Chapter Text
Walking down a corridor of prison cells, Julius the knights of knights prepares for another day ending. He looks to his left scanning the cells seeing various criminals. Most of the criminals assigned on this floor were for petty crimes and thus their cells received adequate commendations. A toilet, sink, bed and books to keep one occupied. Regular meals are served 3 times a day and they aren't allowed to leave until their sentence is served.
‘This was the preferible way to treat prisoners’ Julius thought to himself but was quickly reminded of some of the scum that roam Laguna. Gluttony had taken his name and brought his position of ‘Knights of knights’ into jeopardy. This infuriated him to no end. To have someone's work and effort stolen, meaningless as no one could vouch for your claims of hard work.
His skill with the sword and 6 spirits were enough to convince the commander of the royal knights to grant him temporary guard status as without his actions known, It would be seen as an unfair promotion to the rest of the guard if a suspected newcomer was granted “Royal knight” status.
He had to regain his name, he had to find Gluttony but the trail in Pristilla city went cold. That was until a suspected witch cultist was detained by the sword demon. The archbishop made himself known by falsifying a story of being a royal candidate's knight. What a mockery of an archbishop, to think someone so engulfed by the witches miasma would be accepted into a royal candidates camp much less a knight.
Reaching the end of the corridor, Julius descended a spiral staircase passing many floors, each with their respective way of treating criminals. With each step approaching the bottom floor a stench was becoming more pungent. It smelled of blood and decay mixed with other body fluids one must not dwell on.
The archbishop was his only lead to Gluttony and he would not waste it. Felix had stated that he would force Pride to talk through “Unique” methods. When Juluis first learned of these methods, he wanted to scream at the feline for even thinking this is what a knight stood for. But Felix told Julius that all other methods had failed. Pain would be Pride's companion until he told us how to cure Crush and Gluttonys whereabouts.
With the final step taken, Julius saw the 3 familiar gates separated by 10 feet. Each one with a guard on either side. Once the guards saw Julius coming, they opened the gate and the guards that followed waited patiently until the first gate closed. Per protocol, at maximum one gate could be open. A measure to ensure that no-one can get in or out without alerting the guards.
“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!”
At the third gate opening, A scream overshadowed the sound of the grating iron scraping against the stone floor. He had recognized this scream, reveled in its sound even. To Julius it meant progress towards a goal he thought unreachable. One day he will break and give Gluttony's location then he can go back to being the Knights of knights.
At the end of the corridor, Julius was met with a familiar sight. Felix had torn into the archbishops torso with a dagger and jabbed his fingertips into the slit maximizing his blood boil technique.
“Please….. I don't know anything…..Felix, stop. I don't know.”
His begs were almost chant-like, repeated over and over as if in prayer. His cries for mercy were met with a sharp jab from Julius' wooden sword striking him on his clearly defined rib cage causing a sickening crack to be heard.
“AAAAAAHHH!”
“Felix, It's time to stop. You were summoned by Lady Crush.”
Felix, seeming to beam about being needed by his master, retracted his fingers from his open slit while stretching his fingers of course, causing the slit to increase ever so slightly in order to cause the most pain possible.
“My lady needs me right nyeoh!”
He then stood applying healing magic to Pride. Upon closing his wounds, Felix turns around to Julius and explains ever so carefully that beatings are allowed but nothing that will cause him to lose too much blood.
“He lost a lot of blood already so bruise him up while I talk to Crush.” He then took a cute cat pose standing on one leg splashing in the puddle of blood under him. “I’ll be counting on you Julius and Pride.”
After Felix leaves, Julius gets another good look at Pride's cell.
Chains on both his arms held by a pulley embedded in the roof forcing him to hang in the air. Both shoulders out of their sockets from being suspended for so long. White hair overgrown covering his nasty gaze and skin tightly wound to his skeleton showing the bones underneath with several scars adorning his entire body.
There was no bed, one sink half full and filled with bloody rags and rusty knives. There was also no toilet as his waste simply plopped onto the cold stone floor where a guard would enter and clean it up but not before punching him a few times for creating more work for them.
“Where is Gluttony?” Juluis asked Pride with a fiery glare.
His response. Silence. Wrong answer.
“AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!”
A jolt of pain is felt as the knight swung his sword into his ankle dislocating it as it hangs loosely. After a few seconds of silence.
