“However, after getting out of her palace, she spoke to us in the same way as always, in her kind tongue that soothed us, despite the horrendous words that she spoke. The heroes, they were all dead. They weren’t at war with the demons. The demons didn’t even care about us before their death, all they cared about was the man that killed the heroes together with Magon.”

  Gritting his teeth a bit, James rubbed away at the eyes, getting rid of the faint tears forming on them. Sniffing whilst his lips quivered, he clenched the jaws further, trying to hide the expression . “Because of a single man, any sort of humanity’s protection was lost, leaving us to linger on the demons’ increasing aggression.”

  “Increasing?” Lutiel asked immediately after, breaking in between his light sobs mixed with anger, clearly written out for him.

  “Yes, we heard from people coming into the capital that more and more attacks were being played out all around the continent. Although it took time for the demons to start, they steadily took over the remaining lands in our hands, leaving us with only three capitals to solely rely on. And since they are relatively close, a small portion of the continent remained in our hands.”

  Hearing the explanation however, Lutiel kept silent, leaving the continuing questions for himself. ‘Did the church pay people to misinform them?’ He wondered, finally glancing at the concerned looking James.

  “What about the saintess? What happened to her afterwards? Is there a way to meet her?”

  Albeit flashing him a confused look near the end, the boy’s face was swiftly taken over by somber. Lingering on the verge of tears once more, he couldn’t look straight into his eyes. “That, we don’t know, really, even now.”

  “What? James? What do you mean? Nine years had passed since then,” Lutiel’s voice washed over the teen briskly, however, he could only see the kid glance down at his tattered shoes.

  Silent for countless breaths, a faint noise abruptly escaped through the alley, small droplets splattering against a hard material before James caught his eyes with the fingertips, clearing the tears away before speaking up.

  “I know, alright? We haven’t seen her even once ever since she talked about the heroes’ death. There are countless stories and versions, but the most probable one is that the church was furious with her after she revealed it, especially the pope.”

  “Go on, please, ” Lutiel urged him, making the boy nod his head lightly.

  “We heard it from one of the holy knights that liked to visit the brothels in lower parts of the capital. After getting drunk with a lady, he revealed everything to her, who told some other people in the following days. We can only assume it’s true since we never saw the holy knight again,” James said, making the man squint his eyes slightly.

  ‘They must have executed him,’ he thought quickly, only to flow back to the teen’s reddened eyes again.

  “What happened after that?” The cloaked man asked, making James flinch slightly before regaining his grip. With an erect back and a clear expression, he spoke away.

  “Riots. We started to harass the palaces, both the royal, as well as the holy one. We needed to know, we demanded the answers, alas, only vague ones came. We asked about the new heroes, and truthfully, they showed them to us, however,” he said with a tart face, briskly for Lutiel to cut in.

  “They didn’t feel like the true ones, did they?” The figure asked, making James’ eyes widen brightly.

  “Yes…” he prolonged the silence after, falling in the quietude of the place before finally continuing. “They simply didn’t possess the same aura around them. All of us, even if we’re peasants, understood that something was amiss about the four new heroes. And yes, the church could have been right in saying that it’s only because they’re the new chosen ones, being inexperienced, young kids, but it wasn’t enough to convince us.”

  “I’m guessing you only started to riot even more since then?” Lutiel asked, assuming from the young man’s mien. And, he quickly got his answer.

  Nodding fervently, James continued again. “At that point, we ventured into their districts basically every night, carrying any weapon we could find in our homes whilst being as loud as we possibly could. We barely slept anyways, so were used to it, but the nobles? It was like a nightmare to them. Just three days was all we needed in order to increase the number of guards patrolling the city, and, just a few weeks before the first blood was spoiled.”

  “Did you attack first?” Lutiel asked, quickly turning silent as he saw him shake his head.

  “No, it was one of the royal guards, but as soon as he slashed one of our people, a blood bath immediately followed, and we killed ten guards at the cost of hundreds of peasants like me. Still, we outnumbered them countless times. The riots started to prolong over into the day, where we battled continuously, days on end until the pope finally came to speak.”

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  “What did he say?”

  “I don’t remember exactly, however, I know it only resulted in a stronger outrage. We basically had a war in the city. Nobody could be seen out in the outer streets anymore, either hiding or fighting in another part of the capital. And then, they finally revealed themselves after a year or so.” James explained with burning hatred sprawling through his veins, reaching all the way to flash through his eyes.

  “Who?” Lutiel asked briskly, despite having a seed of an idea sprouted in his mind.

  “One of the guards couldn’t handle it anymore, especially when tens of peasants assaulted him. All of a sudden, those who approached the guard all burst into flames, right before being tossed away onto ground. We immediately knew it, the royal guards had a demon in their ranks.”

