Chapter 11: Flaming Hot

(POV of some random guard who just happens to be there)

"Open it," said his Majesty. Sir Taylor brandishes his personal knife and slits the top part of this mysterious bag. A great pungent smell emits as we are all taken back. It was such a strong fragrance of spice that it overwhelmed us all.

"This..." Taylor is in such awe that he is having trouble mustering the words out of his mouth. "This can't be edible! It must be cursed! Let us take this to the Priestess so she can evaluate its validity!"

"No, there's no need to let her know," said His Majesty. "I can't afford to give up any crisps that comes our way. She'll surely insist that only she and her friends can have them. If I can gather all the Divine Crisps, then I'll have the strongest army in the world. I will be able to defeat the evil Overlord by myself, and then claim the title of the Strongest Kingdom!"

"Your Majesty, leave your hubris aside. Do you not sense the pungent power? These Crisps... surely some Devil has gotten into them!"

"Do not be a coward, Taylor! They are gifts from the very gods we worship. The pungent smell, surely it means that it is overflowing with Divine Aura."

"No, sir! My nose is already suffering from its strong fragrance."

"You coward! These are the gifts of the gods! Their ambrosia is ours to take! Now take one and report on your stats!"

"No, Your Majesty, I will not! I have a terrible feeling."

"You dare to disobey your King? You will not speak to me in such a manner! I don't care if you are the General of the Royal Army, you will show me the respect I deserve."

"Then you take one!"

"What is this?"

"If you are so insistent, then you eat one, Your Majesty!"

His Majesty's face surely had a concern about it by the likes nobody has ever seen. Are these crisps really that powerful?

His Majesty takes the bag, the pungent odor keeping his head back. Even from here, I could smell the powerful spices. He pulls one out, a completely red and slender rock-like item between his fingers. The aura was so great that even his fingers were being infused with its red power. He places the crisp on his mouth as he breathes heavily, but before he could take a bite, he throws it on the floor as he grabs his neck and topples to the floor, and all the guards present go to his aid.

"He has been overwhelmed!" one of them shouts, "Call the infirmary!"

I could not believe what I was seeing. His Majesty, the King, the most powerful man in our Kingdom, toppling to the ground by mere Fried Edibles. Just what are these Divine Crisps?

Just as everyone is helping His Majesty recover, the bag was on the ground, nobody paying any attention to it.

What was it that drove me to it? The potential to increase my stats by a thousandfold? The fact that my life is most mundane in this castle, all because my stats do not increase exponentially at this age? All I knew was that sitting in front of me was an article from the divine, and its power could be all mine.

While everyone was busy attending his Majesty, I take the bag and any pieces that had spilled.

"What are you doing!?" Sir Taylor catches me on the act. I step back, with the bag in my tenure. "Drop that at once!" he shouts.

"My time has come!" I declare. "No longer will I be a lowly guard. With these Divine Crisps, I will rise above even you, Captain of the Royal Guard!"

"Stop him, now!" he orders the other guards. I take out one crisp. My goodness, I already feel its power coursing through my hand as my face feels the tension. It is as if the divine was pressing against my face. "You fool!" shouts the soon-to-be lowly Captain. "Do you not see what it did to His Majesty? What chance does a lowly guard like you have?"

"I have heard that even a commoner can take a Divine Crisp and augment their own power. What difference does it make, King or Peasant?"

"What are you waiting for," he orders his men, "take him down!" but all guards remain standing down. "Why do you not capture him!"

"Sir," one speaks up, "we dare not get close to those Corrupted Crisps!"

"It is the Devil's food," speaks another. "Lest I ask for death, I dare not get close to it."

"He has been cursed," and another. "The Evil Edibles, they have corrupted his very soul!"

Seeing as not one was going to challenge me, I run off and make my escape.

(Elric POV)

I stand here, in the royal courtroom, my faith already known to me. The judge stares at me with those harsh eyes of his as he speaks, "The Evil Overlord is now amassing an army to destroy all that is good and holy. Any that joins his cause is automatically charged as a conspirator. Your participation in that cult has pretty much condemned you. What wicked words do you have to say about this?" I say nothing as I just sit here in silence. "No words? Then I will assume that is a confession on your part. Ho ho! You are damned for eternity, you rascal. Thus, I sentence you to death. Nothing more to it than that." He was about to drop down his hammer, confirming the sentence, when a shout interrupted him, "Not so fast!"

Do my eyes deceive me? This cannot be!

"What is the meaning of this?" asks the Judge. "Who are you and why do you interrupt the trial?"

"I am Same Manuals, the chosen Hero!" Everyone gasps and murmurs start to emit from the crowd.

"One of whom brought forth the Divine Edibles?" speaks one.

"He is from the heavens, he is," speaks another.

"His stats must be extraordinary," and another.

"Your Honor, let him go!" Sir Manuals says with such confidence causing everyone to gasp. Who would dare be so brazen as to speak to the judge in such a manner?

"Is it true?" speaks the Judge. "You are the chosen hero who was sent here to defeat the Evil Overlord with the power of the Divine Crisps?"

"Yeah, all that. I want you to release him."

"Why? He was a part of that cult that was working for the Overlord! He is an enemy of the people and a supporter of the Devil!"

"No, he's not. He's just a loner, someone with social anxiety who finds it hard to relate to others. We had people like that too in our world. We call them geeks."

"Geeks? What is this Geek you speak of?"

"They are... uhh... a tribe of people, let's say. They enjoy... umm... recreation of the... most kind... uh... forthsooth..."

I know not what he speaks of, but apparently, he's trying to compare me to some group of indigenous people of sorts. I have never heard of a tribe. Do I really belong to such?

"What matters where he comes from?" the Judge retaliates. "He was a member of a cult and was working for the Overlord by proxy."

"No, he wasn't. He just wanted to belong, but everyone bullied him because of his low stats. Where I come from, even though some of us still judge people, the majority learns to value everyone rather than hold judgment on them just because of who they are."

The judge was beside himself. He did not know what to respond to him, but it was clear he was not ready to give up his judgment. "Chosen Hero or not, I sentence the condemned here, not you."

"Is that so?" another voice.

"Priestess Aegis!" says the Judge in surprise, "You as well?"

"Release this man. I, and the Chosen Hero, command you to."

"He was a part of that evil cult. He must be punished."

"Do you want to anger your Priestess, the one who has protected your city for all this time?"

The judge was not taking this well. I clearly see in his eyes he was not prepared to be challenged by a higher authority. He had no choice but to relent, "V... Very well. I put him under your custody, Priestess Aegis." He slams the hammer and quickly takes his leave.

What has transpired? In mere moments, I would've been sentenced to death, then out of nowhere comes my heroes in the form of the very people I called my enemies.

I get up and face the two. "Why?" I ask, "Why did you spare me, a mere stranger and even more so, and enemy? What have I done to earn your trust and respect, for I have done nothing but give you grief? Your actions, your motives, they are so foreign, that I dare say the gods are playing tricks on me for their own amusement? Do tell me, why do you do this for someone lesser such as myself?"

They look at me and then start laughing. I was much confused.

"I told you he was a geek," the Hero says.

"Yeah, I get it now," says the Priestess. "I'm sure he'd fit right in the drama club."

I... do not understand what they speak of.