*DRIP*
*DRIP*
*DRIP*
Pride is crying. The tears fall onto the blood below his feet as he remembers all those he misses. Julius has witnessed him cry many times and started to lift his sword, intending to strike his elbow next but before he could, A whimper escaped from his prisoner.
“Why…..”
Julius’s glare softens for just a moment. Why? You are a monster beyond comprehension, Your ally stole my life's achievement and another poisoned a royal candidate. You are not deserving of mercy.
“I SAID WHY!!” Pride shouted while glaring at Julius.
“KNIGHTS OF KNIGHTS MY ASS, YOUR NOTHING BUT A TORTURER. I TOLD YOU MANY TIMES THAT I'M INNOCENT, DID I GET A TRAIL, NO! WAS THERE EVIDENCE—”
HIs rant interrupted as the knight swiped at his jaw.
“The great spirit labeled you as such and you yourself confirmed that the witches miasma hangs off you. Your ‘Allies’ left you for dead and you still protect them so I ask you again. WHERE IS GLUTTONY!?”
“I don't know. It doesn't matter how many times you ask, I just don't know.” The boy answered horsley as his earlier shouting used most of his remaining salvia.
“Do they have a base? What is their next target? You want this to stop, then cooperate.”
“I told you to get Rienha—”
*SNAP*
Sensing where the conversation was going, Julius swung the wooden sword at the ground making it snap and unleash a wind gust due to the sheer speed of the slash.
“I’ve heard this before, You will not hurt my friend.” The knight turns, discarding the broken sword and walks towards the many spare that are leaning into the corner of the cell.
Pride chuckles while Julius picks up a new sword causing him to turn his head towards him.
“Are you afraid that he will confirm that I'm telling the truth? That the knights of knights beat the living snot out of an innocent man for–” Pride paused as he seemed to be in deep thought changing his face from a smirk, to a frown, then scrunched but ultimately giving up.
“Well, I don't know how long I have been here. Could you tell me?”
Julius then grabbed his hair leaning his head back as he pointed the tip of his new wooden sword at his throat.
“You will be here forever unless,” The tip of the sword is now pressing against Pride's throat with pressure slowly building up.”YOU TALK!”
The chained prisoner leans towards the sword causing him to choke his next words out.
“I,,,,I have been talking, Y… you just don't l…l…listen.”
Julius retracts his sword and lets go of the boy's hair. Perhaps an honest conversation can help him gain information. Pride was interrogated by both Julius and Felix. If he feels less intimated then maybe he will falter and give useful information if not. There's always choice b.
After acquiring a chair from the knights stationed outside, Julius sits down and has his sword resting behind him attempting to calm him. Still looking down, Pride recognized that he had one chance to escape this hell. They haven't killed him. NOT ONCE. Always healed, just close enough for death's cold fingertips to graze his sunken cheeks but pulled before he is embraced by healing magic.
“First things first. My name isn't Pride. It's Natsuki Subaru!”
“So I've heard. What can you tell me that will prove your innocence?”
“Did you listen to the story I told you guys at the start of all this, The whale hunt, The defeat of sloth, The Great Rabbit and then Priestella?”
“A tale you no doubt woven to get into the good graces of royal candidates.” Julius responded with a cold accusatory tone.
Subaru then looks towards Julius. “How do you explain the alliance between the three camps?”
Julius' face twitched and his memory temporally fogged as if something was obscuring his memories and only giving him vague answers to his inquiry .
“The camps wanted mining rights, My leader saw an opportunity and took it.”
“And the defeat of sloth?”
“A fateful encounter as we were heading towards the royal candidates home to report our victory, It was destiny that led my sword to take sloth’s life.”
“How did you defeat sloth?” Subaru asked again indicating he wanted to know about the battle not the circumstance.
Julius, taking note of this, started answering his question but did not want to get into a long story so he kept it short.
“It was a hard fought battle that required all of my senses and —”
“How did you see his unseen hands?” Subaru interrupted.
Julius froze as he searched his memories for the answer. He remembered seeing hands bathed in shadow sprouting from the madman but his allies could not. He recalled them saying the archbishop was floating in the air as if carried by nothing but as it approached him at the ambush point. Did he see it then or when they started to battle?
“How do you explain that I saw them then?” The knight wanted answers, He hardly believed in miracles.
“You used nect with me since I could. You saw what I saw, Do you remember seeing yourself fighting?”
