After that, Yuri and Odin headed to the hideout where Siren was.

“Arachne, you’re here!”

“Am I invisible?”

As usual, Siren welcomed Yuri and ignored Odin completely.

“By the way, what is that?”

“Lunch box that Ms. Anne-Marie made.”

“That woman next door?”

The three walked deep into the hideout. And as they were doing so, Siren heard the name Yuri said and pursed her lips.

“I’ve felt this for some time now but isn’t that woman acting way too close to you?”

“You gum-sticker, how dare you say that about our benefactor?”

“What the hell are you talking about? Hey, crow, she’s your benefactor, not mine, ok?”

Odin and Siren bickered with each other like always. Yuri was already used to this and let the noise they made flow past her ears.

“Arachne, I’ve been sharpening my nails lately, just in case.”

Siren quickly got tired of talking to Odin and clung to Yuri again. She spoke eagerly as if she wanted to let Yuri know that she was more helpful than the lady next-door named Anne-Marie.

“I’ve also been working on strengthening my wings, and if anything crops up, I can also sing…”

And at that very moment, all three of them widened their eyes at almost the same time. Neither of them signaled what to do but they turned around at the same time and began running down the path they came through.

“Why is it today?”

“I can’t see the watchdog.”

“I didn’t notice them moving any of the other heretics, did they mix them in with other carriages to move them out?”

The three of them could sense the sound in the distance.

Odin and Siren quickly sent birds to where the sound had come from to determine what was going on.

They thought the preparations for tomorrow’s praying ceremony were still going on in the plaza but right now, they were bringing out the people that had been arrested.

Leo was nowhere to be seen among the group.

The thread Yuri attached to him had already broken off so they couldn’t tell where he was now either.

‘Did they push the schedule a day ahead?’

She definitely hadn’t sensed anything from the guards she had been monitoring the entire time.

The three of them headed to the plaza without delay.**

* * *

The plaza was packed with crowds of people. It was usually quite a crowded location but today, it was especially crowded with hordes of people.

“They’re starting the event now?”

“Who knows. Well, they’re definitely doing something which is why they called people here.”

“I thought they were just preparing for tomorrow’s praying festival today.”

The people gathered in the square mumbled among themselves, expressing doubt about the unannounced event.

Right then, people in uniforms climbed onto the platform dragging along people who were bound in ropes.

“Those are prison uniforms, right?”

Upon seeing this scene, the people’s murmurs grew louder.

“Oh! I’ve seen that person’s face on a wanted poster before! So they’re on a death row, huh.”

“It’s a death row prisoner?”

Then after one person shouted, the identities of the prisoners on the stage began to spread among the crowd.

The moment a man in a sacred-looking white robe stood on the platform, the noise died down.

He was a priest from the temple.

“Before we have the praying ceremony, I shall begin the purification ceremony now.”The priest recited a prayer.

Only then did the people gathered in the plaza realize that this was the execution of prisoners on death row.

Purifying the souls of prisoners on death row was an annual event that normally happened before the praying ceremony. But because the executions were normally held just before the event, there had never been a case where it was provided to the people as a seeing attraction the day before.

In any case, the prisoners who were the target of purification during the praying ceremony were all death row prisoners who had committed severe crimes such as murder and rape and were deserving of being put to death.

So this time, people were thrilled to see the purification done by a priest who came directly from the temple.

Finally, the priest’s prayer came to an end.

The people in uniforms made the death row prisoners line up in a row.

Opposite them, stood people holding a silver weapon with a somewhat odd shape.

Normally, they hung the prisoners one by one so people wondered why the arrangement was different this time.

Then after a while:

Baang! Bang!

Loud noises rang out in the square several times, like a firecracker going off. The death row prisoners fell to the floor, bleeding.

“What the? Are they dead?”

People’s eyes went wide in surprise.

The death row prisoners suddenly fell after that deafening noise.

Seeing the death row prisoners not moving at all as they were dragged out, it was certain that they were dead.

The priest recited another prayer where the blood on the prisoners had spilled.

People chattered noisily, not understanding exactly what was happening in front of them right now.

When the priest withdrew, another person in a uniform climbed onto the platform.

“Tomorrow, there will be an execution of the heretics that have caused the countless explosions in the East, so we hope many of you attend the purification at the praying ceremony.”

He did not give any more explanation. But that alone was enough to arouse people’s curiosity.

