3 bar menu

Chapter 73 Part 2 – The Tragic Caterpillar Doll Room

Located at the bottom of a damp stone staircase, the basement was blocked by a thick iron door, so the torturers inside were unaware of the commotion upstairs.

When the old warriors kicked the door open, the torturers had placed a rope that was tied around a prisoner’s hand on his back through the top of a ladder and was in the middle of pulling that rope. The impossible position was so painful that he could hardly breathe. Just being hanged was already torturous. To make things worse, they were dropped from that position and their weight and the fall would cause serious damage to their arms and shoulders. The extreme pain is beyond description. If they writhed and struggled, they would be placing an even greater burden on his body.

The ladders that were set up against the ceiling beam were so long that the prisoner’s feet were about two meters off the floor.

Unlike the elastic rope used when bungee jumping, this rope was not elastic.
When the prisoner came to a sudden stop in mid-air from a fall, the impact was directly applied on the human body.
Even death by being hanged with the feet above the floor has the power to fracture the cervical vertebrae.
Not to mention this torture that is combined together with a fall, the torment is so severe that even adult men sometimes faint.
In addition, this prisoner had several sandbags tied to his feet.

This was the final stage of the torture and it showed how this fancy-looking prisoner had troubled the torturers.

「…… As the town mayor, I will say this thousands of times!! We are not on the side of witches!! Do you understand!? You fucking dogs of the Inquisition!! Fuck you!! Using such tortures!!」

The hanged prisoner was the town mayor.
He was in the middle of snarling head-on when he was being forced to confess that he was on the side of witches.
He provoked them with enthusiasm and even laughed.

In reality, however, he was not speaking properly.
It sounded like a drunken scream.
His dazed state was evident by the fact that he did not even notice the three old warriors opening the door and entering.
His eyes were unfocused.
He was barking in desperation to encourage himself as he was on the verge of fainting.

The three old warriors saw through him and smiled.

「He’s losing his consciousness. But he’s still barking at them. What a splendid stubbornness.」

「As expected of the man our daughter Marielle chose.」

「After getting tired of seeing these lowlives, he’s a sight for sore eyes.」

These bearded old men loved this kind of man.

「…… Now then, let’s go.」

「Wha ……!?」

The three of them instantly killed the torturers with a single attack as they stood petrified in the face of the sudden intruder.
They didn’t even give them time to speak and immediately killed them all.
They snatched the rope from one of the fallen torturers and slowly lowered the mayor to the floor.

「N-No way. How rude and violent you guys are!! How could you kill them all without even listening to what they have to say? Aren’t we all believers of the same sacred teachings ……」

The official that guided them to the basement lost the strength in his feet and dropped to the ground when he witnessed the violent process of the three old men killing all those who stood in their way.
He timidly protested.
Unable to avoid the blood splatter, it stained his clothes.
The brown-bearded Bill sneered ferociously.

「Unfortunately, we also believe in the god of war. There is a teaching that tells us to『Have no mercy on bastards. Don’t hesitate to beat them up.』」

Meanwhile, the black-bearded Bobby cuts the rope that tied the mayor’s hands with a sickle.

「…… Don’t worry. We are not your enemies. Marielle requested us to save you.」

The torturers was probably trying to break their hearts by showing them how the torture was carried out.
In a dungeon nearby the torture area, well-dressed prisoners were shackled and crammed together.
They were nervously watching the situation.
Once they heard what the black-bearded Bobby said, they cheered.

After being released, they rushed to the mayor as he was being treated by the black-bearded Bobby.
The mayor’s consciousness was clouded and he cursed and rampaged like a wildcat under Blackbeard’s strong arm.

「I’m sorry, town mayor!! You had to endure such a terrible torture ……」

「You even protected me, your political opponent …… I will never forget your kindness.」

「They tried to force us to say that we are pawns of the devil by torturing us.」

「But then the mayor covered for us. He told them to torture him first and to try to coerce him into making a confession.」

They quickly explained the situation to the three old warriors.

Those people are the leaders of the town that were captured along with the mayor.

The fingertips of some of them were purple and congested with their nails torn off.
They had already been tortured.

If they succumbed to the torture, they would be branded as traitors that are on the side of witches and sentenced to death.

The true purpose of the Inquisition is to confiscate the property of the wealthy in the name of exterminating witches.
In order to protect them, the mayor undertook the torture all by himself.

「…… Your wife told us that you would not scorn the poor even if you get killed. Your son also requested that he wants to go and help you himself. What a splendid family. I am convinced now that I met you. Oh, you’re still cursing at the torturers. Come back to your senses already.」

The mayor came back to his senses and was coughing violently after the white-bearded Brian gave him medicine. His face paled when he heard that the poor people had started a riot while they were taken away.

「This is bad. If a rebellion breaks out, the residents will hate each other. The conflicts amongst adults will be passed on to the children …… A future where children can’t laugh together …… It is my responsibility as an adult in this town to prevent that from happening.」

「That’s probably what the Inquisition is aiming for. Internal enemies are far more troublesome than external ones. Once they become suspicious of each other, they will play along with the witch hunt and all that nonsense. The rioting of the poor and all of you being caught by false accusations are all part of his plan.」

Hearing the white-bearded Brian’s words, the mayor endured the pain and staggered to his feet.

「We have to stop the riot. We can’t have the residents fighting each other over something like this. I’m blessed to have my wife, son, and Marielle as my precious family. As a man and as the town mayor, I can’t let them see me live in an embarrassing way ……」

The three old warriors nodded solemnly at the mayor’s words.

But the others had a disgruntled expression.

「Wait a minute. It is a fact that we were falsely accused by a poverty-stricken kid named Ronny which caused us to get dragged into this witch hunt. Are you saying that you want to let that be bygones as well?」

「You even almost got tortured to death.」

「I hate to say this, but if we even forgive the act of falsely accusing others as being on the side of witches, the people in the slums will become conceited and take advantage of that, at that moment things will really get out of hand. It’s going to be a world where ‘if they accuse others, it’s their win’.」

Those who are caught in a witch hunt have a high probability of having their lives and all their possessions confiscated.
For the victim, it is equivalent to a death sentence and it is natural for them to resent the perpetrator.
Their arguments were so plausible that the black-bearded Bobby had a hard time trying to persuade them.

「I understand your feelings. But will you listen to me for a moment? Actually, Ronny is the younger brother of a girl we know. From what I’ve heard about him, he’s a good boy who loves his sister. He’s not someone who can do such a bad thing ……」

「He has already committed a misdeed.」

「I can’t believe what you say out of bias.」

The black-bearded Bobby flinched as he was attacked before he could finish his sentence. Out of the three, he’s the most good-natured. Which is why he’s weak when it comes to arguing with others and women.