An Outing (5)

Leading the motley crew of children and criminals, Cyrus asked whoever he saw for the location of the nearest Judiciary. Eventually he got his answer and made way, reaching the location in a short amount of time as it was closer than he had expected.

'So close yet they do nothing to stop the crimes that happen just a few blocks down, what are they there then for?'

Once more having the children wait outside whilst he led the criminals in, Cyrus stepped onto the white granite that led to the massive courthouse.

The courthouse itself was a building of impressive size and make, fully showing off the depth of human woodworking skill with the fine make and perfect cut of the building. While attached to the courthouse was a path of black and white granite, leading to a black and white stone temple that symbolized both good and evil.

The temple was the true destination of Cyrus, where he would find a Judicar or two who would be able to judge the initial guilt or innocence of the men he had brought with him.

Stepping up to the massive black and white stone slabs that made up the entryway, he looked up at the tower of utmost austerity and thought,

'Finally, I will be able to see how the Empire enacts justice with my own eyes.'

He reached out to push the entrance open, but two men wearing long drooping white robes came to life to the left and right of Cyrus. He had long assumed that the two figures were but statues, for they had no breath to them, but it appears he had met with yet another mysterious and not well understood aspect of the Empire.

The figures that had come to life looked at Cyrus with a judging glare, their bodies old and aged with a beard of white and black and no other hair to speak of.

"Visitor, what is thine purpose in coming here unannounced? Does thou seek the hand of justice?"

Unsure of the etiquette for such a situation, Cyrus saluted and said,

"I do, I come bringing several criminals who engaged in the crime of murder and kidnapping of children in the slums of the population zone."

The figures were silent, they looked at the criminals behind Cyrus and said,

"The Judicars of this temple have no time to deal with such small things. You will not be allowed entry, head back to whence you came else suffer the consequences."

Shocked that he had been refused, Cyrus asked,

"Why? Why am I being refused?"

The two figures responded in unison with a plain tone,

"There are many criminals, big and small, there are many crimes, big and small, but there are only so many men of justice. The system cannot handle such low and petty crimes born from the filth of the lesser citizens. Go, there will be no second warning."

Still in disbelief, Cyrus wanted to continue his case but he could feel a restrictive power starting to descend on him from the statues in front of him. Whatever it was he did know for sure, but it reminded him of the power that the Judicar he saw in action way back when during Glacies' opening ceremony.

Finally understanding that it was pointless for him to press his case further, unless he perhaps used his identity, he walked away in anger and disappointment at how the Empire truly operated.

The apparition of the Empire that he had in his mind, a golden castle on a shining hill, suffered many a degradation in the mind of Cyrus with this incident.

Before he fully left, however, he turned around and addressed the two figures before they fully went inactive once more.

"If I had the identity of a novice mage, would things change?"

The two figured replied immediately,

"Of course...the Empire allocates its resources perfectly with nothing wasted, but some leeway can always be had for those who can contribute more to the Empire."

Hearing his worst fear confirmed by the two, the disappointment of Cyrus grew even further as the castle's foundations began to fail.

Leading the criminals back out of the Judiciary's bounds, he stopped just short of the last white granite step.

'Do it'

Reaching down for his belt, he picked up his mask and placed it on his face. The moment he did the sun had set and the warmth was chased away, with a mocking smile appearing on his face.

Looking at the criminals who had thought themselves free he said,

"Where this is a demand, there is someone who will fill that demand."

He looked towards the children who were in the distance and beckoned them over, asking them:

"What do you want to do with these men, who killed your foster parents and foster brother?"

The children did not know what to say, except for the most headstrong of the group who looked at Cyrus with burning eyes.

"Die. They must die."

The words that the child said were unnerving to say the least, for a girl of her age to wish for the death of others so vehemently. To the current Cyrus though, everything seemed as if it were meant to be.

"As you wish" said Cyrus as he drew his blade, and with a single Vita coil activation he beheaded every single man with one stroke.

The heads fell to the ground. Blood stained the white granite, turning it into a permanent red color until it was cleaned by hand.

All the while, however, Cyrus was watching the eyes of the girl carefully as he wondered what her reaction would be.

Relief? Pleasure? Despair?

No, he saw none of those predictable emotions.

Instead what he witnessed was a flame of vengeance that did not diminish, but instead grow even stronger even with the deaths of those who had wronged her.

'Interesting...what could she be directing that fire at, I wonder?'

Still, there was one man left alive. The one who had been knocked unconscious by the unmasked Cyrus. As curious as a man as he was, an idea came to the mind of the dark half as he turned the sword around in his hand and gripped the blade.

Putting the pommel in front of the girl he said,

"There is still one left alive. How about you finish him?"

Silencing the bright half's objections before they could even begin, he urged the girl on as he smiled with an almost demonic flair.

"He killed your parents, did he not? He killed your brother, did he not? It is easy to let someone else do the dirty work for you, to let someone else have your own vengeance for you...but it is hard, oh so hard to do it yourself.

"Look now, how he lay sleeping on the ground without a care. Does someone like him deserve such peaceful rest?"

Whispering his persuasions into the ear of the girl, he was pleased when he felt her hand grip the handle of the blade.

Letting her have complete control of the sword, he stepped behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

He pushed her forward, forcing her to take step after step towards her most hated of foes. Then when the two reached their destination, he leaned in and said,

"Kill him now, else he will live on forevermore. I will not act, the choice is in your hands."

Amused at the reactions of the girl, who still somehow remained indecisive despite everything, he sighed and began to walk away for it seemed she would not be able to make the choice.

The sound of flesh being pierced rang out the moment he had turned. Excitement returned to Cyrus as he spun around, just in time to catch the look of morbid fascination the girl had on the moment her kill was complete.

Completely captured, she bent down and watched the man who had tormented her so squirm as he died in his 'sleep'. She reached down and felt the warm blood that came from the hole in his throat, feeling it between her fingers in wonder.

'Oh, I seem to have created something interesting' thought the dark half,' but I should put the pieces back together somewhat lest by partner give me an earful.'

Calling upon the literary knowledge that he had not blocked out, he recalled a certain book aptly titled, "The Avenger" and decided to use a few of its ideas here.