"They're... dead?", Loys repeated confused.
When the soldier nodded in agreement, the information finally sank in. Loys hadn't jumped up so quickly in a long time. Without saying a word to Leonhardt or Julius, he followed the soldier outside.
"We don't know exactly what happened... but it looks like suicide", the soldier explained, leading Loys to the prison where they had held the unknown attackers.
"Please call the guards who were on duty in the last few days. I'd like to talk to them", Loys requested, and the soldier nodded and disappeared.
When Loys arrived at the imprisonment, a crowd was already waiting for him. Without a word, he entered and allowed himself to be led to the prison, where he spotted a head of light hair among the crowd. Standing before him was Zod Adenia, silent, not even acknowledging the soldiers. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the cells in front of him, where the bodies were being examined.
"Zod", Loys said.
"One of them is still alive", Zod replied without turning to look at him even once. It was quite possible that Zod had noticed him long ago.
"Really? Where?"
In response, Zod simply nodded toward a cell on his right. Loys noticed that two soldiers were busy with the prisoner. But the stranger barely reacted, just whimpering quietly to himself. Only then did Loys dare to take a closer look at the remaining 15 attackers, who all had the same characteristic.
"Are those..."
"Strangulation marks", Zod confirmed his assumption. "Looks like they repurposed their own clothes and... strangled each other. This man here is the last of them and has... how can I put this without sounding brutal..."
When the soldiers pulled the last living man out of his dungeon, Loys understood exactly what Zod meant. His entire face was covered in blood, and a deep dent in his scalp gave a hint of what had happened.
"...he banged his head against the wall, which alarmed the soldiers", Zod completed the events as Loys turned away and took a few steps forward. However, the stranger's empty gaze and quiet whisper sent a shiver down his spine.
He had seen a lot of crazy people in his time, but this topped everything. Attacking soldiers of the royal house was one thing, but then killing your own comrades was something else entirely. It must have been incredibly important to them to keep the truth to themselves. So significant that they preferred to embrace death with open arms rather than justify themselves to the king.
Hesitantly, Loys glanced back at Zod. Bellator's newest swordmaster was leaning against the wall, watching the events unfold as if he were completely unaffected by the situation. Loys was pretty sure that Zod had a rough idea of what had really happened.
Suddenly, Roan Dastre came to Loys' mind and he looked around in panic. He ran a few meters along the cells and discovered his man among the dead. Like everyone else, he had a distinct mark on his neck, but what surprised Loys even more were the marks on his shoulder.
Tattoos he had never seen with his own eyes, yet knew exactly what they stood for. Roan Dastre - a man who had worked for the royal house for seven years and had been a member of the shadow unit for two - had a tattoo from Winstest.
"Followers of the Three-Gods-Faith assume that our world was created by the three gods Parelthon, Parousia, and Mellontikos", Zod said, stepping up beside him. "They are the ones who know our past, present, and future... and sometimes I wonder if that's really true."
"Was he one of those followers?"
"Yes. A member of the tribe of the gods - Layons", Zod confirmed. "I recognize the type of tattoo from a man I was friends with years ago. He has the same symbols on his arm."
"And how do you know it's the Layons tribe?"
"Because of the color", Zod explained, without taking his eyes off the corpse. "All other tribes are only allowed to paint the symbols on their upper arms in black. The Layons are different. As the tribe of the gods, they take the liberty of displaying the symbols of the gods in the brightest color available."
"White."
"Obviously", Zod confirmed calmly. "Each of them bears this mark. So unless I'm utterly stupid, they're all followers of the Layons' tribe. How much contact does the royal house have with them?"
"None at all. If I remember correctly, Leonhardt's father was the last to have contact with them. Sometimes we write them letters, but they never reply."
"If the letters arrive at all. The Layons are very... skeptical of strangers. I haven't had any contact with them myself, but this acquaintance of mine once said that strangers are regularly executed. Even followers of other tribes."
"How brut-"
A loud scream echoed through the corridors. Surprised, Loys turned around to see the last survivor crawling on the floor. His blood-smeared arm stretched out in his direction, as if he wanted something from him.
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Before Loys could say anything, the soldiers threw themselves at the tribe member. Even Zod jumped in between them, as if he wanted to protect Loys - which seemed absolutely ridiculous to him. After all, he was a swordmaster himself and perfectly capable of defending himself. As he rested his arm on Zod, however, he realized that the stranger wasn't after him.
His eyes were fixed on Zod.
"Give it to me", the tribesman muttered incomprehensibly. "Give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me..."
A soldier stuck something in his mouth, silencing the stranger's voice. But you could clearly hear him repeating the same words.
Again and again and again.
"Do you know this man?"
Loys looked up in surprise and saw King Leonhardt standing at the entrance, accompanied by Julius and three members of the Shadow Unit. Close enough to put themselves in danger. The king's presence caused every soldier to bow immediately, without exception.
Irritated, Zod turned to Loys, who was just as confused as to what King Leonhardt meant.
"Sir Adenia, I am talking to you. Do you know this man lying on the ground in front of you?"
"No, Your Majesty", Zod replied calmly, whereupon Leonhardt nodded.
"Your Majesty, you should not be down here", Loys interjected and stepped aside.