“Oh my goodness, have they finally caught the culprits behind the explosion?”

“A heretic execution, isn’t this the first time in years since the last one?”

“But what in the world was that strange weapon?”

“One of relative’s in-law is a guard and I heard that is a new weapon the East developed itself…”

“Wow, it’s so mysterious! Just bang! And they all fall like that?”

“Are they going to show us something else tomorrow?”

Yuri was also watching that scene from afar. She was currently on top of a high steeple.

“What is that thing? These eastern have made something weird, huh?”

“Is that also made from alchemy?”

Odin and Siren looked very startled by the unexpected happenings. Yuri was also surprised.

“A gun…?”

“Gun?”

Soon, a soft mutter left Yuri’s mouth.

“Arachne, do you know what that is?”

Odin and Siren’s gaze turned to Yuri.

Yuri’s face was a little graver than usual, and she stared at the plaza with sharp eyes.

“Somewhat, it’s not the same thing though.

From what Yuri could tell, the East’s new weapon was similar to the gun in her previous world. Of course, the power source here was alchemy so the fundamentals didn’t seem to be the same, but the shape and function looked very similar.

Thankfully, the execution today was not targeted at heretics.

“Well, good things it’s not the watchdog.”

“Yeah, thankfully the public execution was for death row prisoners. Of course, even if other mutants were there, I probably wouldn’t have gone out to save them, but you know, it would be a little uncomfortable.”

“What’s there to be uncomfortable about? It was stupid of them to get caught. Like you, gum-sticker. Ah, is that why? You’re sympathizing with your fellow sufferers?”“Shut up, you crow bastard!”

Yuri listened to the ringing noises coming from her left and right then she looked away from the plaza.

“For now, let’s go back to the hideout.”

Ignoring Odin and Siren, she jumped down from the steeple first. Yuri felt the execution today was merely a means of publicity for tomorrow.

But this was also a good thing for the three of them.

If they had dived in without knowing that weapon existed, they might have gotten careless and found themselves in a dangerous situation tomorrow.

Although this world had people with mysterious powers due to the ruin’s fragment, the weapons used by the general public were usually things like swords, spears, bows, etc. So the sudden appearance of firearms made her grow alert.

Yuri glanced behind her then she headed towards the hideout.

* * *

Click.

“Father.”

Dominic turned to look at the person who opened the door to his office and walked in. It was his son, Kalian.

“Have you forgotten your basic manners now? Now, you open my door and enter without permission.”

Dominic’s chilly gaze fell on Kalian who was closing the door behind him.

Dominic threw on his coat and began putting on his gloves. He looked like he was getting ready to leave.

“And Kalian, I am certain I asked you to behave.”

Despite Kalian’s sudden entrance, Dominic did not get angry at him, he only clicked his tongue.

“Of course, I already knew you disobeyed my order and went out as you wished.”

“…”

“Even so, I was turning a blind eye.”

Then Dominic’s voice turned cold.

“But things change a little since you have appeared in front of me blatantly without even trying to hide that.”

Step.

Finally, Dominic stepped forward with his cane in hand.

Both father and son stood opposite each other about five steps away.

“Move aside.”

But even though Dominic gave that command, Kalian did not move away from the door.

A faint sigh escaped Dominic’s mouth.

“If you have something to say, go through the proper route, make an appointment and come find me. I do not have so much free time on my hands to deal with you any time you want.”

Dominic’s feet moved and he took another step forward. Kalian also stepped forward at the same time and raised his hand as though he was blocking Dominic.

“You cannot leave.”

A soft voice rang out in the quiet room.

Dominic stood in place and looked into Kalian’s face. Soon, his lips slowly parted.

“What is this supposed to be, Kalian?”

Dominic did not even raise his voice even though Kalian’s behavior was strange. Likewise, Kalian answered Dominic’s question in a calm tone.

“I said I cannot let you leave right now.”

“I wonder what in the world you’re trying to prove.”

Dominic walked past Kalian as if he wasn’t even worth dealing with and opened the door. But he was not able to leave the room as he intended.

“…What do you think you’re doing right now?”

There were armed guards standing guard in front of the door, stopping Dominic from leaving.

“How dare you.”

Anger flashed in Dominic’s eyes.

Duung!

The cane in his hand slammed against the floor, making a dull noise.

“Alright, Kalian, are we going to have the conversation we couldn’t have before?”

Eyes with a sharp glint in them flew to Kalian and fixed on his face.