A memory surfaced for just a moment. A fleeting second in which the memory was able to surface the water flooding them, obscuring them before immediately being pulled under the sea of forgotten memory. A memory of himself fighting in which his eyes were closed. Julius stood from his chair immediately as a ringing noise threatened to tear his mind. The knight chose to blame this new pain to the archbishop. No good came from talking to a mad man.
“Is this your authority Pride? To take someone’s pride and throw it to waste. I defeated Sloth by myself, An accomplishment that I am proud of. Do not claim it as yours,” Julius grabs the sword and swings it at his arm.”YOU VILE MONSTER!”
A crack is heard and despite the pain, Pride let no whimper escape his mouth. No. He still has something to say, Pain can come after.
“Why don't you ask Reinhard? Ask him to prove your claims? Do you not want them to be true, Is your honor tied to lies? Tell me ‘KNIGHTS OF KNIGHTS’!”
“You talk about honor?” Julius knows honor is nothing to the witch cult. How many atrocities are attributed to their love of the witch. How many men, women, young and old tasted their blade with no distinction whether there were threats or not.
“You slaughtered innocents across the continent. You butchered children and you talk to me about honor. I am Julius Juukulius the knights of knights and still you claim to have honor. In front of me no less.”
The knight prepares another strike but is interrupted as the sound of gates opening travel through the corridor. After a series of footsteps, the cat boy Felix has returned to do a final checkup before turning to bed.
“Hello Julius and Pride,” He closes his fist and rubs his eyes in a cat-like manner.”I see you're getting along just fine but it's time for bed so I’ll heal you before tomorrow's session. “
Felix opens the cell and approaches Pride and starts to heal his broken bones and bruises. “We need you in top condition for the fun we’ll have.” After the healing session is finished, Felix advises Julius to leave the archbishop alone and turn to bed himself.
Julius takes his advice and places the sword with the others and begins to follow Felix but is interrupted by Pride calling his name.
“I don't have anything more to say today. Tomorrow we will have a long discussion, Pride.” His tone laced with venom as he ignores the archbishop and continues his way to the cell door.
“I could have escaped, you know.” Pride snickers.
“What?” Julius could not ignore his provocation.
“I have the sloth witch factor. Unseen hands or what I call it, Invisible providence.”
“You have no such thing.”
“Are you sure? I was there when Sloth was defeated and his authority was transferred to me.”
“A feeble attempt at trickery, Your shame knows no—” Julius couldn't finish his sentence as the words caught in his throat were now being choked by an unseen force.
“You can't see it, can you?” Pride remarked.
“Ack!” The knight couldn't call for help as he was now levitating off the floor held by his neck.
“I won't kill you because we are friends,” The invisible force holding Julius suddenly disappears as he lands and is brought to his hands and knees wheezing for air. “You can't see invisible province because you could never see unseen hands.”
Julius now looked at Pride with un-filtered fury. He would have to kill the archbishop in order to stop his escape.
“I won't escape. It would mean killing all the guards and if you or Felix are here,” Pride now had an anguish look as he stared down Julius. “You guys too.”
The knights of knights wanted to kill the archbishop with every fiber of his being but doing so would mean losing his only connection to Gluttony and Crush’s salvation. As much as he would like to avoid it. Having Reinhard here could ensure his security along with the prison. Reinhard had Divine blessings against memory tampering so he wouldn't have to worry about pride.
“As much as it is undesirable,” Julius stands up using the cell's iron bars as supports.” I will bring Reinhard here as long as you don’t escape.”
Pride's face beamed and thanked the knights of knights. He promised not to escape though he said he never would.
As Julius left, Pride would be left in the dark with his own thoughts again.
Escape? I could have escaped hundreds of times by now. I could have killed them all but how far would I get? There are guards everywhere around the prison. This place is armed so getting out with no killing. Talk about impossible difficulty. After all that, the sword saint would come get me. I don't want to hurt them.
I don't want them dead. Why can't they understand? I love them all. Emilia-tan…Rem…..Beako…..Otto….Garfiel…..Ram…..Petra…..
Before Pride could continue, Tears spilled once again as his wails echo against the cold stone walls almost taunting him about his lost loved ones.
“Why? After everything i've done, Why does it never end. I wanna go home. I wanna see Emilia, I want to sleep next to Beako, bicker with ram. I just wanna *Hik* go home.”