn by the peasants in Lorde Kaloch's lands, with patterns that evoked a sense of antiquity and hidden secrets.

The boy looked at Lorde Kaloch with a mixture of determination and defiance. He was clearly someone who had faced numerous hardships in his young life, and his gaze expressed a combination of courage and curiosity, tinged with a touch of skepticism towards authority.

Lorde Kaloch approached the young man and examined the tattoo more closely, his eyes filled with curiosity. With a firm voice, he questioned, "Who are you? And why do you have the audacity to steal in my lands?"

The young man, still wearing his skeptical air, remained silent in the face of Lorde Kaloch's questions. His eyes showed unwavering determination, as if he were prepared to face any challenge that was thrown at him.

The chief of the guard, growing increasingly impatient with the young man's refusal to answer his lord's questions, felt his patience wearing thin. With an impulsive gesture, he delivered a punch to the young man's stomach, perhaps hoping it would break his silence.

However, the young man, in a surprising display of resilience, endured the blow with firmness. His eyes didn't flinch, and he didn't make a sound of pain. It was evident that this boy possessed remarkable tenacity, not easily swayed even in the face of the chief of the guard's brutality.

The head of the guard, whose facial expression revealed his frustration in the face of the young man's response, became aware that he was dealing with someone who wouldn't easily bend to intimidation.

The chief's eyes narrowed, and then he raised his fist, preparing to deliver another blow. However, something unusual caught the attention of everyone present: his fist began to glow with surprising intensity. A radiance that starkly contrasted with the shadows around, casting reflections of red sparks.

At that moment, a surprising interruption occurred. Lord Kaloch, an imposing figure, issued a commanding gesture that froze the movement of the glowing fist of the guard in the air. Heavy silence hung in the market, broken only by the soft murmur of the sparks emanating from the fist, now suspended in the air.

In this scenario, the young man, while maintaining his defiant stance, couldn't help but notice the complexity of the unfolding dynamics before him. The imminent physical confrontation was replaced by a battle of wills and powers.

Lord Kaloch, after freezing the guard's strike, maintained his imposing posture. With a serious expression and a firm voice, he repeated the question, "Who are you, and whence do you come? And why do you have the audacity to steal in my lands?"

The repetition of the question by Lorde Kaloch echoed through the area, creating a moment of tense silence as everyone awaited the young man's response.

Lorde Kaloch, showing visible displeasure with the young Kael's refusal to answer, furrowed his brow and declared with a mix of impatience and authority, "I gave you a chance, boy!"

With a decisive gesture, Lorde Kaloch snapped his fingers as a command. What happened next was truly astonishing. The tattoo on Kael's neck, which had appeared as nothing more than a mysterious mark, began to glow intensely.

The light emitted by the tattoo resembled the radiance of ancient runes. Intricate and complex symbols illuminated in an enigmatic pattern along the tattoo, creating a spectacle of colors that seemed to defy the laws of reality.

"May the Emperor forgive you!" Lorde Kaloch said with a solemn expression.

In an instant, something unimaginable occurred. The young Kael, with his neck tattoo glowing intensely, simply disintegrated in a terrible and desolate flash.

His body fragmented into thousands of pieces, creating a true carnage in the market. The scene that unfolded before the astonished onlookers' eyes was one of devastating destruction, with debris and fragments flying in all directions. Panic-stricken cries echoed through the market as people desperately tried to escape the chaos that ensued.

The market turned into a scene of horror, with wreckage and body parts scattered all around. The scene was chaotic, and the witnesses' lamentations mixed with the sounds of chaos and destruction.

The truth about the tattoo on Kael's neck was even darker and more sinister than initially thought. It was a tool of the lord, an instrument of control he used to keep the peasants in his lands subjugated and to prevent any possibility of rebellion. The tattoo was a symbol of authority and oppression, or rather, it was a link of slavery.

Through this tattoo, Lorde Kaloch had the power to take the lives of his subjects at any moment, with just a gesture or command. They were completely at the mercy of their lord, who held absolute control over their lives and destinies.

The glow of the tattoo wasn't just a sign of his mere power but a vivid representation of the lord's dominion over those who bore this unwanted mark. The tragic event that unfolded in the market, with Kael's explosion, was the devastating consequence of this relentless control.

The chief of the guard, facing the chaos and destruction caused by the explosion of young Kael, raised his voice with authority and determination to calm the terrified crowd. His eyes gleamed with firm determination as he shouted loudly, "Fear nothing! All who are righteous in the lord's land will have our protection! This was merely a punishment for wrongdoers."

People, still stunned by the explosion and the revelation of the tattoo as an instrument of oppression, began to regain their composure in response to the chief of the guard's words. However, tension and distrust lingered in the air, as everyone knew that Lorde Kaloch's control over his land was relentless, and any insubordination could lead to terrible consequences.

Lorde Kaloch, even with his robe stained with blood and completely unperturbed by the carnage he had just witnessed, disregarded the fearful looks of the peasants around him. The scene of violence and destruction did not seem to ruffle his composure, as if such events were, indeed, commonplace in his lands.

He slowly turned toward Cecilia, who was paralyzed with shock in the face of the brutality she had just witnessed. Her eyes were wide, and her expression was a mixture of horror and bewilderment.

With a cold and indifferent tone, Lorde Kaloch addressed Cecilia, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred: "Where were we, girl?" His words resonated in the tense silence of the market as everyone awaited the response from the young Cecilia, aware that they were in the presence of a ruthless lord who did not flinch in the face of tragedy and violence.