Chapter 3: The inspection

His fat fingers paused from their perusing to remove a handkerchief from his pocket. Wiping his forehead which was beaded with sweat,his chin wobbled as he shakily exhaled. His thinning hair was sleeked back but that only made his receding hairline more prominent. He sent the man standing next to him an almost pleading look before putting his handkerchief back in his pocket .

Next to the fat man was a.....priest?he was certainly dressed like one.With long blue robes and a large top hat he definitely resembled the priests Jikad had seen when he went to church with his mother.

But instead of a cross,the dangling chain on his neck had a sun crest similar to the ones he'd seen on the flag outside.

The priest was a tall man that looked as if he was in his forties. His face seemed to harbor a gentle kindness that made Jikad momentarily forget about his dire situation.

The wrinkles next to his eyes proved that he often smiled. Even though his lips were drawn in a straight line, he didn't seem angry.

There were other five knights further back against the walls of the tent and like the fat man behind the desk, the seemed fidgety.

The fat man was also wearing the knight uniform.The fabric was strained over his chubby figure and Jikad could see the buttons over his belly struggling to contain it.

His quick rummaging of the documents made him look like a scared child pretending to be earnestly studying under the watchful gaze of an angry parent. Beads of sweating were forming and trickling down the sides of his face and he withdrew his floral printed handkerchief again. His eyes flickered upward nervously but quickly returned to the documents.

Apart from the priest who exuded an air of gentle calmness the others seemed nervous about something. Of course the priest didn't also appear pleased,he looked a little offended.

Neither of them had noticed Jikad's presence in the room . So not knowing what to do, he awkwardly stood by the door. It was weirdly tense in that tent and Jikad was wondering if he had to speakup in order to draw their attention or something.

"Do you have such little trust in our inspection procedures lieutenant? "

The priest broke the silence by asking. His voice was eloquently calm but also a little agitated.

Jikad was confused since he could tell that the question wasn't directed at him. Neither was it to the fat knight who was hastily flipping through the pages as if his life depended on it. And it definitely wasn't ment for the guards at the back who looked as if they were standing under hanging blades that could fall on their heads at any moment. But those were the only other people in the room.

' is he talking to a ghost?' Jikad wouldn't be too surprised if that was the case. Garam had told him that this place was called purgatory afterall.

" In deed."

A deep stern voice cut through the air like a hot knife slicing through ice. Jikad felt a shiver run down his spine. To his left, Jikad eyes involuntarily followed searching for the owner of that voice.

An imposing figure stood perfectly upright with his hands firmly clasped behind his back.

'An angel'

That was the first thought that came to Jikad's mind. He felt as if he was staring at an angel straight out of a golden renaissance painting. The man stood firm and composed, as if he were sculpted from granite. His cool gaze alone seemed to lower the temperature in that room by a few degrees.

His face was angular and chiseled with high cheekbones and a sharp jawline.

His blonde hair was sleeked back stylishly without a single hair out of place. His icy blue eyes looked colder than any snow blizzard and we're framed by long eyelashes. Unlike the other knights he was clad in a bronze uniform that fit him snuggly as if it had been tailored specifically for him. His coat was adorned with badges of silver and gold,a clear display of numerous accomplishments.

The bronze uniform made his sea colored eyes stand out even more. His demeanor exuded authority,power and wealth. His hard built might have played a huge role in that. He easily towered above everyone in that room and with his hands held behind his back, one could tell from how prominent his shoulders were that he was ripped.

Jikad was suddenly reminded of the beautiful golden sunset he had seen on the beach once. "damn....." he muttered in awe. That had to be the most beautiful man he had ever seen.

"I am quite doubtful of your procedure's competence. In light of the recent events,they have proven to be rather useless." His deep voice resonated through the room.

"Am I mistaken?" He raised a perfectly curved eyebrow questioningly.

The priest eye twitched betraying his calm demeanor.

"Don't you think it's a bit too early to jump into conclusions lieutenant?"

The priest placed his hand on the documents." We have been conducting inspection at the capital's entrance ever since his majesty passed the order and in all that time there has never been a single atheist that has made it past the gates-"

"So they managed to make it all the way to the check tent,and yet there are over ten templar knights stationed outside." The blonde man cut him off sending a chilling look towards the fat knight.

The temperature of the room seemed to drop even lower . The fat knight flinched and cast the priest a desperate look before proceeding with his perusing.

"That was as far they made it. We were able to reveal and capture them all immediately."

" You sure seem proud of your shortcomings chancellor." He said referring to the priest.

" I apologize,I didn't intend to-"

" So help me understand this,chancellor" The beautiful man tilted his head a little

" why is there one roaming inside the walls of our capital as of this moment?"

The silence was parable.Jikad was the most troubled out of everyone in the room.He had wanted to draw their attention when he first entered but couldn't find the right timing. Their conversation also seemed intense and any thoughts if interrupting them flew out the window the moment he heard the name 'atheists'.

He wasn't sure who this lieutenant hot guy was but everyone seemed on edge because of him. If the knights looked that terrified of him,maybe it wasn't the best idea to interrupt him while he was talking.

