The Sword and The Shadow

Lisana's Dedication

The moment Alissanda heard Lisana mention that, his gaze turned cold. After a pause, he said, "Impossible."

"Why?" She took a step forward. "Don't you old times' sake into account?"

"That is solely emotional. It has nothing to do with the law, and Innilis has broken imperial law. She is to be tried and judged!"

"What about Leguna then? He was the empire's benefactor. Why did you kill him?"

"I already said that his existence threatens humanity's safety. I had to kill him for humanity's sake! Also, Innilis is her matter. Don't bring Leguna into this! You don't know how many innocents she has killed! She is practically making an enemy out of humanity itself!"

"Her fall was completely thanks to you and Alfreid! Don't blame everything on others! This matter should've ended when Leguna killed Nidhogg! The one who created this whole situation is you, not anybody else!"

Alissanda gave her a solemn look and enunciated each word clearly. "I did it for all humanity. For the empire."

"So? How many have you killed with such a ridiculous reason like that?"

He remained silent.

"Don't want to talk about it? I'll tell you, then." She inched ever closer to him. "Geoffrey."

"You!" Alissanda's eyes turned savage at the mention of the name. He took a step forward and unconsciously let his impetus surge.

Geoffrey was the nerve that should never be touched. He wasn't only Alissanda's blood-related elder brother; fratricide would be a bad enough crime. More importantly, he had killed him to succeed the throne, unlike his reason for killing Leguna. If killing Leguna was for all humanity, while killing Geoffrey let the empire have a wise and competent emperor, it was still a guilt he had never been able to shake off his conscience.

The moment Lisana brought him up, he felt his feathers ruffled.

However, she didn't seem to mind the sudden hostile demeanor. She merely met his gaze coldly.

Lisana stared at him for a long time, surprised at how well time had treated him. He was still just as handsome as before even after the passing of ten years. Only the furrowed center of his brow could be seen as proof of his age. Back then, when they met, Lisana thought he was the brightest sunshine she had ever seen. Perfect looks, perfect demeanor, perfect personality, a perfect human being. However, that was all in the past. Even though his looks hadn't changed from before, she felt that the person before her was completely foreign. It was as if she was meeting him for the first time.

The two of them silently locked gazes for a few minutes. In the end, she finally accepted the fact that there was no way he would change back. She knew that no matter what she said, he wouldn't release Innilis. Sighing, she said, "I thought you were the sun of my life."

"I--" Alissanda wanted to say something, but she didn't seem intent to listen any longer. She immediately turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" he said in a panic, almost unconsciously. Where else could she go? Hadn't she been taking after her father over the previous years in the palace?

"Home." Her response was something he expected.

He didn't linger on the matter and shot her a grim look. "The necklace on your neck… I don't recall giving you something like that."

She stopped and held the necklace. "This? Leguna was the one who gave it to me."

She left after saying that, leaving Alissanda behind to destroy anything that entered his vision in a fit of rage.

……

Innilis's execution took place a few days later. The weather was beautiful and the citizens of Melindor lined the streets in preparation to throw rotten eggs and cabbages at the Accursed Woman.

They hated her even more than Leguna. While Leguna's disaster wrought huge damage, it lasted relatively short. Innilis, on the other hand, had killed countless innocents and done all sorts of evil deeds in the past ten years with Blackshadow. News articles of her atrocities piled up in the empire. They hated the group that constantly stood in their way for complete peace. Now that the group's leader had been captured, they couldn't wait to vent their frustrations.

Splat, splat!

Rotten eggs and cabbages rained down on her, though she didn't seem like she was able to feel any of it. Her eyes were blank and her gaze was unfocused. It was as if she was an empty husk without a soul.

"Revenge… revenge… revenge…" she muttered in a voice only she could hear.

"You killed my child!" a huge middle-aged man said as he suddenly broke out of the soldiers' perimeter and charged at her with a huge knife. "You crook! Why?! Why do you not even spare a child who's not even four?!"

Innilis seemed to get her wits back for a moment. She looked at him and said, "A child? I've killed too many. How could I possibly know which one's yours?"

Hearing that only enraged the citizens even more. They threw their junk at her nonstop and couldn't help but want to kill the inhumane woman with those alone.

"Why don't you describe your son's looks to me?" she said as the guards held the man back, "Then I can send him your regards when I go to hell! Hahahaha!"

She seemed to be a completely different person. She mocked the citizens that scolded her with endless sick jokes as she was brought to the execution platform.

Alissanda began on his podium, "Accursed Woman, Innilis Leit. In my capacity as emperor--"

"Spare the bullshit, you scum!" Innilis interrupted, "I killed all of them! I deny nothing! They deserved to die! Everyone does, especially you all foolish onlookers!"

"Kill her! Kill her!" the crowd yelled.

"Since that's the case…" Alissanda sighed deeply and waved to his executioner.

"I will keep on cursing you even in hell! Forever!" she shrieked at the last moment of her life.

Clang!

Before the executioner's blade fell, it had been struck flying. Everyone turned around and was shocked to see a fine longsword embedded in the ground of the execution platform.

Stunned, Alissanda said, "That sword is… Gale?!"