My Hermes System

The silence that suddenly overshadowed the crowd was quite amusing to Van; It would seem that whatever location he was in, it didn't have that much variation when it comes to complexion; as the only color he could see in the crowd was all in the lighter side.

But still… Van could not help but think if the dark-skinned individual actually did have magic, or was just unlucky enough to be caught by people of lesser knowledge.

He and Athena already had a conversation about this; how certain lands, countries, or in this case, worlds would differ from his own. The universe where Athena and Olympus were at was at the same level of technology from before the Portal Calamity happened on his planet and was ravaged by the Portal monsters, making them more… advanced in some way.

And as for the world of the Seraphs, according to Angela's information from Evangeline, the people of their universe have progressed extremely far away to what they know of; technology that Athena could only think of theoretically.

But there was one thing that Athena had told him when meeting new people-- as much as possible, never antagonize them. There was a certain protocol that needed to be followed to ensure that things won't lead to chaos when meeting another people for the first time, or else only genocide would follow.

The last thing that Van wanted was to antagonize himself to the people, or vice versa… Well, at least not until he knew what they were fully capable of. If there was someone here that could prove to be useful or be at the same level of strength as Thor or maybe even Odin, then they would be valuable against the World Eaters.

He has not fought Odin yet, but if the rumors are to be believed, then he was several times stronger than Thor.

He needed to know more about this world before he could act-- whether to suppress them or be forbearing.

"Oi, did we tell you cocksuckers to stop!? Keep moving!"

"..." The sound of chains once again clanged in the air as Van and the group of Mage prisoners continued to slowly walk through the crowd, who once again started with their barrage of all sorts of things they could get their hands in.

Van's eyes moved almost without pause as he tried to examine the infrastructure of this world, and the only thing he could really compare it to… was Newer York System Academy, minus the lack of domesticated gryphons, of course.

Did… this world even have monster-like creatures? Even when he was locked up in the carriage on the way to this town, there wasn't even a single sign of any monsters. Even the creature that pulled their cart was just a regular plain horse… with armor.

"..." Van then looked around to scan the guards and soldiers that were escorting them. This was one difference that Van overlooked; the soldiers and guards were all wearing heavy armor. It wasn't noticeable since it was being overpowered by the clanging of the chains around his neck, but their armor should indeed have some weight on them-- not to mention the sophisticated design.

Their armor was definitely not prioritizing combat with a human, at least not a normal one-- Van thought as he scanned the rest of his prison mates. Perhaps that should be the first thing he should learn in this world-- how strong are these so-called mages?

"..."

He needed to open up a chance for them to showcase their abilities.

It took almost half an hour, but finally, their parade came to an end as they reached some sort of plaza. And once again, Van had underestimated how much mages are hated in this land. He doesn't know yet how large the town is, but judging by the number of the crowd surrounding them, most of the population of the town was probably here to watch them be executed… even the children.

Unlike when they were being paraded on the streets, however, the people here were almost quiet.

There were 15 wooden structures in the shape of a sword littering the center of the plaza; the same number as the prisoners standing here right now, including Van.

"Kneel!"

Pained groans then whispered into Van's ears, as each of his prison mates was forced to kneel on the ground. There was one more pained groan that lingered in Van's ears; the source, however, did not come from a prisoner. Rather, it came from the soldier that tried to kick the back of his knee.

"K… kneel!"

"..." Van only furrowed his eyebrows for a few seconds as he stared at the eyes of the soldier, slightly hidden by his helmet, before proceeding to kneel on the ground.

"The King's brother, Prince Aurelius!"

And as soon as those words and the sound of a horn reverberated in the air, the soldiers and guards all stood straight in unison. Even the silence of the crowd became even quieter, making the only sound remaining in the air the steps that slowly made their way towards the elevated platform at the central edge of the plaza.

Van turned his eyes towards the sound where the arrogant set of steps were coming from, only to see a golden-haired fat man adorned in all sorts of colorful garments almost struggling to get up the stage.

"..." This was the brother of the King? From how Arthur described King Uther earlier, he at least expected his brother to have some sort of dangerous air around him… but all Van could see was a glorified pig.

Prince Aurelius then stood on the edge of the platform; scanning Van and each of the prisoners before letting out a surprised gasp as his eyes landed on the individual towards the end of the line-- the one with the dark skin.

He then raised his hand, calling for one of his aid and whispering into his ear. And after a few seconds of this, the aide then pointed towards the dark-skinned individual.

"You, dark sorcerer! Come forward!"

  The dark-skinned man was quickly pulled up by one of the soldiers, before being pushed as far as the iron chain could reach to the front.

"What can you do, dark sorcerer!?" The aide then asked.

"Answer the question!"

And before the dark-skinned man could even open his mouth, he was hit in the head by one of the soldiers.

"I… I didn't do anything," the dark-skinned man stuttered.

"You did not do anything?" And this time, it was Prince Aurelius who posed a question, "Then why is your skin black? Surely, you must have performed rituals on yourself."

"N… no. I… I know magic, but I don't--"

"Heathen!" Prince Aurelius then raised his hand in the air, before pointing towards the front, "State their crimes and proceed with the execution!"

The dark-skinned man was then pulled back to the line before he could say anything more, once again being kicked in the back of the head to kneel with the others.

"Pray, pray to god that you will be forgiven as we burn you off the sins you have committed in this life!" The Prince's aide then bellowed before proceeding to spread out a scroll.

...Burn? Is that what the wooden structures are for? Van thought.

"Come forth, Emrys!"

The chains attached to the collar of the dark-skinned man were removed as he was once again pushed by the soldiers, this time towards the wooden structure shaped like a sword.

"You, Emrys, are being charged for using magic and cohorting with the devil! Witness!?"

"Yes!"

One of the soldiers then stepped forward, before doing some form of salute towards the Prince, "I saw the sorcerer lighting up a fire with his bare hands!"

"Tie him up!"

"N… no, wa--" Emrys's mouth was covered by a wet cloth before he could finish his words. And with a struggle, the soldiers slowly tied him up on the sword-shaped structure, with his arms stretched on the guard.

"Come forth, Tobias!"

And as Emrys was being tied up, another prisoner was pulled away from the line.

"You, Tobias, are being charged for using magic and cohorting with the devil! Witness!?"

"Yes!" And once again, another soldier stepped forward, "I was injured during one of my hunts, and the mage offered to heal my wounds. To my surprise, his hands started to light up and the gash on my arm had disappeared!"

"Magic of the devil… Tie him up!"

"We… we're brothers! How could you do this--" And once again, the prisoner's mouth was tied up.

"..." And once again, Van watched as they tied him up to the wooden infrastructure. Another prisoner was called to step forward, and each time, there was only one thought circling in his mind-- No one here was a criminal.

He didn't dismiss that the so-called mages are capable of doing something grim and malevolent. But from the prisoners standing here today? Van was probably the only one who could be considered as a criminal.

"Come forth, Van!"

And finally, the chains attached to the collar around Van's neck were removed as one of the soldiers tried to push him forward. But this time, Van did not move an inch and only looked at the prisoners.

"You, Van, are being charged for using magic and cohorting with the devil! Witness!?"

"Yes!" The soldier, which Van had first met in the smaller village, stepped forward and stood by his side, "This little man is of pure evil! He arrived from the skies and forced the people of my village to see his nether regions--"

And before the soldier could finish his words, the sound of metal snapped in his ear. He momentarily took a side glance towards the source of the noise, only to see Van holding the collar in his hands, completely snapped in half.

"I think…

....I heard enough."