  Swiftly, whilst James clenched his hands into fists and looked down at the ground, Lutiel shut his mouth. However, letting the words sink into him for a while, he still needed to add. “From what I’ve seen already, all of the guards around here were demons.”

  Once more, the boy nodded briskly. “We know, very well, that’s also why we stopped like idiots. Because we were scared shitless, we stopped the little war we had with the church and the empire itself, only to be punished by them even more. You’ve seen it already, no?” He asked, raising his head at the man.

  “Yes…” Lutiel uttered, faintly. “The roads are mostly blocked off, and the farmlands are practically all gone. Did they rid you of your possessions?”

  James didn’t reply. Simply releasing a gentle nod, he made the man sigh under his breath. ‘Those fuckers. I’m starting to doubt if the emperor himself is still human. This place is fully controlled by demons or those elves, whatever it is,’ he thought with a clenched jaw, promptly glancing back at the boy.

  “What about current events? Do you still riot or have you stopped completely? Where do you think the saintess is kept?”

  “The saintess?” James muttered questioningly, only to ponder silently with his furrowed eyebrows. “As I said, we have no idea. All we can do is speculate that she is either inside her room and shackled to her bed, or that she was sent to prison for revealing the truth about the heroes. We can’t know at all because even drugging the guards doesn’t work,” he said, making a gleam spread through Lutiel’s eyes, but he didn’t voice anything.

  Instead, the boy continued. “As for the riots, we haven’t stopped. Although there are much fewer of them, we do it here and there, at random dates to make sure they won’t expect us. The last one was about three months ago, which also happened to be our most successful one to date. We were able to kill twenty five guards in one night.”

  “Were you there?” Lutiel asked, swiftly making the teen grin somewhat proudly before dancing up and down with his head.

  “Of course. Ever since I was fifteen, I attended every one of them. Even if my body breaks from the lack of food, I will still continue to go. That’s why I can’t help but thank you one more time for getting me food. If not for your help, I was worried I might not make it till the next one,” he said, making the man crease his eyebrows slightly.

  “When is it happening?” He asked, receiving a swift answer from the man.

  “In two days,” he uttered out, leaving them in silence before continuing soon after. “Would you like to participate as well? I can feel the hatred burning in you too,” James said, making the man on the other side speechless for a while.

  ‘Even if I don’t want to kill another person, would I even be able to kill a demon one on one?’ He asked himself, only to release one last thought. ‘Still, this could help me break into the palace. They must be keeping her there.’

  “Sure, I’m in,” he said, making the boy clench his fists tight before smiling brightly. Still, he froze abruptly, the man parting his lips again. “Here you go, it’s for the information,” said Lutiel, bringing out his palm to give the boy all of the change from the visit in the inn.

  “No, no,” James quickly protested, bringing his hands close to the chest before rocking them vehemently. “I can’t take this,” he said, albeit, Lutiel only sighed before grasping his weak wrist, pulling it before placing the ginger coins in his palm and closing the hand.

  “Don’t lose them.” he said lightly, repeatedly staring at the staggered face. Finally, accepting the situation, James lowered his head slightly, grasping on the coins before muttering.

  “Thank you, mister, thank you again. I don’t know if I’ll be able to ever repay you,” the quiet voice fell through the space, Lutiel crossing his arms again whilst staring at the boy.

  “Just answer a few more questions of mine, then. Also, help me find some place to sleep. I was travelling for a whole week to get here,” he said, swiftly taking him back to the alley.

  “Ah! Of course, it’s my pleasure. Although I don’t have much money or food, my uncle left me with a decent room a bit deeper into the outer city. It’s warm and comfortable at the very least,” he explained with an excited face, his eyes gleaming slightly as he watched Lutiel nod his head.

  “Let me show you the way, it’s getting brisky already,” he added, quickly moving towards the entrance of the alley, slowing down as the cloaked figure caught up to him.

  Walking towards the enlightened streets ahead of them, Lutiel parted his lips before they could enter it however, making the boy stop slightly. “Do you know the name of the person that conspired with Magon?”

  Halting himself fully, James turned around with a solemn expression on his face, Lutiel promptly doing the same before seeing him put a finger close to the lips.

  “I know, but you should never say it aloud, at least near other humans, okay?” He said, making the man’s brows crease somewhat, but he agreed nonetheless.

  ‘It’s completely different to the revolutionaries. I guess not as many humans are so foolish after all,’ he thought, silent throughout the face, watching as the boy hesitated to speak out the man’s very own name.

  Still, finally pressing his lips tight before opening them wide, his tongue moved about. “Lutiel,” James whispered, with hands around his mouth and eyes sweeping all over the place. “That’s the name, but please, when we go to gather ourselves to the riot, don’t utter this name, at least in any positive thoughts.”

  With a calm face, Lutiel simply stared at the concerned boy, nodding ever so lightly before speaking out. “I see.” He said, swiftly turning to the side before continuing. “Let’s go, then.”