Nightmare(2)
It was a nice summer day, like yesterday. Ethan walked through the crowd in the central square of Anselm City. It was around 10 a.m. The sun was shining, and the heat was comforting. So to complement such nice weather, people too should smile and be happy, but that wasn't the case.
The blurry faces of the people were distorted with anger. Some were even shouting.
"Murderer!" "Monster!" "Demon!"
Ethan didn't understand to whom their words refer, but he clearly understands that it was someone very bad. He wanted to know who it was, but he was too short to see through the crowd, so he started to move between people to where adults were looking and shouting.
He moved slowly, but it didn't save him from bumping into someone or stepping on their feet. At first, he tried to apologize, but everyone just behaved as if he were invisible, so he moved on, ignoring them.
As he was approaching the center of the square, he started to hear other things besides words: murderer, monster, demon.
"That murderer killed so many people!"
Someone said.
"This monster didn't even spare children!"
Another one told.
"That demon didn't even spare a pregnant woman!"
Ethan heard from somewhere.
'How such a horrible person might exist in the world?'
He thought.
'Such a person doesn't deserve to live!'
Hatred started to bloom inside his heart. The more steps he took towards the center, the more angry he became.
At some point, he even started to shout like the crowd.
"Death to this murderer!"
And the crowd echoed him.
"Death to this murderer!"
The scream of thousands of people in unison. It was so powerful that even the sun moved down from the sky, and now heavy clouds were covering it.
But Ethan didn't notice that. He was too engrossed in his anger and was intoxicated by the sense of control over the crowd.
He shouted more strongly.
"Death to the monster!"
"Death to the monster!"
The crowd echoed as feverishly as Ethan.
In response to such power, the sky darkened, lightnings struck, thunder rumbled, and heavy rain began.
Luckily, it was able to help Ethan regain his senses a little bit.
He looked towards the sky, which was full of lightning and rumbling thunder, with the rain as salty as the tears. He turned towards the crowd, which became too small in his eyes. And the crowd, too, was looking at him with expectation in their eyes, urging him to utter the third line.
Seeing how things turned out with just two lines, Ethan understood that something bad might happen, so he suppressed the rage as much as he could and turned towards the center. Strangely, the crowd was still covering the culprit of the hatred from his eyes, but he was able to see the highest part of the gallows. He moved towards it and started to hear more things.
"I don't know why the Lord hired such a dangerous woman."
"She tried to seduce the young master; doesn't she have any shame?"
"It was her fault for the young master's death."
Ethan understood that something was wrong. Gone was the burning anger in his heart, leaving only ashes for his fear to grow.
He wanted to reach the gallows more quickly, but the crowd became denser, as if the crowd felt Ethan's determination. He started to push adults, but it was difficult, and his speed of moving through the crowd dropped considerably. And as if mocking Ethan's weakness, the hanger started to announce the verdict.
"Ms. Leta, former maid of the Anselm family..."
Hearing a too-familiar name, Ethan pushed through the crowd more desperately.
"... You are proven guilty of mass murder..."
As if to answer Ethan's desperation, the familiar gun appeared in his hand, and without hesitation, he puled the trigger.
BANG!
The person in the front fell down, but Ethan didn't look at him; he was too focused to get closer to the gallows.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The gunshots repeated.
Though normally Ethan wouldn't do such a thing and, even more, find joy in it, the situation wasn't normal, and he was delighted that his speed was increased thanks to the gun.
The crowd wasn't even reacting, but it wasn't so with the hanger.
"Even now your sin is murdering the city's people at this square, what can you say in response to it?"
"Nothing; it's all my doing."
Ethan heard Leta's voice. There wasn't fear, anger, or resignation in her voice, but delight.
"You monster!"
The hanger shouted angrily, and Ethan heard how the hanger's hand hit her cheek.
"Why don't you just tell who the real culprit is!? We both know that he is here! Just one name, and everything will be over!"
"I refuse."
Leta's voice was firm.
Slap.
The hanger's hand was again connected to her cheek.
"Fine! I will hang you if you wish so."
The hanger declared. And hearing it, Ethan started to pull the trigger even more quickly.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The bullets ran out, but Ethan just tossed the gun and started to use his mana to knock down the people in front of him.
'I should move faster! I should stop her execution! I should show that I'm alive! I should say that it's all my fault! I should save her!'
Such thoughts swirled inside his mind.
Thanks to mana, he was able to almost reach the gallows, but the crowd near it was as sturdy as the city wall. He tried to use magic, but it was useless.
"Make the way!"
He shouted, but in response, the crowd became even denser, and the hanger started to state Leta's final accusation.
"You are found guilty for worrying about the young master, Ethan; do you admit it?"
"Yes, I am."
Ethan started to pound the wall of people with his fists.
"You, also, were found guilty of having feelings for young master Ethan; do you admit it?"
"Yes, I am."
Ethan started to hit the wall with so much power that even his fists started to bleed.
"The culprit admitted her sins; the hanging will be done immediately."
At this moment, by some miracle, Ethan was able to push through the crowd and reach the gallows. He tried to reach with his hand towards Leta, trying to stop her execution, but...
Knock.
The hanger pulled the lever, and Leta lost her footing with a noose around her neck.