NOVEL WEB Chapter 29
Episode 29: The Marquis Wields the Blade of Revenge (6)
As soon as I announced the sentence of disembowelment, the officials attached chains to the handcuffs restraining Gazel and Almada, then hooked them to a beam and pulled with all their might.
In just twenty seconds, the two were hoisted up.
“W-wait!! Please wait!!”
“Nooooo!! Help me!!”
Gazel and Almada, realizing their predicament, began to beg for their lives. Their voices were far more desperate than before.
Well, it’s only natural when the execution is seconds away.
Now… time to finish this.
“Both viscounts, step onto the platform. And Leon, you too.”
At my words, the three named stiffened. The youngest, Carmine, was already on the verge of tears. But I had no intention of showing any mercy.
“Hurry up.”
At my menacing tone, the three turned pale and stepped onto the platform.
“Help me!! Leon!! Argus!!”
“Leon!! Carmine!! Stop Giorg, quickly!!”
Gazel and Almada began pleading for help from the three on the platform, just as they had before. Of course, the three on the platform didn’t move to save them. My actions were so incomprehensible that by now, I must have been seen as a monster in their eyes.
When Aisha stepped onto the platform with a longsword, I smirked and gripped the hilt, pulling it out. The polished blade reflected the sunlight, perhaps giving the onlookers a sense of divine awe.
“Eek!!”
“G-Giorg!! Wait!! Please wait!! I truly regret it!! I’ll change my ways!! So please, don’t kill me!!”
“Hmph…”
I smiled, and a glimmer of hope appeared on Gazel and Almada’s faces. They seemed to interpret my smile as a sign of mercy. People believe what they want to believe, but this was beyond ridiculous.
In silence, I swung the sword. The blade sliced through Gazel’s mouth and stopped inside.
Realizing there was a blade in his mouth, Gazel began to tremble violently. Blood spilled from his torn mouth, dripping onto the platform.
“What’s wrong? Done begging for your life?”
At my glare and voice, Gazel and Almada’s pleas stopped abruptly. Satisfied, I smiled and pulled the sword from Gazel’s mouth.
“You all should watch closely. This is the end that awaits those who underestimate me.”
Under my piercing gaze, Leon and the other two trembled and nodded repeatedly.
“Argus, Carmine… Your fathers embezzled funds from the House of Zarfing through these scum. And they used it to satisfy their own desires. Disgusting. Normally, I’d have your entire family executed as accomplices.”
“Hii…”
“A-ah…”
“Don’t disappoint me. From now on, your lives belong solely to the House of Zarfing. Never forget that I can send you and your families to the execution block at any moment.”
I didn’t trust Argus and Carmine. To be more precise, I didn’t trust their families. While both houses were now under the House of Zarfing, it wasn’t based on trust. I was keeping them around to use and discard. Fear was a far simpler way to bind them. After all, this arrangement wouldn’t last long anyway.
“Y-yes!!”
I turned my gaze to Leon, who began to chatter his teeth.
“Leon, this is my mercy. Say your final goodbyes to your parents.”
“Y-yes…”
Leon stood trembling before the two. Gazel and Almada seemed to realize the treatment Leon was receiving from his unusual demeanor.
“Hmph… As expected.”
At my words, Leon’s body twitched. The expressions on Gazel and Almada’s faces were pure despair. They didn’t direct their anger at me for Leon’s suffering but instead realized they were beyond saving.
“Leon, that’s enough. I’ve seen all I need to.”
“Huh?”
“These two aren’t worried about your future. They’re only despairing over their own inevitable deaths. In the end, their only motivation is to satisfy their own greed. They lack even the basic humanity that I possess.”
“……”
“Now that they understand there’s no saving them, let’s finish this.”
With that, I swung the sword. The sound of cutting air echoed, and Almada shuddered.
“Almada, you’ve grown a bit wiser at the end. If you had spoken at this stage, I would’ve mercilessly shoved the sword into your mouth.”
“A-ah… h-help…”
Almada couldn’t speak. She was frozen under the cold killing intent radiating from me.
“Well then.”
I swung the sword in a flash. The blade cut through Almada’s waist as if slicing water, and her lower half fell to the ground. At the same time, her entrails spilled from the severed wound.
Almada wore a dazed expression, but the cheers of the subjects made her realize her situation. She looked down and saw her lower half severed and her organs spilling out.
“Gaaah…”
Almada, now fully aware of her predicament, was suddenly overwhelmed by pain. She tried to scream, but no sound came out.
“Hmph.”
I swung the sword again, severing both of Almada’s arms. Her upper body fell onto the execution platform.
“It’ll be tough until death comes, but savor the pain slowly.”
I spoke to Almada and then turned my gaze to Gazel.
“Eek…”
Gazel, meeting my gaze, let out a gurgle and began to wet himself.
“Goodbye, Father. Suffer and die.”
“W-wait…”
I swung the sword, and just like Almada, Gazel’s lower half fell onto the platform, followed by his entrails.
“Giii…”
Gazel’s expression showed nothing but pain. I swung the sword again, severing both arms, and his upper body fell onto the platform.
From here, death would come for them in as little as ten minutes, or perhaps a few more minutes of agony. Of course, time feels infinitely long when you’re in pain. For them, the time until death would feel endless.
Until then, they could reflect on their actions or curse me—it didn’t matter.
In fact, if they became vengeful spirits and hurled curses at me, it would only add to my enjoyment of finishing them off again.
I glanced at the three on the platform, their faces drained of color. None of them had expected to witness such a brutal death.
Gazel and Almada were still groaning in pain, unable to die. The terror of not knowing when their turn would come must have been indescribable.
“Aisha, let’s go.”
“Yes!”
I took the sheath from Aisha, swung the sword to shake off the blood, sheathed it, and stepped down from the execution platform.
The subjects began to applaud, completely unfazed by my actions. Thanks to the two screaming so pathetically, the cruel execution of disembowelment given to my biological father left an impression not of cruelty, but of reliability.
With this, my revenge was complete.
The execution of the two marked the beginning of a new chapter in my life. I knew the path I walked would be filled with death and suffering.
But I couldn’t stop walking this path.
Just as a tiger or lion cannot live any other way, I, Giorg Leomus Zafing, could never live as anyone else, nor did I intend to.
With Aisha and Roy following me… and the comrades who support me, even if they’re not here, I take pride in walking this path together.
Now, let’s go…
I waved to the subjects, responding to their cheers, and left the execution grounds.
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