He'd gathered from the conversation that an atheist had probably sneaked into the capital. Talk about bad timing.

' should I just sneak around the back? I don't think they've noticed me yet.'

Jikad regarded this as the best course of action. If another atheist had made it past this check tent why wouldn't he as well?

Taking small steps to the side,he made sure to be as unnoticeable as possible. The conversation had resumed and it was even more intense than before.

There was an opening further back along the side he was. That had to be the exit.All he had to do was sneakily make it to that point without drawing any attention to himself.

' I am a wall.. I am a wall..no atheist here,just a wall'

Jikad repeated to himself as he slowly tiptoed along the tent's wall.

Suddenly,The light screeching sound of a blade being unsheathed echoed in the tent.Jikad felt every fibre in his whole body freeze up. Dread pooled at the pit of his stomach as the familiar steely feeling of fear gripped at his nerves. The room had gone dead silent and Jikad could feel all their gazes on him. And especially one which was more piercing and chilling than the rest.

"You've got some nerve, boy."

The blonde man was assessing him with a cold gaze and a sword in his hand.

He started towards Jikad in a way that reminded him of prey being hunted down by a vicious predator.

He swung his sword and Jikad stumbled back falling on his back. Raising his eyes he was met by the glinting sword dangerously close to his eyes.

Jikad looked up to the lieutenant,his eyes wide with shock and horror. The sea colored eyes stared back at him as a terrifying thought settled in his mind.

'a murderer ' That's what this beautiful man was. His eyes didn't harbor any emotions,they were the lifeless cold eyes of a monster. Staring at them Jikad could tell how mistaken he was to compare this man's beauty to that of a beautiful sunset on the beach. If anything,He was the terrifying hurricane that brought tsunamis and mass destruction.

Jikad was almost sure that the heads he had seen staked on poles on the walls were this man's doing. Even the way he was looking at him right now,it was as if he was regarding which pole to stack Jikad's head on.

"Lieutenant!" The priest's worried voice rang out in the midst of all this chaos.

" Please calm down for a moment and sheath your sword" He drew closer to the two.

"Ordering me now are you, chancellor?" His eyes flickered momentarily to the priest immediately stopping him in his tracks.

"I would never dare to, sir!" He exclaimed placing his hand on his chest.

"I'm only pleading with you to spare the boy at least a chance to go through the inspection"

"A chance?this boy is clearly an atheist. What more inspection do we need" The lieutenant scoffed lowering the blade to Jikad's neck. All blood drained from his face as Jikad's life momentarily flashed before his eyes. His heart was beating loudly and his throat felt increasingly dry.

"I am sure the boy offended you by not answering you earlier..for that I apologize on his behalf-"

" are you two acquainted?"

"N-no but he seems harmless. At least let us inspect him before deciding on his fate"

" so the two of you don't know each other and yet you're here asking for forgiveness on his behalf" The lieutenant asked incredulously." Were you always this empathetic for strangers chancellor?" The lieutenant sneered.

" But let me correct you, I am not doing this simply to punish him for ignoring me and trying to sneak away," The cool blade was now against Jikad's neck. His breath hitched at the nasty familiar feelingof cold steel.

"This boy is an atheist, a filthy western dog and your pleading for his life? Do you realize the grave crime you're commiting?"

"How do you know that if we haven't inspected him yet?" The priest's eyes seemed to ask.The lieutenant was known for killing any person he deemed an atheist whether they were inspected or not. No one could verify if they were innocent or not since he apparently had a gift that allowed him to distinguish between the two. But the priest didn't believe any of it. To him the lieutenant was a murderer who went on killing sprees with no solid evidence.

"Still we should at least inspect-"

"You keep repeating that same sentence like a broken record.Why don't you come up with another excuse hm?"

" It's not an excuse sir,I am just suggesting that we follow the necessary protocol -"

" You sure are persistent,I'll give you that. But this boy has to die, I am the protocol."

"But lieutenant -

"You know what?" The blonde retrieved his sword,"I'll let you have the so sought after 'inspection'. I'm curious to see how you go about it afterall."

The priest sighed in relief" Thank you for your c-"

" If he fails, I will have both your heads dorning the capital walls"

The priest froze as the lieutenant's words sunk in.

Jikad realized was fucked either way. Since he could barely stand he remained plopped on the ground painting a sorry sight. How did it get to this?

" I chancellor of the check tent will begin the formal inspection." The priest said and his voice trembled slightly.

" Child," He called out a little calmer in an attempt to comfort a traumatized looking Jikad. Jikad raised his teary eyes to look at the sympathetic priest. The lieutenant had not sheathed his sword yet. He was standing looking down on him as if he was a piece of garbage. He looked ready to strike him down the moment he messed up.

Jikad was aware that his life hung on the outcome of this inspection.

'its not over yet..I can still manage to survive this somehow ' he reassured himself.

The priest cleared his throat and asked the first question.

" Do you pledge your loyalty to the King or the Emperor?"