He didn't like the fact that there were so many potential sources of danger in King Leonhardt's immediate vicinity. But when he stopped in front of him, he could feel himself literally walking through a wall of mana. He paused for a moment before realizing who was responsible for it.
"Zod", Loys said, turning around. "Is that..."
"Yes", Zod confirmed immediately. "Just to be on the safe side."
If the whole situation wasn't so strange, Loys would be grateful to him for keeping an eye on King Leonhardt. But now Loys also saw exactly what King Leonhardt meant.
The stranger was lying on the ground in front of Zod and seemed - very clearly - to want something from Zod. Like a madman, he tried to get closer to him, despite the weight of the soldiers crouching on top of him.
"Let him speak", King Leonhardt commanded. "I want to hear what he has to say."
The soldiers exchanged skeptical glances before one of them tore the cloth from his mouth. Immediately, the man repeated the same words as before, without looking away from Zod even a second.
"It seems he wants something from you, Sir Adenia", King Leonhardt announced.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. But I don't know what that could be", Zod replied, crouching down. By now, Zod seemed to have accepted that he was the target.
"He's telling the truth", King Leonhardt whispered softly so that only those close to him could hear. "Is that one of the mages, Loys?"
"One of the archers, Your Majesty. The mages are all dead."
"What do you want from me?", Zod's voice rang out, causing everyone's eyes to land on him.
"Give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me."
"What exactly do you want me to give to you?"
"Give it to me. The sword. The sword. The sword. Give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me. Give it to me."
"Karekama?", Zod asked in surprise, looking at the dark weapon at his waist. "You want me to give you Karekama?"
"Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me!", the prisoner shouted louder.
With wide, red eyes, he stared obsessively at Zod. His matted hair stuck to his forehead, and saliva dripped from his mouth with every word. With his bloodied face, the stranger looked more like a creature than a human being.
"What does a Layon tribesman want with Karekama?", Loys blurted out as Zod's gaze suddenly darkened.
"So that's how it is...", Zod muttered quietly and sat up. "So it was you who broke into the Magistrat's back then. Do you have spies there too?"
"Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me!"
The man screamed louder and louder, his voice breaking as he tugged obsessively at his bonds, his whole body twitching wildly as if torn apart by an invisible madness. Saliva spurted from his mouth as he screamed, and his body jerked against the floor, the chains rattling deafeningly. He writhed as if he wanted to tear his limbs off, just to get closer to the sword.
"What does Winstest want from the eastern lands?"
"Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me!"
By now, the prisoner was screaming so loudly that it was hard to hear anything else. Even King Leonhardt, who was not easily impressed by such situations, nervously took a step back.
"Answer me!", Zod shouted loudly.
With a bloodcurdling scream, the prisoner threw his head back and slammed it with full force onto the cold stone floor. Blood spurted, but he didn't stop. He slammed his skull a second time, even harder than before. The crack of bones echoed through the prison, followed by an oppressive silence.
The stranger lay motionless in a pool of red, his crazed gaze extinguished in death.
"By the three gods", Loys could hear one of the soldiers say, while Zod had already jumped up and was examining the stranger's lifeless body. Moments later, he gave Loys a look that said it all.
"No chance, he's dead."
"That's crazy", Julius interjected. "What was his mission? Did he want Karekama so badly?"
"Is that why you always keep Karekama hidden?", Loys asked instead. "Because you're being pursued by men like him?"
"This is the first time I've experienced something like this", Zod replied honestly. "I'm more interested in how the information left the royal household in the first place. Who knew that I have Karekama?"
The answer immediately popped into Loys' head.
Of all those present, Julius and King Leonhardt were the first to learn of it. But apart from that, only the members of the Shadow Unit were informed of the situation. One of the reasons why he had invited Zod to train the swordmasters back then was to get a rough idea of his fighting strength and the resulting danger. Even Loys hadn't planned on becoming such good friends with Zod.
"I can probably guess the answer", Zod announced irritably, straightening up as he brushed the dust off his clothes. "Why am I not surprised? No matter what I say, you always listen to me when it's too late."
"Zod, I..."
"I don't want to hear your excuses", Zod interrupted as he approached him. "I can't believe it... how one small mistake puts my whole life at risk."
Loys couldn't say anything in response, because Zod had every right to be angry. From day one, Loys had been aware that Zod wanted to keep his identity secret, and he had done pretty much the opposite. Seeing the dangers Zod and, above all, his daughter Ahri were exposed to was terrifying.
Unlike Sir Paseru, Zod had no one he could rely on. And when Loys thought back to their conversations, he realized why that was. Zod lived a dangerous life, and he had brought his problems with him to Sylve.
Ironically, this was exactly what Roan Dastre had warned him about.
"If you'll excuse me", Zod said, stopping in front of Loys, who was blocking the entrance. "I need to take a shower first."
Instinctively, Loys stepped aside and let Zod pass. For a moment, he watched him silently until he noticed King Leonhardt out of the corner of his eye. Julius, on the other hand, turned his attention to the soldiers and restored order, which led to quiet conversations.
"Leonhardt?"
"That was different", the king announced quietly, without turning away from the hallway. "When he said he was risking his life."
"In what way?"
"I had the feeling... as if his words were... crushing me."