He sits on his throne not as a king but as an appointed lord. A skinny man in his 50s, his pale skin wrinkly and his long fingers gripping both sides of his throne. He wears a reinforced black leather top, embellished with red rubies, his pants made of leather with a protective layer of black dragon scales.
Doth the executioner: the killer of Bagio City. His past drenched in blood, his future drowns in it.
One of the nobles didn't address him kneeling down due to a leg injury, so Doth decided to execute him publicly. The cries of the noble are heard all around the town square. He begs Doth to spare his life, his daughter and wife looking out of the crowd helpless.
"Please spare my life and I'll do anything. I wasn't able to kneel due to my leg injury, I beg of you, my lord," the noble screams, his spit flying out of his mouth, his eyes turning red, his neck veins bulging.
Doth raises his hand, and the chatter around is immediately extinguished.
"Dear nobles, this man disrespected me, your lawful lord. Should we let this slide?" he asks with his nasally sharp voice, a voice of a man who has never heard 'no' in his life.
The nobles around have no choice but to cheer him on, their hearts pumping with fear. They could be next.
Doth waves his long creepy fingers, and then his mana appears—blood-shot mana, as if it's in the color of his victims' blood, but it's different. His mana is of a high calibre, of high purity. His mana turns into a real guillotine around the tied-up nobleman. The guillotine isn't just made of mana—it looks as real as any guillotine would look. Such high-level mana control is unheard of in this city.
As the man begs for his life, Doth lowers his hand, and the blade decapitates him in front of his family. The wife holds her daughter to her chest, trying to shield her from her husband's demise. She cries and sobs, but who would she complain to? Even if she sent a complaint to the king, her life might be over if she is found to have sent the message.
He walks to his castle, right in the center of the city. Servants bow down as he walks in. It's almost the end of the day.
"Butler, tell them to prepare a steak for me. I'm tired of all the executions today," he orders his butler as he walks to the dining hall. He sits alone at the long table in complete silence, his plate and cutlery already prepared. One of the maids pours him wine, but he doesn't drink it. He sits still in silence as if he's a corpse, and once his steak arrives, he starts cutting it with a mini sword materialized from his mana. He drinks his wine slowly and eats the steak with a self-made fork.
Once he is done, his servants take off his clothes and give him fresh ones to wear for bed. Doth sits at the desk in his room, writing with black ink.
"Dear King Taru the Third, I hope your Highness is doing well in terms of health and wealth. This is my monthly report. The city of Bagio is still in my safe hands. Everything is alright. I wish this letter finds you well. —Doth."
He signs and sends the letter with a raven.
As night sets in, Yaku and Emilia begin their plan to save Crill. Crill is now able to walk due to Emilia's healing. They all wear black covering and head to the same place they always do, but midway there a guard stops them. The security has been increased after Yaku saved Crill. It seems the noblemen haven't told Doth about the slave incident because of fear.
"Hey you, stop and identify yourselves," the guard screams. They all freeze as he walks up to them with his sword unsheathed.
Emilia turns to him and tells him that they're just heading home, but the guard demands the other two turn around and reveal their faces. The guard knows the description of the slave and vaguely the description of Yaku.
Yaku puts his hand on his sword hilt, and as Crill reveals his face, in the mere second the guard recognizes him from the description, Yaku turns around and parries the guard's sword, disarming him and immediately knocking him out. They all drag the knocked-out body and hide it in an alleyway to buy time.
They reach their destination and Crill is saved. They deliver the food as well, and they head back.
"That guard knows my face. Maybe I should lay low for a couple of days and not open the bakery," Emilia says.
"I'm sorry to drag you into this," Yaku tells her, but she tells him not to be stupid and that she's happy he involved her.
"The bakery might not be safe. You should sleep at my home until your archive test tomorrow," she tells Yaku.
With a red face, he accepts, and they both head to her home.